Former student turned food entrepreneur shares recipe for success

FoodINC Launch: Nurturing Culinary Innovation

We were delighted to welcome back to Melbourne Polytechnic, former cookery student turned food entrepreneur Dale Prentice at the launch of FoodINC on Friday, 29 April.

Dale was a special guest and panellist at the launch of FoodINC. The Food Incubator + Network Centre (FoodINC) has been developed in collaboration with partners, Melbourne Innovation Centre and Melbourne’s North Food Group, to offer food start-ups and hospitality entrepreneurs a dedicated, affordable space and support network for their businesses to flourish.

Dale is a former chef and a former hospitality student at Melbourne Polytechnic's Preston campus. Since 2009, Dale has operated his own food business, Sous Vide Australia. Its fancy French name derives from the process of vacuum-sealing food in a bag. It's where cooking meets science.

Sous Vide Australia is the national leader in sous vide cooking, providing a range of equipment including water baths, thermal circulators and vacuum machines to the hospitality sector.

Prior to Sous Vide, Dale worked as a chef in some of Victoria’s best restaurants, including an executive chef role at Stones of the Yarra Valley. Dale has also cooked with many high-calibre chefs, including Greg Malouf, George Calombaris and Philippe Mouchel.

At the FoodINC launch, Dale generously shared his extensive industry and small business expertise with the next generation of food and hospitality entrepreneurs and our current hospitality students. Dale's story makes a strong case for the merits of TAFE training and its ability to launch interesting and successful career pathways.
At the event, Dale also took the opportunity to reunite with his former teacher, John Hand, who continues to teach at Melbourne Polytechnic. From 1996 to 1998, Dale studied cookery under John Hand.

“TAFE made careers are great careers. It’s wonderful to reunite with former students like Dale who have benefitted from the high-quality vocational training we offer at Melbourne Polytechnic. It is truly inspiring to see their careers flourishing and to see them making a strong mark in industry,” said Frances Coppolillo, Chief Executive of Melbourne Polytechnic.