Larissa Dimech

2024 | Trade - Hospitality and Food Technology

In honour of Tony Bleasdale

“Sustainability is integral for global food security and I would love to delve into this area to form a link between sustainability and product development.”

Hi, my name is Larissa Dimick. I’m a pastry chef from Sydney and I’m a 2024 Global Footprints Scholar.

Before I start talking about my journey, I want to say a huge thank you to Global Footprints for giving me this opportunity. It has been an incredible chance to learn so much more about my industry whilst travelling abroad. So, thank you so much.

My journey began in London at Silo, the world’s first zero-food-waste restaurant. There were no bins, furniture was made from recycled food packaging and the menu was projected onto the wall to reduce paper waste. Fruit and vegetables were delivered in reusable cartons to reduce cardboard waste.

My favourite memory was learning to make their sourdough dumplings. Leftover dry sourdough wasn’t thrown away. Instead, it was re-milled into flour and used to make the dumpling dough. This simple process demonstrates the potential to reimagine ingredients as a new resource for a delicious meal.

I also got to see their famous fermentation cupboard and even got to try a few things, like fermented egg whites and fermented beer grain.

After my placement, I explored the main attractions in London before heading to Oxfordshire for my next placement.

Next, I travelled to Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, a two-Michelin-star hotel founded by Raymond Blanc. Here, sustainability meets luxury. The property runs on a farm-to-table philosophy, with orchards, gardens and a closed-loop ecosystem.

The orchard contains over 2,500 trees and grows a range of rare heritage fruits. We worked closely with the gardeners to understand which fruits were in season. I had a lot of fun picking apples to make an apple terrine.

Le Manoir also operates with zero waste to landfill. Food waste is turned into compost and used in the gardens. This allows for a circular ecosystem, as all the food waste is then used to make compost for the garden.

I also learnt so many new cooking techniques and enhanced my confidence as a pastry chef. We created a range of petits fours, plated desserts, bread and viennoiserie products.

The team was so welcoming and supportive during my work placement. I gained new friendships and mentors during this experience.

After my placement, I was offered a job and continued to work at Le Manoir for the rest of the year. This gave me so many more opportunities to learn and grow in this industry.

I also got to meet Raymond Blanc and learn more about savoury cooking in his cookery school classes.

My favourite experience at Le Manoir was learning to enrobe chocolate. It was so satisfying. I loved watching the chocolates go through the conveyor belt and get covered in tempered chocolate.

During my time here, I also got to visit a fine food expo, where I spoke to a range of vendors and had a tour inside their warehouse. This helped me make even more industry connections and learn so much more about the logistics side.

I loved my time at Le Manoir, as it helped me enhance my capabilities, learn more about sustainable practices and increase my confidence as a pastry chef. I hope to visit the UK once again in the future.

Once again, I would like to say a huge thank you to BBM for giving me this scholarship. It has been an absolute journey and I have made so many new connections, learnt so much more about my industry and enhanced so many of my skills through this opportunity.

I would also like to thank all my sponsors and the network of people who supported me along my journey and helped me to access all of the work experience that I did.

So, thank you. I really appreciate it.

Larissa’s scholarship relates to these UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs):