Learning to cook and understanding the relationship between method, technique and culinary outcomes are key ingredients in helping our students develop acumen for life.  

For Science and VET Hospitality teacher, Ms Colleen Scalone, enlightening Newington students to the scientific fusions between chemistry, raw ingredients and the love of cooking, is a match made in heaven. 

An avid cook herself, Ms Scalone has overseen Newington’s Food Technology and HSC VET Hospitality course for five years.  

‘We offer Food Technology from Years 8 to Year 10 at Newington, and then as a VET Hospitality subject in Years 11 and 12. It’s a subject that’s really popular in both the junior and senior years,’ Ms Scalone says.  

‘The students really enjoy getting out of the classroom and into the kitchen to undertake that real world learning, and to be creative with a different part of their brain than they may use to solve a maths problem or write an essay.’ 

Hands on experience is essential in learning to cook and understanding hospitality, says Ms Scalone. 

‘We do a lot of prac in the kitchen because with my science background I am aware practical experience is a great way of reinforcing theory, and seeing something happen in action, such as a tough cut of meat being transformed by slow cooking into a deliciously tender dish, is a powerful way to help students understand a concept.’ 

Students undertaking Vocational Educational Training (VET) in Hospitality put the finishing touches to their culinary cognition in Years 11 and 12. Tuesday night, this culminated in the annual Hospitality Showcase Dinner in Founders, with eleven Year 11 students preparing, cooking and serving a sophisticated mediterranean inspired four-course dinner to 90 guests. These included students’ family and friends, College leaders, and guest speaker and restauranter, Con Dedes (ON  1987). 

So, what was on the menu? Twice cooked ricotta gnocchi with bocconcini in marinara sugo, slow roasted beef short ribs in red wine sauce, and to finish, poached pears served with rice pudding and toasted hazelnuts. The Hospitality Showcase Dinner makes up some of the students’ VET requirements, and with each student working hard collaboratively to produce the epic meal, student Ethan G explained the course’s appeal. 

‘This subject is a great pathway for students like me who have a real interest in cooking,’ said Ethan. 

“I have a real love of cooking so maybe I’ll do something with it study wise in the future but even if I decide not to, it’s always going to be useful in my life after leaving school.’ 

Fellow VET student Darcy D concurred.  

‘I really like the way Ms Scalone teaches and it’s just a really enjoyable lesson to look forward to. Cooking is a good skill to have and it’s a fun class to be involved with.’  

Student Evan G, who has helped out in his parents’ bakery since he was small, added VET Hospitality also provides valuable insights into the business of hospitality, such as running a restaurant or a food venue. 

‘The subject is rigorous but it’s a different speed to some of the other subjects in Year 11. I’ve always really enjoyed cooking, and it’s nice to also learn more about the business side of food.’  

Delighted by the Hospitality Showcase Dinner, and the warm remarks shared by sated diners, Ms Scalone says seeing students in the afterglow of their cooking performance is always the icing on top of teaching the subject.  

‘It’s fabulous when students feel that deep sense of achievement that comes from producing dishes others really enjoy,’ she says.  

‘Usually in class, there’s the added incentive of students being able to eat what they make but when they feel pride watching people they love, eating what they made, well, then you know they’ve reached the next stage. And that’s fulfilling for everyone.’  

Interest in Food Technology, and the numbers of students electing to study the subject, is growing at Newington. This manifested in the establishment of a new state of the art kitchen recently, as well as a sustainable rooftop produce garden named after the College’s 12th headmaster, Mr Lawerence Pyke. Mr Pyke was a progressive educator who cultivated a period of unprecedented growth in Newington’s history including the opening of Lindfield Prep, and the building of the War Memorial Block at Stanmore Senior campus.

You can read more about VET at Newington here, here and here.

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