Naveed Ali Khan's Story

When his brother offered to sponsor him to move to Australia two years ago to work in an Indian restaurant in Canberra, Pakistani chef Naveed Ali Khan saw it as a great opportunity to build a new life.

‘I was very excited to come because my brother was already living here. He said it was a good place to live – good income, good career opportunities and a good place to bring up a family,’ said Naveed.

Why I chose Victoria

Manraj owns a popular Indian restaurant in Albury-Wodonga on the New South Wales-Victorian border and was looking for experienced cooks for a new restaurant in the north-east Victorian town of Wangaratta.

After convincing close friends Farouk and Aleysha Shaik to leave their IT jobs in Melbourne and manage the new restaurant, Manraj focused his attention on finding the right kitchen staff.

‘I wanted people with a good work ethic who could blend easily with the Australian way of life,’ said Manraj. ‘I met Naveed in Canberra through mutual friends and was impressed immediately with his skills and knowledge of Tandoori cooking and his enthusiasm. I invited him to come down to Wangaratta and showed him the town and the restaurant and he liked it.’

Naveed returned to Pakistan for a few months to visit his mother who was sick and waited until the restaurant was ready to open. While in Pakistan he met and married his wife Shahida who agreed to move to Australia with him.

How I got here

Naveed’s brother sponsored him to come out to Australia but after eight months in Canberra the restaurant failed and Naveed’s brother moved to Adelaide.

Naveed, who worked as a professional cook in Lahore for 10 years, was intending to return to Pakistan when he met successful restaurant owner Manraj Singh.

Settling in

Naveed arrived in Victoria in June 2006 and Shahida followed two months later, with Manraj agreeing to help the couple apply for a skilled migration visa, sponsored by the Victorian Government.

Naveed’s first impression of his new home was very positive. ‘Wangaratta is very good. It’s a small city but I like it a lot. I’m pleased because the traffic is not too busy and our home is just five minutes by car from the restaurant and the city centre.’

My job

The Indian Tandoori Restaurant in Wangaratta seats up to 110 people and has three full-time chefs and four part-time staff. It is open six nights a week, Tuesday to Sunday, and caters for a range of functions.

As Tandoori chef, Naveed is responsible for all Tandoori dishes and kebabs, and also makes samosa and Naan bread. ‘He’s very good at food quality and shares the ordering with the other chefs,’ said Manraj.

‘I enjoy my job very much,’ said Naveed. ‘I like it when it’s busy and there are 10 or 12 dockets at one time. I really like the challenge – it’s very satisfying.

Our new life

In July 2007 Naveed and Shahida celebrated the birth of their son, Taha Khan, and hope to make Wangaratta their permanent home.

‘It is so beautiful here. It is very much like my home town of Hafizabad in Pakistan because it’s compact and easy to get around,’ said Shahida. ‘Also people are very friendly and very helpful – I really like that.’

On days off work Naveed and Shahida like to explore the local area by car. They also enjoy socialising with Farouk and Aleysha, and Manraj’s family, including his mother who lives in Albury.

Shahida has also formed some close friendships by attending English classes at The Centre, a migrant resource facility in Wangaratta. ‘It’s been so wonderful to meet women from different places such as China and Japan who are about my age and are experiencing very similar things. They are all my friends now and we go to each other’s houses and have coffee together. We all support each other.’

‘I also like our home. Its small but it’s very private and our neighbours are nice. We can’t have long conversations yet because most of my neighbours are older people and I find their Australian accents a little bit hard to understand but we always wave and say ‘hi’.’

The future

One of Naveed’s goals in the next few months is to join a local cricket team. He currently satisfies his love of the game by playing a few overs in between lunch and dinner service with other kitchen staff in the restaurant car park.

‘I’m very happy here. I like my job and I like my life. One of my long-term plans is to open up a spice shop in Wangaratta. It’s a bit hard to find good Asian and Indian spices here so there is a real demand for this type of business.’

Further information

• Living in Wangaratta
• Working as a Chef - check your eligibility for sponsorship and assessment information
• Services and resources available for settlement.