Back from New York and speaking with EIT students this week, patisserie chef Hilary Wroe has shared her experience of working at top-end Manhattan restaurants.
Hilary, who grew up in Waipukurau, was happily embracing Hawke's Bay's more relaxed vibe after her hectic year in the Big Apple.
For six months she worked at The Musket Room, a restaurant owned by New Zealander Matt Lambert. Her second six-month stint was at Le Coucou, a French fine dining establishment catering for about 200 guests a night.
After just a fortnight back in the country, Hilary was weighing up job offers in New Zealand and overseas. That, she said, was a measure of the demand for well-qualified patisserie chefs. It also reflected the experience she had gained in working for leading restaurants in the United States.
"There will always be a job for me at Le Coucou working for Daniel Skurnick. I've also been offered positions in two restaurants in Paris."