"Everyone at The Delaunay is so friendly and open. By doing an internship there you get to see what the kitchen is really about and you can always ask questions. They're so willing to share their insight with you and that's great."

How did your time with us come about?

I was doing a Patisserie course at Le Cordon Bleu and in addition to the nine months spent there you have to do a three-month placement at one of their partner restaurants. I had a look at the options available and an internship at The Delaunay looked really attractive as it was quite focused on going 'back to basics', which I liked the sound of. The other good thing about The Delaunay is that it's got The Counter and Afternoon Tea service, so there seemed to be a good variety of options I'd get to explore.

Have you always been interested in patisserie?

Well, no actually… I started out as an engineer! I was an environmental engineer for about four years and then I got tired of office life. I've always loved baking and was always in the kitchen whenever I had free time. When I told my parents I was interested in doing this internship at The Delaunay they were really supportive of me; they said you don't have too many commitments at the moment so why not go for it!

Tell us a little about a typical day at The Delaunay?

In The Delaunay pastry kitchen there's 2/3 shifts per day, so in the morning you mostly do all the preparation work including making the cakes, doing service etc. It's really, really interesting. You do some chocolate work, too. Then in the afternoon it's more about decorating the cakes, again service and prepping for the next day etc. Every aspect is really interesting so it's impossible to choose the one I enjoyed the most.

How did you find working with The Delaunay's Head Pastry Chef, Regis?

Chef Regis is amazing. He's so willing to teach which is something I particularly loved about this internship. He doesn't hold any information back - he's just so willing to share his knowledge. He's been doing it for such a long time that you learn so much from him and it's hard for me to leave because of him really!

How did you find the training given by Corbin & King?

Well I came here without any practical patisserie knowledge at all to be honest but I was taken through it step by step. They were all so willing to show me and teach me. They always say 'if you have any questions, just ask!' so that was really good.

Did you know anything about The Delaunay before coming here?

To be honest, no! I had a friend who always said how good the Stroganoff at The Delaunay is but that's about it! That was the only thing I really knew. After I heard about it through Le Cordon Bleu, I did my own research and became interested in it…

Have you've enjoyed your time here overall?

Absolutely. I would stay if I could, but sadly I have to go back to Perth… My next job will definitely be in the hospitality/patisserie world though - engineering has taken a back seat!

So would you recommend doing an internship to those wanting to get into hospitality?

Yes, it's a really good place to start. I've actually spoken to some of the other students at Le Cordon Bleu and said 'Get to The Delaunay! Chef Regis is so good!'

I think everyone here is so friendly and open. You get to see what the kitchen is really about and you can always ask questions. They're so willing to share their insight with you and that's great.