Journey 2 - Next Top Chef in Australia

May 22, 2008 by Mira

I love what I do, I’m a chef.

I haven’t always been a chef, I actually used to be an engineer but that was for a very brief period of time until I discovered cooking.

I decided to do an 8 months cooking course and turn my passion into my work. I studied everything I could including pastry and baking and chocolate making and while I was studying I started working in a few restaurants to gain as much experience as possible.

It’s not easy but it’s like an addiction – if you love it you can’t stop!

And so I was working for over 6-7 years as a cook in France and life was good and busy.

One day my best friends left for Australia…

That was very sad but it was their dream so I was happy for them that they had found the courage to follow their dream.

We were very involved in their process and knew about it a long time ago, once they got their permanent visa in Australia they were trying to convince us to come and join them. They immigrated to Sydney and it took them a while to settle down and feel at home there but after a few months they were very happy there. They both found good jobs and bought a house and wanted us to join them.

My wife and I were trying to have a baby so we felt we have to be near our families in France and can’t leave.

We’ve never been to Australia but they are our best friends and a bit after our baby was born we decided to try and make the move and immigrate to Australia and be near our friends.

We heard that life is much easier in Australia and my dream is to open a restaurant and chocolaterie in Sydney. I know French restaurants are very popular in Australia.

Australia for me represents the land of unlimited opportunities.

Something seems very primal there, more detached from the chaos of the rest of the world and that’s a good thing.

My friends recommended we use the same migration agent they used as they were very happy with their service so we ended up doing that.

As I’m a chef we had to go through Skilled Migration. First we had to get my skills assessed with the TRA, that’s the skills assessing body that assesses cooks and chefs in Australia.

I had to provide very detailed letters of reference about my work experience and had to prove my qualifications and it took me a few months to prepare the documents but eventually we completed this stage and I was assessed by the TRA as a Cook.

The next hurdle was the IELTS, I had to do an English test but studying English wasn’t easy, when you work full time and have a baby and the last time you used your English was when you were 18 then it becomes rusty you know…. So I had to take a private English teacher and study seriously. I did the IELTS and passed it the second time.

Our visa application was lodged 6 months ago and we’re eager to get our permanent residence and arrive to Australia as permanent residents.

No matter what the outcome is, I am happy that we had the courage to go all the way.

I’ve always believed that if we want something we should go for it so that we don’t regret later that we haven’t given it a try.