Our second group of apprentices recently had a day with the fantastic crew from Westside Circus. The amazing Jo, Jill, and Stuart guided our guys through a great day of fun and challenges by learning some circus skills that burned up a lot of energy and helped the team work more closely together. This experience then flows into the kitchen environment where team work and a reliance on your colleagues is crucial. We hope to repeat this experience again next year and our apprentices can also teach the Westside Circus crew a thing or two about making pasta.

As part of our training program we help the apprentices develop broader life skills and recently the focus was on health and nutrition. Sherry Strong – nutritionist, chef, and food coach – facilitated a practical session at Prahran Market (This involved budgeting for a weekly shop, the apprentices sourcing ingredients from the vendors in the market and finally preparing simple but nutritious meals in the kitchen of Essential Ingredient.

Sherry has a capacity to engage our young apprentices by bringing energy, knowledge and wisdom to her sessions. The apprentices are looking for a follow up session early next year to further tap into the knowledge and energy that Sherry has to offer.

Matt (1st Year Apprentice): “It was amazing. It has opened my eyes to better food other than the junk food I have been eating. I have had heaps more energy since using some of the recipes Sherry helped us prepare”.

Thanks also to Samantha Bernardo from Prahran Market who helped coordinate the session and to the good people at Essential Ingredient for generously allowing us to use their kitchen space.

City Scramble

Recently Fifteen and Whitelion joined forces with our corporate sponsor Metlink to have a fun day in a City Scramble. Teams of 4 had to race all over the city in a treasure hunt that began at AFL world and finished at Fifteen Melbourne. The teams included a young person from both Fifteen and Whitelion, who were matched up with individuals from some of our corporate sponsors. Tasks included visiting KPMG to obtain advice on job interviews; swinging by Frontyard to see what services they offer to young people; and completing other challenges along the way while using public transport to get from each task.

This fantastic day was organized by our friends at Corporate Challenge. Special thanks to Dwayne Richardson who coordinated a very smooth day and organized the amazing weather!

Our top 2 graduates, Dean and Lauren have just touched down after a whirlwind culinary tour of the Maldives and Sri Lanka. Organised and sponsored by Prestige Foods International, Managing Director Mike Murray was proud "to be able to play a small part in rewarding an amazing year for the Fifteen graduates and continuing their chef training."

Spending 2 weeks under the watch of Executive Chef Joseph Nagy on Huvafen Fushi, Dean and Lauren worked in the islands various kitchens, the most memorable being Salt - the islands premier restaurant. "The presentation and flavours were amazing - I had never seen food prepared like that before" commented Dean. The graduates were also treated to the resort facilities, squeezing in some swimming, snorkelling and spending a night in one of the bungalows.

From there they were met by Prestige's representative, Jerome La'Brooy, in Colombo to spend a few days working at the Five Star Cinnamon Grand Hotel as well as visiting spice markets, street vendors, local temples and even an elephant ride! "The people were amazing" added Lauren "so friendly and giving and the food was incredible".

A massive thank you to Prestige Foods, Mr Marc Reader at Huvafen Fushi and Mr Rohan Karr at the Cinnamon Grand for fulfilling dreams and supporting the Fifteen Foundation.

Chocoholics on a mission.....

Our apprentices were fortunate to experience one of Melbourne’s famous chocolate walks with self-confessed ‘Chocoholic’ Suzie Wharton. While having the first treat of the day at Laurent Boulangerie Patisserie Suzie explained how the coco bean is grown as well as how to identify quality chocolate – accompanied by plenty of samples. The taste buds of our apprentices where challenged by a range of different strengths of chocolate.

In the Royal Arcade the apprentices were able to talk to one of Koko Black’s Chocolatiers who was more than happy to satisfy their thirst of knowledge about chocolate. Self-evidently there was another piece of chocolate waiting for them.

To complete the experience for our apprentices Suzie made stop at Haigh’s Chocolate in the Block Arcade. Here they were able to combine chocolate tasting with gaining knowledge about the history of the chocolate dedicated Haigh’s family.

Finally finishing the day with a last stop at Brunetti at City Square where pastries and a shot of hot chocolate was already waiting for our apprentices. They all had a marvelous day with a lot of chocolate. Special thanks, from the apprentices and the Fifteen Foundation, go to Suzie who made this day extraordinary.

“Suzie is gold. I have never seen anyone talking about chocolate with so much enthusiasm”.
   – Caroline, Fifteen Apprentice

Pictured from left Caroline, Lacey and Suzie

Family and Friends Lunch

The Box Hill kitchens were really pumping as our apprentices took over Fountains restaurant to prepare and serve a meal for their friends and family members. After designing the menu, the Group 2 apprentices divided themselves into sections and cooked a great meal under the watchful eye of chefs Glenn Flood and Andrew Sankey. The food was proudly donated by Prestige Foods and had the guests salivating for more!

Entrée: Steamed Barramundi with rainbow chard and squid ink sauce Main: Braised Ox check with Du Puy lentils, roasted vegetables and red wine jus
Dessert: Cinnamon roasted pear with vanilla bean ice cream

‘The lunch was a huge success and a testament to our enthusiastic young apprentices. It was great to see so much support from family and friends’ commented Peter Brown, Executive Director.

Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation

The second group of Fifteen Apprentices recently enjoyed a tour of Nunawading Primary Schools’ kitchen garden. The program and cooking classes engage young kids to get involved and love their food! A big thank you to Anna Dollard for organising such a fun and interesting tour. The program is loved by the school kids and already in over 25 schools across Victoria.

For more information visit:
> www.kitchengardenfoundation.org.au

From there our Fifteen apprentices traveled to the Abbotsford Convent - an amazing heritage listed site just outside the CBD to undertake a behind the scenes tour with CEO Maggie Maguire. The day was finished off with delicious pizzas baked in 100 year old wood fired ovens. Thank you Ian, Arnie, Dominic and the team at the Convent Bakery, where our apprentices will be involved in bakery classes later in the year.

Thanks to Tina Collins who organised a great day at the first certified organic cooking school in Victoria. Taking in the clean country air and the amazing views of the farm, our new Group 2 apprentices strolled through the orchard, met some waygu cattle, Clydesdale horses, Berkshire pigs, turkeys and then planted a herb bed!

The school embraces organic and sustainability principles making organic food simple and accessible to everyone.  A hearty wagyu winter braise with a potato crust was served for lunch with the apprentices assisting Head Chef , Maria Stuart in the preparation and baking of organic bread and a suet pudding with lemon curd. 

Thanks to Tina, Maria, Sandra, Carolyn, Gayle, Mac, Melissa and the Company Director, Glenys Foster.

Kelly Sly, Luv-a-ducks Cooking School Co-ordinator provided an informative training course for the new Group 2 Apprentices.  They  took part in a practical demonstration where they prepared whole roast ducks, duck legs with accompaniments, roast duck shanks and Chinese Peking duck pancakes.  Luv-a-duck are famous amongst restaurant’s in supplying their ducks including the Flower Drum here in Melbourne.  Visit their website www.luvaduck.com for some great recipes and advice on cooking ducks.  Thanks again for a great training program.

After receiving a mystery box of ingredients the competitors were given 1 hour to submit a menu and recipes, then a further 3 hours to prepare and present their dishes. The judging was intense, with all aspects of the apprentice’s skills coming under the microscope – hygiene, flavour, execution, balance, presentation and timing.

The overall scores were tight, with the honour of Iron Chef 2007 going to LAUREN TYLER – congratulations! Laurens entrée of Grilled lamb, roasted tomato and herb salad & main course of whole baked snapper, Asian greens, capsicum & chilli coulis were cooked to perfection!

The silver medal went to Vanessa Splisbury and bronze to Simon Sheridan. A massive thank you to Anthony Ross from the Langham Hotel & Tim White from Books for Cooks for sponsoring & judging the event. Lauren has been invited to run the IRON CHEF 2008 with our second group of apprentices next year.

‘We always promote teamwork at Fifteen - this is the first time we have put our apprentices head to head. Competition cooking is really challenging, and our apprentices served some great food under pressure’ Commented Glenn Flood, the event organiser.

Master chocolatier, Thibault Fregoni recently conducted an introductory chocolate class for the Group 1 Apprentices. Hosted by Executive Chef, John Savage at the Sofitel, the apprentices learnt about growing cocoa, harvesting and the production process of chocolate. They then tasted chocolate from all the corners of the globe… a difficult task but one that needed to be done! Splitting into pairs, the crew ended the day creating their own chocolate mousse.

Thank you Thibault for sharing your expertise and passion!

The second group of recruits for Melbourne’s Fifteen Foundation recently conducted a tour of the Melbourne Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable Markets. Jumping on board the Tutti Fruiti express, the group of budding young apprentice chefs wove its way through the hustle and bustle of the busy market place, inspecting the fresh produce and gaining a valuable understanding of the care and passion that goes into the items we buy. After a tasty breakfast business development manager Mary Stewart demonstrated the fun, interactive market website. The website www.marketfresh.com.au contains great information on seasonal availability and recipes, so is great for not only chefs but anyone who loves food.

Training and development chef, Glenn Flood, said
‘It is important that our young apprentices understand how much effort goes into the food we use. The growers and farmers, the markets and wholesalers – everyone plays a vital role in ensuring the produce is kept at the highest quality. As chefs we need to do justice to all of
these people by preparing the food to the best of our ability’

A big thank you to Kate Vallence from Bellarine Tourism who provided for a great day for the Group Two Apprentices.

> Click here for more information...

What a first week for the new group of apprentices! Throughout the week the apprentices visited and listened to talks at: Institute of Box Hill, The Reach Foundation, Front Yard, St Vincent's Hopital, Department for Addictive Medicines, Musuem of Victoria, NAB, Sherry Strong, Workplace Connect and the Parahran Market.

> Click here for more information...

Glenn opened the Fifteen kitchen on a Sunday offering all apprentices and staff the opportunity to explore the cooking methods and cuisine of Asia. This included marinating techniques, batters, stocks, sauces and balancing flavours – From Thailand (Pho Soup, a clear broth), China (Char-sui chicken and gai-lan) to Japan (Vegetable Tempura with Shabu Shabu). The apprentices discovered how delicious and easy of these dishes can be.

“The food was brilliant – this is food I can cook at home on a budget, wait til I get home and cook for the missus in Cornwall”
  - Phil, Cornwall, Trainee

Meet Peter Brown

The newest member of the Fifteen Family is the Foundation’s newly appointed Executive Director, Peter Brown.

Peter has had extensive experience in the not-for-profit sector, having served as both a Board member and as an executive.  Prior to coming to Fifteen, Peter was the CEO of The People and Parks Foundation, a national charity established to connect people to the natural environment in order to improve human health and well-being, and build a stronger relevance of parks in people’s lives.

Before moving to The People and Parks Foundation Peter was the General Manager of the Lort Smith Animal Hospital an animal welfare charity that provides quality animal care to people of limited financial means.  Although the Lort Smith Animal Hospital is an animal welfare organisation it also has a significant social welfare agenda.  Before his move into the community sector Peter had a career in academia as Lecturer in Wildlife and Park Management at Deakin University for sixteen years.

Peter said ”I’m really excited by the opportunity to play a major role in the social enterprise that is Fifteen, and look forward to working with our Trainees as they work towards becoming the next generation of fantastic young chefs.”

The Fifteen Melbourne apprentices of 2007 will complete the first year of their chef’s apprenticeship in September. In the lead up to their big day they are taking charge of lunch service every Monday and Tuesday until September under the watchful eye of our Head Chef, Dan Kranjcic.

They'll be doing everything themselves - all the preparation and cooking for each lunch and running every station in the kitchen - giving you a fantastic opportunity to see just how far they've come before they spread their wings and leave us to carve out fantastic careers.

These lunches are going to be really special, so if you want to be part of them you can book online now, or call us on 1300 799 415 and help us to celebrate their success.

We hope to see you soon!

Phil Strachan, one of the top trainees from Fifteen Cornwall joined us for a few weeks before returning to graduate from Fifteen Cornwall in late June. Phil had an opportunity to work at the RACV club, Fifteen Melbourne and also assist at Box Hill TAFE with our new group of apprentices. Phil helped the team with their first kitchen lesson - basic knife skills.

"You don't realise how much you know until you get to teach it. I now see how much I have progressed with Fifteen"
  - Phil Strachan

Fifteen Melbourne has just completed their second intake of disadvantaged youth. From a few hundred applicants, 25 young people have been selected through a series of intense interviews, including a taste test and a 3 day team building camp run by Dwain and Dale from Corporate Challenge. In June they began a 10 week training program at Box Hill TAFE under the watchful eye of teacher Andrew Sankey and Training and Development Chef Glenn Flood. After their basic training they will spend 4 weeks working in some great restaurants around the city.

We look forward to welcoming them into the Fifteen Melbourne kitchen in September!

The Fifteen Trainees along with the Foundation staff, recently went on a tour of Mildaura organised and sponsoring by Mildura Tourism and the Sunraysia Mallee Economic Development Board. They organised a fantastic tour of the region showing and introducing us to Mildura's best of the best! 

For more details click here...

Fifteen Heats Up!

In April our talented young trainees took over the complete running of Fifteen Melbourne for a whole week – serving over 850 customers! This is known as ‘Chefs week’, and is an important part of the training program as it gives the trainees a chance to show us what they have learned over the passed 6 months. After nominating their own head chef and sous (second) chef, the trainees organized themselves into sections and worked with Tobie to create a special menu.

All of the customers were impressed, as were our team of professional chefs who were watching closely all of the time to ensure the food was up to ‘Fifteen’ standards.

Glenn Flood, the Training and Development chef said "It is amazing to think that these guys have only been cooking for a few months - imagine how good they will be in a few years! They should be proud of what they have accomplished"

Well done team!

For more details click here…

At the annual Harvest Festival at Hanging Rock trainees Matt & Vanessa assisted Tobie & Glenn with a live cooking demonstration to about 200 food lovers. The event drew a crowd of around 10,000 people out into the countryside to enjoy food, wine and live music. There was an amazing array of jams and pickles to taste as well as yabbie pies and emu burgers! It was great to be a part of the day's activities at to see 2 of our trainees showcasing a little of what they have learnt over the passed 6 months!

www.harvestpicnic.com.au

Recently 6 of our top performing trainees were generously hosted by Yalumba on a sourcing trip to the world famous Barossa Valley to participate in the process of making wine and to sample local food produce. Trainees witnessed first hand the love and attention to detail that goes into making fantastic local produce.

For more details click here…

Chef, author and food lover Allan Campion took the Fifteen team for a tour through some of Melbournes amazing alleys and back streets to discover the history of Melbournes melting pot of cuisines. Eating our way from store to store, the trainees sampled a range of tasty items from Hong Kong style egg tarts to preserved curried pork! It was an excellent tour taking in some of Melbournes restaurant icons as well as smaller hidden gems frequented by those in the know. Thanks Allan!

Visit: www.melbournefoodtours.com

The trainees were fortunate to have the benefit of listening to the wisdom of Sherry Strong; nutritionist, chef and food coach. Sherry’s enthusiasm, energy and active participation engaged our trainee’s minds to think about better ways to look after themselves. Our continuing education of viable food supplies and quality produce used in the restaurant was reaffirmed by Sherry’s presentation.
 
We would also like to thank Jennie, Mark, Tony, George and Alannah from NAB for hosting the event and feeding us all.
 
"Since the session I have gone out and bought some great fresh produce to make at home. My energy is much better and I am sleeping a whole lot better"
   - Matt, Trainee

Hagens butchery at Prahan market have taken the trainees under their wing, helping them to gain knowledge on identifying and preparing quality meats.

Each trainee spends a week working with Royce, Dan and Joel - watching them breaking down whole carcasses of beef, lamb and pork. They also get their hands dirty making amazing sausages, trussing roasts, and trimming, dicing, rolling Italian meatballs, frenching lamb racks as well as serving the odd customer….

"It was awesome – can I go and work there on my days off?"
  - Jason, Trainee

Doug, the head baker at Abbotsford Convent Bakery is conducting traditional bread making classes for Fifteen. Baking in their 100 year old wood fired ovens, the trainees are learning the history of bread, nutritional value of property fermented dough and the ‘bakers touch’.

Thanks to Arnie, Dominic, Doug and the Abbotsford Convent Bakery team for being an important part of our training program!

Alkis and Steve from the Tasmanian Pacific Oyster Company are spending some quality time with one trainee every week down at the Melbourne Fish Market. The trainees are leaning how the market operates, selecting quality seafood, identifying different species of fish, shucking oysters and scaling and gutting – from pink eye snapper to whole tuna as large as some them!
Thanks Tas-Pac!

“The 5.30am start is a bit tough but worthwhile”
  - Lauren, Trainee

Debbie and Chiara from LaVazza Coffee kick-started our day with a coffee making class! From the history of the bean to selection, blending and making the perfect cup it was a morning well spent with the trainees, chefs and waitstaff. Thanks guys!

A big thanks to A-Z Bonsai Nursery for running an amazing workshop for all of the trainees. We all selected, pruned, trimmed, wired and trained some great bonsai to take home. It was a meditative day putting our creative flair to use and learning about presentation, balance, nurturing and passion.

"This was one of our best trips yet – and it didn’t have anything to do with food!"
  - David G, trainee

We began the tasting with fresh curd, to identify the flavours of the milks (goat, sheet, buffalo and cow) before moving onto surface ripened white rind, washed rind, blue, cheddar and finishing with hard cheese (Parmigiano reggiano).

Thanks to Sam and the Calendar Cheese Team!