Source: Eastern Institute of Technology – Tairāwhiti
2 hours ago
Courtney Booth has achieved success with her own business since graduating from EIT.
EIT graduate Courtney Booth has transformed her love for food into a flourishing business with Cuteneys Cakes
The 29-year-old always had a love for food, nurtured by baking alongside her mum in her hometown of Napier.
After finishing Year 12 at Tamatea High School, she followed her passion for cooking and enrolled at EIT to study the NZ Certificate in Cookery in 2013.
“I always knew that I wanted to be a chef, so when I left high school, I knew that I wanted to go to EIT,”
“But back when I studied, patisserie wasn’t really a thing. It was just like six months on the end of the cookery course and then it wasn’t until 2016 they created a course purely for patisserie. So, I ended up doing it in the second year that it ever ran.”
During her two-year cookery programme, she worked at Mint Restaurant on Marine Parade.
“I ended up working there for eight years as a chef. Started off as just a sous chef and then by the end of it, I was doing the head chef role.”
In 2017, Courtney returned to EIT, this time to study patisserie, and graduated as the top student.
While working full-time between two jobs, Courtney began making cakes for friends and family, slowly building a reputation on social media.
“I was doing that for about three years, and then it wasn’t until COVID-19 that I started to think maybe I should look at doing cakes full time. We had just bought our house after the second lockdown, and we converted my garage into a commercial kitchen.”
“I just jumped into the role full-time doing desserts on top of cakes and it just blew up. It was mostly word of mouth and through social media, and then I started on Uber Eats and Deliver Easy.”
Her “little kitchen at home got too small” and about a year ago, she opened a storefront on Dalton Street in Napier. It was at this point that she brought on full-time baker and long-time friend Dana MacDonald.
“Dana used to tutor at EIT and we have been on each other’s radars for many years. She was the one that actually judged my final patisserie dish at EIT. But I always fangirled over her because she worked at Elephant Hill and Malo and all these different fancy places as the pastry chef.”
“She’s just like another me. We’re the exact same. It’s great to have somebody with the same skill set and I can just leave her to it.”
Courtney admits every week is “just getting busier and busier”.
Reflecting on her EIT experience, Courtney praises the institution for equipping her with the skills and confidence to pursue her ambitions.
“EIT was really good for me, especially the patisserie course. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone interested in food.”
Looking ahead, Courtney has even bigger plans for her business, potentially opening another location in Hastings or expanding her current operation with a dedicated prep kitchen.
EIT Professional Chef Tutor Mark Caves said: “We love it when our graduates progress their career into senior roles or to open their own businesses.”
“Courtney came to us at a young age with passion and a desire to learn the craft of cooking. It has been amazing to watch Courtney be able to stay in Hawke’s Bay, progress her career under talented local chefs and fulfil her dream like many others who have trained in our world class facilities, and under our experienced tutors.”
“It is also encouraging to know that anyone who progresses through our range of culinary programmes from introduction to food and beverage at level 3, advanced cookery at Level 4, and Level 5 advanced diploma in cookery or patisserie, can go out into the industry with the knowledge skills and confidence to fulfil their career ambitions, whether it is a food truck, head chef or your very own patisserie shop like Courtney!”
