2022 Charity dinner a huge success

VU Polytechnic’s 2022 Charity Dinner saw our hospitality, cookery and events students work under the guidance of Chef Andrew Ballard, the owner and chef of Simmer Culinary, a diverse hospitality company based on the Mornington Peninsula, which prides itself on providing a personalised paddock to plate dining experience.

All proceeds of the event will be donated to OzHarvest, Australia’s leading food-rescue organisation that focuses on saving surplus food from ending up in landfill and delivering it to charities that help feed people in need. A total of $2,900.00 was raised for the foundation at this year’s Charity Dinner.

The six-course degustation catered 90 guests at VenU Restaurant, located at Victoria University’s Footscray Nicholson Campus. It featured intricate meals curated by Chef Andrew Ballard, including Sydney Rock Oysters, wild mushroom pate, epi loaf with cultured butter and marinated olives, Venison tartare, Barramundi boudin blanc and dark chocolate mousse.

Andrew recently competed in the Australian Professional Chef of the Year and was chosen as the winning candidate for 2021. Andrew commented on the successful event saying:

It was an absolute pleasure to come and work with the students at VU Polytechnic. It was great to see so many enthusiastic students willing to try and to learn.

Hospitality, Tourism, Sports and Events Manager, Shawn Vlaeminck also extended his thanks to all those who made this event possible after multiple COVID-19 impacts:

Another successful Charity Dinner! Thanks to Andrew for offering up so much of his time, a couple of days and a night that the students will always remember I’m sure. Thanks to my team (David, Fiona, Blair, Cath, Tanya, Kristy, Beth, Kara and Varun) for all their hard work in putting the night together, even after having to reschedule this event a number of times. Thanks to all the cookery, hospitality and events students who took part. We look forward to our next Charity dinner pencilled in for November with a surprise element we are planning to the next one.

VU Polytechnic would like to thank the attendees, guests, suppliers and Chef Andrew Ballard for their generosity and support with the 2022 Charity Dinner.