Build Up to Christmas in Edinburgh

 With Christmas fast approaching, Edinburgh’s famous Christmas markets were beginning to take shape in early December. My last day of work was Sunday 4th December and I allowed myself an extra week in Edinburgh to explore the Christmas markets and what they had to offer. After the clocks went back its gets dark here very early, and right now the sun sets around 4 o clock every day, meaning the Christmas lights are at full blast before dinnertime. The markets were fun to look around, definitely puts Winterval to shame anyway, but the minus 4 degrees temperature wasn’t exactly ideal. After taking a ride on the big wheel and trying to get some warmth from a mulled wine, I called it a day before I froze to death.

The weekend after I came back to Edinburgh from my weekend at home, my friends came over to visit. It was lovely to be able to show them around the city and of course, bring them to a few pubs. We took a walk through Old Town and took lots of pictures, we fit right in with all the tourists that’s for sure. One of the nights I brought them to an arcade bar and we played mini golf and bowling, it got very competitive but of course I won, I couldn’t have them show me up in my new stomping grounds. We found some lovely spots for breakfast and coffee in the morning and I took them to BABA, where I work, for dinner. We were spoiled by everyone in the restaurant and got lots of freebies, we almost had to be rolled out after dinner. It was a very nice feeling for me to be able to show off the restaurant and display the high level of quality food I was capable of making in my new workplace, they were all blown away. Unfortunately for the lads, when they arrived home they all came down with a dose of COVID bar one, and myself thank god. Not a great end to their little holiday but at least they got it after and not before!!!!!!

My last day few days of work in BABA were quite emotional to say the least, its amazing how quickly bonds and friendships are formed in such a big workplace. I got everyone in work to sign a chef jacket for me before my final day and there were some lovely messages on it, I wish I could I share a picture of it but theres a few bits on it that might not look so great on a college blog……….

My dad flew over to spend my last weekend in Edinburgh with me and I’m due to fly back with him during the week. I also took him into work for my final meal there and again, we were spoiled rotten. I really cant speak highly enough of the team in BABA, it was an absolute joy to work there from start to finish and I’ve made friends I know I’ll have for life. 

This definitely isn’t the end of my story in Edinburgh, 

Until next time………. James

Halfway Point – Heading Home for the Weekend

 As I reached the halfway point of my work placement, I was given the weekend off so I could go home to Ireland for the weekend and catch up with everyone. The small break from work gave me a lot of time to look back and reflect on the first half of my placement.

At this point, I feel very comfortable in my new workplace, and I’m fully settled in. I have developed a good relationship with my colleagues and superiors, and I feel as though I am part of team. As my skills develop and I become more and more familiar with the different sections of the kitchen, I am learning how to properly take responsibility for my section and for the work I carry out and there is a lot of trust developing within the team. I’m making friends with other staff members here which is making the settling in process much much smoother.

Life in Edinburgh isn’t too dissimilar to life in Ireland. It's so much easier to get around over here, public transport is far more regular and reliable and there is always a way to get exactly where you need to go. The thing that I have been struggling most with is the language barrier though, it turns out that Scotland’s interpretation of the English language is a little different to ours. I’m finding it harder to understand the Scots than I am with any other nationality in work, but it does make for some funny opportunities to pick up some new slang, I’m learning a wee bit already……..

The more time I spend exploring the city here, the more I fall in love with it. I really cant speak highly enough of my experience here so far. Everything is accessible and there is always something new to see. New Town offers everything you need to live a modern city lifestyle, but just a short walk over the bridge and you arrive in Old Town, which honestly looks like something out of a Harry Potter movie. It feels like having two different cities at your fingertips and provides so many points of interest to ensure you never get bored.

Once I arrived back in Ireland for the weekend, I got the bus from Dublin airport back down to Waterford, I was very excited to see everyone. Naturally, the most inventive thing me and my friends could come up with was to go for a pint on the Saturday night. It was lovely to see everyone but being home made me think about how little things change when you wait for things instead of taking initiative yourself. It was a gentle reminder to myself to keep giving 100% in work and to look forward to the opportunities that this chosen career path will present me with in years to come, I can't wait to continue my journey in Edinburgh and use it as a stepping stone to start my globetrotting career.

Until next time,

James

My First Week in Edinburgh

Greetings from Edinburgh. James here.

I first arrived in Edinburgh on the 26^th August and The Kimpton Hotel where I would be working were nice enough to give me a free stay in house to help me get settled in to my new environment. I met one of the hotel managers Chris upon arrival and had a chat with him about the hotel and the city, he made me feel at home with them but unfortunately, he is from Dublin so we naturally had a GAA debate before I was shown to my room. I dropped my bags into my room and headed out to explore my new surroundings.

I took a walk up Princes St, which is the main street through Edinburgh New Town, and was blown away by the atmosphere and architecture surrounding me. There was a big city buzz to the place but it still felt safe and homely, I knew I wasn’t going to have any problems settling in. I found a lovely secret garden to stop in and have lunch so I could take it all in. The Fringe festival was still in full swing when I arrived, so the streets were lined with performers and of course, bagpipes. I sat and listened to the musicians as I had my lunch, and I instantly knew I was going to feel at home here.

Following my weekend in the hotel, it was time to move into my apartment. I was quite nervous as this would be my first time living away from home, but I was also very excited at the thought of having my own space and being independent. I unpacked my bags and introduced myself to my new roommates who were very welcoming and helped me to settle in. The apartment is only a 20-minute bus from the city, so it is very accessible, and the area has very safe feel to it.

After having a day or two in my apartment to find my feet, it was time to start work. I spent my first week working the breakfast shift so I could meet everyone and familiarise myself with the hotel and how it operates before moving into the restaurant the following week. It was quite overwhelming to see the large scale at which they work at having only worked in smaller restaurants before but I was excited to be experiencing something new. The head chef was very welcoming and taught me all the basics so my transition into the restaurant  would be as smooth as possible. The restaurant is called BABA and specialise in Lebanese/Middle eastern Cuisine, I love this kind of food and have always had an interest in the cuisine so this was a very exciting prospect for me. 

Exciting times are ahead, more soon.

All the best, James

Build up to Christmas - Michelin Star style

It has been incredibly busy for the last few weeks, badly short staffed so having some longer shifts again with a few extra shifts being picked up, just to make sure everything is up to standard. The time here went too fast have my last day on Sunday and don’t know what I’m going to do with myself after living the chef life. The build up to Christmas started a few weeks ago, just going through different menu ideas and making sure recipes work, it’s gotten a lot busier in Marlow, Christmas parties from other business’ are happening every night now and we can definitely feel it in work.

Had BBC come in to film us cook so everyone in the kitchen was on their best behaviour, no shouting or laughing just work being done, it was a great day though, the place had a good buzz and the camera crew were very understanding of the busy kitchen. The documentary is meant to come out next year sometime, showing the life in the kitchen as well as the hit the industry has taken due to price increases of food and drinks.

Went onto pastry for a day, just to see what it was like, enjoyed it but I still know that larder is my favourite section, very hands on and more satisfying making a full dish for a customer. However, getting an insight into pastry was great, learning new recipes and how that section runs was a very useful skill. Have another festive set menu now too, so making sure that all perfect, new garnish for the chicken pie and also a new venison dish that was added that was fantastic to see. Garnish has also gotten a new fish dish which is definitely the best fish dish I’ve eaten; I’ve been the only one that was making the garlic bread for the dish in the last month or more so I’m happy someone else learned how to do it now.

The End of Summer at The Hand and Flowers

This is my 7th week now and you can feel the change around the town, mainly busy on the weekends now but still getting plenty of customers in the restaurant, a new set lunch menu is up and is now on for 4 days a week, Monday to Thursday with A ’La Carte being on in the evenings. This is attracting a lot more people and keeping all of us busy in work. I’m currently jumping between 2 sections, larder and garnish and helping out where I can with the sauce or main course section. Have a good feel for the place now and know the best way to plan the day. I also started doing breakfast now and again enjoying that, happy to be getting as much as possible out of the place, just means I have to be in work for 7 so even less sleep!

The new set menu for larder is sweetcorn soup with charred sweetcorn and chili salsa with chive oil and croutons then other option is pig head with pancetta, pork crackling, artichoke puree, pickled plum, oat crumble and beef jus. Both dishes are incredible and a bit of work as some items on the dishes require a couple of days to get ready. The pig head comes in whole; we slow cook it for the night before picking it, seasoning it and pressing it which again takes a night to press fully, it then has to be portioned perfectly and put through a panne station. The pork skins also take some prep time, we have to cut them to size, vac pac them, cook overnight, take some fat off and then slice it and cook it before service, so if you are short on them you could mess up the whole service.

The garnish section side has changed from boulangère to pomme puree, this actually saves a huge amount of time as prepping 50kg of onions for lyonnaise every second day was sometimes a struggle, not to mention the fondant potatoes that were cut by hand for the top of the dish, however I felt like making it was a lot of fun and was an elegant little side dish to have. A new pork garnish was added with a celery and lovage emulsion which is always satisfying when you get it perfect.

I got to go down to The Butchers Tap and Grill, another restaurant in the company for 3 days just to cover staff, I really enjoyed being down there as it was a change of service and vastly different food. The name describes what food they serve here, huge pieces of meat prepared in front of the customer by the restaurant butcher.

This place had a lot more of a relaxed feeling, more like a chilled-out pub that has sports on and gets very lively on a busy day. It was great to see the difference in cooking techniques, with a large grill and open kitchen, probably a higher turnover of customers due to the main being the highlight of the meals, but then again, some steaks took an hour to be cooked due to the size of them.

The Hand and Flowers - Marlow, England

My name is Callum Priest and I’ve started work at the Hand and Flowers in Marlow, England. This is a 2 Michelin star pub with four AA rosettes, owned by Tom Kerridge, it opened in 2005 and is still going strong. It was awarded its first Michelin star in 2006 and got its second star in 2011. The restaurant is now run by head chef Tom De Keyser, who started in the Hand 2 years ago, before this he was at The Coach, another business in the Tom Kerridge company that also has a Michelin star.

I started work on Monday the 15^th of August, having the title of Demi Chef De Partie and I am seriously enjoying the time I have been there so far. The team here are incredibly friendly and welcoming and I feel that I fit in very well. My first day I started on the larder section, which is in charge of starters, I was happily surprised that I was put straight onto service as I could get a feel of how the kitchen operates. During these 2 weeks on this section, I got to meet Tom Kerridge and had a chat with him about where I’m from and what I was doing before moving here. Have to say it was a bit of shock seeing him the first time as he is such a well-known chef and I was a little bit nervous.

Over the next week I became more and more comfortable with the place and was then moved onto the garnish section, which is responsible for the garnish and sides for the main course dishes. I again got heavily involved in this section helping with service and also doing miso during the day.

The following week was the staff party, which was at Tom Kerridge’s house, which I still think is amazing that I got to go there, it just shows how much he cares about the staff. As there are 5 business’ in the company there was a lot of staff present, we were treated to drinks and food all day, as well as a boat trip back to the town when it was over. Having this on the third week of being there really helped me get to know more of the staff and actually have a normal conversation outside of work.

I found that I was always looking forward to going to work each morning even though the hours are long, starting at 7:30 in the morning and not finishing until 11:30 at night, with 80+ hours worked per week. The food is fantastic, simple, normal ingredients done very well. The first few weeks were incredibly exciting and I am looking forward to learning so much more from the place! 

The Glorious Gleneagles: Part Three

My days off

I ate alot on my days off. The food here is just incredible.

One of the first places I went to was Noto, edinburgh.  It's an asian style restaurant with a Michelin bib. As i mentioned before the architecture here is breathtaking so when we were going up we took a detour.

 

Upon arrival we were taken care of and the staff were so lovely.

They had a good menu selection with reasonable prices.

It was a whole experience, being used to what is produced in Ireland this was phenomenal. My two favourite things i ordered were, kurobata pork belly, chickpea miso, mushroom for my mains and the chocolate and miso mousse for my dessert.            

Another place I ate at was, friend of mine, Bridge of allan.

This is an influential brunch spot with a very creative menu that caters to the majority including vegans. They had a fairly large menu, a lot of choice.

We ordered bao buns, pulled pork tacos and sriracha and mushroom avo toast.

Bridge of allan is a small town with great history and beautiful views.

The only exciting things I did was go axe throwing and archery. It was all on site in our trail yard only a brief walk. It was well worth it and a very fun experience.

                                       

Overall I would recommend Gleneagles to anyone, I've learned so much not only as a chef but as a person. Don't be afraid to travel without friends, going out of your comfort zone is what makes you better.

This has been a great chapter in my life,

Byeeee, Sarah Anna :)

The Glorious Gleneagles: Part Two

 The Dormy clubhouse and the Birnam 

The dormy

The dormy is an Indian restaurant/ club house where we cater to golfers and their families. Starting here I was initially on cold larder to begin. It was mainly starts and desserts from this section. With the layout of the kitchen tandoor, pizza and cold larder were at front of the house, which was cool. Being one of the busiest outlets in the company during service, walkie talkies are used to communicate across the floor, another thing to add to the list of things i've never seen before.

    

I asked to move sections as I felt cold larder wasn’t challenging enough for me. So the head chef put me on curry. This i can say was a handful, prep wasn't too bad as it was just making everything in bulk. But the service was wild. We have this option on the menu called a thali which is 2 curries of choice, 3 sides and protein from the tandoor. Having more than 3 on order is very difficult to get out especially when you have other checks.

 Working in the dormy was so fun, putting out authentic Indian food  and learning about the chemistry between flavours and textures from highly qualified chefs was like a dream come true. I got to learn how to make all sorts of curries properly from scratch. I was completely out of my comfort zone here with their style of cooking, but everyone was so patient with me. This allowed me to reach my full potential. Yet again making friends that helped me along the way, the dormy had such great energy and was by far my favourite kitchen to work in.

The birnam

The birnam is an italian brasserie, it tiptoes around fine dining and casual. 

It's a beautiful open kitchen with a char grill. Sections in the kitchen include pasta, fish/fry, grill, sauce/sides and cold larder. My first week I was put on sauce, this is where some sides come from and sauces for steaks and fish. Next I was on cold larder. This was all the cold starters, snacks and salads. Prep heavy section yet again but simple service. This is one of our starters which is grilled sashimi tuna on bread sauce with caper dressing and parmesan.

I learned alot from others in this kitchen, things like patience, concentration and management. I admire the  birnam.

I also had a week in pastry, this was organised by my manager. It was very calming but not for me. It made me appreciate a lot more what they do as everything sweet in the hotel comes from them, that's not easy. During my time there we had a few functions, a frequent one is afternoon tea.

 

This was for a buffet, it consisted of chocolate and peanut butter choux buns and raspberry rice pudding.

All kitchens have made me into a better chef in their own ways and I am never going to forget my time here, gleneagles is now my home.

Until next time, S.A.

Christmas in Edinburgh 

As time is going by so quickly and it’s almost time for placement to finish, I must say it has been an absolute pleasure around Edinburgh in the city especially with the Christmas Market kicking off.

The Edinburgh Christmas Market is one of the biggest festivals in Edinburgh. The festival kicked off on the 25^th of November and will run until the 3^rd of January. The market includes local craft and food stalls as well as amusement rides all along Princes Street Gardens with an ice-skating rink and a carousel on George Street between Charlotte Square & Castle Street Popped in to see the market for myself when I was off and I am enjoying it so far, especially when I’m not driving and I could have a sneaky pint in the middle of the day because I’m commuting by bus and haven’t been driving for 3 months now which I was so used to.

While the Christmas Market is happening in Edinburgh, I’m also preparing for Christmas Functions for Banqueting with about 70 Salted Caramel Cheesecakes and preparing Christmas dinners for the same functions.

When I’m not busy with the Christmas Banqueting or BABA prep. I recently started doing Dessert and Fruit platters for smaller groups staying in the hotel as well as showing one of the kitchen porters who got promoted to a breakfast chef the ropes around the cheffing side of the kitchen and everything I learned over the past few months which is something I wouldn’t think I’d be doing, seeing the way things were. Felt like it was time to pass them on as I’ll be flying home in 2 weeks’ time.

As the time is going by so fast, I have to say it has been a pleasure working in the Kimpton from when I started on the 26^th September when I felt homesick as well as having the first day nerves to having confidence with Breakfast, Banqueting, BABA & finally Canteen prep. I felt I really got on in the hotel over the past 3 months which has flown by so fast and now I feel sad that I’ll by flying back home but also happy at the same time as I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of Edinburgh, and I can see myself 100% returning to Edinburgh when I complete the BA Honours Degree and hopefully return the Kimpton again.

This has been a truly remarkable experience and I’m glad I went to Edinburgh for the International Placement part of the year abroad of the course. Hopefully Barcelona turns out the same way when I start over there for the Study part of the year abroad and finish the last few weeks of placement.

All the best and Merry Christmas!

Oscar Fitzgerald

Settling into life in Edinburgh!

Few weeks into placement, I’m starting to get settled in, the accommodation is nice. Living in a quiet suburban area of Edinburgh called Gilmerton which takes 30-45 minutes to get into the city centre travelling by bus.

I am beginning to have an idea on the types of duties to be done while on placement, from getting breakfast prep along with various banqueting, canteen, and BABA prep when I finish all the breakfast prep as I start at 8am and finish at 4pm while the other breakfast chefs start at 5-6am and finish around 2pm which I have no problem with.

One morning I was asked to do come in at 7am and finish at 3pm, this was for my first breakfast service which I felt nervous about as I didn’t do breakfast service before but once I got in, I got into the swing of things as it was mainly Porridge, Pancakes and Eggs Benedict, Florentine, and Royale. I learned that Royale was with smoked salmon, Florentine was with Spinach, and Benedict was with Ham.

Since I completed that one morning of service, I felt better about myself as I felt good after doing it once and I’d help on service, and I now know what goes with certain breakfast meals including room service which is often Full Scottish Breakfast and Porridge & pancakes.

Few weeks pass by, and I have been counting the weeks for my family coming over to visit from Ireland for the midterm. Kitchen staff has been informed about that and I have informed that I was going to meet them in The Garden Bar when I finish work, because I was getting on with everyone and been working hard over the past few weeks. Jim the Banqueting chef that I often give a hand doing various prep for functions and making the coffee when needed, prepared a special afternoon tea for them before I showed them the main attractions in Edinburgh and surprisingly booked myself a room in the IBIS hotel along South Bridge as I told them about the time it would take for me to commute to and from the city centre if I stayed in my accommodation.

While we were having the afternoon tea, we got greeted by all the management team including my Sous chef Agustin within complimenting me to my family and telling them how I’m getting on in the hotel. We were also given a few recommendations of tourist attractions

from the General Manager Kieran Quinn before heading into the city and to drop my bag into the hotel they were staying in before going for some dinner around The Royal Mile.

The next day we went to see the Royal Yacht Britannia as one of the recommendations we were given for tourist attractions to go and see as well as going on a whiskey tour to Johnnie Walker the following day as the weather wasn’t good but was still an enjoyable experience which included 2 free drinks at the end of the tour. When the tour was finished, we got some food before heading to the airport, had a coffee there and after the coffee. We parted as I went back to the city centre while my parents flew home. The time flew by during their visit!

I feel I am getting on well in Edinburgh and now feel confident heading around knowing where the main parts of Edinburgh. I feel I’m starting to enjoy Edinburgh and I would be happy to live there when I finish the degree!

All the best,

Oscar Fitzgerald

Edinburgh - The Kimpton Charlotte Square 

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland; it has a medieval styled Old Town & and an elegant Georgian styled New Town with gardens & Neoclassical buildings. With a population of approx. 506,000 people.

Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel is a Georgian styled hotel on Charlotte Square just few yards down from Princes Street. The hotel is owned by International Hotel Group (IHG) along with the Intercontinental along St Andrew Square. This hotel is a Luxury 5 Star Hotel with 3 restaurants including a Middle Eastern styled restaurant called BABA. It is one of the few luxury 5 Star Hotels that is also pet friendly which amazed me.

I checked in to the hotel on the 24th September to stay for a few nights to settle into the city centre. When I got to the room. I was greeted to a Welcome Card, Scottish Fudge and a can of Irn-Bru to welcome me to Scotland and get settled in.

On the 25th September I went down for breakfast, sat at my table, went up to go the buffet, saw there was haggis that I heard was the staple of Scottish food. I couldn’t resist, had to try some, loved it and thought I’d be prepared in case I get offered haggis during my travels. After the breakfast, I went for a stroll around the cities along the 2 towns of the city centre. That evening I popped into the kitchen to introduce myself to the acting head chef Agustin and to check what time I needed to be in the kitchen to start my 1st day of placement so I would plan my night around the roster and was given a little tour of the kitchen while I was chatting with him.

On the 26th of September my 1st day of placement started where I arrived around 7:30 to start the breakfast shift at 8 where I was introduced to the breakfast chefs and was shown around the kitchen before starting to prepare scrambled egg mix for service. Looking around the kitchen while I was getting the 1st day nerves which quickly went away when I began doing preparation for breakfast service for both this morning and the following day which reduced my nerves and homesickness as it’s my 1st time living away from home for 3 months. Time flew by after getting to know the other chefs and kitchen porters as well as staff from the various departments around the hotel.

After the 1st day of placement, I felt exhausted after heading back to the room after learning the different techniques and demonstrations and had to pack up to check out the following day as I am moving to my accommodation which is where I’d be living for the rest of the semester.

So far, I’m getting on ok living in Edinburgh, hopefully when I arrive to my accommodation where I hopefully will get settled in and feel like I’m home. I’m also looking forward to seeing what Edinburgh has to offer.

Wishing myself the best of luck on this new chapter of my life!

Oscar Fitzgerald

NUMA Portimão, Portugal - Part 3

Hi Everyone,

Well, here it is the last entry. A lot of things have happened. First of all, we have started to implement a completely new menu, meaning new desserts to make.

During the last 2 months I've been working hard doing some tests for the new desserts, seeing what works what doesn´t. I´ve enjoyed the process. It was long but very giving. We finally finished the new menu. I´m very proud of what we came out with.

The platings are so different, creative and crazy honestly. It was a good journey these past months. I've learned more about food, flavours and team work while being in numa. I've met very nice customers, great chefs and worked with a great and fun team.

I will miss everything from Numa but they are a great restaurant and it will be a great place for students that want to do pastry or hot kitchen the flavours work great together and the dishes are made with seasonal produce.

While doing these deserts I´ve learned new skills and recipies. 

This dessert has chocolate textures, pomgrenate textures and almond textures, with a brandy mousse.It uses milk, dark and white chocolate.

This is a very strange recipe but the flavours work really well together. It is a honey liquor and Parma ham pudding with caramel, cinnamon crumble, tangerine foam, honey liquor gel, fig sorbet and some dehydrated Parma ham as garnish, also some basil oil.

This one has a very abstract plating format. This is profiteroles, filled with peanut pastry cream, caramel, Caquelin, lime foam, raspberry gel, peanut praline and garnished with powdered sugar.

This recipe was inspired by the chef’s childhood meals of mashed banana, orange and biscuits. This is an orange tort, orange cream, caramelized orange gel, biscuit crumble, banana ice cream, banana crispy and apricot. This is a very sweet dessert but still very nice.

These were the last dishes that I made for my last week, I've done lots of things like pickling, fermenting, making brioche, bread, desserts, cakes, gels, coverts, starters, I also helped the cleaning woman with cleaning and putting the plates and pans in their place. I met great people and learned a lot from them and their cultures and I've enjoyed it all!

Thank you for reading!

Signing Off,

 Bruno Silva

NUMA, Portimão, Portugal  - Part 2

Hey everyone Bruno here,

I´m in the middle of my placement now, on my 5th week, so far, I've been doing well here.

I made bread today. In the Numa the bread is made fresh every, day except Monday.

I make sourdough bread, every day the first thing I do before starting anything is the bread dough. I also feed the sourdough starter. On Friday's we add some flavours to the bread, for example some weeks we add walnuts and sultanas and other weeks we add seeds. I´m also in charge of the amuse bouche, I have the choice of what the amuse is going to be.

I'm also in charge of the covert and cold plates, and of course the desserts. The best part is when I have to do a birthday cake or wedding anniversary cake. I can do some creative designs, if I want to. Chef Nuno encourages me to be creative and think of solutions to problems.

Doing all the preps and elements for the dessert dishes is very time consuming but very enjoyable. I have the possibility of making beautiful dishes.

I also get the opportunity to be a part of big events, and working with other professional chefs from the region.

The best part is we use up everything and there is no waste making the restaurant sustainable. Any food waste goes into the composter and that is used to put in the mini garden that the owners have.

These are some of the cake designs that I did. We use a square shape for birthday and a heart shape for wedding anniversaries. They are lemon cakes with pumpkin jam, and meringue coating that was browned using a torch.

This is one of the starters that I helped with while we were doing a tasting menu event.it was new for me because I never did a tasting menu. This was a great experience. I enjoyed the whole thing and being part of the process.

This the bread I make every day. It has a nice crispy crust and a soft middle. We use it for the coverts but there are some customers that actually order the bread because it´s so good. Seeing those orders made me so proud of my ability.

This is a starter plate that was made in one of the biggest events in Numa. It´s beetroot textures, with a goat cheese foam, bacon flavoured popcorn, and red pepper crispy. The event was a tasting menu with the collaboration of four great chefs in the region. It was really a onetime opportunity that I got to experience it was so big that there was even a filming crew. I t was exciting.

I can't believe how the time has flown since my first entry, but every day there is something new and exciting happening!

By Bruno Silva

NUMA - Portimão, Portugal

Hi Everyone,

So, for starters my name is Bruno Silva. I’m in year 3 of BA (Honours) Culinary Arts. I started my placement on the 5th of September in this Restaurant called NUMA. It is near the centre of Portimão, Portugal.

NUMA is a restaurant created and named after the owners Nuno and Manuela. It was their dream to open a restaurant. Numa has been open for 2 years and is going well.

Nuno is the executive chef, and he has dedicated himself to intense training in Cooking and Professional Pastry, learning the best confection techniques, choosing the best ingredients, and refining the palate. He worked in several renowned restaurants in the Algarve and the United Kingdom, where he improved the flavours, textures, and experience in a frenetic pace of restaurant cuisine, valuing the team that manage to share the daily challenges with him. He is also a certified trainer at IEFP in the area of Cuisine’s Chef. Chef Nuno is going to be my mentor while on placement.

I came to this placement as it is one of the best restaurants in Portimão.

I decided to come to Portugal because I'm from here, but I've never experienced actually living here. So, I took the opportunity to gain experience more about my culture and its cuisine.

At the beginning I was nervous because I never collaborated with the owners of an establishment, but Nuno and Manuela are very welcoming.

I was put in the pastry section of the restaurant, and I love it. The platings are beautiful and different and the meals are traditional Portuguese foods made differently. I've learned a lot just in the first week and I keep learning new techniques. I also do the cold starter plates and the amuse bouche.

This is one of the plates I did, it´s a cold starter, seasoned fish, oyster, cucumber, caramelized orange, cucumber gel, orange gel, Parma ham, and a nori crispy in a coral design

This is one of the Amuse Bouche I made, it usually changes all the time, this is seaweed, tomato gel, on a seared sardine with mash potato and squid ink on a toasted brioche slice, this is a sustainable dish because we use item from dishes that were used and create a new item for customers to enjoy while they wait for their meal.

One of the desserts we serve, this is a modified version of a traditional dessert. This is a white bean and almond mille foils with lemon curd and dill gel, decorated with powdered sugar.

 These are just some of what I did so far. I can't wait to see what is in store for me for these coming days!

by Bruno Silva