Celebrating 30 Years of Great Chefs Success
William Angliss Institute proudly marks three decades of its celebrated Great Chefs program, a unique initiative that unites renowned culinary experts with aspiring chefs.
Since its inception in 1993, the program has fostered industry partnerships and provided our students with networks and invaluable mentorship from some of Australia's most acclaimed chefs. This milestone highlights the Institute's commitment to nurturing talent, fostering industry connections, and enhancing the culinary arts, creating a platform for learning, innovation, and collaboration.
From Apprentice to Great Chefs Coordinator
For more than twenty years, Certificate III in Commercial Cookery graduate and current Teacher Professional Cookery Chef Lisa Morrison has been involved with our Great Chefs events. After her first experience with Chef Stephen Mercer of Mercer's Restaurant, as a third-year apprentice in Angliss Restaurant, she worked at Sofitel Melbourne.
"Even before I started working at William Angliss Institute, I had participated in the Great Chefs program with Chefs Raymond Capaldi and Barry Vera. It was natural for me to continue assisting, along with other chefs, to bring leading chefs on board working with our students," explained Lisa.
With a strong belief in the value of connecting industry and TAFE, Lisa is incredibly happy to celebrate this Great Chefs milestone, which she has coordinated for the past eight years. "It's wonderful that I've had a connection to the program for a big part of those 30 years - as a student, as part of industry, and now coordinating. It's a big achievement for the Institute to be still running the program and celebrating the connection between students with industry," she added.
Over 140 Great Chefs have participated, some of whom have been William Angliss Institute graduates and many now employ apprentices from the Institute.
A key highlight in assisting with the program for Lisa has been seeing the "enjoyment that students get plus the job opportunities. Many of the students volunteer their time. They are eager to work alongside industry chefs and, in many cases, that does lead to jobs. After the Great Chefs dinner with Society, three of our students were offered jobs. This is a common occurrence, especially with big companies like Trader House and Lucas Group.
Great Chefs Mentoring and Learning
We are grateful to the following chefs who created inspiring learning experiences for our students while celebrating three decades of excellence in culinary education in 2024.
- Tony Twitchett - Taxi Kitchen
- Adrian Clemmens - MoVida Aqui
- Ben Cooper - Chin Chin
- Joseph Abboud - Rumi Restaurant
- Ben Pollard - Trader House
- Mathew Macartney - Zigis Bar & Dining
- Joachim Lim - Society
Third time participant in the program, Chef Ben Cooper from Chin Chin said, "The experience of putting a menu together with the students in a day is always incredible. It also reminds me of what young chefs face."
Being aware that some students may be nervous, Cooper and other Great Chefs, prepare them by breaking students into teams and are assigned tasks within those teams which allows them to feel responsible for their part of the process.
"It's so important for all of us highly experienced chefs to share our knowledge with the next generation of chefs and this program at Angliss is a perfect platform to do that.
"All aspiring chefs need to work hard and absorb knowledge like a sponge. They should not take criticism personally but see it as a learning moment in how to create the best dish. Being super positive is as important as celebrating the joy of life through sharing food."
Society's Chef Joachim Lim was impressed by our Cookery students, enjoying mentoring students and seeing the evolution of the Great Chefs programme over the years.
A key tip students took away from Lim was that they must always taste the food. "If you're a chef, you need to be able to describe the taste of dishes and know that you are serving a tasty plate of food. It's basic but it's so important."
Working with Chef Joachim was a great experience for Angliss student Kitsalee Whrapop who is currently undertaking the Certificate IV in Kitchen Management, having completed the Certificate III in Commercial Cookery earlier this year.
"Chef Joachim shared his ideas on how to use ingredients and produce dishes. He has motivated me even more to keep learning and become a great chef in the future," shared Kitslaee.
Alongside our cookery students, hospitality students also get first-hand experience performing front-of-house duties for guests, gaining experience with wine-matching, mixing cocktails and customer service.
Don't miss out on next year's Great Chefs program and sign up for our Restaurants Newsletter to be the first to book for our exciting culinary events hled either at Angliss Restaurant or Angliss Bistro.
