Student Profile

Jaspreet Singh - Cookery

“I chose to study at Northland because I wanted to experience a different lifestyle than I had in India. I didn’t want to be in a big city with a lot of crowds – I wanted to experience the culture of New Zealand. And, NorthTec is the only polytechnic in Northland, so it was a no-brainer.

"The tutors at NorthTec helped me with every step of my study. I learnt so much. All of the basics, and more. There is a lot of practical components to the programme, but a lot of theory work as well so we understand the basics of cookery. My favourite part was learning the theory and then going into the kitchen and putting it into practice.

“It definitely helped me to gain employment. When I completed my studies in 2016, I got a job straight away. That was my motivation to get me through my studies, knowing that I needed to support myself after I had completed.

“The people that were in my class alongside me were so nice and helpful. I am a vegan chef so I needed to rely on the help of my classmates to get me through my studies. We were all from different areas of the world but we were so close. They really did help me through my studies.

“People in Northland are just so friendly and helpful. I have so many friends from the multicultural community of Whangarei. I never want to leave! There really is a community culture in Whangarei and that is reflected in NorthTec as well. It felt like a family.

“Studying at NorthTec is great, especially the location of the campus and the tutors. When you have nice, friendly and highly educated tutors, there is nothing to complain about! The campus in Raumanga is huge – there is no issue with parking, a big library and student common room.

“I am now the main chef here at Salt Air Café in Ngunguru. I like everything about it – especially creating menus and ordering from suppliers. I love knowing everything about the café and how it runs.”
 

Carmen Foster - Cookery

“I’ve been working here in hospitality since I was 15 years old and had no interest in being a chef until a young passionate chef inspired me as to what is possible. I then started studying, first at level three and then to my level 5 Diploma.”

“During my training I particularly loved working with the international students and being exposed to different foods and skills. I was working six days a week in Dargaville all the time I was studying in Whangarei because I didn’t want a student loan, so time management was a real discipline. I finished in late 2016.”

“I am now working at the Coasana Restaurant in Te Awamutu. My boss here has taught me a lot about different foods and I feel that I am constantly upgrading my skills.”

“I would love to work in a bigger place with more chefs so I can continue to learn on the job and be exposed to food and experiences that are new to me.”

Karan Randhawa - Cookery

“I’m working as Demi-Chef de Partie at The Quay in the Town Basin. It is in Cuisine Magazine’s top 100 New Zealand restaurants and one of only two in Northland on that list. It is number one in desserts – and I love making desserts. My tutor told me about this place and I started as a kitchen hand for a month when I was still studying. In that time I was also helping the chefs with prep work, and then I was offered full time work as Commis Chef once I finished my study.”

“Everything from my NorthTec training is relevant here. I loved the course emphasis on a mix of cultures and I was able to research food from my own Indian culture. We got to research then create our own dish, practise and trial it, and if it was good it went on the hospitality service menu. We had practical experience catering for events that involved team work preparing, making, and plating the dishes.”

“The tutors also encouraged us to enter competitions like the Live Dessert competition where we had 60 minutes to make a dessert. Our final level 5 assessment involved three days of making and presenting food, and I was later selected as the representative for the NZQA course assessment interviews.”

“The NorthTec training was exactly what I needed for my work here. I am familiar with the processes and now my confidence has grown a lot. I’ve already created a new dessert that has been added to The Quay’s menu. I love the work here and I’m now starting to explore other areas of the kitchen including making entrees.”

Rachel Tribble - Hospitality

“I want my hospitality skills to be universal so that I can adapt to kitchen or front of house, and here at Distinction Hotel I’m getting that experience because I work in reception, the restaurant and the bar.”

Rachel chose a career in hospitality because she is one of 11 children so was used to preparing big meals. “I did some STAR courses at school and NorthTec took me on at a young age, so I graduated before my 19th birthday. Now that I’m out working, I realize how much the tutors took me under their wing and lifted me through the study experience. I was home schooled so my life experience was pretty secluded. I had no confidence and I’d hide behind my hair.”

“I’ve gone from being painfully shy to being confident enough to enjoy all aspects of hospitality work. The tutors really model what’s possible and I’ve learned from them how to be adaptable. When I graduated, I got a job for seven months working as a Commis Chef with some front of house at The Settlers then worked in New Plymouth for a while because my grandmother was unwell down there.”

“When I returned to Whangarei I went around town on foot looking for work and in doing that spoke to the Murray, General Manager here. They had someone leaving who was working in both reception and the restaurant so that gave me an opportunity to test the waters by working in different departments.”

“At first, I struggled because reception involves new skills but I’ve now grown in confidence, thanks to everyone here at Distinction. The whole team has been so understanding and supportive as I've been learning and I’ve now found where I’m going in the industry. I’ll see what unfolds from here.”