Meet Our People – Jade Jitjourjun

Over his years at Compass Group, Jade Jitjourjun has cooked up a storm of success, and worked his way through the ranks to achieve his dream of being a Head Chef.

“My family has worked in the restaurant business in Australia for over 40 years, so ever since I was young, my
dream was to become a Head Chef. 13 years ago, I decided to follow my dream and make my own path in cooking and food service. It was Compass Group where I was able to achieve this goal and I am so grateful for the opportunity I’ve been given.”

Beginning his journey with Compass Group in 2011, Jade stared at Sydney’s Domestic Airport as a kitchen hand all-rounder before moving across to become a food and beverage attendant at Lifehouse RPA Hospital in Camperdown.

After five years in this role, Jade challenged himself and was deservedly promoted to Retail Supervisor, then to Site Service Supervisor where he worked alongside his new manager Phil Bill to assist in running the
site and learning budgeting, admin and other essential skills.

Sharing his dream to Phil of one day becoming Head Chef of Lifehouse, Phil and the Medirest team encouraged and helped Jade complete Chef training, enabling him to achieve this goal.

After years of hard work, this year, Jade became the Head Chef of Shared Services across Lifehouse, Royal Rehab and Metro Rehab and the whole Medirest family is very proud of him.

“My role is to improve food standards, host functions for
Lifehouse and train the chefs in all kinds of service – fine dining, buffet, canapés
and patient service. My priority is to ensure all the patients are fed and the
food in the café is looking tasty, well-presented and meeting requirements.”

As
Head Chef, Jade has gone above and beyond for Compass Group and his team, earning
himself a prestigious Star Awards win for Chef/Cook of the Year in 2021,
something he shares he is extremely proud of.

“Another big achievement has been securing catering functions
and events at Lifehouse for companies such as Pfizer, which unfortunately had
to stop because of the pandemic. Recently, however, they have returned and
rebooked a new event with us and are now referring other companies to the Lifehouse
team for functions and catering. This is a massive win for us and goes to show
the level or service provided by myself and the team.”

Despite the difficulty of navigating in the current COVID
environment, Jade has brought on three new ongoing function clients and has
continued to be a great leader in the kitchen during these challenging times.

So, what’s next for Jade? He has his sights set on working
with other Chef leaders in the business and then one day, Executive Chef!

Congratulations to Jade and the Lifehouse, Royal Rehab and
Metro Rehab teams for the incredible work.