It might seem a career 180 but for Clare Gibbs the two jobs might have more in common than you think.
Ms Gibbs has gone from plate to paddock where she has traded her long-career as chef to pursue one in agriculture.
It's this drive that has seen Ms Gibbs, who studies at TAFE NSW Primary Industries Centre in Wagga Wagga, take out the 2019 Riverina Training Awards Vocational Education Training Student of the Year.
She is among a growing band of females who are pursuing a career in agriculture with nearly a third making up the workforce.
Ms Gibbs grew up at "Hazelwood", a cropping and Angus beef farm at Temora, with her parents Nigel and Jill as well as brother Jason.
"I was dad's shadow, everywhere he went I went from about the age of three," Ms Gibbs said.
"I was always interested in farming as a kid, I wanted a career in it.
"But when I finished school we were still in the millennium drought and I was told I needed a job off-farm to fall back on."
That's when Ms Gibbs trained to become a chef at Scribbles Cafe in Wagga Wagga where she stayed for 17 years.
"Being a chef helped me to understand the produce a lot more, I always knew what was in season," she said
But farming was still calling so the 36-year-old made the transition from chef to agriculture student in November 2016.
"Dad bought a header and didn't have a second driver to drive it and said 'do you reckon you can drive it'," she said.
"I thought I would give it a go and went with one of workers for a couple of days."
For six weeks she worked during harvest for 12 to 14 hours.
"I got the taste for hands-on farming again," she said.
Ms Gibbs applied to work in America for the harvest trail from Texas to Canada but was denied the first time because she was female.
Two weeks later, she found work in Oklahoma and in May 2017 went abroad to work in the American farm belt for eight months.
"Working with farmers who never had females on their property was such an achievement not just for them but for me, they saw women could do ag just like men," she said.
Fast forward to today and Ms Gibbs has certificates and diplomas in agriculture under her belt and is planning to help run the family farm.
NSW Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall said there were around 21,700 women in the state's agriculture, forestry and fishing sector, making up 30 per cent of of the total workforce.
"Women are an important part of our lively and dynamic agriculture sector here in NSW," Mr Marshall said.
TAFE NSW Primary Industries Centre head teacher of agriculture Rob Harris said the gender balance of students in agriculture had shifted dramatically in recent years.
"Over the past decade, there's been a significant increase in the number of women in agricultural education and training at TAFE NSW," Mr Harris said.
"In the wool industry in particular, there's been a substantial increase, both on the wool side and the shearing side. We are also seeing significant increases in the number of women studying ag sciences and agribusiness at a tertiary level.
"There are so many great career opportunities in agriculture now, from agronomy to marketing, merchandise to livestock."
- Ms Gibbs will progress to the NSW Training Awards, which will be held in Sydney this September.
