A RECENT Federation TAFE graduate has won big at this year\u2019s Golden Plate Awards, being declared the Apprentice of the Year for the second time in a row.<\/p>\n
Rising chef Alexis Saville received the gong during the awards night which was held in Geelong in late November and saw more than 100 hospitality representatives in attendance.<\/p>\n
Having started that same month completing her Cert III in Commercial Cookery at Federation TAFE, Saville said her consecutive awards showcased her growing creativity in the kitchen.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year we were given a recipe to follow and make tweaks of our own whereas this year it was more a creative development process to make your own dish,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we had to make last year was a poached pear, white chocolate mousse, and honey twill as a base which I added some spices to and ran the mousse through an Espuma gun.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year\u2019s main criteria was that the hero had to be a starch, like rice or potatoes. I made a potato mochi with a burnt honey consume and strawberry sorbet because I love Japanese cooking.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means I\u2019m good in different areas. I\u2019ve always known myself to be good at following a recipe and getting things done that way but it\u2019s given me a newfound confidence in my creative side.\u201d<\/p>\n
Based in Daylesford, Saville grew up cooking with her parents and taking part in her high school\u2019s hospitality course before choosing it as a viable career path during the pandemic.<\/p>\n
Starting her apprenticeship with caterers Spade to Blade, and Italian restaurant Beppe Bar and Kitchen, Saville\u2019s love of anime and Japanese culture led her to shift towards fine dining with Japanese restaurant, Kadota, where she\u2019s been since last year.<\/p>\n
With the idea of potentially running her own business one day, Saville said she\u2019s been provided a solid foundation between her apprenticeships and TAFE studies.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt TAFE we learned more about specific skills courses like how to break down a chicken or fish whereas in industry it wasn\u2019t as specific,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt provided that industry experience, but at Beppe for example, there wasn\u2019t a lot of those opportunities to break down a fish for example because it\u2019s an Italian place.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re working in a specific area they might not cover the whole range of skills so TAFE definitely helped with that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A RECENT Federation TAFE graduate has won big at this year\u2019s Golden Plate Awards, being declared the Apprentice of the Year for the second time in a row. Rising chef Alexis Saville received the gong during the awards night which was held in Geelong in late November and saw more than 100 hospitality representatives in […]<\/p>\n