Chisholm Institute – The people who skill people
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Media Release
Date: 30 November 2009
For immediate release
“TAFE gives you the edge”:
Superchef Guy Grossi has the recipe for a great career.
Daniel Migliaccio knows what he wants. The 23-year old Rowville resident looks tired, but mention
cooking and his face lights up.
“I love it,” he beams, “I just want to strive and do better all the time.”
Sitting next to him, his employer and mentor Guy Grossi nods approval.
“If you’re going to succeed in this business, you have to love it,” he says, “But you also have to learn
and practice your craft.”
Daniel is just one of over a hundred apprentices to
have passed through the
kitchens of Guy’s
legendary Melbourne restaurant Grossi Florentino.
Working six days a week – five days at the restaurant and one day at Chisholm Dandenong – for
three years, he’s achieved
his Certificate III in Commercial Cookery and at the same time gained
the kind of invaluable experience that can only come from working in a busy professional kitchen.
According to Grossi, it’s a system of training that’s hard to beat.
A TAFE graduate himself, Guy is passionate about the benefits that he believes TAFE can give to
young people, particularly those entering the demanding hospitality sector.
“TAFE gives you the edge,” says Grossi, “It gives you an extra dimension of experience, of contacts
and of support that can last you for the rest of your career.”
Grossi has been chosen by the State Government to be Victoria’s Skills Ambassador. He will work
with the Victorian Government to raise awareness of the benefits of vocational education and
training and encourage Victorians to undertake TAFE and training courses.
“Doing a TAFE apprenticeship means you get practical, hands-on experience in a workplace while
going to school and learning theory and the finer parts of your craft,” Grossi says.
Being able to test newly-learnt skills in the pressure of a real-world situation also gives young chefs
another vital quality: self-confidence.
“As their skills develop over time, apprentices get a wonderful feeling of accomplishment, and with
that comes a
feeling
of empowerment and self-esteem
which means they can contribute 100%
Chisholm Institute – The people who skill people
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more at work,” Guy says, “Without the
extra element of TAFE going along with the work, it takes
longer to achieve that.”
The end result, according to Grossi, is young people entering the workforce with more skills, more
confidence and a much greater ability to contribute to the businesses they’ll be working in.
Daniel grins and nods.
Having completed his apprenticeship he’s now working full-time at Grossi Florentino and is quick to
give credit to his TAFE trainers.
“The trainers
at Chisholm have been amazing,” he says, “If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be here.
They have been all over the world and have so much experience to share. They’re always willing to
help, even out of class-time, and I feel like they’ve become friends as well as mentors.”
Guy Grossi agrees. The support he received from his TAFE mentors didn’t finish when he left the
classroom. “They were there to provide advice or to answer questions, and they helped introduce
me to a network of relationships, which in this business is crucial.”
It was the example of these trainers, Grossi says, that taught him the single most important thing
that he has learned while achieving his stellar position in the hospitality industry.
“The most important thing is to work very, very hard and be disciplined at it.”
“In our world there’s no space for the mediocre.”
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For further media information contact :
Nat Tunbridge
Client Co ordinator
Marketing and Corporate Communication
Chisholm Institute
Ph: 9238 8307
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