“I came to Australia without speaking English and became a pastry chef in a 5-star hotel”

“I left for Australia in 2015, aged 23, somewhat reluctantly. Many fellow pastry chefs have settled there or plan to do so. So I am also interested in the subject. There are not many qualified chefs and pastry chefs out there The government is looking to bring in experienced people . When you come from France, which is famous for its gastronomy, you will soon be hired.

When I fly to Australia, I already have a real background in the hotel industry. I did a pastry CAP in two years, then a chocolate confectionary CAP in one year, followed by a technical trade certificate in Strasbourg, equivalent to a professional baccalaureate. When I was 20, I joined Cédric Grolet’s Le Meurice pastry shop in Paris. I didn’t realize at the time that it was luck. I stayed there for two and a half years.

But after seven-and-a-half years of training – I started working at 15 – I wanted something else, and I didn’t see myself evolving in the more closed world of palaces. Going abroad is a challenge I want to set myself. I have only flown twice in my life and traveled very little.

When I landed in Australia I didn’t speak a word of English. I have a “working holiday visa” which allows me to stay and work in the territory for a year. A month and a half later, I got a job at a 5-star hotel, the InterContinental, in Sydney. I could have gotten a job even quicker a week after I arrived, but the odds weren’t in my favor.

The first six months are difficult, a time to gain confidence in expressing yourself in a foreign language and consolidating vocabulary. I also meet French people which makes my integration easier.

To continue working, I need to finance an “internship” visa for 1,500 euros. Later, Intercontinental sponsored me for a visa known as a “sponsorship” that guaranteed me four years in their position.

After a year and a half of living in Australia, I realized that I love the country and see myself living there for a long time. The pastry chef profession is not very developed there and I believe my future will be shaped here.

Need to downgrade to get visa

However, I have these four years of stress and I don’t have a solution to stay after that. In Australia, after two years of the “sponsorship” visa, the company can ‘nominate’ us to the government to obtain permanent residency. But I have no guarantee that my employer will. Not wanting to find myself at the foot of the wall on deadline, I started looking elsewhere.

The 5-star Four Seasons Hotel offered to recruit me, but at the level of chef de partie, two grades below the sous-chef position I occupied at the time. In return, they guarantee me that they will sign my apartment. All this happens during the epidemic, restaurants are closed for months, there are a lot of procedures, documents to fill, supporting documents to provide, etc. All in all, a very stressful time.

I will receive my residence permit on July 13, 2021, which is valid for life. Now I can work anywhere in the country. I go through the ranks and today I am responsible for the pastry department across the hotel. Specifically, I manage the hotel restaurant for lunch and dinner (representing around 40 desserts per evening), VIP club and tea time, room service, “click and collect” cakes etc. I manage thirteen people (French, Indonesian, Indian, Korean and Filipino).

A “cool” work culture

In France, pastry chef is known to be a very difficult job. But here, with the same responsibilities, I work very little for a high salary. The work culture is also very different: people are very relaxed, never aggressive and always have a solution to problems.

At the same time, cake making is less rigorous and sometimes less exciting. I try to be a teacher, so the people I work with have to be very strict. At first I was shocked to see someone baking a cake.

Life in Australia is different and pleasant: people help each other easily and respect each other very much. There is great cultural diversity due to the number of immigrants living here.

Outside of work, I walk a lot in Sydney and do many motorcycle rides with my French partner between the various beaches along the coast. The weather is always pleasant even in winter.

In 2022, I was voted “Pastry Chef of the Year” by the NWS Accommodation Award for Excellence, a recognized body in Australia. A first, because the price is initially only for chefs. They created a category for me because they considered my profile very different and very high quality compared to others. It’s great to have this recognition and it shows that we can go overseas. »