Baking student’s dream pays off

BENDIGO TAFE, and student Georgina Dimitriou, have both won awards at the 2023 Victorian Baking Show held at All Seasons Resort Hotel last month.

For the second consecutive year, Bendigo TAFE took home the Victoria’s premier baking institute title, while Ms Dmitiriou won third place for her gourmet pull apart loaf.

A second-year apprentice at Beechworth Bakery, Ms Dmitiriou said the idea of her baking career started when her mum brought her bags of apples.

“You know, what do you do with that, you make pie,” she said, who gave one of the pies to her neighbour.

“She sent me a photo of her kids devouring it with the biggest smiles on their faces. That was the day I realised that’s what I want to give to the world, the joy of that first bite.”

At 35-years-old, Ms Dimitriou, worked in a range of industries, with experience in retail, heavy vehicle driving, retail, armed security, agriculture, and fabrication.

“You’d be amazed what skills you can get from one industry and utilise in another,” she said.

“But I wanted something with that passion.

“This is going to sound Hallmark cliche, but I still get excited when I see customers walking out with a bag of bread in their hand from the place that you’ve baked it. It gives you that little rush of pride.”

Ms Dimitriou said she wants to expand her skillset and might start her own business one day, and to anyone considering a career change, she had words of advice.

“Try everything because sometimes the thing you never think of is the one that sticks,” she said.

“You miss 100 per cent of the shots you don’t take and ultimately have fun because if you have fun with something you’re going to stick with it and do it well.”

Acting chief executive officer at Bendigo TAFE, Michelle Johnston, said the baking awards reflected the commitment and expertise of the trainers at institution.

“We’re incredibly proud of all our baking students who have participated in the competition and have embraced the opportunity to test their skills against other student and industry competitors,” she said.

“Georgina’s award win is really the icing on the cake, demonstrating not just her personal talent for the craft, but also the knowledge and expertise that she has gained through her apprenticeship.”