Head Chefs from renowned local restaurants Al Forno and Rustico visited the College on Wednesday afternoon to demonstrate their passion and culinary skills to 30 Year 11 and 12 students completing their Certificate in Hospitality. Three students from Cornerstone College joined in the sessions as part of the Ambassador Chef program with Hospitality Group Training.
Zac Webb, cultural custodian of the local Wadandi Noongar Area also spoke to students about bush tucker in the region and the relationships between food, medicine and place in Noongar culture.
Hans Van Diest, Head Chef and owner of Busselton’s Al Forno restaurant, demonstrated the many varieties of chicken cuts required for restaurant dishes. He urged students to practice sustainability and respect for animals by making use of the whole chicken, and demonstrated this by creating stock from the leftovers.
Hans also stressed the importance of developing high quality knife skills. “Don’t use force,” he said, “Just let the knife do the work.” Students in Year 12 are looking forward to an opportunity to repeat this process to hospitality standards in creating a chicken dish during their classwork. Many of the Year 11 students were also keen to practise these skills at home.
Head Chef of Rustico at Hayshed Hill, Michael McAllister, entertained students and walked them through a recipe for a mouth-watering Tempura Battered Whiting with Apple Remoulade. He also spoke about his passion for an industry he says is as much about people as it is about food.
Michael remarked on the number of girls showing an interest in the Hospitality industry, and encouraged them to pursue it further. He said he strives to maintain an even split in his kitchen, but laments that “the industry kitchen is a predominantly male domain”, and that overall attitude and attention to detail can suffer as a result.
The students came away inspired from the afternoon sessions, with plenty of expert advice and handy tips as well as information sheets and a goodies bag donated by the Genuine Southern Forests Food Council.
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