Normally closed on a Monday night, the Bankstown Sports restaurant was a buzz of activity with the culmination of a week-long work placement, an initiative supported by Bankstown Sports, in partnership with Macarthur Work Placement (MWLP).
More than 60 of the students’ family, teachers and special guests, were treated to a four-course Italian Feast – completely prepared, cooked and served by the Georges River Grammar students.
Crumbed olives stuffed with feta cheese and Vegetarian Arancini kicked off the night and gave just a small taste of the supreme level of skills and techniques to be demonstrated, with each item freshly prepared by the group.
Entrée was an alternate serve of Grilled Haloumi topped with crushed hazelnuts and lemon dressing and scrumptious Traditional Italian Meatballs cooked in a red sauce. Next a Slow Braised Lamb Ragu was offered, alongside Grilled Chicken in a complex mushroom sauce. Exceptional!
Dessert topped off the night, with Pavlova and berries alternated with a divine Vanilla Panna Cotta.
The vision for the night was simple – to give students a chance to gain some real work experience.
MLWP’s Michael Everett says work placement is more than peeling carrots, it’s about seeing how the carrots make it to the final plate.
Jessie from Georges River Grammar said: “It has been an invaluable experience and one we will truly remember and be grateful for.
“We are honoured to be able to be the first group to host such a special evening.”
The program has been able to demonstrate the invaluable community benefit of clubs being able to provide real-life opportunities and experiences to the workforce of tomorrow.
Mark Condi, Bankstown Sports CEO, recognises the strength and mutual benefits of these programs: “To see the enthusiasm and sense of achievement throughout the whole night really resonated with me; we are able to offer experiences to students that will help prepare them for the workforce but also give them confidence to pursue further hospitality studies. I hope to see more of these students among our kitchen teams of the future.”
