Members of our Remote School Attendance Strategy (RSAS) team Amanda and Courtney were recently involved in selecting three Fregon senior students; Natalie Shannon, Josephine and Bayden Paige as first time participants in the TAFE SA ‘My Kitchen Rules’ style Anangu Schools ‘Cook-Off’ in the APY Lands.
The competition – staged at the Department of Education’s Trade Training Centre in Umuwa on Wednesday 1 November involved students from schools in Mimili, Kenmore Park, Amata, Indulkana, Ernabella and Pipalyatjara who are working towards their Certificates I and II in Kitchen Operations.
Each team prepared three courses, entrée, main and dessert to present to a panel of professional judges for testing and tasting.
Amanda and Courtney assisted their students to research suitable meals to be cooked for the competition, and also worked closely with the team to prepare and practice cooking the meals so they would be well prepared for their big day.
The high-profile judges included Ayers Rock Resort’s ‘Sails in the Desert’ restaurant chef Owen Denison, and chef Herb Smith Dreamtime Tuka.
The Fregon team overwhelmed the judges with a creative menu including chicken lettuce cups, beef stir-fry and a Nutella trifle. All meals were presented with a native flower for that extra touch of presentation. The students from Fregon were awarded third place for judges choice, while Ernabella was awarded as overall winners for the evening.
Josephine, one of the students representing Fregon Anangu School said the Cook-Off was “lots of fun, and I can’t wait to do it all again next year”.
Our RSAS team was extremely proud of the students saying “They did a fantastic job under pressure on the day and each student took a huge leap forward in achieving their qualifications. We are very proud of all of them.” This event was an opportunity for students to show off their skills and their creativity and finish the day with a stronger belief in themselves and their abilities.
The competition was the culmination of TAFE SA’s kitchen operations training, led by lecturer Nigel Plaskett and the TAFE SA APY Lands training team. Supporters of the event included the APY Executive, the Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Education Committee, Skill Hire and the Regional Anangu Services Aboriginal Corporation (RASAC).
