Now the winner of the Margaret Fulton Scholarship, the aspiring 18-year-old chef carries the much-loved family recipe in her cookbook as inspiration for her culinary future.  

“I was really happy to get the opportunity to apply for this one,” she said. “There needs to be more opportunities like this because it’s really amazing when you get them.” 

Combining her HSC studies at Crookwell High and Certificate III in commercial cookery at TAFE NSW Illawarra Goulburn, she was among six finalists for the scholarship.

Happy for the opportunity to expand her cooking skills, the first prize included a $1000 cash prize, a week of dining experience in a capital city of choice, a knife set and a cooking uniform. 

Working as a school based apprentice at the Taralga Sports Club last year, she was mentored and inspired by cook Lisa Francis.

“I wasn’t just taught how to cook, but efficiency in the workplace, customer satisfaction and how to enjoy your job,” she said. 

With dreams of opening up her own simple bistro restaurant in a regional town like Taralga, she hopes people will be receptive of her ideas.

“In bigger cities, there is a flexibility in what can be served,” she said. “I want to bring everything I’ve learnt from my career to my bistro even though it might be different to what people are accustomed to.”  

Tahlia plans on taking up her one-week dining experience in a Sydney restaurant and encourages local youth to pursue their dreams. “Give everything a go, do the best you can with what you’ve got. And if it didn’t work out, you just try next time. You have nothing to lose,” she said.

Tahlia’s prizes included;

TAFE Goulburn campus Choices Day for 2017 will be open to the public between 9am-1pm on December 3.