Creating a career in Canberra: Jordan's journey from Seoul

Jordan Lee arrived in Australia with no local connections, no familiar faces and no certainty things would work out. What he did bring was harder to measure: a willingness to start from scratch. He left South Korea ready to learn a new country, a new city and a new kitchen culture from the ground up, even when it meant being the least experienced person in the room.

That was years ago.

Today, Jordan is Head Chef at the Royal Canberra Golf Club. He leads a kitchen team, shapes menu and spends part of every week doing something he once needed himself – guiding younger chefs as they find their way.

His story is not just about culinary success. It’s about what becomes possible when you find the right support, embrace opportunity and build a future in a place that gives you room to grow.

A new kitchen, a new beginning

Jordan was no stranger to the demands of a commercial kitchen - the heat, the long shifts, the controlled chaos of a busy service. But his first experience in an Australian kitchen felt different.

In South Korea, trust was something you earned slowly, through rank and time. In Australia, it was given from the very first shift.

"You are trusted from day one," Jordan says. "You get to learn new skills straight away, work with your team and contribute."

It was a small shift, but a powerful one – and it confirmed he'd made the right decision.

Finding the right city

Jordan didn’t arrive in Australia with a fixed plan. He wanted to experience a different kitchen culture he had not grown up in and the opportunity to discover new possibilities.

He spent time in Sydney and Melbourne, learning as much as he could. But in larger cities, it was easy to feel overlooked. Competition was high and opportunities could be harder to stand out for. Then he found Canberra.

"People recognise your effort quickly," he says. "There are more opportunities to show what you can do."

Smaller, quieter and less crowded with competition, Canberra offered something the bigger cities couldn’t. Space to grow, room to build a life outside the kitchen and a real chance to be seen. For Jordan, that was exactly what he needed.

Training to industry standard

Jordan chose CIT not just for a qualification, but to build the confidence and capability to succeed in the industry. What stood out immediately was the quality of the facilities.

“CIT’s kitchens are better than many commercial kitchens,” he says. “You learn how to use professional equipment before you go into industry.”

That hands-on approach meant the transition into industry was seamless. When Jordan stepped into his first professional kitchen shift, the equipment, pace and expectations already felt familiar.

The bridge between CIT and industry was shorter than he had expected, with classroom learning transferring directly to the kitchen floor. Theory became muscle memory, and the realities of teamwork, pressure and service were easier to navigate from day one.

“You learn at CIT and then you take those skills straight into your job,” he says. “It helps you grow faster.”

Finding community in an unexpected place

What Jordan didn't expect to find in Canberra was community. He connected with other Korean chefs who'd gone through similar transitions, who knew what it felt like to rebuild yourself in a different language, kitchen and hemisphere.

"They understand your challenges," he says. "They support you when you start."

That sense of belonging accelerated everything, study felt less daunting, work felt less isolating and Canberra began to feel, slowly, like home.

Growing into leadership

As Jordan’s experience grew, so did his responsibilities. He progressed from working across kitchen sections to managing teams and planning menus. Along the way, he began to see the value of what he had learned at CIT. His training had not only given him technical skills but had also helped him think more broadly about leadership, teamwork and what it means to guide others in a fast-paced kitchen.

“CIT teaches you the basics first, then how to think like a manager,” he says. “Later, when you start leading a kitchen, you realise how useful those lessons are.”

While working full-time, Jordan returned to CIT to study Patisserie, expanding his skill set and adding another layer to his craft without putting his career on hold.

Leading the next generation

Jordan takes pride not only in the food he creates, but in the younger chefs he mentors as they grow in confidence and experience.

“Every dish is a chance to create something memorable,” he says. “I want to give people new flavours and experiences.”

But one of the most rewarding parts of his role is mentoring the next generation — young chefs who remind him of his own early days in Australia. Looking ahead, he hopes to one day return to CIT as a teacher or assessor, helping future students build the same confidence, skills and direction that helped shape his own career.

Someone once handed him a knife and trusted him to get on with it. He has never forgotten what that made possible.

Interested in following a similar path? Find out more about studying Commercial Cookery and Patisserie at CIT and start building your global hospitality career in Canberra.