Fresh from winning gold at WorldSkills, pastry chef Samantha Trotter has been named 2018 Apprentice of the Year at the Training Services NSW Awards for the Illawarra and South East.
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Cappin goff her final year as an apprentice with Gumnut Patisserie, Ms Trotter enters the industry with a Certificate III in Retail Baking and highly sought-after skills.
“I have come to the end of my training and I’m qualified, in a job, have practical skills, and no student debt! Working for Gumnut Patisserie is great, it’s a really busy and exciting workplace where I’m always learning,” Ms Trotter said.
Operations manager Michael Glennon said that all six apprentices at Gumnut Patisserie were signed and supported by Apprenticeship Support Australia (ASA).
“We’re really lucky because we have a solid team of professionals and apprentices. We’ve only ever had one or so apprentices not complete their training with us or stay for a job,” said Mr Glennon.
Ms Trotter moved from Cooma to Bowral at the age of 17 to pursue a career as a pastry chef, a job that involves a lot of early mornings and hard work.
“Most days we start at 4:00am but we are generally done by the early afternoon. I love the variation in what I get to do – I’m always playing with flavours and decorating," she said.
ASA southern NSW and ACT regional manager Tony Keir said it was important for young people to know the of possibilities of a future career in the food industry, in and out of the kitchen.
“It’s great to see successful talent coming through in an industry that really needs young people, like Samantha, showcasing what’s possible. Samantha also won National Apprentice of the Year in Pastry Cooking in 2016 and the Sydney Royal Fine Food Fair in 2015 – it’s a rewarding career."