Tim Bernabe

The Adelaide Convention Centre is consistently ranked among the top convention centres on the planet – a result of world-class facilities and exceptional customer service.

Tim Bernabe from the Philippines helps out with the latter.

For the past four years, Tim has been a Restaurant Supervisor at Regattas – the stylish, contemporary bistro that operates inside the convention centre and overlooks Adelaide’s beautiful Torrens Lake.

He won the role after successfully completing a Bachelor’s Degree in International Business Management at the famed Le Cordon Bleu (LCB) school in Adelaide, which prepares graduates for careers in the culinary arts, hospitality management and gastronomy.

Gair Bethley, Training & Development Manager at the Adelaide Convention Centre, says international students like Tim bring two specific dimensions to their role at the ACC.

“Firstly they are obviously well trained in their respective disciplines (invariably hospitality based courses) and secondly they bring international experience and a perspective shaped by their cultural backgrounds,” he says.

“For those international graduates who decide to stay in Adelaide and work with the ACC, a principle strength we observe is staying power – they have really thought through where they want to progress their career and invariably make their decision to stay on the strength of the work environment they have experienced with us prior to ‘signing’ up on a more permanent basis.

“Tim Bernabe is an excellent role model for graduating international students in that he is both an excellent supervisor within our Regattas Bistro and a very capable … in training our hospitality trainees from the certificate iii in Hospitality (Food & Beverage) which is part of our two-year traineeship program.”

Tim says his studies at LCB were a great launching pad for a career in hospitality.

“The class work and lecturing staff at LCB were both very good – the course offers a great balance of theory and practice,” he says.

“Although I work in the front of house at Regattas, the course gave me experience in back of house operations too, so I have a better understanding of all areas of hospitality management.

“In the first year away from home I was also able to live onsite at Regency International House, which was a good way to settle into the city and make new friends among the other international students.”

Tim says LCB’s close industry ties made it easy to secure part-time catering and hospitality work during his course. He met employers through LCB and stayed in contact to ensure he always had some extra money coming in, and was always gaining industry experience.

“There is nothing like hospitality work to build your confidence in communicating with people – once you’ve worked at the front of house I think you can do most things.”

After eight years in Adelaide, Tim says he’s very happy with life in South Australia.

“It took a bit of getting used to because it’s much quieter than my home city in the Philippines, but the lifestyle is just so good, the people are laid back and it’s very easy to access everything around Adelaide,” he says.

“You can make good friends, play lots of sport – I consider this my home now.”