Engineering and hospitality are polar opposite industries, but Sam Lawrie made a decisive career change to follow his real passion.
The Bundeena apprentice chef of TAFE NSW recently received an award for Best Savoury Dish for his miso butter ramen at the 2018 Fonterra Proud to be a Chef competition.
Sam competed against 32 apprentice chefs from across Australia.
He quit his job as an engineer in 2016, relaunched his career, and has not looked back.
He travelled to Europe to work as a cook, before returning to Australia to accept an apprenticeship at Long Chim Sydney, where he works part-time.
“Becoming an engineer and studying at university felt like a safe option but as time went on I realised my passion for food became stronger and I was determined to work in the food and hospitality industry,” he said.
Sam also opened his first cafe, Sandoitchi (which means sandwich in Japanese) at Darlinghurst in Sydney, two years into his training.
“If it takes off, it will be amazing as we’re in a great location and we offer simple, Japanese-style sandwiches, salads, breakfasts and we’re coffee focused too,” he said.
“I want to finish my apprenticeship but have had to put that on hold for now as the opportunity just came up.”
