One of ISS Australia’s head chefs has been passing on his culinary knowledge to a group of eager school students. Rob Fillmore has been volunteering his free time to hold planned cooking classes for around 10 high school students.
Learning by cooking
The classes, held by Rob and ISS Sous Chef Graeme Holst, offer practical experience for the kids to learn basic cooking skills. Held at Leinster Primary School’s home economics laboratory every week, Rob helps the class cook their chosen recipes. The students are given the chance to discuss what they’d like to cook‚ balanced between some healthy options and the odd special treat.
An avid volunteer and full-time Executive Chef at BHP Nickel West Leinster, Rob is representing ISS professionally and all the kids are having a great time learning new skills from an expert.
“The students love it! Some were a little shy to begin with, but soon came out of their shell as their confidence started to grow,” he says. “I even had one parent contact me amazed as her son had come home and asked to help make dinner.”
In partnership with the school, Rob and his team targeted a group of high school students to increase engagement and teach them some life skills for when they leave home.
“We try to pass down skills that they can take with them through life, focusing on different areas such as budgeting, allergens, dietary requirements, product substitution, time constraints and different cooking styles.”
As head chef of a multicultural team, Rob loves the freedom of expression cooking allows – and hopes to pass this onto his students.
“We all come from different backgrounds and nationalities, which means we all have varied cooking styles. ISS encourages us to express these influences in our food; through flavours, colour and aesthetic appeal. I always encourage my students to cook creatively, drawing on their own life experiences.”
Building a community spirit
For Rob, offering his services as a volunteer also meant he could demonstrate ISS’s core values in person.
“It’s the perfect opportunity for us to put our service language, Service with a Human Touch, into action. It’s been wonderful to give back and see the company’s positive image grow even bigger for Leinster.”
Rob asserts that ISS supported his volunteering efforts from the get-go, giving him a release to host the cooking classes during working hours.
“ISS has always been willing to help the community – whether that’s through sponsorships or staffing events. I’m proud to work for a company that supports its people and encourages us to share our skillset.”
This year, Rob was given an ISS award for his positive attitude and dedicated efforts in both the community and the kitchen.
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