SuniTAFE commercial cookery students faced off against highly skilled chefs from across the state in the AusTAFE Culinary Trophy State Finals this Week, coming home with four medals.  

Four students from the Mildura campus entered the competition and each came home with a medal. The winners were: 

Saxon Van Heumen - Silver 

Terrence Lanigan - Bronze 

Siew Boey Tan (May) - Bronze 

Huan Zhou (Henry) - Bronze 

This year’s competition was hosted by The Gordon Institute of TAFE and saw the Mildura-based students compete alongside more than 50 high achieving TAFE students from across Victoria.  

The challenges gave students just two hours to prepare and cook an omelette, an entree, and a main course complete with a sauce, a vegetable portion, and a starch-based component.  

The participants were judged on their kitchen methods and techniques, organisation, presentation, and the taste of the food.   

To prepare for this, the students engaged in intensive sessions in the commercial kitchen with their SuniTAFE educators, as well as cooking at home and even watching YouTube videos for plating tips.  

This unique opportunity to compete against Victoria’s best TAFE cooks was welcomed by the students who are studying at SuniTAFE to pursue their career goals.  

Commercial cookery student Huan Zhou (Henry) was “really excited” to compete in Geelong and test the skills that he had been building for several years.  

“I’m studying commercial cookery because in my dreams, I want to be a chef,” he said.  

“I’ve learned about Chinese cuisine for four or five years and I just really love cooking.” 

Although first year apprentice Terrence Lanigan is only just beginning his career, he has been passionate about cookery for much of his life. However, it was only when he saw the commercial kitchen for himself that he knew SuniTAFE would be his study destination of choice.  

“I wanted to study commercial cookery for a long time, but I just never really pursued it,” he said.  

“But then I came here to visit my brother and cousin and got to see SuniTAFE and the facilities in the commercial kitchen for myself and it became so clear that that’s what I want to do, and here I am.”  

Siew Boey Tan (May) is no stranger to the AusTAFE Culinary Trophy, having won bronze in the state finals last year as well. Her skill level is matched by her determination to continually improve.  

“I started to cook more often when I was at home during the pandemic,” she said.  

“I tried cooking different dishes and then focusing on the presentation. You know, Asian foods taste good, but the presentation is not always that good.  

“Then, once the lockdowns ended, I decided I needed to do something for my dream.” 

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