Victoria Holland

Baker, The Sugar Dealer
Diploma in Pâtisserie

For Victoria Holland, her dream of becoming a pastry chef started when she became fascinated by a cupcake kiosk as a little girl. Enrolling in AUT’s Diploma in Pâtisserie has helped her achieve this dream.

“When I was little, I saw a cupcake kiosk that made me want to bake cupcakes too. Then as I delved more into the world of baking and pâtisserie, that dream morphed into becoming a pastry chef. Watching shows like Zumbo’s Just Desserts and Choccywoccydoodah made me realise how much you can do, and the spectacular things these people can make. I was inspired by the chocolate sculptures, the beautiful little cakes and perfect pastries, and the skill it takes to perfect these things. The masterpieces pastry chefs create are exceptional and I knew I wanted to be able to create them too.

“AUT has one of the most in-depth, practical-based pâtisserie courses. Hands-on experience is vital to develop skills as a pastry chef, so it was the obvious choice. I had also been to a couple of AUT open days in the past, and I was so excited by the kitchens and their equipment. It seemed like a lovely learning environment.”

After graduating from AUT in 2021, she has now fulfilled her dream of a pâtisserie career and is currently working as a baker for The Sugar Dealer.

“It’s a really cool business that makes delicious customisable brownies and it has a huge online presence on Instagram and TikTok. We make a wide variety of individual brownies in different flavours for the shop and larger sharing custom message brownies that are sent all around the country. The owner is 21 years old, so it’s been really cool to learn from her about starting a business at such a young age and she really inspires me to start my own one day. It’s been really awesome working in a dynamic team of like-minded young women.”

From sourdough to sugar sculptures
She enjoyed many things about studying at AUT, says Victoria who is proud of being a high-achieving student throughout her studies.

“The lecturers I had were absolutely incredible – they were supportive, extremely knowledgeable, and let you make mistakes and try new things. My class also got quite close, so it was such a comfortable, fun learning environment and I know we’ll continue to be friends outside of uni. I also got a job through the work placement we did in my first year at House of Chocolate, which was an amazing learning opportunity and helped me grow in the industry.

“The topics we studied were so versatile. We did everything from sourdough starters to making amazing sugar sculptures. It was incredible to try so many things and be surprised by what I can actually do. We also get to learn about pâtisserie on a worldwide level, for example learning what is popular in Europe. That was great as we’re not limited to what is popular in New Zealand.”

Studying during a global pandemic had its challenges, she admits, but she is grateful for the support she received.

“COVID-19 did affect both of my years at AUT, but I always felt assured that the lecturers were doing everything they could to help us get through it and keep us on track. They adapted their classes so that we could keep going and checked that we were all okay personally during such a difficult time. We really appreciated the hard work they put in to get us back to uni to complete our second year in good time.”

Advice for other students
Victoria has some great advice for other students who are thinking about their university journey.

“I think that the saying ‘You get out what you put in’ really applies here. Be curious, ask questions, be adventurous and play around a bit. University is the perfect place to try new things and make mistakes because it’s a safe place to do so and the lecturers will help you through it all.”

She wouldn’t hesitate to recommend AUT’s Diploma in Pâtisserie to other students.

“I’ve already recommended this programme to others because I’ve never had a better learning environment or experience. The vast amount of knowledge about all things pâtisserie I’ve learned has been fascinating and really broadened my ideas of the field.”