INDUSTRY FEATURE
Industry Feature - Kate Hambleton
From Masterchef to My Kitchen Rules, Nigella Lawson to Gordon Ramsay, Kate Hambleton watched television cooking shows through her teen years, but never really gave any a second thought after the credits rolled. At the same time, Kate was being asked the inevitable question of what she was going to study or do after school but she didn’t have a definitive answer. “When I was inhigh school and I was 15 years old, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do career-wise. I was doingahospitality subject in school andmy teacherwas actually a chef so he put me in a kitchen and got me a work placement, and I really enjoyed it.” Kate thrived in the fast-paced environment of busy restaurants honing her craft and soaking up information and inspiration from industry professionals and took every opportunity she could. “I just thought everyone in the work needs to eat so why don’t I become a chef and I can travel around the world”. And she did. Kate travelled and worked across Europe and the Unite Kingdom for over three years, embracing every opportunity along the way. Returning to Devonport in 2019 with a wealth of experience, opportunity came knocking, or more so
scrolling. “Two years ago, I had saw a Facebook ad for a job as a prep chef for a TV show for a two week gig. I just thought that sounds fun! That could be interesting, why not.” Kate secured a role with Ex-MasterChef contestant Ben Milbourne at his company, Cultivate Productions in Devonport. “I had no idea at that point how cooking TV shows worked or anything so I started working as a prep chef for a cooking show produced locally and I just loved it. Preparing food and doing all the behind the scenes stuff for a TV show is somuch fun and seeing how it all works. Everyone watches TV shows and it looks all magic and beautiful but lots of stuff happens tomake that happenwith the organisation and logistics of it”. Kate was the secret mastermind and master preparer behind the MasterChef in Milbourne’s show ‘Food Lab’ which aired on Channel 10 and the SBS Food Network. “It really suited my skillset with everything I had learnt from the industry, from being a head chef and managing people, and coordinating different people and their skillsets, to sourcing ingredients and being
THA HOSPITALITY—REVIEW: APRIL 2021 | 18
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