wild foods of australia - International Specialised Skills Institute

StatusWe as an industry need to elevate the status of the Chef in the employmentindustry to higher levels to make it more attractive to recruit at thesecondary level and therefore retain the work force.Levels of excellence in the workforceWe need to create excellence in our grading system, at present we have CA(Competency Achieved) CF (Competency Failed) there is no motivation forthe A+ Student to achieve as they know that someone who has less abilitywill pass anyway, but someone with more ability will get the same mark,grade, so no room for excellence identification for the student + nomotivation.The best method is to have Fail below 60% student developing well 60% –70% (pass) validation 70% - 85% and mastering 85% A+ Student with thissystem excellence is assured see example of culinary Arts production skillsrubrics as a tool to implement.The OpportunityWhat will be gained should these gaps be met.There is a tremendous amount to be gained should these skills gaps be met:firstly let’s look at the opportunities.We have a TAFE group of keen and enthusiastic industry leaders in AliceSprings, that has and continues to identify and develop unique flavours andmenus in order to present to the world an Australian food identity. Theseare targeted to our local population and to the national/internationaltourists, by creating a destination brand of cuisine by bringing in ASS andthe creation of something unique to the region. The development andrecipes directed towards the best use of the “wild foods of Australia”produce and then its release out into the market place in the form of aculinary book etc to pass on the “how to” to the general public. There is ahuge opportunity for the culinary education system in the Territory to takehold of this uniquely outback cuisine and style and to encompass it into theeducation of young Australian chefs into the use of “wild foods ofAustralia”, opportunities lie in research into the nutritional properties andorganic cultivation of “wild foods of Australia: and also the research andplanning into the sustainability of these chosen “wild foods", ingredients,opportunities lie in the “destination marketing” of this cuisine for the regionand making it unique and creating job growth and bringing in the muchvalued A$, in terms of Tourism, and the creation of a food trail.What will be lost should these gaps not be metWell the opportunities lost should these gaps not be met will be a lot ofvision and dedication to the course on behalf of a core number of peoplewhose potential and growth in our industry.27