Describing the move as “a very deliberate decision”, Deakin University’s director of campus experience, Tamara Chalmers, says there has always been a café within the university’s Geelong campus “but it was externally run and we just thought it was a great opportunity to come in and freshen things up and to renovate it and give it a really good facelift”.
Initially implemented at Deakin’s waterfront campus in Geelong, the idea has recently been introduced at two other Deakin campuses: Burwood in Melbourne and Waurn Ponds Estate, just outside Geelong. They all operate a “Pantry” used for daily staff and student catering, and, increasingly now, for corporate events and as a restaurant for the general public.
micenet was introduced to the Geelong Waterfront Pantry during a recent Meet Geelong famil that saw 40 invited buyers and media together with another 40 local corporate partners treated to a multi-course dinner by head chef Bevan Vahland. This was no student café experience, but an impressive culinary offering using local ingredients together with wines from the Bellarine.
The venue can seat 200 banquet style or host 300 cocktail and has an outdoor terrace for 40. A tour of the former woolstore revealed a range of other venues, including the University Council Chambers, a high-tech boardroom with a total capacity of 48, made up of 28 fixed boardroom-style seats, each with a microphone, plus seats for 20 observers. The room has extensive water views.
Another impressive space is the 1,400-seat Costa Hall, used for graduation ceremonies, but also capable of hosting major association or corporate plenary events. Technical aspects of this venue are managed by Geelong Arts Centre.
The commercial venues and corporate catering onsite are part of Chalmers’ portfolio, managed at Geelong by Khrissy Visscher, who used to run her own catering company.
Waterfront Pantry overlooks Corio Bay and is across the road from the new Nyaal Banyul Geelong Convention and Event Centre.
“We’ve got some prime real estate down there on the waterfront and it’s got a beautiful outdoor area where you can sit during the day and look at the views,” says Chalmers.
“The community is very welcome…as well as our corporate partners to come in and use the space and dine.”
Some students were part of the wait staff for our dinner, although Deakin does not run a hospitality course. Rather, it is generating a healthy crop of event managers from its Bachelor of Business in Event Management program.
“We’ve had a number of students finish that course and then they’ve come and worked with us in the team as casuals and then they’ve made their way into full-time ongoing roles,” says Chalmers.
“We’ve also got a PCO service at Deakin, which anybody is welcome to use. So we’ve got five professional conference organisers who can do end-to-end conference management.”
Deakin’s Waurn Ponds campus offers residential conference options with eight function spaces with capacity for up to 150 in theatre.
“It also has 60 beautifully renovated bedrooms and that includes two suites, so a couple of really large spaces.
“And then [recently] we also launched our newly refurbished two-bedroom apartment…it’s a beautiful space with its own outdoor deck,” says Chalmers.
The other point that she’s keen to make: “we’re very affordable”.
