NSIA: News

2013 Minimum Wage Information

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 13:46:00 +1200

As NSIA hospitality students with either a residents or international passport you will be entitled to the minimum wage for work in any business in New Zealand. Make sure you know your rights and what you are entitled to before you start working. Get yourself a contract and a job description to keep your self safe in employment.

Key point:

The adult minimum wage must be paid to employees aged 16 years and over, who are not new entrants or trainees:

New entrants are 16 and 17 year olds who have been employed for less than 200 hours or three months; who are not supervising or training other workers; and who are not trainees.

Trainees are employees aged 16 or over who are required by their employment agreements to undertake at least 60 credits a year in a registered training programme.

Minimum pay rates must be paid to all employees whether full-time, part-time fixed-term, casual employees, working from home and people paid totally or partly by commission or piece rates.

There is no minimum wage for employees aged under 16 but all other employment rights and entitlements still apply.

The minimum wage rates are reviewed every year. As of 1 April 2013 the adult minimum wage rates (before tax) that apply for employees aged 16 or over are:

$13.75 an hour, which is

$110.00 for an 8-hour day or

$550.00 for a 40-hour week.

Anyone who thinks they are being paid less than the minimum wage should call the Department of Labour on 0800 20 90 20.

You can find the information on Links:

http://www.dol.govt.nz/er/minimumrights/minimumpay.asp

http://www.dol.govt.nz/er/pay/recordkeeping/index.asp

Source: 2013 Minimum Wage Information

NSIA Chefs Connect with Nitro Circus

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 08:44:00 +1300

North Harbour Stadium hosts the Nitro Circus performing amazing motorbike acrobatic stunts that wowed the crowd. This has become an annual stunt fest to push the boundaries of human riding capabilities and adrenalin levels.

A brief from the promotion web site says it all “Nitro Circus revolves around the world’s greatest freestyle motocross rider Travis Pastrana and his crew of top action sport athlete buddies and enablers. Imagine if Evel Knievel and eight of his equally insane buddies had a television show where they tried to top each other’s stunts week after week. That’s Nitro Circus.” At the sell out circus event on Saturday night Austins Catering was responsible for the staffing that provided the onsite food and beverage service outlets.

To build their team they call upon NSIA to help supply suitable kitchen staff that can handle the pressures of a large event like Nitro Circus. Around twenty junior chefs fronted for the variety of roles required to cover corporate and public cuisine needs.

One of the junior NSIA chefs Sammit gave a post performance comment “the event was awesome and amazing to be part of… I had a great time working for Austins as the teamwork was fun – we also got to taste some of the food.” These opportunities give the training chef a chance to use their new skills and boost their confidence to gain a future part time or full time job.

Source: NSIA Chefs Connect with Nitro Circus

NSIA Graduation 2012

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 08:34:00 +1300

Over a hundred and thirty graduates along with family and friends filled the rows of the packed graduation hall at the AMI stadium on the North Shore. The atmosphere was alive with rocking country songs by Trevor Stevens that helped set the scene for a ceremony with a difference. Everybody was kept entertained throughout the proceedings by the colourful humour of the master of ceremonies Earl King riding on the country and western theme. Along with the receiving of graduation certificates there were a number of top students presented with special awards for their excellence in specific areas of training outcomes. These awards were wonderfully supported by sponsors from the industry who value the training efforts of the Academy and see the importance of investing in future talent.

Head of Academy Tim Aspinall describes the significance of the day, “It’s fantastic to see an increasing number of our graduates becoming an integral part of the local industry. We are definitely having a big impact on the Auckland service and culinary scene. Our success is a result of the committed staff at NSIA who dedicate a huge amount of effort to support and up skill the hospitality trainees that pass through the Academy. It is great to see the graduates’ success in completing the courses and gaining great positions in the industry as this is truly what makes us feel a sense of pride and satisfaction – as the students’ success is our success. At NSIA we believe that in the end it is all about people, people, and developing the best in each other. It certainly is an up lifting sight to see all the graduates dressed in regalia with faces shining expectant of a bright future.”

We at NSIA wish all the 2012 graduates a successful future in New Zealand and wherever their career may take them. We hope that you take every opportunity to make the hospitality world a better place through your excellence of service skills and strength of personality.

Left: NSIA Top Student Catherine with NSIA tutor Trevor Stevens

Note:You can see further photos on the Official NSIA Facebook site.

NSIA Special Achievement Awards 2012

These awards are for students that have made continuous effort to achieve a high standard of professionalism in their tasks.

They are being rewarded for their hard work, skills and attitudes. This is NSIA’s way of acknowledging our very best students.

NSIA Diligence Award

Chen, Xia Yun (Charlotte)

The award was presented by Marisa Bidois from the Restaurant Association

NSIA Commis Chef Of The Year

Tyagi, Himanshu (Himanshu)

Steven Barnett from Southern Hospitality presented the award to the graduate.

NSIA Patisserie Student Of The Year

Kim, Jae Youn (Jae)

This award was presented by Craig Johnson from CSC Buying Group.

NSIA Beverage/Barista Student of the Year Award

Sun, Kai Xu (Emma)

Wendy Scapens from Altura Coffee presented this award.

The Grand Chancellor Workplace Award

Kuruppu Mudiyanselage, MaduraMadusanka Sanjeewa Rajasooriya (Sanjeewa)

The award was presented by Graham Hill and Joanne Kwidor from Hotel Grand Chancellor

H.S.I. Student Workplace Award

Kajaria, Pritesh Deepak (Pritesh)

Presented by Michelle Fowler of HSI, New Zealand

NSIA Top Student Award

Proudly sponsored by NSIA

This award recognises the student that has shown the most passion, flair and talent for their chosen career, they have represented NSIA in the industry and have repeatedly shown strong potential for a long and successful career in the hospitality industry. They have demonstrated excellent theoretical and practical knowledge, as well as leadership skills, while studying at NSIA.

This was awarded to:

Catherine

Tim Aspinall, Head of Academy, presented this award.

Source: NSIA Graduation 2012

NSIA’s graduate wins prestigious NZ Pastry Chef of the Year Award 2012

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 14:41:00 +1200

It was a night of high praise at the Ellerslie Event Centre for exceptional chefs who competed in the 2012 National Culinary Fare. The Salon is in its 20th year and continues to draw large crowds that come to see the chefs and front-of-house competitors battle it out for the medals and top awards.

Joyce Zafra was one of these highly trained individuals who competed in the pastry categories and came out top of her section. Joyce comments on her recent achievement, “I was shocked and overwhelmed to receive the ‘Pastry Chef of The Year’ award at the National Culinary Fare prizegiving this year. This could only be put down to all the long hours of practice, and the support of my chefs. I have put a lot of time into preparing and fine tuning my dishes at SkyCity kitchens and feel this has helped.”

Asked about her work environment Joyce says, “I am enjoying the SkyCity work environment so much. Every day is different and has its own challenges because the place is very busy and alive. As a Commis Pastry Chef I work with some great chefs like the Assistant Head Pastry Chef Bjorn Heller and Head Pastry Chef Robert Bok. They have really helped me develop my pastry skills.” Chef Bjorn comments, “We are very proud of Joyce as she never gives up at any task. She works extremely hard and has a great attitude. We see her as a very good team player who supports the other staff and the team leader. Her results at the Culinary Fare are great for her and SkyCity.”

Joyce Zafra with Assistant Head Pastry Chef Bjorn Heller from SkyCity

Joyce mentions that, “At North Shore International Academy I gained a lot of skills and knowledge in the culinary arts. I consider studying at NSIA as the beginnings of my training path as it gave me a great foundation in basic kitchen skills. Last year I also competed in the Culinary Fare through NSIA and gained a number of medals in the Live Dessert and Cold Dessert categories. I’m now looking forward to the future to see where this leads me.”

Joyce with NSIA Chef Tutor Earl King at NSIA

NSIA Chef Tutor Earl King who was the trainer for Joyce in 2011 Culinary Fare competitions expresses his reaction to the award, “I felt very proud to be a vital link in her progress. It is what we look forward to in our graduates, to see them make it out there in the hospitality industry”. The Head of NSIA followed up with his thoughts on the outcomes, “Here at the Academy we strive to make sure that there is a strong culture in place for all of our students to have the opportunity to succeed. This result goes to show that NSIA is capable of developing talent for the industry. We are certainly honoured to be one of the steps in Joyce’s culinary career. We look forward to seeing where her future culinary journey takes her”.

Source: NSIA’s graduate wins prestigious NZ Pastry Chef of the Year Award 2012

7 years in a row, NSIA continues to honour its “excellence award”

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 17:13:00 +1200

North Shore International Academy (NSIA) dominated once again in this year’s New Zealand Culinary Fare, picking up the 2012 Training Excellence Award for the seventh year running. The Fare, hosted by the Restaurant Association, provided the perfect opportunity for emerging talent from the Academy to test and hone their skills in a competitive environment. This year’s results have continued to endorse the quality of NSIA’s tutors and training facilities and their passion for developing great staff for the local hospitality industry.

The New Zealand Culinary Fare is the largest culinary competition in the Southern Hemisphere, comprising both culinary and front of house categories. This year, the Auckland ASB Show grounds hosted around 1,000 competitors across 66 classes, and attracted thousands of visitors over the three-day event. The competition contributes approximately one million dollars to Auckland’s economy each year, bringing together stake holders from across New Zealand including competitors, support teams and spectators.

The skill level of the competitors is always increasing, and the judging panel is constantly raising the bar, making it tougher each year to come away with the gold. However, in 2012, entrants from NSIA managed to exceed their medal count of previous years and also gain 11 “Top Category” titles. NSIA students have once again excelled in their commitment to being the best that they can be and the results speak for themselves.

When Head of Academy Tim Aspinall was asked about the 2012 outcome he said, “Ka-mau-te-wehi – fantastic! The success of our Academy is built upon the students’ success. Their success is the future of NSIA and the hospitality industry. Our passionate tutors believe in the competitors and have installed self-belief throughout the training process. This passion has culminated in a legendary result, with NSIA receiving the Training Excellence Award for the seventh successive year”.

When asked about her participation in the event, NSIA student, and silver medal winner (first Prize in the Live Dessert category), Jae Youn Kim said, “The whole training experience gave me a new set of skills and techniques. I had never entered such a big event. I was so nervous throughout the competition that my legs couldn’t stop shaking, but through it all my confidence has grown enormously. Thanks for supporting me NSIA.”

The management staff at NSIA would like to commend and thank all the tutors and support staff for their effort, commitment to the cause and personal investment into the lives of the students competing at the National level. They look forward to the future success of their students as they develop careers in the hospitality industry nationally and abroad.

Below is a summary of NSIA results:

61 students participated and won a total of 68 medals:

• 10 Gold

• 39 Silver

• 19 Bronze

• 1 Merit

NSIA also won 11 Top Categories including:

• Chocolate Dessert

• Pasta Dish

• Formal Breakfast

• Margarine Carving

• Live Dessert

• Corn-fed Free Range Chicken

• Fish and Seafood

• Beef Dish

• NZ Shellfish Main

• Vegetarian Dish Main

• Café Beverage

Source: 7 years in a row, NSIA continues to honour its “excellence award”

NSIA Culinary Fare Olympics

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 14:58:00 +1200

An extremely competitive day held at NSIA Tower brings out the gold in the Academy’s rising talent.

An intensive and time precision demanding day organised by Jason McGeorge and Tim Aspinall who utilised the collective expertise of the NSIA teaching staff.

This event was given an extra touch of Culinary Fare realism by the fantastic Master of Ceremonies Roger Mail pouring the pressure on the competitors to complete the given task for their specific category. This occasion was set in motion to heighten and hone the necessary preparation and essential key components that will help the students on the day of the actual National Culinary Fare competitions.

There were many NSIA student trainees competing for both the hot and cold cooking sections, static desserts, live margarine carving and various front of house categories. The preparation put in by all the students was brilliant and this paid with great results across the board. Each competitor gave 110% effort in order to build their skill set and confidence leading up to the Nationals on the 19th to 21st of August.

Head of School Tim Aspinall unequivocally states “This was one hyper active event, with our focused competitors and our tutors functioning as judges who all performed extremely well. This was all helped along by a massive student crowd support throughout the day. Well done to all our competitors and we believe the best for the coming major culinary event on the 2012 calendar”.

We are all looking forward to the big National Culinary Fare event being held at the Auckland ASB Show grounds with our NSIA students successfully performing amongst the 1000 plus competitors. See you there!

Source: NSIA Culinary Fare Olympics

The flourishing Petal Cupcakes Company where NSIA is an important ingredient

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 16:55:00 +1200

The owner and developer of a unique style of cafes, Laurel Watson, was recently interviewed to discover the reason behind the company’s sweet success.

The Petal Cupcake Company has two vibrant cafes which are situated in New Market and Ponsonby are breaking new ground with flavour and style.

When setting up the business their goal was to have a point of difference that would define them in away that their customers will remember and promote to their friends.

“We set about utilising non standard methods in food production as opposed to the ones used by the majority of cafes throughout the industry; we were after baking goods - just how your grandmother would have made them.” Says Laurel Watson

Laurel has spent the last two and a half years developing the perfect cupcake but she would rather eat a good piece of cheese. “I am firstly a chef and not a baker however I did enjoy the process of decorating cakes and they may have been the connection point” says Laurel.

Laurel’s background has consisted of nearly 30 years in the food industry, which includes ten years as a TV chef for TVNZ’s Good Morning – incidentally on which she spent time telling the audience that she was terrible at baking. Concurrent to this she was teaching at Wilton Cake Decorating Courses at Milly's where she gave very successful cupcake classes that were always sold out. She also worked at Essential Foods magazine helping to edit and produce articles for the publication but this was eventually forced to close down so she decided to work for herself.

She thought that if she can make cakes that she likes to eat then she can make ones that the general public would love to eat. “The ones you get in the supermarkets are designed to last, they tend to be just like cardboard boxes and that have a bland appeal, where they tended to be dry in texture and that the icing is often very gritty. – I wanted real fresh and full of flavour” states Laurel.

“I have a brother who lived in New York at the time of developing the products and he was surrounded by the food industry where they produced very popular cup cakes. So I got him to assess the quality and appeal of our cupcakes and asked him to bring back real velvet cupcakes for comparison. This helped to confirm that we were on the right track.”

“In my preparation of developing a sellable product I was icing a cupcake one day and I noticed that one of the finished iced cupcake tops came out unusual. I was about to reject it but I had a closer look and the appearance and shape was that of a rose – This was a moment of serendipity which gave birth to the ‘Petal’ name of the business – in reflection it really was at a time of confluence between people, place and quality of ingredients like the Givaudau Company which provided the essences for the different aromas and Fresh As who provided the dehydrated powdered flavours”

The company has gone from using 12.5Kg amount of fine icing sugar to over 260kg a week in their production facility. That is growth due to the moment that has occurred over the last two and half years.

As with any successful businesses there is always a story of the battles fort and won to establish their place in the industry.

“Setting up a food business is not for the soft hearted as we had our fare shear of walls to break through – we were trying to get the idea out of the box and onto the market but this was at the height of the global financial crisis in 2007 where banks had closed their pockets to start-up companies with little evidence of future success. Another challenge we had was to develop safe food handling practices that satisfied the local council regulations. OSH was another government entity to please, however it was us who proactively approached them to discuss options and methods and whom we actually found to be a great resource and force for making it happen. We then had to coordinate staff to help with the output and production of our baking product range. We were fortunate to be introduced to Tim Aspinall the new Head of Academy at North Shore International Academy in Auckland. He then contacted one of their pastry chef tutors who introduced us to a highly motivated baker (NanHa) for our business. From there is has been a wonderful relationship of expansion and creating further employment opportunities for the graduates coming out of the Academy. We now have six highly skilled staff members from the culinary training academy NSIA who make up a good proportion of our production team. We look forward to seeing the growth both in the business and the relationship with the training academy” Says Laurel.

Laurel with some of the NSIA Bakery staff

You can find further details on Laurel and the variety of cupcakes in her cafes on www.petalcupcakes.co.nz

Source: The flourishing Petal Cupcakes Company where NSIA is an important ingredient

NSIA Graduation Ceremony 2012 Application

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 10:37:00 +1200

It is with great pleasure we invite you to the NSIA Graduation Ceremony 2012. This will be an occasion to celebrate your success together with your fellow students, friends, parents and tutors. I sincerely hope that you can attend this gala event to receive the official endorsement of your accomplishments.

NSIA Management Team

Program Schedule:

Date: Thursday, 15 November 2012

Venue: 44 Northcote Rd (AMI Netball Centre Complex Facilities)

Students Arrive: 9.00am

Guests Arrive: 10.00am

Ceremony Starts: 10.30am

Any queries by Telephone 09‐442 3456

Please ensure that we receive your Expression of Interest to attend the Graduation Ceremony by Friday, 26th Oct 2012.

Click here to download the form, fill the form and return it to our reception.

Source: NSIA Graduation Ceremony 2012 Application

NSIA students on the top of the rankings at the 2012 Auckland Regional Culinary Fare

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 10:28:00 +1200

8 Gold, 20 Silver, 6 Bronze - NSIA students on the top of the rankings at the 2012 Auckland Regional Culinary Fare

The recent Auckland Regional Culinary Fare was held at AUT on 23rd and 24th June. Again NSIA proved its quality and standing amongst the regional training institutes through their excellent performance in the major categories, by winning 8 Gold, 20 Silver, 6 Bronze medals. Gaining top of class in six different categories was the icing on the cake for all the effort put in by the NSIA team. They were: Classic Cocktails, Chocolate Dessert, Tea Pastries, Nicoise Salad, Live Cupcakes and Barista.

The event is designed to create a positive and supportive environment focusing on hospitality industry skills as well as giving our juniors some exposure to competitions and expected standards before the National which commence on the 19th August 2012.

NSIA campuses have been echoing with the sounds of searing steaks diffusing complex and subtle aromas, steaming espressos, the shaking of cocktails and whip of table cloths being professionally placed. The excitement and expectations of success at the competitions had steadily built amongst the Academy’s competitors. Early on the morning of Saturday the first categories fired up to start the Regional with competitors having completed their mis-en-place and tutors giving their last gems of advice. One medal winner Yamali Panjwani commented “I was extremely nervous on the day as it was my first time in the cocktail event…it was an exciting, confusing, thrilling, tense experience and when I came to know that I was awarded a gold in my category I was on top of the world…now I am looking forward to competing in the National.”

With over 300 entrants this year, the competition was intensely tough. Jason McGeorge, who was the Salon Coordinator for the NSIA students, reflected on the outcomes of the Academy’s entrants “The dedication and professionalism displayed by our team of competitors was, as always, a credit to NSIA, and it has been a great pleasure to be involved with such a passionate group of individuals who all have fantastic futures in front of them. Congratulations to all!”

NSIA has always had the passion and goal to provide opportunities for their students that will set the candidates in a strong position that launches them into their professional careers.

The Head of Academy Tim Aspinall expressed how proud he was of all the students and their trainers who competed on behalf of NSIA. “I would like to wish the best of success to the entire host of dedicated NSIA competitors for the next round of the highly anticipated competitions, which will be held from the19th to the 21st of August at the ASB showground’s in Greenlane Auckland.”

(The New Zealand Culinary Fare is the largest culinary competition in the Southern Hemisphere, playing host to more than 1,000 competitors battling it out in over 60 classes, and with the expectation of 5,000 plus visitors. cf. Restaurant Association)

Source: NSIA students on the top of the rankings at the 2012 Auckland Regional Culinary Fare

NSIA students host ASEAN HOM's delegation

Wed, 30 May 2012 15:09:00 +1200

On 25 May 2012, NSIA was honoured to host a fantastic lunch event for a group of highly regarded diplomats.

It was a great opportunity for the Academy to present our high quality service and to show the excellent educational settings and resources we provide for our students. The NSIA student community represents diverse background including the countries of ASEAN. Students from these countries had the opportunity to meet these diplomats and to share their interesting and worthwhile experience at NSIA.

The visiting delegation and support staff included:

HE Mr Justice (Ret) MPH Rubin, High Commissioner, Singapore

HE Mr Noppadon Theppitak, Ambassador, Thailand

HE Mr Antonius Agus Sriyono, Ambassador, Indonesia

HE Mr Nguyen Hong Cuong, Ambassador, Viet Nam

HE Mrs Virginia Honrado Benavidez, Ambassador, Philippines, Chair ASEAN HOM’s Group

Mr James Koh, Acting High Commissioner, Malaysia

Mr Marcos A.S. Punsalang, Consul General, Philippines

Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade

Mr Warwick Hawker, Director Auckland Office

Mrs Coralie Berry, Executive Officer Auckland Office

The Head of School Tim Aspinall, welcomed the visitors. He said that it was a wonderful opportunity to showcase New Zealand hospitality education to senior representatives of ASEAN counties.

Coralie Berry, Executive officer at Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, responded to Tim Aspinall and said “I would like to say Thank you to you and your team at NSIA for hosting our ASEAN HOM’s delegation on last Friday. It was a most enjoyable occasion and I know that the HOM’s particularly enjoyed the friendly, professional atmosphere. It was great that the HOM’s could meet students from their countries who are obviously enjoying their time at NSIA.”

For this visit, NSIA students provided chef and front of house services. They served 3-course meals to the guests as part of their training programmes.

Source: NSIA students host ASEAN HOM's delegation

NSIA Graduation 2011

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:39:00 +1300

The 2011 NSIA Graduation was a great finale to a very high achieving year for the Hospitality Academy now based in Central CBD Auckland.

It was a great display of colourful regalia, passion and exuberance throughout the ceremony with special guest performances to delight the multitude of attendees.

The new Head of School Tim Aspinall opened the event with an inspirational speech and encouraged the graduates to aspire to being the best. Tim said “To do this one must never forget where you have come from and te ora tanga kote maharatanga (Life is about remembering all that is wonderful in this truly wondrous life we share)”.

Students from a variety of hospitality and culinary arts disciplines had their opportunity to ascend the stage and receive their diplomas and have their photos taken with the head of Academy. Students graduated from the National Diploma in Hospitality (Management (Level 5) & National Diploma in Hotel, Hospitality and Management (Level 5), Diploma in Professional Cookery (Level 5) and Diploma in International Culinary Arts (Level 5), and also the National Certificate in Professional Cookery (Level 4).

The annual event was attended by representatives of the hospitality industry coming from large hotel chains and major catering companies. They were treated with a number of unique and special entertainment items such as the Te Kura Kaupapa Maori performance group who produced beautiful songs and a very powerful haka. This was followed by the Tamil cultural group performance containing some very talented young stars, along with humorous acts from our very own home grown talent in the way of the South America cultural group and Korean cultural group performances.

The ceremony was highlighted by the NSIA Special Achievement awards which are the Academy’s’ way of acknowledging the excellence in many of NSIA’s high achieving candidates both internally and externally in the industry. The eight categories were sponsored by the hospitality partners that work with the Academy to develop talent and launch careers.

This exciting event was a perfect way to celebrate the many successes of the Academy for the year 2011 which includes moving into the new 7 floor NSIA Tower on Symonds Street, gaining the Training Excellence Award at the national culinary competitions (along with many other individual medals by the NSIA trainees), and having a successful review by NZQA.

NSIA staff and all its trainers wish the recent graduates a wonderful career ahead and we look forward to the year 2012 and what fantastic opportunities it can bring to the industry and New Zealand.

NSIA Special Achievement Awards 2011

These awards are for students that have made continuous effort to achieve a high standard of professionalism in their tasks.

They are being rewarded for their hard work, skills and attitudes. This is NSIA’s way of acknowledging our very best students.

NSIA Diligence Award

Cheong, Eun Sol (Lucia)

Award was presented by Barbara Smith, Team Leader for Cookery programmes on behalf of Mark Gyles of Gilmours, the sponsors.

NSIA Commis Chef Of The Year

Na, Jin Hoon (Daniel)

Steven Barnett from Southern Hospitality presented the award to the graduate.

NSIA Patisserie Student Of The Year

Zafra, Joyce Rae

Barbara Smith, The Team Leader for Cookery programmes presented this award on behalf of Craig Johnson from CSC buying Group.

NSIA Beverage/Barista Student of the Year Award

Kang, Min Sun (Jade)

Leanne Waite from Altura presented this award.

NSIA & Eden Park Events Award

Charwin Richards

Maria Syme from EPC presented the award.

H.S.I. Student Workplace Award

Rajendran, Ilavarasu (Ila)

Tim Aspinall, Head of Academy, presented this award on behalf of Michelle Fowler of HSI, New Zealand.

Novotel-Ellerslie Hospitality Student of The Year Award

Shetty, Nanda Vishwanath (Nanda)

John Parker presented this award on behalf of Novotel Ellerslie.

NSIA Top Student Award

Proudly sponsored by NSIA, in loving memory of Otto Groen QSM

This award recognises the student that has shown the most passion, flair and talent for their chosen career, they have represented NSIA in the Regional and National Culinary Fare and have repeatedly shown strong potential for a long and successful career in the hospitality industry.

This was awarded to:

Yuen, Lee Chun (Katrina)

Tim Aspinall, Head of Academy, presented this award.

Source: NSIA Graduation 2011

NSIA’s Junior Chefs Feeding the French at the Rugby World Cup

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:23:00 +1300

NSIA’s Connect team was given the opportunity to find 46 skilled NSIA students to work at Kermadec restaurant at the Auckland City Viaduct during the 2011 Rugby World Cup!

During this time Kermadec would be hosting the French Rugby Team so they needed the extra hands! The students were asked to head down to Kermadec on a Saturday morning to be shown around their work for the next two months. The students had huge smiles on their faces as they realized how amazing this opportunity really was. Not only was the popular seafood restaurant an excellent environment to unleash their training skill set but that they would also be part of the third largest sporting event in the world.

Starting in August four students went into the kitchens every weekend to start the prep for the busy two months ahead. In September the hard work really began with 40 students working on a 24/7 roster in the busy kitchen. Comments from the Chefs at Kermadec reflected the skills of the students chosen to work “The students are really good! They are getting through the work faster than we thought they would” Says Head Chef Rob Richardson.

The students are gleaning a lot from the other chefs at Kermadec and are having a great time helping to feed the French team. They are all excited about the experience they are gaining so far at Kermadec and are very grateful for this amazing opportunity which they won’t be forgetting it any time soon!

Source: NSIA’s Junior Chefs Feeding the French at the Rugby World Cup

2011 survey reaffirms the success of NSIA graduates

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 10:02:00 +1200

NSIA is proud and pleased that so many of its graduates have been employed in the hospitality industry after completing their studies. As an ongoing process, NSIA conducted its second employment outcomes survey for the year 2011 in August. A sample of 448 out of 849 graduates was accessible and surveyed to assess the value of outcomes from their learning at NSIA.

NSIA is very keen to know ‘what is the value of outcomes for its learners?’ and ‘how are they performing in the employment market?’ In order to answer these important questions, graduates were asked about their employment, the relevance and usefulness of their course to their current jobs, and whether they have enrolled for further studies. .

Where our graduates are and what are they doing?

The identified outcomes are remarkable with an overall employment rate of 82.6% where 81.9% of graduates are employed in a job that is highly relevant to their learning at NSIA. The employment rate for graduates from Cookery programmes is almost 90% and for hospitality graduates, it is 75%. “It is a great pleasure to know that 99% of our graduates believe that their learning at NSIA helped them gaining employment”, Eddie Yuan, NSIA’s Managing Director, said. “This is a very high rate and 1% increase from the last year’s survey”, he added.

A high percentage (82.6%) of surveyed graduates have gained employment after graduation and employed in various positions ranging from Chef, Commi chef, Head Chef Assistant, Chef de Partie, Second Chef, Sou Chef to Head Chef, Baker, Store manager, Supervisor, Café Manager, Duty Manager, Restaurant Manager, to Restaurant owners. This results showed a similar situation as for the previous survey where 196 samples were surveyed.

Employers of these graduates differ from cafes, restaurants to hotels and self-employed businesses and spread over hundreds of hospitality business organisations in New Zealand. Another cohort of these graduates (12.95%) are engaged in further studies either in hospitality and business disciplines or other fields of higher education. Some of them are at NSIA and other institutions include Massey University, AUT, University of Canterbury, and University of Otago etc.

The survey results highlight the stunning successful employment rate. We are delighted to see so many of our graduates in the industry playing an important role and contributing to the growth and development of a great hospitality environment. NSIA believes that these outcomes are very important in meeting stakeholder needs and the continuous quality assurance of the Academy

Finally, a message to our graduates: Please keep in touch; let us know where you are; and invite your classmates to make contact, too.

Email: admin@nsia.ac.nz

Source: 2011 survey reaffirms the success of NSIA graduates

New competitions, new leader for NSIA

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 17:41:00 +1200

New head of School at North Shore International Academy Tim Aspinall said that he is honoured and privileged to be part of such a wonderfully supportive and successful team of people.

Tim has been associated with the hospitality industry for the past 40 years, and these experiences have led him to a rewarding and fulfilling career, which have now led him to this wonderful opportunity.

Tim also said “To follow in the footsteps of such a wonderful person is indeed a great privilege and honour”. (Referring to the late Otto Groen QSM)

There are some great opportunities out there and I will relish this opportunity to be at the pinnacle of my experience, and my life to lead this academy forward.

Of course being at the head of such a successful Academy is not possible without the ongoing support of the entire NSIA team and that has led us to achieve the Training Excellence Award for the 6th time.

The competitions create such a wonderfully positive feeling, during the whole competition process, before during and after the competitions that the students and staff really enjoy the school spirit and energy that they create.

I would like to thank the NSIA Directors for their ongoing support of the students and the NSIA staff, and Jason Mc George the NSIA event coordinator, for his energy and drive in organising the practices, the teams, the trainers and the students. You have done a marvelous job in achieving your goals during this year’s Regional and National Culinary Fares- Incredible, truly incredible.

We are all looking forward to what next year’s salon can bring

Artistically Yours, Tim Aspinall

Source: New competitions, new leader for NSIA

NSIA Proves Professionalism by receiving the Training Excellence Award for the Sixth consecutive year!

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 18:19:00 +1200

North Shore International Academy (NSIA) has continued to prove its professionalism in training by receiving the 2011 Training Excellence Award at the New Zealand Culinary Fare on 19th of July. This year’s achievement sets NSIA apart as the only tertiary institution in New Zealand to have maintained a track record of winning this award for six consecutive years – a clear indication of the quality and high standards of its training along with the enthusiasm and passion of its students and hospitality instructors.

This hotly contested event is comprised of over 70 categories covering both the kitchen and restaurant sides of the dynamic industry. It provides a platform for hospitality participants to match themselves against their counterparts from across New Zealand (including entries from Mexico and Australia) to compete for prestigious industry awards and prizes. The outcomes bring national recognition for successful competitors and institutions that get behind this fantastic event that hones the next generation of industry professionals.

NSIA students proudly brought home 16 Gold, 26 Silver and 18 Bronze medals in this year’s competition. NSIA competitors also gained top scores in 12 different categories over the three days of intense competition. This was the culmination of 61 competitors entering over 23 categories. These were not easy wins as students competed with a large number of competitors from other institutions and organisations including top New Zealand restaurants and hotels. This achievement sets a high benchmark above industry expectations and in turn increases the expectations of quality in educational outcomes for tertiary education providers in this field.

Jason McGeorge, one of the senior lecturers at the academy who was responsible for coordinating NSIA’s trainers and competitors for the National Culinary Fare, says, “All the hard work that goes into facilitating the participation of our NSIA competitors is worth it when you see the students win an award and their posture and confidence is lifted. They suddenly realise that they can do well in the industry. The successful outcome of collaboration between trainer and student releases a sense of satisfaction of a job well done.”

Runjeet Lakhaney, one of NSIA’s career services consultants believes that the training journey the participants take to make it to the competitions builds their confidence, time management skills and awareness of the professionalism required to be at the top of their game. “The competition also helps to ignite their career potential knowing that employers are keener to employ candidates that have achieved recognition on a national level” he says.

A two time medal winner, NSIA graduate Sol Lee, who won gold at the Nationals, expressed her appreciation at being part of the competitions. “It definitely helped improve my skills and personal development. It was a great chance to gain further training from experienced tutors which gave me the confidence to go all the way. I was nervous at the competitions due to the level of the other competitors but this gave way to being proud to belong to NSIA, an Academy that achieved so much at the competition?” She is now adding the achievement to her CV and it has already helped to get her a trial for a pastry chef position in the Auckland region.

Newly appointed Head of Academy Tim Aspinall said he felt honoured to be associated with such a committed team of people and be given the task of accepting the 2011 Training Excellence Award on behalf on North Shore International Academy. “These great results encompass our hard working team and their vision, passion, time, energy and the trust that they share with their students. The competitions create such a positive feeling around the school. It creates a school spirit and energy before during and after the competitions that the students and staff really enjoy,” says Tim.

We are all looking forward to what next year’s National Culinary Salon can bring.

Statistics:

Total Medal Talley: 60

Gold: 16

Silver: 26

Bronze: 18

Top Winners of 12 Categories: (in order of highest points scored)

Live Margarine Sculpturing Competition, Open Category: 97 points, Gold

Chocolate Dessert open category: 96 points, Gold

Pasta Training Class: 95 points, Gold

Fruit Flan Training Class: 94 points, Gold

Formal Breakfast Dish, Training Class: 93 Points, Gold

Table Setting, Clearing Down and Crumbing, Training Class: 93.5 Points, Gold

Napkin Folding and centre piece, training class: 91 Points, Gold

Pork Dish Open Class: 91 points, Gold

Salmon Dish, Training Class: (points not available) Gold

Corn Fed Free Range Chicken Class: 86 points, Silver

Fish and Seafood Open Class: 82 points, Silver

Beef and Lamb Dish Open Class: 80 points, Silver

Source: NSIA Proves Professionalism by receiving the Training Excellence Award for the Sixth consecutive year!

NSIA: News

2013 Minimum Wage Information

Key point:

The adult minimum wage must be paid to employees aged 16 years and over, who are not new entrants or trainees:

New entrants are 16 and 17 year olds who have been employed for less than 200 hours or three months; who are not supervising or training other workers; and who are not trainees.

Trainees are employees aged 16 or over who are required by their employment agreements to undertake at least 60 credits a year in a registered training programme.

Minimum pay rates must be paid to all employees whether full-time, part-time fixed-term, casual employees, working from home and people paid totally or partly by commission or piece rates.

There is no minimum wage for employees aged under 16 but all other employment rights and entitlements still apply.

The minimum wage rates are reviewed every year. As of 1 April 2013 the adult minimum wage rates (before tax) that apply for employees aged 16 or over are:

$13.75 an hour, which is

$110.00 for an 8-hour day or

$550.00 for a 40-hour week.

Anyone who thinks they are being paid less than the minimum wage should call the Department of Labour on 0800 20 90 20.

You can find the information on Links:

http://www.dol.govt.nz/er/minimumrights/minimumpay.asp

http://www.dol.govt.nz/er/pay/recordkeeping/index.asp

NSIA Chefs Connect with Nitro Circus

NSIA Graduation 2012

NSIA Special Achievement Awards 2012

These awards are for students that have made continuous effort to achieve a high standard of professionalism in their tasks.

They are being rewarded for their hard work, skills and attitudes. This is NSIA’s way of acknowledging our very best students.

NSIA Diligence Award

Sponsored by: Restaurant Association

This year it was awarded to:

Chen, Xia Yun (Charlotte)

The award was presented by Marisa Bidois from the Restaurant Association

NSIA Commis Chef Of The Year

Sponsored by: Southern Hospitality

This year it was awarded to:

Tyagi, Himanshu (Himanshu)

Steven Barnett from Southern Hospitality presented the award to the graduate.

NSIA Patisserie Student Of The Year

Sponsored by: CSC buying Group

This year it was awarded to:

Kim, Jae Youn (Jae)

NSIA Beverage/Barista Student of the Year Award

Sponsored by: Altura Coffee

This award recognises the student that has shown the most potential, flair and understanding of what it takes to succeed in the beverage sector hospitality industry.

This year it was awarded to:

Sun, Kai Xu (Emma)

Wendy Scapens from Altura Coffee presented this award.

The Grand Chancellor Workplace Award

Sponsored by: Hotel Grand Chancellor CBD

This was awarded to:

Kuruppu Mudiyanselage, MaduraMadusanka Sanjeewa Rajasooriya (Sanjeewa)

The award was presented by Graham Hill and Joanne Kwidor from Hotel Grand Chancellor

H.S.I. Student Workplace Award

Sponsored by: Hospitality Standards Institute (HSI)

The Workplace Achievement Award has been presented by Hospitality Standards Institute in recognition of the recipient enhancing and embellishing their studies with the provider in a workplace environment.

This was awarded to:

Kajaria, Pritesh Deepak (Pritesh)

Presented by Michelle Fowler of HSI, New Zealand

NSIA Top Student Award

Proudly sponsored by NSIA

This was awarded to:

Catherine

Tim Aspinall, Head of Academy, presented this award.

NSIA’s graduate wins prestigious NZ Pastry Chef of the Year Award 2012

It was a night of high praise at the Ellerslie Event Centre for exceptional chefs who competed in the 2012 National Culinary Fare. The Salon is in its 20th year and continues to draw large crowds that come to see the chefs and front-of-house competitors battle it out for the medals and top awards.

Joyce Zafra with Assistant Head Pastry Chef Bjorn Heller from SkyCity

Joyce with NSIA Chef Tutor Earl King at NSIA

7 years in a row, NSIA continues to honour its “excellence award”

Below is a summary of NSIA results:

61 students participated and won a total of 68 medals:

• 10 Gold

• 39 Silver

• 19 Bronze

• 1 Merit

NSIA also won 11 Top Categories including:

• Chocolate Dessert

• Pasta Dish

• Formal Breakfast

• Margarine Carving

• Live Dessert

• Corn-fed Free Range Chicken

• Fish and Seafood

• Beef Dish

• NZ Shellfish Main

• Vegetarian Dish Main

• Café Beverage