From a childhood spent in Innisfail, Queensland, to working in kitchens in Dubai, Canada, Egypt and the US, Rhonda Ashton’s career has taken her around the globe.

When Rhonda Ashton was growing up in Innisfail, on Queensland’s Cassowary Coast, she had her sights firmly set on a career as either a nurse or a marine biologist – the prospect of entering a culinary career had never crossed her mind.

That being said, Rhonda admits looking back there are a few moments throughout her teen years that definitely helped influence her future career direction.

“In Innisfail there is an iconic bakery, Perry’s. I guess it was always a background influence without me actually realising it,” she said.

“Then, when I was in year 9, I was visiting my older sister for the Christmas holidays in Perth. She had a party and I met one of her friends who was a chef. I credit this meeting with me focusing on a career in the kitchen.”

Rhonda has competed internationally

Rhonda relocated to Townsville to complete her senior schooling and in year 12 chose to do work experience at the Sherton Breakwater Casino Hotel – now known as The Ville. Here she spent 10 days in the kitchen, including one-and-a-half days in the pastry shop.

It just clicked, and Rhonda said she left knowing she had to be a pastry chef.

“The executive pastry chef, Patrick Vuaillat, was French, the assistant pastry chef was English and it just seemed fun,” Rhonda said.

“Two days after completing year 12 I started my apprenticeship there under Patrick. The apprenticeship was the best way to learn on the job.”

Following her apprenticeship Rhonda relocated to Perth as a Commis 1, and over three years made her way up to assistant pastry chef.

However, the global industry beckoned and Rhonda made the decision to move, first to Northern Ireland and then to Canada. It was here, she said, that her career really took off.

“I started at Fairmont Chateau Whistler as a Chef de Partie in 1996, with promotions to assistant and then executive pastry chef. From there I transferred to Dubai in 2001 to open the Fairmont Dubai,” she said.

“Some people move to different towns or cities. I found myself moving to different countries – five successive positions were in different countries.

“The potential of world travel was not something that was at the forefront when I chose my career, but it has certainly been a large part of my career, having lived in six countries throughout its course.”

Beyond carving out her career in kitchens around the globe, Rhonda has also competed on the world stage as part of Team USA, first at the 2018 Mondial de Arts Sucres and then at the 2019 Fiera Milan Pastry World Championships.

Rhonda said her introduction to competitions came at a young age, as during her apprenticeship everyone was required to compete in the local Salon Culinaire each year. This experience helped to equip her with the knowledge that each of these international competitions would include long hours, a lot of pressure, concentration and commitment.

“Development of the concepts for each competition took place about a year prior, over the course of a few weeks. Once final concepts were decided on, we would then develop recipes [and] I would practice and refine them each week. For six months I would practice most afternoons after work, and for at least six to eight hours on a Sunday,” Rhonda said.

“Two months out, the team would run a full practice together. For 2018 in France it was a two-person team and a two-day competition – 10 hours and nine hours. In Italy it was a seven-hour competition with three team members.

“We would gather mise-en-place and work through our items and showpieces, writing down our timing and seeing how long it actually took. Afterwards we would identify areas to streamline and reorganise for optimal efficiency. We would do these practices at least three times.”

Rhonda described the competition experience as being second to none because, no matter where you placed you left with a sense of accomplishment and the satisfaction of knowing you had successfully completed it.

Rhonda with some of her creations

“Once you have competed you have discipline that most don’t. The drive for excellence is not given to everyone,” she said.

Recently Rhonda returned to Hawaii, where she now works as executive pastry chef, food & beverage at the Four Seasons Resort O’ahu at Ko Olina. It’s her second stint in Hawaii – a place she holds dear to her heart.

When she’s not in the kitchen Rhonda can be found on the water, paddling an outrigger canoe – something she learned her first time there 21 years ago – or working with the students at the community college.

What’s more, Rhonda is also pragmatic about her chosen career, and said it’s one you should only choose to pursue if you really love it.

“There’s the excitement of service, but also the exhaustion of a busy day, the problem solving it involves – it’s not all about cooking – and working every holiday, birthday and special occasion your family and friends might have. It is hard work but so much fun!” she said.

“Find yourself a mentor, learn by your mistakes – mistakes are the most valuable way to learn, so don’t be afraid to make them – take theory seriously when you have to do it because this is the base knowledge you will need to be able to understand what you are doing.

“My journey as a pastry cook and then on to an executive pastry chef has been a dream come true, but it was not without sacrifice. Work-life balance come and goes… but there’s the saying ‘choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life’, I chose something I loved and almost 40 years later I still love going to work.”