Student success

Thi Nguyen

Geneviere Rossouw

Certificate IV in Commercial Cookery
Ultimo College
TAFE NSW State Medal winner

Whilst Geneviere was working at a restaurant in Bondi, her employer told her TAFE was the way to go to get great qualifications and experience. “I absolutely loved TAFE,” she says. “It was real – the teachers are in the industry and their knowledge is current. I love cooking and learnt so many new techniques from them. The Apprentice, our training restaurant at TAFE, gave me first hand experience in so many facets of the hospitality industry, and access to all the best ingredients. I just opened my own restaurant with three other people, specialising in modern Australian food in Gordon. I wouldn’t be doing this if I hadn’t received such great training and experience at TAFE!”

Shwu Ling (Christine) Yong

Certificate III in Hospitality (Commercial Cookery)
Ultimo College
Institute Award winner: International Student of the Year

“I enrolled at Ultimo because of their new hospitality training centre,” says Christine. “We trained in a real working restaurant, which taught me to think on my feet. The teachers were dedicated, and wanted us to become the best people in the industry. “Doing this course has given me the opportunity to go from being kitchen hand right through to chef where I work at Jimmy Recipe, at The Galleries Victoria in the City. “Now I’m co-writing a Malaysian cookery book with my employer. We plan to expand into packaging and selling pastes, e.g. laksa, which we make to the public; and to create a Malaysian food website. We want to grow Malaysian food in Australia until it becomes as popular as Thai!”

Sanam Rezae