The Guest Speaker

Caleb Carter’s journey begins in the small coastal communities of the Coromandel, where fishing, diving, and a hands-on upbringing shaped the foundations of a career that would eventually take him to the global stage of fine dining.
In this episode, Caleb traces his path from a self-described “ratbag” student who struggled with school to washing dishes at Luke’s Kitchen as a teenager. What began as a summer job soon sparked a work ethic and passion for hospitality that led to an apprenticeship at one of Auckland’s top restaurants, The Grove. From there, Caleb chased experience wherever it could be found — moving through kitchens in Perth and Sydney, learning under strong mentors, and steadily building the technical foundations that define elite chefs.
We talk about the realities of the industry: sixteen-hour days, high-pressure kitchens, and the importance of the first mentors and environments that shape young chefs. Caleb explains why those early years are the most important in a chef’s career, and how persistence, attention to detail, and constant learning helped him rise through the ranks.
Eventually, his career took him to Guangzhou, China, where he helped build a new French restaurant from the ground up and now leads a team of chefs as Executive Head Chef. Along the way he’s stood on the Michelin stage, earned international recognition, and continues to champion New Zealand ingredients and culture in kitchens around the world.
Caleb shares honest advice for young people considering hospitality: focus on learning rather than money early on, find great mentors, and keep showing up even when the work is tough.
This episode is for aspiring chefs, students exploring career paths beyond university, and anyone curious about what it really takes to build a world-class career in the kitchen.
#careers #chef #cooking #newzealand #food #podcast

Jaime Leigh grew up in Katikati, went to a small-town college, and always knew she wanted to be a hairdresser — even before she understood where that path could lead. What she didn’t know was that it would take her from a polytech classroom to Peter Jackson film sets, and eventually to Hollywood, where she would become a BAFTA and Emmy Award-nominated hairstylist.
In this episode, Jaime shares the real journey behind the glamour: knocking on salon doors, ignoring discouraging voices, saying yes to a last-minute Wellington opportunity, entering the U.S. Green Card lottery for five years straight, and starting again from scratch in Los Angeles. She opens up about working on major productions like Oppenheimer, The Hobbit, and Babylon, designing wigs for A-list actors, and what it’s actually like to be on set for 14–18 hour days.
Her biggest lessons? Stay grounded. Focus on the work. Protect trust. Save your money. And remember that creative trade pathways can lead to global careers — if you’re willing to keep showing up and doing the job well.
For students who love hair, fashion, film, or hands-on creative work, this conversation is proof that small-town beginnings can lead to world-class stages.
Check out her podcast with a plethora of experts in the field #lastlooks.crew
#careers #filmindustry #hairandmakeup #newzealand #creativepathways #podcast

Nathan Wallis has become one of Aotearoa’s most trusted voices on how kids’ brains work — not because he talks at people, but because he translates complex neuroscience into language that feels human, doable, and kind. In this episode, Nathan takes us behind the “neuroscience educator” title and back to a childhood marked by chaos, ADHD, and moving in and out of safe homes — where school wasn’t just education, it was refuge. He opens up about the teachers who saw his potential before he could, the small-town relationships that held him, and why the adults who “don’t quit on kids” can literally change a life’s trajectory.
From there, we go deep on the biology of learning: why stress overrides literacy every time, why relationship is the foundation (the dyad) that humans are wired for, and how schools can shift from punishment to restorative practice in ways that actually grow empathy and regulation — especially for the kids carrying trauma. Nathan also challenges the obsession with grades and “career certainty,” arguing that dispositions, identity, and character are what shape long-term outcomes (and that teenagers are at their most creative when we’re often pressuring them to be the most linear).
It’s equal parts practical and perspective-shifting — the kind of conversation that makes educators feel seen, parents feel less alone, and students feel like their future isn’t decided by one report card.

Ellen Butler’s story begins on the Coromandel Peninsula, where a childhood filled with surf lifesaving, sport, and community shaped the social, confident foundation she would later take into the world of superyachts.
In this episode, Ellen traces her winding path from “top end of average” student to flight-attendant hopeful, to au pair in Sydney and France, and finally to a 90-metre Russian-owned superyacht that would launch a seven-and-a-half-year global career. She explains the realities behind the glossy Instagram version of yachting: intense service standards, 12–14 hour days, owners who may never speak to you, the pressure of living at work, and the moments of magic that still take your breath away. Along the way, she breaks down pay, training, safety, seasickness, and why personality - not just qualifications - opens doors.
Now back home, Ellen teaches at the New Zealand Superyacht Academy and co-runs Coromandel Weddings, translating seven-star service into unforgettable events. Her biggest message for young people? You don’t need to have life figured out at eighteen. Yachting can be a six-month adventure or a full career - what matters is going in prepared, aware, and confident in your own skills. This conversation is an honest, warm, and rare window into an industry many Kiwi teens dream about but few truly understand.
#superyachts #careers #podcast #newzealand

From top-of-the-class student to front-line social worker, Clare Ennis has quietly built a career around something you’ll never see on a pay slip: dignity, advocacy, and deeply human care. In this episode, Clare traces her path from high-achieving “you-could-be-a-doctor” teen to working with young parents, students, and communities with high and complex needs.
We talk about what it was really like growing up with academic excellence as “the norm,” the pressure to choose prestige careers like medicine or law, and why chemistry became the early red flag that something wasn’t lining up.
Clare walks us through her gap year teaching English in Poland at seventeen, working at New World, and drifting through a BA in Wellington—nannying, fundraising at the children’s hospital, and realising she was pouring energy into everything except uni. Volunteering at Youthline becomes a turning point: she learns to listen, sits on the phones with young people in crisis, starts training new volunteers, and even meets her future husband there.
Finally, Clare reflects on boundaries, burnout, and why “caring a lot” is both her superpower and her ongoing challenge. She shares the importance of supervision and support networks, and the difference between “hard but right” work and the kind of misalignment that’s a sign you should quit. Her advice to her Year 12 self, and to any student who feels the weight of expectation or suspects they’re built for something more people-focused than pay-focused, is simple and powerful: learn about yourself, follow your values, don’t be afraid to leave what’s not working, and don’t overlook social work. The complexity, impact, and meaning are immense.
#socialwork #career #podcast #newzealand