Le interrogator; Emma Miles
Interviewee; Alexandra Oughtred
When did you first discover you wanted to
cook?
I
first discovered I wanted to cook when I was around 7 years old; I snuck into
the kitchen late at night because I felt like making a chocolate cake. I used chocolate nesquick and didn’t know
that it would need eggs and self-raising flour. My mum came out and found me,
made me go back to bed, but cooked the cake I made, and woke me up to taste it.
It was horrible.
How did you get your certificate?
I
studied at BRIT tafe full time for one year and then finished it off with work
placement and a job at the Wine Bank on View.
How did you like it when you first started?
It
was a bit of a pain at first as it was all theory for the first few weeks, then
it progressed to cooking and preparing meals in a classroom kitchen. After
about 4 months we opened the tafe restaurant and begun cooking for paying
customers, which was the part that I loved the most.
How did you feel when you finally got your
certificate?
It
was a very happy moment for me as I was following in both of my parents
footsteps in becoming a chef and achieving my dreams.
Do you think your parents influenced you to
take this career path?
I
think in a way they did, both of my parents had previously owned restaurants,
and I had spent a lot of time there. I think my nonna had a lot to do with it
as well as I used to sit on the bench and watch her while she cooked.
Was there any particular memories cooking
with your family?
A
few years ago my nonno was visiting and we decided we would cook dinner together,
this was the first time I learnt how to make pasta from scratch, there was
flour everywhere and chairs out with wooden poles so we could hang the pasta to
dry before we cooked it.
Was there a particular recipe that was your
favourite?
A
good basic one that I loved to cook for my parents was French toast on the
weekends.
What did you do after you got your
certificate?
I
worked in a slightly upper class restaurant for around 6 months and also a
pizza bar for 1 and a half years whilst I went to tafe.
If there was anything you could say to
someone who was thinking about taking a career path in hospitality, what would
you say to them?
I
would say you have to have an absolute passion for cooking and making sure it’s
actually something you want to achieve and being able to find the right balance
in life when working in the hospitality industry.
When you cook do you feel any particular
emotions?
