Career
George Hill"s professional career has borne a range of industrial titles, including these: chef de partie, chef de cuisine, executive chef, cookery teacher, commercial cookery educational manager, hospitality consultant, and business owner-operator. Hill started his cookery career in 1956 as an apprentice cook in the Cumberland Hotel London. In 1966, he immigrated to Australia and became an Australian citizen in 1979.
His first job in Australia was as a chef at the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV) Club in Melbourne.
Following that, he was employed by the William Angliss Institute of Technical and Further Education in Melbourne as a commercial cookery teacher in 1971, where he eventually lead a teaching staff numbering more than thirty personnel in the foods department. Subsequently, Hill was promoted to one of the four program managers of the college.
Award is presented to the person or organization who is seen to have done the most for the Foodservice industry in the previous 12 months or in the years prior to the last award. 1994 saw Hill"s induction into the National Association of Foodservice Equipment Suppliers Hall of Fame.
The induction criteria are as follows:
The National Association of Foodservice Equipment Suppliers Hall of Fame formally recognizes Tourism and Hospitality industry identities for their contribution to the hospitality industry, George Hill was acknowledged for contribution as an educator.
In 1986, Hill moved to the new Chisholm Institute in Victoria to head the Tourism and Hospitality Faculty. Hill was the owner-operator of Rosehill Lodge. The Lodge was an externally rated five-star bed and breakfast for "foodies" which was twice acknowledged as a finalist in the 1999 and 2000 Victorian Tourism Awards.
Hill was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 1988, and has coauthored the only technical book on the topic of margarine and butter sculpture.
He was also Director of the World Championships in Commercial Cookery in Melbourne and represented Australia in the 1980 Culinary Olympics winning gold for Australia. He was appointed to represent Australia as a cookery judge in the first Worldskills 1983 and has internationally judged in New Zealand and Fiji.
The award"s selection panel"s guidelines describe the title of Black Hat Chef as the following:
The award acknowledges the holder of a Black Hat"s pursuit of excellence, contribution to industry, professional standards, industry standing and commitments, which must be measurably and significantly beyond that, would be expected in a normal career of a commercial chef. The award is conferred following: an industry nomination, investigation and a secret ballot requiring unanimous support of a convened selection committee and must finally have complete endorsement by all member chefs.