Professional Development for Teachers: Culinary Skills at HGT

Explore HGT’s culinary professional development for teachers, from modern cookery and presentation to protein cookery. Enquire with Kiren Mainwaring.

Teaching hospitality means helping students understand both how food is prepared and the professional standards behind each dish. Taking time to develop your own culinary knowledge can give you fresh ideas for demonstrations, practical lessons and conversations about working in the industry.

Hospitality Group Training (HGT) and tourism WA offers culinary professional development designed for teachers and hospitality educators. Through the Chef Ambassador Program, you can explore different skills and techniques with WA’s Chef Ambassador, Kiren Mainwaring. The training focuses on culinary knowledge, professional expertise and confidence, with four class areas to explore.

Key takeaways: Culinary professional development for teachers

• HGT offers culinary professional development designed for teachers and hospitality educators who want to expand their knowledge and confidence.
• Learn from WA’s Chef Ambassador, Kiren Mainwaring, whose career includes professional kitchens in Europe and award-winning restaurants in Western Australia.
• Explore four class areas: Modern Cookery Techniques, Culinary Presentation, Proficient Protein Cookery and Australian Native Cookery, according to your interests.
• The advertised topics include precision cooking, sous vide fundamentals, molecular gastronomy, flavour pairing, advanced knife skills and professional kitchen efficiency.
• Email Kiren Mainwaring to enquire about class details, dates and registration, and discuss which learning areas suit your professional development goals.

Culinary professional development for hospitality educators

HGT’s teacher professional development offers expert-led training across culinary skills and techniques. The courses are designed to be informative and engaging, supporting your own development while giving you opportunities to consider how industry knowledge can inform your teaching.

You may want to refresh a familiar technique, explore a less familiar cooking method or build your confidence in explaining food presentation. Identifying a specific learning goal can help you choose the class area most relevant to your work.

The advertised learning areas include modern culinary trends, restaurant-quality presentation, advanced cooking methods and equipment use. Creative menu development, food safety and professional standards also form part of the programme’s stated focus.

Learn with Chef Ambassador Kiren Mainwaring

WA’s Chef Ambassador, Kiren Mainwaring, brings an international culinary background to the professional development offering. His experience includes training and working in kitchens in Wales, France and Spain, followed by a career in Western Australia.

Kiren’s work in WA includes Dear Friends in the Swan Valley and Co-Op Dining in East Perth, alongside leadership roles at Bread in Common, Coogee Common and Pullman Bunker Bay. His interest in local and wild produce is a recurring theme in his career.

For educators, learning from an industry professional offers an opportunity to connect cooking techniques with the decisions made in professional kitchens. You can read more about Kiren’s background on the HGT staff page.

Explore four culinary professional development classes

The teacher professional development offering lists four class areas, giving you several starting points for your learning. The detailed content of your chosen session should be confirmed when you enquire.

The programme advertises a broader range of techniques and learning outcomes across these areas. Rather than assuming every topic appears in every class, discuss your interests with Kiren to identify the appropriate session.

Modern Cookery Techniques

Modern Cookery Techniques provides a focus for exploring contemporary approaches to food preparation. Across the advertised programme, topics include sous vide fundamentals, molecular gastronomy and innovative flavour pairing.

For your teaching, these subjects can open discussions about how different methods affect a dish and why a chef chooses a particular approach. Consider which techniques you would like to understand more clearly before enquiring about the class content.

Culinary Presentation

Culinary Presentation focuses your professional development on how food is presented. Precision cooking and plating, together with restaurant-quality food presentation, are among the programme’s advertised learning areas.

Presentation can also provide a useful classroom discussion point. You might encourage students to explain their plating choices and consider how the arrangement of a dish communicates its ingredients and purpose.

Proficient Protein Cookery

Proficient Protein Cookery is one of the four available class areas. It offers a relevant enquiry option if developing your knowledge of protein cookery is a priority for your professional learning.

Food safety and professional standards are included in the broader advertised programme. Contact Kiren to confirm the proteins, methods and equipment covered in a particular session, so you can assess its relevance to your teaching.

Australian Native Cookery

Australian Native Cookery is available for educators interested in exploring this area of culinary practice. The class provides another option for extending your professional development beyond familiar cooking topics.

If you want to introduce Australian native cookery into future lessons, enquire about the session’s ingredients and techniques. Confirming these details will help you consider how the learning could fit your existing teaching programme.

Bring culinary learning back to your classroom

Professional development can provide ideas to adapt for your students, your facilities and your curriculum. HGT’s advertised topics give you several areas to reflect on, including advanced knife skills, kitchen efficiency and creative menu development.

After a session, choose a technique or concept to revisit in your lesson planning. You could develop questions around preparation choices, invite students to explain a flavour pairing or review the professional standards demonstrated during a practical activity.

These are possible classroom applications, rather than promised course resources. The aim is to connect your own learning with clear, achievable teaching goals that suit your students’ level of experience.

Enquire about teacher professional development with HGT

Email kiren@hgtwa.com.au to enquire about teacher professional development and registration. Include the class area that interests you, your teaching role and the skills you would like to develop.

Ask for the dates, venue, session format, fees and any preparation requirements before booking. This will help you plan your attendance and choose a session that aligns with your professional learning needs.

Investing time in your own culinary knowledge gives you space to develop new ideas for your teaching. Start the conversation with Kiren and explore the learning area that matters most to you.

FAQs about culinary professional development for teachers

Who is this professional development designed for?

HGT’s culinary professional development is designed for teachers and hospitality educators. The offering focuses on developing culinary knowledge, professional expertise and confidence. If you have a specific teaching role or learning need, include that information in your enquiry to discuss suitability.

Which culinary classes are available?

HGT lists Modern Cookery Techniques, Culinary Presentation, Proficient Protein Cookery and Australian Native Cookery. These class areas sit alongside advertised topics such as precision plating, flavour pairing and kitchen efficiency. Contact Kiren to confirm the content of the session you are considering.

Who can I contact about the training?

Contact WA’s Chef Ambassador, Kiren Mainwaring, at kiren@hgtwa.com.au. HGT identifies Kiren as the contact for this professional development offering. You can use your enquiry to discuss learning interests and request the practical details needed to plan your attendance.

Where can I find dates and booking details?

Request dates and booking details directly from Kiren by email. The flyer does not specify a timetable, venue, fees or session duration, so confirm those details before registering. You can also ask about equipment, preparation requirements and the format of your chosen class.