An appetiser to start...

Message from the CEO. Page 4 Eamon Barnett – a year in London. Page 8 NAC – finals in Darwin. Page 11 HTN’s new website. Page 14 2011 HTN Apprentice Butcher and Apprentice Chef Team comp. Page 16 HTN’s sponsors. Page 27 Meet Jessica - HTN’s safety girl. Page 28 2011 HTN Youth Showcase. Page 31 2011 HTN Apprentice Chef Culinary Competition winners. Page 35 Aqua Dining Group of Restaurants Young Culinary Achiever. Page 40

“HTN: Workforce Solutions for the Hospitality and Food Related Industries”

2011 is rapidly drawing to a close and as such it is really rewarding to reflect on the significant activity that we have undertaken in our endeavor to promote careers in the hospitality and food related industries.

This included a tour of the P&O Pacific Pearl for forty (40) high school students as part of the MWLP honour role. The guided tour allowed students the opportunity to inspect the ship, including the galley which caters ..

for thousands of guests as well as experience the ships hospitality first hand by sitting down for lunch in the Dining Room. The program was captured by Skills One TV as part of National Skills Week and is designed to “inspire” as well inform students about the various hospitality and tourism careers on offer.

The annual HTN Apprentice Chef Culinary Competition has this year achieved a new record of participation with in excess of three hundred (300) apprentices registering to compete in a total of fourteen regional heats coordinated across NSW, VIC and the ACT. All apprentice participants are to be congratulated as the level of skill displayed was truly exemplary. The series culminated in a sensational Grand Final cook off that saw the awarding of $10,000 cash and a huge range of prizes including an eight night P&O Cruise for two and a fantastic motor scooter courtesy of Profiline Cookware.

For the first time, HTN coordinated two unique events that provided HTN apprentice butchers and chefs the opportunity to “team up” to prepare and present a number of dishes for a panel of judges also comprised of respected butchers and chefs. This competition was sponsored by our good friends at Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) and provided each competitor a very unique perspective along with a healthy appreciation for their respective trades. Based on the success of this initiative, we will again be coordinating similar events in 2012.

The HTN Youth Skills Showcase was a culmination of all of these events and was this year held at “The Apprentice” Restaurant at TAFE NSW Sydney Institute, Ultimo College. This annual gala dinner was coordinated by a team of very capable HTN apprentices and provided the perfect platform to announce the 2011 winner of the HTN Peter Howard Culinary Scholarship. HTN’s Patron Mr Peter Howard was on hand to congratulate this year’s recipient; HTN apprentice Chef Tommy Ly, xx

HTN Melbourne has now been well and truly established and we are delighted to be of service to apprentices and the hospitality industry in Melbourne and surrounds. My thanks to all of the industry partners who have assisted and supported HTN to kick start services in Victoria. This year also saw the launch of “HTN Recruit” – a quality recruitment service designed to provide industry with well-trained Commis Chefs. This service is competitively priced and is backed by a three month placement guarantee period. Many in industry have taken advantage of this great service which of course provides graduating HTN apprentices with the next step in their career as a newly qualified chef.

who was awarded $5,000 and return airfares to London flying Qantas – our sincere thanks to Mr. Bill Galvin OAM, President of Tourism, Hospitality, Catering Institute of Australia (THCIA) for providing said flights.

Many in industry would have heard of the recent passing of Mr. Tom Schoots – A highly respected Chef, Tom was actually one of the founding signatories on HTN’s Constitution representing at the time, the Professional Cooks Association. Tom was renowned as a mentor to numerous young cooks and chefs, a respected TAFE teacher and a tireless contributor to the various industry associations that he was affiliated with and will be sadly missed by all. On behalf of all at HTN, I would take this opportunity to extend my deepest sympathies to his wife Jan and family. In closing, a range of promotions and events are already locked in for 2012 and we will continue to work hard to highlight the hospitality industry as a dynamic and rewarding career choice. I invite you to find out more by visiting our new website www.htn.com.au. None of these promotions would be possible without the generous support of our sponsors - so a sincere “thank you” for your fantastic support of HTN.

On behalf of the team at HTN, I extend to you and your family, compliments of the season and I do thank you for your ongoing support of HTN. Michael Bennett Chief Executive Officer

Interview with Eamon Barnett

Eamon in an ex-HTN apprentice chef, most recently hosted by The Retreat at Wisemans. After completing his training while with HTN, we put him in touch with Just Chef’s International. Eamon has just returned from a year in London.

Q A

Tell us about your time in London: It was pretty hectic, busy and non-stop all the time. I went over there and within four days was working thanks to Just Chefs International, at a fine dining gastro pub in the city. The pub was opposite one of Gordon Ramsey’s places – Petrus – so it was in a really rich area. Frank Lampard and Gordon were two of our regulars and I certainly got to see a few movie stars. I was there for six months and then moved on to the Playboy Club. I had a great time over there for eleven months before coming home.

Q A

Something you would recommend doing for a new chef?

Definitely. The travel is worth it and Just Chefs will really look after you. My contact was Carl and I was looked after before I had even left the country. He sent me loads of info and brochures and helped out with hostels for when I arrived. Definitely do it.

“...they seem to respect

food more.”

Q A

Q A

Q A

Q A

What was the best thing about being over in London? Probably getting to meet the people. Learning different aspects of your job, from the names to the techniques. The chefs are different than they are over here. They are much stricter and you certainly do more hours and work harder. I realized that the kitchen make up is different, the sections are different and there are more people in each section. I was also working with ingredients that are 100 times better and they seem to respect food more. What about the worst thing? The hours! You do a lot of double shifts that you wouldn’t be able to over here. At one point I was doing 19 hours a day!

So tell us about Playboy? Just Chefs got me in there. It’s the private Playboy club in London and I was doing sauces and soups there. We were certainly catering for a lot of big functions and some major parties. Some of the parties were for 1000 people. I learned a lot from my Executive Head Chef and a lot of the team came from Michelin Star restaurants so certainly a lot of tips to pick up. My senior Sous Chef was Gordon Ramsay’s Sous Chef for five years so I learned from him, and it helped that he was Australian too. Working in the Playboy Club was certainly an experience. Finally a piece of advice for a new apprentice? Only do it if you want to work hard and have a real passion for food. If either of those things are not there, don’t do it.

For further information about Just Chef’s International, contact your HTN Field Consultant.

The ACF National Apprentice Chef Competition finals took place in Darwin in October 2011 and saw teams from all over Australia compete (including HTN Apprentices.)

The competitors were greeted by the Governor at Government House before the competition began and had a presentation at Darwin Casino to round off the few days. A huge congratulations to everyone who took part. Above – the ACT team: Rosie Firth - Royal Canberra Golf Club - silver (first year) Lilly Dowden (HTN) - Pepped Prawn Restaurant – silver (second year) Morgan Neveceral (HTN) - IHG Parliament House Canberra - silver (third year) - Morgan also was named best 3rd year overall. (More photos over)

So what do you think of our new website?

In November, HTN launched our new website. While our brand remains the same, we are sure you will agree that the feel and look of the website is vastly improved. In addition to the obvious aesthetic improvements to the site, we hope you have managed to explore the other features.

Click on these features to see them live. Featured positions vacant. Live events calendar Recipes Media Centre HTN History Sponsor section Social Media links Forms and downloads

Checked out the recipe section of our new website yet?

2011 HTN Apprentice Butcher and Apprentice Chef team competition.

HTN are well known for our main annual apprentice chef competition, but in 2011 we built up our apprentice butcher numbers and wanted to hold a competition that showed their skills off. So the inaugural HTN Apprentice Butcher and Apprentice Chef team comp was born. The idea is simple. Team up a HTN Apprentice Butcher and a HTN Apprentice Chef, give them two long legs of lamb and judge the team on breaking one leg down and producing an imaginative dish from it, and the other dressing and roasting it. The chef assists the butcher during the first stage and the butcher assists the chef in the latter stage. The two comps were hosted by TAFE NSW Western Sydney Institute and Hunter Institute at xxx

The Kingswood and Hamilton Campuses. On the day we picked an individual chef winner, an individual butcher winner and then team winners. Photos are on the next few pages. Importantly , not only were the two competitions a great opportunity for some cross discipline training and some networking, but everyone had fun. While these competitions were a bit of a test to see if the format is the best and what level of interest there was, the feedback we received from the competitors was great. Watch this space for the dates and format of the 2012 competition.

Alex Ball HTN Apprentice Butcher Hosted by Bush’s Meats

– Rouse Hill

Winner of the best team (butcher) award during the Kingswood heat of

the HTN Apprentice Butcher and Apprentice

Chef team comp

Alexander Nelson HTN Apprentice Chef Hosted by Peppers Guest House – Hunter Valley Winner of the best team (chef) award during the Hamilton heat of the HTN Apprentice Butcher and Apprentice Chef team comp

Tommy Ly HTN Apprentice Chef Hosted by Felix Restaurant - Sydney Winner of the best team (chef) award during the Kingswood heat of the HTN Apprentice Butcher and Apprentice Chef team comp

Thomas Van Den Berg HTN Apprentice Butcher

Hosted by Joe’s Meat - Hornsby

Winner of the best team

(butcher) award during the Hamilton heat of the HTN Apprentice Butcher

and Apprentice Chef team comp

HTN would like to thank all of our 2011 Sponsors. Without your support we simply would not be able to arrange the competitions, events, master classes or showcase. Please take the time to click on each of the fantastic partners below and remember to support them in the future.

Q A

Q A

Q A

Give us a bit of career background so far. I commenced in 2005 as a Case Manager of Workers Com-pensation Claims, after working at a few different insurers accepted a State Management Position with a Self Insurer in 2009. I have had 7 years industry experience and have undertaken industry specific training specializing in managing complex Workers Compensation matters but am now looking forward to branching out into the Workplace Health and Safety aspect of the role. What are your aims for the HTN WHS policies and procedures. To implement health and safety policies and procedures properly, you have to consult with your employees about each and every policy, making sure policies are tailored to suit your business and

ensure that policies are made readily available to all employees, all the time. You also have to implement all your policies consistently AND review them regularly to ensure they are up to date. How do you feel working for HTN? I am really excited about this new adventure in my career. I have an opportunity to meet a diverse range of people and hopefully have the chance to leave improved systems, policies, procedures and processes.

Remember – in case of any injury or incident contact your field consultant immediately.

Meet Jessica Korenic – HTN’s WHS and Injury Management Coordinator

http://www.htn.com.au/news/2012-pre-apprenticeship-program

2011 HTN Youth Skills Showcase

HTN’s annual “Youth Skills Showcase” took place for 2011 at TAFE NSW – Sydney Institute, Ultimo College’s Apprentice Restaurant. The event is a chance to celebrate the talents of our apprentices, wrap up the year, thank our sponsors and partners and have some fun. The night also concludes with the announcement of the winner of the HTN Peter Howard Culinary Scholarship. And this year’s event didn’t disappoint. The food (thanks to the apprentices – overseen by our own Rod Andrews) was beautiful, John Blackman was the perfect MC, Peter Howard inspiring as normal and a very surprised Tommy Ly gave an emotional speech when presented with the scholarship. (picture over)

For any apprentice who competed in the competition, please remember to fill in the short questionnaire so we can continue to improve it each year. Click here.

Congratulations to all the winners who competed in the 2011 HTN Apprentice Chef Culinary Competition.

This year, there was an extra presentation at the 2011 Savour Australia Restaurant and Catering HOSTPLUS Awards for Excellence Gala Dinner, held at the Sydney Convention Centre. Further confirming that they are indeed a leader in the hospitality industry, The Aqua Dining Group of Restaurants established this annual industry scholarship designed to reward a 3rd year apprentice who is undertaking trade training in commercial cookery in Australia. The Group’s Managing Director, Mr. Bill Drakopoulos, seeks to invest back into the hospitality industry through the provision of a scholarship that recognises culinary talent and above all else, a young

Aqua Dining Group of Restaurants "Young Culinary Achiever" Scholarship Awarded at Restaurant and Catering Awards

apprentice’s passion and commitment to hospitality as a career. 3rd Year Commercial Cookery Apprentices were invited to “self submit” their nomination for the Aqua Dining Group of Restaurants “Young Culinary Achiever Scholarship” which provides return airfares to London, accommodation, work experience with renowned Chef Brett Graham at the 2 Michelin Star rated Ledbury Restaurant and $1,000 spending money. The scholarship was awarded to a delighted Rebecca Mutch, 3rd year HTN Apprentice Chef at Rydges Hotel Rosehill.

Thank you

May your 2012 be successful.

For feedback, editorial submissions or advertising enquiries: Contact Jonathan Sharp – Marketing and Business Development Manager Toll Free: 1300 139 108 Fax: 1300 656 139 Email: jonathan@htn.com.au