Leela encourages other females to consider cookery

Leela Subramaniam ditched her commerce and law double degree to follow her heart. Now that she is an award-winning junior sous chef, she couldn’t be happier.

Leela Subramaniam was in her second year of a Bachelor of Commerce/Law when a family tragedy made her rethink what made her truly happy.

She had worked in the hospitality sector since the age of 14, and decided cookery was her calling.

“I was actually already working as a cook and I really enjoyed it,” she says. “I immersed myself in my work and it kept my mind occupied. It was kind of therapeutic.”

Leela began a Certificate III in Commercial Cookery apprenticeship through Chisholm, while at the same time building her practical skills at an Italian restaurant.

She studied at the Mornington Peninsula campus and says the smaller class sizes suited her to a tee.

“I really enjoyed the variety of everything you learn,” Leela says. “You get to test out a lot of things.”

Leela absolutely thrived at Chisholm and won several awards while studying.

More recently, Leela won Apprentice of the Year at the 2023 Chisholm Education Awards, which celebrates students and educators who have gone above and beyond while representing the Chisholm values.

Leela was also named a finalist and went on to win Apprentice of the Year at the Victorian Training Awards in 2023, which recognises the outstanding achievements of individuals and organisations in the Victorian TAFE sector.

In 2022, Leela was named the Victorian state winner of the AUS-TAFE Culinary Trophy, 3rd year apprentice category. She followed this up with a bronze medal in the national finals.

Among others, she was named the Victorian state winner of the AUS-TAFE Culinary Trophy, 3rd year apprentice category, in 2022. She followed up with a bronze medal in the national finals.

Leela also won Apprentice of the Year at the 2023 Chisholm Education Awards.

“The nurturing element is really evident at Chisholm,” Leela says. “My teachers were always there cheering me on. Entering the awards really gave me more stepping stones and my resume is really glowing now.”

Leela is working full-time in the industry now and is excelling.

At the time of writing this article, she had just been promoted to junior sous-chef. She also had her sights set on working at a Michelin-star restaurant in London.

Leela plans to eventually open her own 20-seater fine dining restaurant and work towards winning some chef hats. At this rate, there’s little doubt she will make her dream a reality.

“I love being able to tap into a really creative zone,” says Leela about her work.

“I love the high-pressure environment. Lately I’ve enjoyed working in fine dining and spending a lot of time preparing something that’s beautiful and working with a lot of local produce.”

Leela is passionate about encouraging other young women to consider a career as a chef.

Her advice is to dive in wholeheartedly, enter as many competitions as you can while studying, and to enjoy the journey.

“There are a lot of strong female chefs and I think there’s been a misrepresentation that males have always been better,” she says.

“There’s that saying about women being in the kitchen at home, but it’s not really reflected in the workplace. The industry is starting to change in that respect though, which is good.”