Certificate III in Hospitality students (Kaylee, Maddie and Alannah) were lucky enough to be invited to Cradle Mountain for work placement. We stayed on site for the week to experience all different aspects of the Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge.

Over the course of the week, we ate breakfast, lunch and dinner with the other staff members. It was a buffet style food with a variety of options and the food was amazing! All of the other staff were so welcoming to all of us during our stay.

Each day we had a new activity to do. Monday morning was our introduction with Uma, she explained everything you could ever want to know about Cradle Mountain including historic information and the lodge itself. Uma also gave us a tour of the area and helped us settle in.  

On Tuesday morning we had a tour of the two kitchens, the Tavern and The Highlands from the Head Chef. He explained his role to us, including deciding the menu, presentation and ordering as well as cooking for the staff. He also gave us a demonstration of how to cook pork belly and Alannah was lucky enough to have one on one time with the pastry chef, acquiring lots of new knowledge! After our time in the kitchen, it was time to go on a walk with our tour guide… who took us on a three hour walk around Crater Lake and on our way back we had a small snow blizzard! Wednesday was the food and beverage department, and this, by far was a favourite part of the experience learning about all the different wines, being shown behind the bar and making coffees.

Piper was outstanding with her knowledge as Food and Beverage Supervisor and was so much fun to spend the day with. Thursday was housekeeping where we got an insight into all of the different cabins that are available, the cost of refilling a cabin, how long it takes to clean and the different steps in which a cabin is cleaned. We learnt lots of valuable knowledge from this.

 Friday was a little more relaxed. We had a tour of the spa and relaxation rooms. It was all beautifully set up, and very relaxing. On the Thursday night we were lucky enough to have our Hospitality Teachers, Katie and Jackie, come up for the night and have tea with us and the General Manager, Avi, in the Highlands Restaurant. It was a two-course meal, and the food was amazing! Avi was so kind to us and gave us a 5-star dining experience.

We were very lucky to stay at Cradle Mountain for the week and were so well looked after. We are very grateful for this opportunity and have learnt so much from everyone at Cradle Mountain in all the different departments at the lodge. We would also like to thank Katie, Jackie and Marcel for all the hard work they put in to make this happen for us, we are extremely grateful!