Christina is living her dream of being an apprentice chef

Christina started studying at South West TAFE in 2011 after deciding that secondary school and home schooling wasn’t for her.

“I completed years 10, 11 and 12 through VCAL at TAFE and it was great. The teachers were so understanding. I was struggling at school and I found my teachers at TAFE to be so helpful and any time I was having trouble they were there,” she said.

It was while Christina was in year 11 that someone suggested starting the VET Delivered to Secondary Schools Kitchen Operations course.

“I had always been interested in being a chef. I wanted to be a pastry chef. I thought the course might give me a foot in the door and it would be a good chance to get another certificate,” she said.

Christina has been an apprentice chef at Mac’s Hotel in Mortlake for the past 18 months and is loving it.

“It’s going really well and I’m learning heaps,” she said.

Christina cooks meals to order for lunch and dinner guests at the hotel and spends a lot of her time doing kitchen preparation.   

“I really wanted this apprenticeship so I found it easy when I started and to have my course behind me really helped.

“I wasn’t sure that I wanted to work as a chef but the course gave me a taste for it and now I love what I do,” she said.

Christina said she was so pleased with her decision to study at South West TAFE and would recommend anyone considering a VET Delivered to Secondary Schools course to go for it.