Baker Jason McDonald secured a major achievement at the 2017 Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) Culinary Skills Awards Night on Monday, October 30.
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Mr McDonald, who currently works at Tank’s Bakery, was the recipient of the Bakers Delight/Michael Blucher award, which comes after only one year into his apprenticeship via CIT.
He started employment with Tank’s Bakery in June 2016 as a mature-age apprentice bakery pastry cook after having worked at Woolworths Yass in their bakery department for 10 years.
Mr McDonald said the award was recognition for his hard work over the years.
“It makes me proud of my work. I’ve been in bakery for about 10 years and had only informal training,” Mr McDonald said.
He thanked Tank’s Bakery for supporting him.
“When I came to Tank’s Bakery, they signed me up for the apprenticeship. In less than 12 months, I’ll finish. The best thing about working here is the small group – we all get along and it’s a happy and friendly environment,” he said.
Despite saying the early hours were the most challenging aspect, he said he had a strong passion for the industry.
“When I was young, I was into other stuff. But when I started baking, I did like it a lot. After the first week, I said ‘yeah, that's what I want to do’,” Mr McDonald said.
Tony Hawker, owner of Tank’s Bakery, said since starting, Mr McDonald had been tremendous.
“The award recognises his passion for industry and it will allow him to achieve more,” he said.
“How many people would like to get up at 2am to come to work? He’s displayed the commitment it takes it to be in this challenging industry,” he said.
As for signing Mr McDonald up for the apprenticeship, Mr Hawker said he was simply “passing the baton”.
“I feel it's good to pass the knowledge on and give opportunities to locals. It happened to me and I'd like to pass that on as well,” he said.
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