George Hill, 82, receives the Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his service to the culinary industry and community.
The Point Lonsdale black hat chef has had many roles in groups, including the Australian Institute of Technical Chefs, the Australian Culinary Federation Victoria, and the William Angliss Institute of TAFE.
Mr Hill said he had many 15 minutes of fun and luck, including receiving the King’s Birthday Honour, which he attributes to a guardian angel.
“No one stands alone, so…I would like to express my feelings about the people I’ve met and how they actually own this thing more than me,” he said.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to have 15 minutes, after 15 minutes, after 15 minutes and one day sat down and analysed why, and I think it’s due to this damn bloody guardian angel that I got.”
Mr Hill was born in 1942 to British parents in a military camp hospital in Bangalore, India before his family were sent back to England in 1949 following the Gandhi anti-British movement.
Mr Hill said he had always loved being a cook ever since he won a fancy dress competition dressed as one, leading him to become a chef and educator.
“I have this saying that, ‘if you think you can; you can. If you think you can’t; then your bloody right’,” he said.
“Because of the disruption of my education in the early years, I was still academically two or three years behind everybody else, so I found it extremely difficult until I left (England) and became a cook.
“I’m one of those very privileged people to have been paid a salary to actually conduct my hobby, irrespective of whether I was an apprentice, teacher, senior manager, or in whatever role I’ve been in.”
