Linda aims to be chief chef in future

People

By CLARISSA MOI
FOR chef Linda Torohin, life is more than just clocking in and out at the work place.
Linda, 27, a mother of one from the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, is a junior chef at the Hilton Hotel in Port Moresby.
“There are times that I find myself wanting to give up, because I thought that clocking the hours was all that mattered. But there’s more to life than just clocking the hours.
“Customer satisfaction and trainings provided to up-skill us are what motivate me to keep doing what I’m doing now.”
She attributes her achievements to her dad.
“My dad is one of the greatest inspiration in my life. He always encourages me to never give up. He always tells me to take every day, a step at a time. I am where I am because he believed in me.”
She developed an interest in cooking when she was awarded a scholarship to study at the Fiji National University in 2014.
“Cooking was not really my hobby. But when I got a scholarship to study at the Fiji National University in 2014, and was selected to do commercial cookery, I developed the interest in cooking.
“I worked for Airways for three and half years after coming back from Fiji. I further developed my skills in cooking there.”

“ My dad is one of the greatest inspiration in my life. He always encourages me to never give up. He always tells me to take every day, a step at a time. I am where I am because he believed in me.”

Linda joined the Hilton Port Moresby in February last year joining the kitchen production section as a junior chef.
“We are doing more trainings now. Our new executive chef (Neil Abrahams) makes sure that everything we do in the kitchen, we do it the right way. It motivates us to do more training and to be better at what we are doing. Most of the staff are really happy with the trainings.”
Linda is one of the 30 hotel staff who recently completed a culinary programme under the WorldChef’s Academy.
“Most of us don’t know the basics in culinary needed for the entry level. Executive chef (Neil Abrahams) introduced the WorldChef’s Academy to us.”
Abrahams said as part of the hotel’s philosophy and supporting staff training, the next step was to get their staff to be recognised as certified commis chefs (assisting chefs in different work stations) globally.
The WorldChef’s Academy is represented in 110 countries around the world. Certificates acquired under the programmes offered are recognised in those countries.
Through the program portal, Linda and her colleagues at the Hilton hotel accessed a foundation level of culinary education, providing them with the basics that set the standard for an entry-level job in a professional kitchen.
The programme was offered via a web-based platform offering an offline study mode, where they were able to able to complete the programme.
“We were really happy because all the basics of culinary are in that programme. It’s a really great feeling because it is the global leading hospitality certification.”
Her favourite dish?
“Mashed potato salad and lamb rare meat, and it has to be medium.”
Linda believes that PNG women are versatile and naturally talented.
“We should encourage and motivate each other and start putting to use what we’ve been blessed with.”
Chief chef Abrahams thinks that Linda has the potential to be a leader and also has a bright future in the kitchen.
Linda hopes that in the next five years, she will work her way up the ladder to the top rung.
“I want to be the chief chef.”