The WITH Tas Committee was delighted to announce Nilarach (Joy) Varahakaporn as our 2019 scholarship winner and introduce her to guests at the recent wine-tasting event at Cool Wine.
Interviewers were very impressed with Joy’s dedication to her chosen path in hospitality and enthusiasm for her new home state of Tasmania.
After growing up in Thailand, Joy also studied in the USA and China, gaining a Bachelor of Communication Arts with Major in Public Relations as well as Chinese language qualifications. Three years ago her dream of becoming a chef became overwhelming so she quit her marketing job and moved to Australia.
Whilst studying in Melbourne at William Angliss, Joy worked as a chocolatier at KitKat Chocolatory and as chef assistant with catering company, The Big Group. She credits these two jobs with making her fall even more in love with the hospitality industry.
Her move to Tasmania came last year when Joy visited Hobart with a friend, saying “the city took my breath away”. Joy holds a Cert IV in patisserie and hospitality and is currently working on a Cert IV in Commercial Cookery at Frontier Education whilst working at The Honey Badger in Salamanca.
Joy says “Choosing Tasmania as my study destination is one of the best decision I have ever made. With the continued growth in tourism, the special events that I enjoy, like cooking classes and food stalls at the Taste of Tasmania or the winter feast during Dark Mofo, plus all the inspiring chefs such as Vince Trim (MONA) and Craig Will (Stillwater and Black Cow Bistro) whom I look up to, I am certain I will be able to grow alongside this beautiful city and achieve my dream of owning my own business one day.”
Please join the WITH Tas Committee in congratulating Joy on her scholarship win and keep an eye out for this passionate hospitality professional.
