Simplot Foodservice: Principal partner of the Australian Culinary Federation’s Australian Young Chefs

Mikaly’s passion for cooking shines through

The subject of this issue’s Young Chefs column is Mikaly Smith, a 21 year old third year apprentice from Rockhampton in Queensland who is currently completing a Certificate 3 in Commercial Cookery through Central Queensland University TAFE. Mikaly is one of the young chefs selected to attend this year’s Australian Culinary Federation Conference in June.

Mikaly has always had a passion for cooking: “My mum and grandma always cooked so I had a strong cooking and baking background. I’ve always loved being in the kitchen, trying different recipes, playing with sweet and savoury, and I did hospitality all through high school. But after I left I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do – I was working front of house as a barista, but I was also able to do a bit of baking and help with the dessert menu at times, and that’s when I realised I could actually pursue it as a career.

With her interest piqued, it was the Covid lockdowns that pushed Mikaly to finally decide to take the plunge into doing an apprenticeship. “During Covid I was baking for a lot of people, and that love of cooking and sharing food really came through. When I started back at work I realised I was spending almost all my time cooking, so I thought I may as well get the skillset and qualification that goes with it. It was an opportunity to turn my passion into something more than just working to get some extra cash.”

Another motivating factor was the opportunity for travel that a career in cooking can provide. “It’s such a universal skill which can take you anywhere, and I was really keen to travel prior to Covid, and just finishing school as Covid hit. So I had those two years that followed to really think about it and make my decision to take it up seriously.”

Mikaly lives in Rockhampton and works in Yeppoon, which is 38km away on the coast. “I’m in the third year of my apprenticeship and estimated to be finished midyear. There aren’t so many educational choices here as it’s a regional area, so the Central Queensland TAFE was my best option for a Certificate 3. The TAFE is good but resources are limited so I’ve had to do a lot of extra learning to reach what I wanted to achieve – like asking my employers to teach me particular skills.”

A supportive employer

Creative Cater, Mikaly’s employer, is not only one of the best catering businesses in the area, it’s also been very supportive of her. “Prior to establishing the business, the owners had a café in Yeppoon called Whisk, which was one of the most popular in the area – people used to line up for their breakfast and lunch. I started my apprenticeship there and then they decided to close the café and expand the catering business which they had been running as a sideline. They asked me if I wanted to come over to the catering business with them and I’ve been working there for close to a year now. We’re the number one wedding caterer in the area and very much in demand – we have weddings booked in for 2024 already! We also have quite a following for our sweets, we used to supply wholesale to Gladstone and they would sell 400 of our donuts each week!”

The business operates an onsite premises and two food trucks – “a lot of our venues are out on rural properties, or they have kitchens but we prefer to use our own facilities. We have one truck set up for coffee and cake and the other is a full kitchen with ovens and grill plates. It’s a family owned business run by my head chef and her husband who also helps out – and they employ a pastry chef as well as myself. We can do anywhere from one to three weddings a week as well as corporate catering and everything else in between.”

Mikaly has built a strong working relationship with her head chef – “She has about twenty years’ experience in the industry and she loves what she does. She’s always pushing, looking at what we can do differently to make things better, keep it interesting. If there’s something I want to learn, I ask her to teach me and she’s been very open to helping me get to the level I want to get to. I love working there – it’s something different every week, it’s not like working in a restaurant kitchen where you’re always doing the same menu. That keeps it fresh and interesting.”

Success in the competitive arena

As part of her commitment to learning everything she can and pushing herself out of her comfort zone, Mikaly has also enjoyed success in the competitive arena. “I competed last year in Nestlé Golden Chefs Hat and won a Bronze in the Southern Queensland region. Coming from regional Queensland, you have to travel to Brisbane to compete for Golden Chefs and it was my first ever competition so I didn’t really know what to expect. I found it a great learning curve – just being able to watch the others who might have competed five or six times already and seeing what I could pick up from them, as well as pushing myself in cooking different dishes and working out how to use the Nestlé products in a recipe. I thought, if I want to see what’s out there and experience cooking as a whole, I have to push myself, I have to see what other people are doing, and competing is a way to be part of that.”

Mikaly was also selected twice as a finalist for the Proud to Be a Chef program: “The first time Covid happened so we were encouraged to re-apply for the next year, and I got through again and went to Melbourne this February for the 2023 round. Again, it was a great experience – you’re with 32 other apprentices who all absolutely love what they do and want to be there. It’s such an interesting experience and there’s so much to learn and so many connections to make, from going into the restaurants and sitting with the chefs, learning first hand from them – you get a full insight into what they’re doing.” 

Mikaly is planning to compete again in this year’s Nestlé Golden Chefs Hat – “I believe it will be midyear, so I am definitely looking at doing it again for the experience. I’m also looking at the apprentice competitions that Tabasco is sponsoring.”

Looking ahead, Mikaly wants to move into the pastry and bakery spheres: “I think that’s what I love the most. In Rockhampton you can do a Certificate 3 but to focus on pastry and bakery I’d have to move, so that is the plan because I just find those areas so interesting. That’s where I’d like to end up – I’m not sure where I want to go but I’m open to anywhere, as each step will take me further along the way. There’s no set plan as such, I just want to travel and work in different places and get lots of experience working with different people and different food.”

You can share Mikaly’s apprenticeship journey through her Instagram page @mikalymakes.

If you’re an apprentice chef or know of a young chef who would be interested in joining Australian Young Chefs, you can find out more by contacting membership@austculinary.com.au

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