GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY

 A lot has happened since Lyall Minhinnick was a finalist in the Young Ambassador Chef competition held last year at Homeland in Auckland.  He has moved from the South Island back to his home turf in Auckland to head up the kitchen team at The Bayview Hotel in Kaiaua. 

Lyall’s talent and knowledge have been in demand since the competition, but it is something very close to his heart that has been a priority for him recently.  Lyall is a Waiuku local of Ngaati Te Ata descent and returning to his old stomping ground has given him the opportunity to mentor a group of rangatahi from the community.

The group of around 10 young people aged 13 – 17 are being taught by Lyall how to gather food and create delicious meals. He is giving them the opportunity of learning basic cooking skills as well as things like breaking down a whole lamb, foraging for produce and making stocks and sauces from scratch.  The group are a mixture of rangatahi who have experienced disconnection from whaanau, school and social interaction. 

 “There is definitely some cheekiness and fun in the classroom when I am teaching and a little bit of rebel behaviour,” he says.  “I have been where they are and putting in the time and effort as a mentor is important to me and will hopefully change their pathway. I can see their confidence and interest in food growing, and the natural smiles that come out during the class gives me a lot of aroha for teaching them – it’s very rewarding.”

 Lyall runs the group with funding from Health Through The Marae whose aim is to help local rangatahi associated with Tāhuna Pa Marae to understand the art of cooking and the concept of the wider hospitality industry.  The group were invited to be part of the Homeland Community Day and Lyall says to be able to bring them in to meet and cook with Peter Gordon was a wonderful opportunity.

There was a real buzz amongst the group at Homeland who learnt to cook scone pizza, beef pasties and pear and chocolate muffins before sitting down together to enjoy what they had created.  Everyone agreed the food was delicious and the extra knowledge they had gained from Peter was priceless.  Working as a team and learning a bit more about what working in hospitality involves was inspiring and Lyall says he couldn’t be prouder of his group of students.

 Check out Peter Gordon’s beef pastie recipe here.