Fifteen Foundation

In 2006, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver approached a former Box Hill Institute student and friend Tobie Puttock to head the Australian Fifteen Foundation’s Jamie’s Kitchen Australia.

Jamie opened his Fifteen restaurant in London in 2002, followed by restaurants in Cornwall and Amsterdam. Melbourne, located at 115-117 Collins St, was the fourth of its kind to open.

Box Hill Institute’s Centre for Hospitality and Tourism Studies Centre, has now trained four groups (88 students in total) through the program. The applicants are interviewed at Box Hill Institute over three days with the final portion of their interview based on a culinary tasting.

The prospective apprentices then undertake an intensive 10-week kitchen operation cooking program in which the students are exposed to various challenges both personally and professionally.

Once students successfully complete the initial program, they work at Fifteen alongside the Chef de Partie for six to eight months. They then return to Box Hill Institute and enrol in their second year of cookery to complete their formal qualification. The Centre for Hospitality and Tourism Studies continues to support and train the apprentices as they travel along their culinary journey.