LUCIE EVANS

Lucie Evans has completed the Level 4 Diploma in Cookery at the NZ School of Food and Wine.

She is originally from the United Kingdom and was travelling in New Zealand about two years ago now but had gone home for a while with a desire to come back at some point.

Early life and background

Lucie is originally from United Kingdom. She has always had a passion for cooking and discovered the course online, following it up with the school to find out more. “They were really great at the NZ School of Food and Wine because it was a bit difficult doing entry interviews with the time difference between countries, but they were incredibly accommodating around that.

Once I had gotten through the interview process with them for the course, I booked flights and came back a month before the course started in January 2020. I just scraped in the year before Covid.”

Now that you have graduated, what are your goals?  

“I got a placement with a really amazing restaurant in Mt Eden called Pasta and Cuore, as a chef. I’m really enjoying it and am still exploring chef life there. The course gave me the confidence and skills to work in an environment like that. I think confidence is the biggest one for me as I could never have imagined being able to work in the environment that I’m now in and love.”

What are some of your best learning memories of studying at the NZ School of Food and Wine?

“A lot of my questions were about menu planning and how to create a menu that had a good flow. I had questions about how to make a menu work well and learning what being a chef would be like. I was studying at the school during two Covid lockdowns, so I was at home without other students and tutors during those times but I found the way the school taught remotely worked really well and I don’t feel like I lost out on time at all.”

Here are some images from Lucie's Morrocon lunch themed cook - Entrée - Harira soup with parsley flat bread, followed by Chicken & Chilli Kofta with Hummus & dukkah and to finish classic Baklava with dates, apricots and walnuts and rosewater yoghurt.

Lucie and Michelle plating up dessert for service.

Advice for other students?

“Go for it. Before I did this course, I never thought I could handle the pressure of working in a high pressure kitchen but the course totally gave me the confidence and taught me how to get into the life of chef.”