Opening doors to the foodservice industry for young chefs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander descent, the National Indigenous Culinary Institute (NICI) was founded in 2012 by industry leaders including Neil Perry, Matt Moran, Luke Mangan and the late Michael McMahon. Other luminaries including Terry Durack, Bill Wavish and Bill Sweeney have lent their ongoing support to the institute, which provides opportunities to work in some of the country’s best restaurants. To find out more we spoke to NICI CEO Nathan Lovett and Mason Hennock, one of the young chefs who has participated in NICI’s program.
Three seasoned industry professionals share their thoughts on the challenges and strategies involved in building leadership skills in today’s ultra competitive hospitality industry.
“The value of mentoring is to get you from where you are to a higher level, and the job of the mentor is to ensure that’s done in a positive and uplifting way.”
So speaks chef Paul Rifkin, who after spending 17 years as executive chef at Campbelltown Catholic Club moved into consulting to foodservice operations, which increasingly led to him taking on a mentorship role to many young chefs and foodservice teams.
