PEOPLE eating meals from the Latrobe Regional Health kitchen may be enjoying a dish prepared by a silver award-winning apprentice chef.
LRH kitchen team member and first-year apprentice, Thomas Hill won a silver medal in the cookery section in this year’s World Skills Australia Gippsland Region competition.
World Skills celebrates excellence in the vocational education and training sector.
The competition challenges entrants to showcase their skills, creativity and technical knowledge under pressure.
Cookery competitors were given two-and-a half hours to prepare and serve a main course and desert from a list of set ingredients.
Thomas is a 17-year-old TAFE Gippsland commercial cookery student from Morwell.
He decided to wow the judges with his chicken wellington and raspberry mousse.
“I thought a wellington would be technical enough to show off my skills but not too hard that I could not get it done in time,” Thomas said.
“It wasn’t that easy in a competition setting. The judges watched me the whole time to make sure everything was food safe and I used all the ingredients.
“I had to make sure it was well presented and looked nice.”
The aspiring head chef said taking out the silver bolstered his confidence in the kitchen, and he aims to take part in more culinary competitions to boost his skills.
Meanwhile, Thomas said he is keen to finish his apprenticeship and keep working at LRH, as part of the team producing a staggering 480,000 fresh-cooked meals a year.
“I like working at LRH, the people are good, I enjoy it. I enjoy cooking, its good fun, there’s nothing else I really wanted to do,” Thomas said.
LRH food services manager Patrick Farrell said Thomas is the first World Skills medallist to work in the LRH kitchen.
“We are so proud of him, and to achieve this in his first-year apprenticeship is amazing,” Patrick said.
“He has really come out of his shell since he has begun with us and he takes on board advice from qualified chefs.”
