Kristina is cooking up a new future, one dish at a time

After completing Years 10 and 11 at Harristown State High School, Kristina took an important step towards her goals by enrolling in TAFE Queensland’s Skills for Education and Employment (SEE) program.

There, she developed essential language, literacy, numeracy, and digital skills while also gaining a foundation in cookery.

The SEE program equips Australians aged over 15 with critical skills to support pathways into employment or further training and is funded by the Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.

Through her SEE studies, Kristina discovered a strong interest in the hospitality industry, which led to work experience with local café Wendland Fine Foods.

Her enthusiasm, teamwork, and growing confidence quickly stood out, earning her the opportunity to begin an apprenticeship.

Choosing to continue her journey with TAFE Queensland, Kristina is now completing a Certificate III in Commercial Cookery (SIT30821) at the Toowoomba campus, alongside her apprenticeship at a Toowoomba restaurant.

For Kristina, cooking is more than just a skill, it is a way of connecting with others.

Cooking, she says, is a way of showing care for others — a belief shaped by her own lived experiences and her desire to support family and community through food.

“When you cook for your family and your friends, it’s like you’re showing them love,” explained Kristina.

Her training combines classroom learning with real-world experience, helping her build the skills, confidence, and industry knowledge needed to pursue a career as a professional chef.

Throughout the course, Kristina has developed strong foundations in the basic methods of cookery and learned how to prepare poultry, seafood and meat dishes to industry standards.

“At TAFE Queensland, you get to start right at the very beginning,” she said.

“Here, we clean the fish, prepare the chicken, make our own pasta and bread. You learn everything from the start,” she says.

Kristina speaks highly of her teachers at TAFE Queensland, who bring real‑world experience into the classroom. Their guidance and encouragement have helped her grow in confidence and refine her skills.

“They’re very supportive and very skilled. They really prepare you for working in the industry,” she says.

Kristina’s dedication was recently recognised when she placed second in the cookery category at the WorldSkills Regional competition, held on 19 May at the Toowoomba campus.

The competition challenged students to prepare multiple dishes within strict time limits, demonstrating precision, cleanliness, organisation and technical skill.

Kristina impressed judges with her attention to detail, including producing delicious handmade chicken sausages from scratch.

“It was stressful because it was my first competition, but I tried my best,” she says.

As she continues her apprenticeship and completes her course, Kristina is focused on the future. Her long‑term goal is to open a small restaurant in Toowoomba, sharing traditional dishes from her culture while bringing people together through food.

Two of Kristina’s favourite traditional dishes to prepare are dolma and biryani. Dolma varies from family to family, and Kristina explains that the Iraqi version often features large spinach leaves filled with rice, chicken, vegetables and aromatic spices.

Biryani is another much-loved dish, bringing together rice, vegetables and chicken infused with fragrant spices to create a hearty meal perfect for sharing.

Cooking these dishes connects Kristina to her heritage while also inspiring her future career goals.

For anyone considering studying at TAFE Queensland, her advice is simple.

“You need patience and commitment. If you stick with it, the results will come,” she encouraged.

Kristina won second place in a regional WorldSkills Australia cookery competition held at the Toowoomba campus. Pctured from left to right, TAFE Queensland educator Chef Andy Bowden, Maximus Bingham (First place), Kristina Zandinan (Second place) and John Herrod (Third place)