Brand Tas

Ten years ago, Aki (Mei-Yi) Choi was living what for many is a dream life in Hong Kong.

She had already moved through three fascinating careers in one of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities. She had been a translator, a financial planner, and a project manager in the tech industry.

But something was wrong.

“It was so crowded in Hong Kong, and so noisy,” she says. “People are always standing right next to each other and there was so much pressure. We call it a concrete forest. It’s exciting. Some people love it.”

We were working at a broccoli farm and it was so much fun. People from around the world… and then the Tasmanians. My house owner, the landlord, was so nice. She was so open-minded, and wanted to hear stories of my life.

As she reached a level of comfort and stability in her life, Aki wasn’t sure she did love it. So she decided to take a break and sought a working tourist visa for Australia. Sadly, she heard from friends who had felt unwelcome here.

“We did not want it to be true,” she says.

In some parts of Australia, it turned out to be true. But for Aki, it was different when she arrived in Tasmania. “We were working at a broccoli farm and it was so much fun. People from around the world… and then the Tasmanians. My house owner, the landlord, was so nice. She was so open-minded, and wanted to hear stories of my life.”

Her adventures across Australia continued until one day, back in Queensland, Aki thought about everything she had left in Hong Kong – especially the concrete forest. Did she want to go back? To stay in a different concrete forest in Queensland? “Tasmania is the absolute opposite. It is the real forest, with cool air, and the people are so patient and friendly. But what would I do there?”

Aki thought about what she most loved. One of her favourite activities was cooking, so she signed up for the culinary program at TasTAFE. “It’s amazing, a big kitchen, and the teachers have such passion for cooking and showing all of their skills. In a kitchen one thing you have to be good at is organisation, and all of my knowledge and experience from Hong Kong helped.”

Her past experience helped her understand something else that has been essential to her success: ask questions. “I asked everything, all the time, because I wanted to get it right. And also, just to try. I will try and if I make it wrong I will ask how I can do it better the next time.”

One day at Drysdale, Aki cooked for a function and someone had left behind a business card for her, from the Great Lake Hotel.

“Who not just take a chance?” she says.

Three years later, Aki is the head chef at the Great Lake Hotel. “Sometimes you meet people and they believe in you, they give you chances, they support you.”

James Johns and Paul Foremen, owner and Executive Chef of the hotel, wanted the pub to have a playful menu. When the opportunity opened up to be head chef, Aki wasn’t sure she was ready. James, she says, encouraged her — and continues to encourage her.

“He says, ‘Tell me your ideas.’ I show him everything: labour, food, costings, timing, the customer profile. Then he says, ‘Yes, let’s try it. We’ll see.’”

I feel lucky to have chosen Tasmania. But I think Tasmania chose me too.

The pub has since won awards, featuring non-traditional Australian pub food like Korean Spiced Squid and Lake Wallaby Patties. Of course schnitty is on the menu – it’s still a pub, after all - but at the Great Lake Hotel you can find Apple Cider Pork Schnitzel.

Aki’s dream is to open her own place one day, out in nature, where small groups can come and have an extraordinary culinary experience – watching her cook. “Luxury, privacy, nature,” she says. “What this place is all about, when you want something really special.

“I feel lucky to have chosen Tasmania. But I think Tasmania chose me too, the people and the space, the real forest, the opportunity to learn and to try anything, to be supported to do it. You can focus on yourself, on who you can really be. I am so grateful.”