Larissa Dimech

2024 | Trade - Hospitality and Food Technology

In honour of Tony Bleasdale

“Sustainability is integral for global food security and I would love to delve into this area to form a link between sustainability and product development.”

I have been obsessed with all things dessert since the age of 8, and I have been lucky enough to turn it into my full time career. I have been working as a pastry chef since I finished year 12 in 2020.

Larissa’s scholarship relates to these UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs):

I have always been known as the ‘innovator’ within my family, as I have spent my whole life creating artistic projects, foods and gifts at home from a young age. I am a problem solver who really enjoys understanding how something works, and analysing any potential solutions to make it more feasible.

In 2024, having felt limited in my career as a pastry chef but still having a passion for food, I decided to study a Certificate IV in Food Science and Technology.

Through the course I have discovered the true broadness of this industry and I am really enjoying learning about food in an analytical way. I love learning about food testing methods, nutrition, food labeling, microbiology and chemistry. I am especially interested in food product development, a career pathway that this scholarship can help me become established in.

I am also very aware that sustainability is integral for global food security, so I would love to delve into this area in order to form a link between sustainability and product development.

The patisserie industry has made me realise the insurmountable amount of food wastage that occurs, and I personally believe that there is a lot of room for improvement.

This scholarship is a huge opportunity to take me out of Western Sydney, explore food through new eyes and gain new experiences experiences from both a career and adventure perspective.

I currently work with a lot of people from overseas and I find it so interesting to learn about their food cultures. I believe that my passion for food will help me to succeed in my career, and this international scholarship will further elevate my potential.

A Global Footprints Scholarship is your opportunity to do more of what you love. What have you done at work that you are proud of or passionate about?

My first and foremost passion has always been to make delicious, high quality food that is pleasing to the eye. It wasn’t until I began working within the industry that I realised I love seeing the happiness and excitement it can bring to customers. It is quite empowering to see my work bring people together and provide them the opportunity to appreciate the sweeter things in life.

When working in a patisserie, my favourite parts of the day always involved food product development. I love having the freedom to produce a brand new product through trial and error as I transform it from the prototype stage into a multilayered, aesthetically pleasing dessert.

Some of my favourite desserts that I have created in my apprenticeship include the strawberry cheesecake choux, honey macadamia eclairs, butterscotch pecan croissants and a hot chocolate tart.

My work at Black Star pastry has taught me to appreciate the thoughtfulness and time that goes towards making an intricate and sophisticated dessert. Each component of a product is strictly executed for consistency and visual effect. I am very grateful to have access to this innovative environment as it has helped me to broaden my ideas and technical skills.

I find food product development so interesting due to the limitless flavour combinations and unique design elements. New trends and different cooking techniques mean that there is always more to learn, and numerous ways to carry out one task.

I feel very fortunate to work at Black Star Pastry as it has taught me a lot about Asian cuisine and traditional ingredients, including matcha, sago, yuzu and ube. I love telling people about my job because it is so unique to our Australian culture and people are always interested to learn more about it.

A Global Footprints Scholarship is for you if you are passionate about creating a sustainable future. Describe something you have done at work or are working on, that helps the environment. Why is it important to you?

I have always aimed to work sustainably throughout all of my patisserie jobs. Not all my past workplaces valued sustainable but, fortunately, at Black Star Pastry there is no food wastage at all as food is collected and placed into a Pulpmaster machine that breaks down the food into compost.

I have also thought of another solution to help reduce food wastage within the hospitality industry that I will share. Most bakeries, cafes and restaurants are unaware of the amount of food that they are wasting, as it is all usually thrown into general waste bins.

I believe it would be extremely informative for businesses to place all food wastage into a separate bin and then weigh this at the end of each day. Maintaining a Food Waste Weight Register would allow the company to document and compare the amount of wastage that occurs each day.

This system would increase employee awareness of food wastage helping them to reject the ‘Out-of-sight-out-of-mind’ attitude. Integrating this system as a fun daily work challenge would help to boost employee morale and overall interest in the matter.

As a BBM Scholar you can choose to go anywhere in the world. Where will you travel with your Scholarship and why?

With the Global Footprints Scholarship, I would like to travel to the United Kingdom. I would have access to an abundance of new resources and cutting edge technologies that may not be available here in Australia. I am determined to witness and learn about different areas of the food industry, and I believe that this would offer an array of opportunities to grasp.

I would love to learn more about it from within a plant-based or sustainably conscious developer. I would love to learn about alternate ingredients such as soy and varying processing methods that can be used in order to mimic standard foods within society.

In the food product development role, I would like to participate in a diverse range of areas including costings, nutrient calculations, package design, and production set up.

I discovered the business Tastehead, they are food product developers that work as an agency, offering their expertise to a range of businesses including Cadbury and Heinz. I noticed that they are extremely focused on producing plant-based products, creating products such as vegan pork scratchings, vegan butter and non alcoholic cocktails. They support a client in developing a product, starting from Idea generation, through to recipe development, sourcing, costing, food testing, and PR launching.

Tastehead would be able to introduce me to the world of sustainability and the integral connection it has to food product development.

After seeking guidance from my TAFE teacher, I am also keen to learn more about the food product development business Kerry. They are a multinational company that innovate and develop new food products, emphasising their responsibility to sustain and support the longevity of our world.

With over 21,000 employees in R & D, manufacturing, sustainable nutrition, consumer insights, food safety and quality, and sensory testing, I would have so many opportunities to try out different areas within the business. Kerry would offer me an abundance of sophisticated learning and training opportunities due to their large scale facilities and international expertise, being located in over 30 countries including ireland. I am confident that there are many other sustainable businesses out there, and I would be grateful for assistance to find a variety of suitable options.

“Larissa’s responses to the application questions demonstrate a clear energy and intellect that deserves a greater platform … very impressive. It’s a BIG decision, and a brave one, to change direction and at the same time expand her options. This in my mind demonstrates a very positive attitude to succeed and there is little doubt she will take advantage of every international opportunity in a very positive way.”
– Global Footprints Assessor Panel