Tuesday, 7 November 2023
First days at Ulster University, Coleraine
Tuesday, 31 October 2023
Enjoying life in Ulster!
In Bruges!
Greetings from Toronto!
Greetings from Coleraine!
Monday, 30 October 2023
Settling into Brugge, Belgium Study Semester 1!
Friday, 19 May 2023
My last days in Portugal!
This is Panos again writing from Portimão. After spending the last three months working at Numa, I can safely say I have grown a lot both as a chef but also as a person. Nuno is a great chef with a lot of knowledge and experience. He is also very good with students since he is a lecturer himself at the local cooking school. That made me feel more comfortable because this was my first time working in a fine-dining restaurant and I was a bit nervous at first.
During my time here I learned to fillet and cook fish I didn´t even know existed. I learned how different fish have different cooking times and how the quality of meats can change their cooking time. Soon I realized that I should rely more on my senses and less on timers and I became more independent and confident on my skills. I also learned how to think outside the box and use the equipment that was available to make service easier and smoother.
The kitchen is spacious and well-equipped with tools like sous-vide, vacuum chamber, Thermomix, stand mixers, bread ovens etc. I found it similar to the production kitchen in SETU and I was very happy with it because the previous kitchens I worked at were very small and I was half-expecting something similar to that.
Our team was small but we all got along really well
with each other and I felt very supported at work. On my days off, I was able
to explore Portimão and nearby cities/towns. Despite the city´s small size, it
has a lot to offer because it caters for a lot of tourists during the summer.
There is a plethora of excursions available for purchase such as boat trips,
safari trips, skydiving etc. There is also a big waterpark about ten minutes
away from the city that is easily accessible by bus and train so I felt like I
had lots of things to do on my days off. The beaches in Portimão are the nicest
in the Algarve region and they are definitely worth a visit too!
As I am saying goodbye to Portugal, I think of how privileged I am to have done my work placement in such a beautiful country and that I will be coming back someday in the near future. In the meantime, I have my final year at the university to look forward to.
Signing off,
Panos
Blue Mountain Ski Trip, Canada
As part of our Erasmus exchange programme we had the incredible opportunity to embark on a ski trip to the Blue Mountains in North Ontario. What made this adventure even more remarkable was the fact that the college generously sponsored the entire trip, as well as providing us with food for the day too. We left our college residence at 8am and set off on what would be a 2 hour drive up towards the mountains. The journey felt quite long as it seems the entirety of Canada is always under construction, so the roads were very bumpy and the old style yellow school bus we were in didn’t do us any favours in terms of comfort.
As we arrived at the Blue Mountains ski resort, I was greeted by a panorama of majestic slopes and glistening white snow. The sun was nowhere to be seen when we got there but the weather was calm and there was no rain thank God. We got into the main building of the resort and were given our ski passes and suited and booted in the whole ski attire. After we were all ready to rock, we trundled out towards the slopes looking like juggernauts and went on our way.As part of our Erasmus exchange programme, had the incredible opportunity to embark on a ski trip to the Blue Mountains in North Ontario. What made this adventure even more remarkable was the fact that the college generously sponsored the entire trip, as well as providing us with food for the day too. We left our college residence at 8am and set off on what would be a 2 hour drive up towards the mountains. The journey felt quite long as it seems the entirety of Canada is always under construction, so the roads were very bumpy and the old style yellow school bus we were in didn’t do us any favours in terms of comfort.
As we arrived at the Blue Mountains ski resort, I was greeted by a panorama of majestic slopes and glistening white snow. The sun was nowhere to be seen when we got there but the weather was calm and there was no rain thank God. We got into the main building of the resort and were given our ski passes and suited and booted in the whole ski attire. After we were all ready to rock, we trundled out towards the slopes looking like juggernauts and went on our way.
As we arrived late, there wasn’t enough time for the people who hadn’t skied before to get lessons, so I graciously took it upon myself to teach the lads what ski knowledge I had as I had been skiing before, a decision I would end up questioning…….
We began on what one may call the “baby slope” so the lads could find their bearings. I gave them what advice I had and went on ahead a bit so they could follow. Unsurprisingly, as I turned around to check on them, all 3 of them had hit the deck and were absorbed into the
snow. It took a few trips up and down this slope to help them find their feet but I eventually got them courageous enough to hit the next slope.
Once we reached the top of the next slope, my ski apprentices were ready to be let loose, so I sent them on their way and followed behind. It came as no surprise when I found them all on the ground again but it provided me with endless entertainment.
After a few more falls it was time for us to head off again, we all sat down for lunch and had a laugh about the day we had had. We all crammed into our yellow school bus again and headed back for residence.
As we arrived late, there wasn’t enough time for the people who hadn’t skied before to get lessons, so I graciously took it upon myself to teach the lads what ski knowledge I had as I had been skiing before, a decision I would end up questioning…….
We began on what one may call the “baby slope” so the lads could find their bearings. I gave them what advice I had and went on ahead a bit so they could follow. Unsurprisingly, as I turned around to check on them, all 3 of them had hit the deck and were absorbed into the snow. It took a few trips up and down this slope to help them find their feet but I eventually got them courageous enough to hit the next slope.Once we reached the top of the next slope, my ski apprentices were ready to be let loose, so I sent them on their way and followed behind. It came as no surprise when I found them all on the ground again but it provided me with endless entertainment!
After a few more falls it was time for us to head off again, we all sat down for lunch and had a laugh about the day we had had. We all crammed into our yellow school bus again and headed back for the residence.
Enjoying Toronto!
As my journey as an exchange student at Humber College in Toronto began, I was excited to explore a new culture, meet new people, and gain culinary knowledge from some of the best chefs in Canada. Humber College is a massive institution, with several campuses located in different parts of Toronto, offering programs ranging from culinary arts to music production. I was impressed by how big the college was and the range of resources available to students.
One of the things that struck me about Humber College was how welcoming the staff were to us. As international students, we were given a warm welcome and made to feel at home from the moment we arrived. The staff were accommodating, friendly, and always ready to help us with any questions we had. The culinary instructors are knowledgeable and passionate about their craft, and they will hopefully provide us with a wealth of information and practical skills.
One of the highlights of my exchange program so far was meeting new friends from all over the world. There is a huge, diverse group of students from different backgrounds, cultures, and culinary traditions, but we all shared a love for food and cooking. It was exciting to exchange ideas and techniques with my fellow students, and we all now have an opportunity to learn a lot from each other.
As my journey as an exchange student at Humber College in Toronto began, I was excited to explore a new culture, meet new people, and gain culinary knowledge from some of the best chefs in Canada. Humber College is a massive institution, with several campuses located in different parts of Toronto, offering programs ranging from culinary arts to music production. I was impressed by how big the college was and the range of resources available to students.
One of the most thrilling experiences for me was exploring downtown Toronto for the first time. The city has a vibrant and diverse culinary scene, with restaurants, food trucks, and markets offering a range of international cuisines. I was especially excited to try some of the iconic Canadian dishes like poutine, smoked meat sandwiches, and butter tarts. The city is also home to many cultural attractions, like the CN Tower, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Royal Ontario Museum, which provided us with opportunities to learn more about Canada's history and art.
My exchange program at Humber College in Toronto has been an incredible journey so far. I am excited to continue my journey in Canada for the weeks to come, to gain more culinary knowledge and explore more of the Canadian culinary scene. I am also excited about the upcoming trips planned for us by the business faculty, which will allow us to experience different parts of Canada and learn more about the culture and cuisine.
I am looking forward to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead and excited to see where this journey will take me. I feel that this exchange program will open many doors for me, and I am eager to see where these experiences will take me in my culinary career.
Settling in Toronto
How are ye,
Have to say, enjoying Canada, completely settled in, got to know a few more exchange students from lakeshore campus, there’s a lot more of them there then at north campus. Its mad how I’m nearly done the semester here, feel like I zoned out for some of it because it went so fast!
Went to Chicago, it was probably about 12-14 degrees there and I though it was roasting compared to Toronto. We ate at Alinea, a 3-Michelin star restaurant. Chicago as a city was really nice, I actually preferred it to Toronto, just nicer to look at and we just had a good laugh there, it was only a short 3-day trip but hopefully I'll go back in the future.The exchange group is being treated very well, we’ve had a good few trips and activities, we went skiing (I wasn’t the best at this!), also had a hockey game and basketball game and went to Niagara Falls (have to say I thought it was gonna be bigger!). The weather her has been very nice recently hit 28 degrees for one of the days and might have skipped class to go get burnt on the beach! Everything has come to life, Spring has really changed the place and made it more enjoyable, there's turtles, frogs and fish in the ponds now, also seeing more birds and geese here, might have even got a tattoo of a goose with James.
We did our menu for Chefs Table, James, Ben and myself were in a group, I was on starters, James on mains and Ben on dessert. I have to say I was very happy with the dish; I made a confit duck fritter, basically shredded the duck after cooking it and rolled it and breadcrumbed it, this was served with a watercress, pickled shallot and fennel salad with roast plum and bone marrow mayo with a red wine jus.
I’ve decided I’m going travelling to Calgary and Banff and Vancouver at the end of the semester. I’m going with a few people I met in the exchange, hopefully it all goes well.
Overall, looking back on the experience I can say I’ve enjoyed it, don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much! I’ve gotten a new appreciation for SETU too. The food in Canada needs improvement and the ingredients could taste more like their meant to, however, I think opening a nice place over here with nice food could make a lot of money!
If you can get past the food, the expense, and living in a small room then you'll enjoy it, don’t take it too seriously, have a laugh, and enjoy the time off!
All the best,
Callum
Thursday, 20 April 2023
Spring break in Chicago!
Long before the mid term break was set to take place, I proposed the idea that while we were out this far across the world, and while the Erasmus funding was there to lend a helping hand, we should make the most of the mid term break. My proposal was that we take a trip to Chicago!
Chicago is a city located in the US state
of Illinois. Chicago is famed for its bold architecture and skyline with
notable buildings such as the John Hancock centre and the Willis Tower which
was formerly known as the Sears tower. The city is home to over two and a half
million people and the city itself is known as the windy city.
Chicago was not chosen at random, however. The city is home to what has previously been named the World’s top restaurant. This restaurant is Chicago’s only three Michelin starred restaurant and it is known for its mind bending gastronomic feats such as balloons of sugar, tomatoes that aren’t tomatoes and taste like strawberries as well s desserts that are plated right in front of you on the very table you are sitting at.
The restaurant which opened under famed chef Grant Achatz in the year 2005, offers three unique experiences; the Kitchen table experience, the gallery experience and the Salon experience. Chef Achatz has trained under some of the world’s top chefs such as chef Thomas Keller the chef Patron of both the French Laundry and Per se, among others. And chef Achatz has also staged at establishments such as El Bulli which was a restaurant in Spain which is accredited with being the creator of modern molecular gastronomy. Chef Achatz was for some time known as the chef with no taste as he unfortunately was diagnosed with stage four tongue cancer. He however went for experimental treatment and made a full recovery, also regaining his taste. The inspiration for going to Alinea came after watching an episode about it on the hit Netflix series, the Chef’s Table.
Other things we got up to while in Chicago were seeing the infamous bean sculpture as well as the World’s biggest Starbucks. The trip was excellent and the meal was one of a kind!
Enjoying the high life in Barcelona!
Time is flying by in Barcelona!
A very busy March in France
Bonjour!!!
I am busy!!! but my favourite event of the past few weeks was our restaurant experience.
To begin in March we started a restaurant simulation called experience where we were put into groups of 6/7 and had to start up a restaurant from scratch for a week. This was very fun from start to finish but a little challenging. We had a number of themes to choose from and the class chose to do the theme is the Michelin Green star. We had to find local suppliers, ethnic tradesmen and eco conscious ingredients, recipes and cooking methods. I found this really interesting because we even had to advertise our restaurant to attract customers. The restaurant was a small place of 40 covers a night and we did our best to fill the seats each night with our advertising.
We made an Instagram and posted videos of the team and our concept to attract people. We chose the concept of “roots”, having a wide variety of cultures in my group we thought a fusion would work best.
Focusing on the positive sustainable actions in each other’s countries. This part was what our customers found most attractive with our group being from Egypt, Indonesia, Vietnam, China, America and of course Ireland. We all added little aspects from our cultures in our dishes to pay tribute to our own countries.
Doing this taught me about the amount of effort it takes into building a successful business, from fiche techniques, menu and dish calculations and where and how to place your money to make a profit and to circle back to the green star products that represent it and how.
It was so much fun and gave me the opportunity to get to know my classmates better, it was like an icebreaker where we all got to be more comfortable with each other.
We also had a week of service were we became front of house for the other teams. Having to polish cutlery and plates, set the dining rooms vacuum the restaurant, iron table cloths. It was very enlightening seeing the kitchen “from the other side”. What i found most difficult was actually interacting with the guest, having to check up on them see if the have enough bread and water if they need more drinks, its not like in the kitchen when you service the food you’re done with the table. In France before dessert they like to eat cheese, it kept slipping my mind to ask them if they want cheese before i fire desserts, and the kitchen was not happy but i did eventually learn on the third night…
Learning from the French chefs as well was another experience in itself with their precision and patience they have such great techniques that I can now implement into my career. March was eventful and busy, but now it’s time to study and practice for my exams.
Wish me luck.
Lots of love from Ecully,
Sarah :))
Saturday, 4 March 2023
Settling in Barcelona!
Barcelona is a coastal city on the north-east of Spain & is the capital & largest city of the Catalonian community. This city has a population of 1.6 million and the suburban area has a population of 4.8 million.
After spending the last semester in Edinburgh and a month back in Ireland for Christmas while getting prepared for International Study period where I’d be travelling to Barcelona for the 2nd Semester at the end of January.
I arrived in Barcelona on the 24th January after a few hours of travelling from buses and getting on the wrong metro before looking at Google Maps telling me to go the other way down the line towards the Agora accommodation. Got off that metro in Mundet and saw the University as soon as I got off felt delighted, saw on the maps that the accommodation was across from the campus.
University Accommodation |
I checked myself in and got myself comfortable after an early morning flight and a few hours of travelling to the metro stations from bus stops with 2 suitcases and a rucksack and stayed in the room for a few hours as I felt tired and felt like relaxing after the morning of travelling.
On the 25th January I went to the University for induction at around 10am where I was introduced to David Ibarra the International University Officer with the other international students and was given an overview of the college as well the rules and regulations towards the college.
After all that was done, we were split into groups for ice breaker games which I thought were a good way of getting to know who could be on the Culinary Arts. After the ice breaker games, I was given a briefing on the Culinary Course followed by a tour of the campus building.
After the induction, I went into the Catalunya City Centre and began exploring the centre including a stop for food in a Tapas bar which I never had before. I will admit was an amazing experience as I couldn’t travel to Spain without having Tapas at least once and for more of it to come during this semester.
Tapas |
After all the sightseeing and as it was getting dark, I went back to the Metro and headed back to the accommodation.
Over the weekend before the semester starts, I went back to Catalunya as well as getting settled into the accommodation and is very convenient. As well as going on a City Bus tour around the main attractions and amazing architecture around the area. As well as some nice artwork on the various streets.
I am starting to get settled into Barcelona and looking forward to seeing to what the city has to offer and hopefully enjoy it as much as I enjoyed the time I had in Edinburgh.
Oscar Fitzgerald
Studying in Barcelona!
Outside the university |
At first, I was nervous coming to Spain. I never been to
Spain and with the Erasmus I got the chance to visit, live and study in Spain.
It was confusing at first, when I left the airport I didn’t
know where to turn to, what transport to take or where to go. After a while I
discovered where to go. The mobile phone is a great device when trying to
locate the right transport.
Bento box - best Japanese food ever! |
In all honesty, I didn’t know how to speak Spanish, I never learned how to. It was a bit of a challenge for me at the beginning. It didn’t help that the women that I rented a room from didn’t know any English. In a way I started to learn Spanish with her. I cheat a little by using my first language which is Portuguese. The languages are similar but different.
I arrived in Barcelona a few days early, I went a little bit of sightseeing and also went to learn a bit about the public transport here. I found out that the metro is the easiest and quickest mode of transport near me.
La Sagrada Familia |
Well that will be it for my first
blog entry, I can’t wait what I’ll be doing for this year and all the new
dishes that I’ll learn while living in Barcelona.
Write again soon,
Bruno Silva