Willetton Senior High School’s Brad Curran doesn’t think so. The Cert II hospitality trainer and food specialist teacher, who is also Associate Head of Technologies, has been taking a group of Year 11 hospitality students to Meet the Buyer every year since it began.
“One of the most underrated things is just how passionate these producers are – it’s not just about ‘this is my product, you should buy it’. These guys love what they do,” he says.
“When you’re bringing in a bunch of teenagers you’re trying to inspire and saying ‘you’re the next generation, you’re the ones about to shape the world of food’, it’s an amazing opportunity for them to be able to talk to these immensely passionate people.”
Having worked in hospitality himself, Brad knows it’s important to show rather than tell. And there is, he says, so much to show at Meet the Buyer, which brings producers and suppliers together with buyers, retailers, chefs, sommeliers and educators.
“To see new food items, trends that emerge in the market, and be on the front foot of some of that before it actually hits the retail shop floor, before some of these products are available, is a great experience,” he says.
“When you look at what we’re trying to instill in our students, whether they end up going into the hospitality industry or it’s a part time job, it’s about the love of food and the beauty of food.”
The teacher, who is clearly not short of passion himself, is also grateful for the generous way everyone interacts with the hospitality students.
“Everyone at Meet the Buyer has been outstanding with my students – they walk away having tried so much, and the producers explain so much, and they get a much greater understanding of what it all takes,” he says.
There is also great synergy with the biannual agricultural trip to Pemberton that Brad takes with his students. “There’s a few of the producers from down there that we bump into … we’ve walked through someone’s paddock where produce is grown that’s come into another company’s food product, that’s now going onto a shelf,” he says. “So the students can see this whole transition of markets and these wonderful new food products coming through.”
The chance to get up close and personal at Meet the Buyer is invaluable, too.
“You couldn’t have a conversation about suppliers that would even come close to what you can do by a walk around the event, having your students being able to look, see, touch, smell and taste all of it, just being immersed in the wonderful Western Australian produce.” he says. “It’s a wonderful lightning rod in regards to quality WA products, as well as looking at trend innovation.”
Brad mentions a passionfruit producer who talked to the students about the importance of innovating and diversifying, to help reduce wastage and increase profits.
“They used to just sell passionfruit and then they moved into pulps and now on top of this, they have non-alcoholic beverages that he’s got canned up,” he says. “So he’s using this one ingredient to make about a dozen different product lines, including curds and drinks, and then ensuring it’s in a market where it can get industry interest.”
It’s the kind of “real world application” that you can’t get in the classroom that Brad finds so invaluable for students. It also translates into the food they cook in the school cafe or for school functions.
“They might ask why we’re using certain ingredients and we can say, well, these three are local, so we can talk to this supplier and look how good their product is – it meets these criteria and there’s also a gluten-free version,” he says.
“And that’s one of the great things about taking students to Meet the Buyer – everyone in that room is local, you can readily get their products, and it also promotes seasonality. We were talking about making a dish in term four and they were like ‘why do we have to wait til term four’ and I said ‘because that’s when it’s in season’.”
The combination of passionate producers and quality local products has been a winner every year. “They absolutely love it; they walk into that venue and they can’t believe it,” he says. “I tell them to make sure they have a look at everything and talk to everyone. All the different producers are so generous and forthcoming, and half of them walk out like it’s the Royal Show with a showbag of little tastes and treats they want to check out.”
That enthusiasm continues when the experience is discussed in the classroom at their next lesson, when the students have a much greater appreciation for the effort that goes into the food and drink industry.
“It’s great to see it spark the imagination, whether they go onto careers in hospitality or not,” Brad says.
Meet the Buyer, a trade and industry only event, returns on Tuesday 21 October 2025. Click here for more information.
