General News
9 February, 2023
Barb receives top cooking honour
NAROGHID local Barbara Porter was recently recognised as an honorary life member of the Australian Culinary Federation Victoria for her passion for cooking.
NAROGHID local Barbara Porter was recently recognised as an honorary life member of the Australian Culinary Federation Victoria for her passion for cooking.
The Australian Culinary Federation is the Australian branch of the World Chefs Association, under which a variety of competitions are held globally.
Ms Porter’s cooking journey began when she answered an ad in the paper to become an apprentice chef at age 41 in Bendigo.
“I thought I’ll have a go at this because the ad said there was no age barrier,” she said.
“Apprenticeships were not available when I was a young girl, it was only for boys, and aged apprenticeships were even rarer.
“But I was selected from hundreds of applicants and I loved it the minute I walked in the door.”
From there, she has travelled the world, including trips to Singapore, Germany and Thailand, for cooking competitions as both a judge and competitor.
“I loved the logistics that went with the competitions straight away, and nowadays it is so diverse and varied,” she said.
“There was never a day where I didn’t want to go to work.
“I love cooking, It’s my passion.
“The time I spent on competition preparation would be equal to what someone would spend on their football, cricket, tennis or netball.”
Her friendly personality led to her making many friends worldwide, across decades she described as the “best of her life”.
Ms Porter said she was humbled by the honour.
“I’m very humbled,” she said.
“I couldn’t believe it. I thought it had to be someone else.
“During the presentation function, Australia Culinary Federation president Keith Jackson did not tip who was getting awarded, so when it was mine I couldn’t believe it.
“It was just beautiful, and I’ve since received congratulations from one side of the world to the other.”
Ms Porter was nominated by Australian Culinary Federation Victoria director Keith Jackson and seconded by famed Melbourne-based Sous Vide chef Dale Prentice for the commitment, time and
effort in her various roles as a competitor, judge and mentor.
Her goal is to compete in one more competition before turning her attention primarily to judging and mentoring up and coming chefs.
“I want one more competition next year,” she said.
“But I still want to judge and mentor.
“Mentoring is very important to me; I still have things I want to learn, but there is also things I want to impart.”
Ms Porter offered simple but tried-and-tested advice to aspiring young chefs.
“Look, listen and ask questions,” she said.
“I still ask questions, and I can still learn.”