TAFE SA patisserie student Natcha Phanitrungrod’s award-winning chocolate centrepiece combines elements of a much-loved fairytale with aspects of her own life story.

Natcha, whose nickname is Dough, created ‘Going Through Wonderland’ for this year’s Royal Adelaide Show chocolate competition and was delighted to win the Gold Novelty and Centrepiece Chocolate award.

“Our lecturer encouraged us to enter the competition and I thought it was a great opportunity to try some different techniques that I hadn’t used before,” she says.

“I was so excited to win an award. It’s my first competition and I didn’t expect much, but I gave it my all.”

Natcha’s eye-catching design is inspired by the Mad Hatter’s tea party in Alice in Wonderland and features a clockface, large keyhole, top hat and tea set all made from chocolate. 

“I had the theme in mind from the start and wanted to use the keyhole which Alice uses to reach Wonderland,” Natcha says.

“This design also tells the journey of my life because coming to Australia to study has been lifechanging.”

Natcha, an international student from Thailand, moved to Adelaide in 2022. She studied English for six months and then undertook the Certificate III and Certificate IV in Patisserie at TAFE SA’s Regency Campus.

She is now completing the Advanced Diploma of Hospitality Management and working as a casual pastry chef at North Adelaide sourdough doughnut shop, Butter and Toast.

Prior to moving to Australia, Natcha worked as a product designer and says there are parallels between her old and new careers.

“Patisserie can connect with design in various ways, particularly in terms of aesthetics, composition and colour selection, which allows me to fully utilise my problem-solving skills,” she says.

“When I worked on the piece for the Royal Show there was some trial and error involved and it was fun to learn new techniques.

“I appreciated the support of my lecturers as I tried things I hadn’t learnt before and I needed to ask their advice.”

A team of students including Bao Do, Ella Glovitch, Tenzing Wangmo and Ilham Farid from Le Cordon Bleu’s patisserie program also entered the Royal Adelaide Show chocolate competition and were awarded Champion Novelty and Centrepiece Chocolate for their striking dragon creation.

More information about the Certificate III and IV in Patisserie is available on the TAFE SA website.