Variety is the spice of life and never has a phrase been more felicitous than in the life and work of Victor Refaussé, master chef, academic and competitive angler. Victor is widely known in Tyrone and beyond in his academic capacity as current principal of Omagh College – where he has been a teacher for almost 40 years – and as director in waiting of the new amalgamated college which will also include East Tyrone College and Fermanagh College. However, his career as an educator does not encapsulate his full and diverse life which has taken him abroad in the world both working as a chef and representing Ireland as a competitive angler.
Originally from Dunmurry, Victor attended boarding school at Armagh Royal. Then, having left school at the age of 16, he spent the following three years in Portrush training as a chef in the Hotel and Catering College. After completed this training, Victor worked for a number of years in various restaurants and hotels throughout Ireland and England, as well as spending his summers in the Isle of Man.
"I always had an interest in food. Working as a chef is a completely different world, a marvellous industry to be in if you are creative and enjoy producing food and I am very grateful as I learned a tremendous amount working in this industry," says Victor.
When he was asked if he would consider taking up a short-term post as catering lecturer at Dungannon College, Victor's career took off in a new direction.
"I spent six months lecturing in catering and I must say I really enjoyed it. However, when this period was up, I returned to work as a head chef in Belfast. Then a year or so later in 1967, another lecturing position became available, this time in Omagh. I applied, got the job and have been here ever since."
Victor conveys how different the "tech" was back then: "In those days, we would have had a large catering department with 200 full-time students and well over 100 doing part-time work, and we were extremely well recognised throughout the province by the industry.
"Looking back, we had some tremendous students who went through this college, then went on to become restaurant owners or work as head chefs all around the world. It is an industry that provides tremendous opportunities and it has been wonderful to hear how these students careers have developed."
Victor doesn't really see this move from chef to teacher as that vast a transition.
"I didn't really leave the world of cooking to become a teacher. It was more a movement sideways. I was always still cooking while training students in the kitchens. I never left it as such. It was just a different pathway," explains Victor.
I am sure it is a pathway he is glad to have taken because, if this opportunity hadn't arisen in Omagh, Victor may never have got introduced to the sport that has become his passion – fishing.
"When I came to Omagh I had never fished in my life before. When I started work at Omagh College there were two gentlemen on the staff who were good fishermen and they introduced me to the sport."
Fishing is officially the most popular participant sport in the world. Countless millions enjoy getting out to the river, lake or sea to relax, forgetting about the daily pressures of life. Well of course Victor appreciates that aspect of fishing, but it is the energy and excitement he receives when competing against others that makes him so passionate.
"My interest is in match fishing, out competing against a number of other people on the river bank. The idea is you start and finish at a certain time with the fish we catch being put in keep-nets until they are weighed to determine the winner before being set free again, none are killed," explains Victor
"It is more than a hobby; I enjoy the competition side of it, competing your wits and skills against other people and took to it very quickly. We got involved in competitions with a local club fishing all over Ireland."
To participate at this level of competition takes an immense amount of dedication and it is this commitment that took Victor around the world representing Ireland in the World Championships, World Club Championships, European Championships and Home internationals.
"The last place we visited was Bulgaria, with next year's World Club Championships scheduled to be held in Bosnia. But I'm not sure if I'll be going there as I haven't been selected yet," he remarks. "Everywhere is different as there is different species of fish to be caught, but Ireland is still regarded as one of the top spots in the world for coarse and match fishing. But there is tremendous fishing all over the world.
"I have had tremendous experiences in fishing and because I have had such enjoyment out of it, I have held the position as secretary of the Ulster Coarse Fishing Federation for well over 30 years."
Victor may have got a lot personally out of fishing but he has also put a lot back into it by combining this hobby and his career.
"We run all sorts of competitions for young people and we hold one major competition for all the schools every year on the Lower Bann," he explains.
Having reached the pinnacle of his career in Omagh College, Victor is optimistic for the challenges and exciting times that await, having recently been appointed as the new chief executive of the yet-to-be named amalgamation of Omagh, Fermanagh and East Tyrone Colleges that will come into operation in September 2007.
Looking to the future, he says, "There will not be major changes initially as, if you take the three campuses in Omagh, Enniskillen and Dungannon, we will still have the same sort of courses available as we have today. What I think the benefits will be is there are opportunities now for centres of excellence, with each campus specialising in certain subject areas.
"There are tremendous opportunities to develop higher level courses, foundation degrees going on to degree courses.
"We will now certainly in Omagh be able to move into the area of full-time higher education which we were not allowed to do in the past."
Victor stresses how he and his team will be working closely with universities and schools in the local area.
"I think further education is changing, and the focus of government is that the primary function in the future is for us to support economic development. We will have to support both the regional and local economy. For example, if the economy requires extra plumbers or electricians, it will be our role to train those people."
With the broader variety of programmes now offered at colleges, Victor feels it is much harder now for young people to make choices concerning their future career path.
"It is difficult for younger people nowadays to make up their minds about what they really want to do because the choices are so broad. Anyone who attends here is 16-plus, so we have to treat them as adults.
"I am very impressed with the student body that come here and have a deep respect for them.
"At the end of the day, that is my main aim, to make sure that those students who attend here receive good quality teaching and learning, while also having an enjoyable, worthwhile experience."
