Student Jewels Lodewijk, serving Giselle Wren and Olivia Brincat during the Year 10 cookery assessment.
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Students served a restaurant-worthy three-course meal to several special guests and teachers during a certificate two cookery assessment on Wednesday, November 19.
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The sit-down meal was served to 14 people at Sporties, with several VIP guests in attendance including Moira Shire Council chief executive Matthew Morgan, Federal Member for Nicholls Sam Birrell and education co-ordinator for NCN Health Elisha Penman.
Moira Shire Council chief executive Matthew Morgan, Federal MP Sam Birrall, Will Trenerry, CSC principal Kimberley Tempest, regional development Australia co-ordinator Claire Connolly, Olivia Brincat, CSC teacher Carly Marriott, La Trobe University’s Claire Doherty and NCN Health education co-ordinator Elisha Penman.
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Business management teacher Carly Mariott said the event was about giving the students real industry experience and a pathway after school.
“We like to make it an event to showcase what our students are doing, and it's just a great opportunity to bring industry to connect with Cobram Secondary College,” she said.
“It was a great success, it had a really good energy, there were some good contacts in the room in terms of people who knew a lot about the vocational pathways industry.”
The students cooked up a storm with a chicken Caesar salad as an entrée, slow-cooked beef on a bed of mash with sauce for the main and then a citrus tart for dessert.
“The three-course meal was really great, something you’d expect if you went out and paid for it,” Ms Mariott said.
Mr Birrell said every dish was impressive and it was a privilege to enjoy the lunch prepared by the students and internationally trained chef Antonio Zardo.
“These students are gaining practical skills that can turn a passion for food into a successful hospitality career,” he said.
Student Milla Aldridge and Chef Antonio Zardo cooking up a storm for the Year 10 VET cookery assessment.
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NCN Health education co-ordinator Elisha Penman said attending the lunch was a great opportunity to discuss regional pathways and the needs of local kids.
"NCN Health and CSC have developed a great local partnership recently, including a strengthened work experience program and further collaborations into 2026 to support students into local employment pathways,“ Ms Penman said.
Ms Mariott said it was about creating a locally grown future workforce by partnering with local businesses such as Sporties.
“Our experience with Sporties has been such a success, there's nothing to stop us from trying it out in different industries and giving our kids the best opportunity,” she said.
“I think the outcome was a really positive experience for the cooking students, they got to show off what they'd learnt, and we all got a chance to sit down, enjoy a meal and talk about how we can replicate this great model across the community.”