saying goodbye to brunch and bottle

 Hi everyone Joan here with my last blog post from brunch and bottle  

So just about finished my placement here in brunch and bottle. I can definitely say my experience from working in brunch and bottle has been amazing. I've really learnt so many life skills that are going to bring me on more in the way I work and the way I study. Even though I've learnt so much And I can't wait to show everyone what I've learnt. I can say that I have definitely made some lifelong friends. Everyone in Brunch and bottle has been so nice to me and they've been all so welcoming me in very much form the minute I started working. I know I haven't been making fine dining elegant food, but I've been making food that I enjoy making and I know that I have put my spark into it. In brunch and bottle we work a lot with health in food and really listen to the costumers on what they want. In work we had to deal with people's allergens a lot. now I really do understand how difficult it is to prepare food like that, but I know now it can be done. 

Brunch and bottle is definitely place I would advise going. It is somewhere that you could bring your friends, your family, anyone. I can definitely see a few new changes happening in the kitchen, but that was bound happen. The main goal I had was definitely to develop my skills more in cooking and that some I did do. As well, something that I didn't expect that much of is to learn on how the business works, like how to cost effectively, how to do order sheets, things like that. All of this will help my future because it is a goal of mine to maybe someday open my own business and now, I have a real idea and structure of how that works. it is something that I want to develop on more and more.

 

Gleneagles Part Three: The Social Life

Hey everyone it’s Cian writing from Gleneagles again, my focus in this blog is to give a bit of insight to life outside of work at Gleneagles. The accommodation is on hotel grounds but it is nowhere near as luxurious as the hotel itself. The rent is dirt cheap, £215 a month, but the room is very small. There’s some means in place to maximise space in the room, some is practical and then some is not. For example there’s two drawers under the bed which help to create space, but there is also a shelf above the bed that’s a good idea for creating storage but not a very well thought out design because I have hit my head off the shelf when getting out of the bed several times already. The bathroom is small but at least it isn’t shared. The shower is reliable for hot water but it’s a bit on the short side, I’m 5”11 and I have to squat a bit to wash my hair properly. The kitchen is shared with all Whitemuir residents and it is a poor excuse for a kitchen to be honest, it’s two fridges and two microwaves and a kettle. Having no cooker or oven means I have to rely on the canteen or microwave rice for dinner on my days off. This would be a more significant issue if I wasn’t working in the kitchen and had no access to food when on shift. The laundry room does the job and the gym in the accommodation isn’t too shabby either.

My nightmare of catching Covid living in tiny Whitemuir became a reality…. 7 days isolation in the tiniest of rooms with no kitchen access and having to rely on the canteen to deliver food really tests you! It felt like prison but luckily if you test negative on days 6 and 7 you can end your isolation which was lucky because I couldn’t stand another day cooped up in that room. 

I knew the hotel was going to be remote but I underestimated how far things were from the hotel. The nearest town, Auchterarder is about 25 mins walk away from the hotel and this area is limited in what it offers. In the town there is a Spar, a Co-op, two pubs and a few takeaways. The nearest cities are Perth and Stirling and the hotel has regular bus services to these areas. Glasgow and Edinburgh are easily reachable via the train station too so despite the remoteness of the area it could in fact be much worse than it is. The key to this is either know how to drive or befriend someone who does drive, as silly as it sounds, when I moved from the Birnam to the Dormy I met my two best friends who live in Stirling and can drive, so we have gone everywhere together and have plans to go more places in the summer, if we get the same days off!

Because Glasgow and Edinburgh are roughly equal journeys away I've been to both quiet frequently, I've visited Bethany several times and we have complained about the amount of tourists on Princes Street, that shows how settled we are into the country! I find Glasgow is the better city for a day of shopping and a night out whereas Edinburgh is more of a tourist destination for sightseeing. The Gleneagles Townhouse opens up on the day of me writing this vlog, 6/6/22, so it could be a potential option for me in the future because I'm always jealous of the options available when living in the city in comparison to rural Perthshire!

Gleneagles Part Two: The Dormy/A70

Hey everyone it’s Cian again from Gleneagles and this vlog is about my time in the Dormy Clubhouse and also a bit about the A70, which is a subsection of the Dormy clubhouse which offers lots of small bites and sharing plates. The menu has two major influences, Indian cuisine and Scottish cuisine. They are some dishes that are strictly following each cuisine such as the black pepper chicken tikka being Indian cuisine and the Haggis scotch egg being Scottish cuisine. Theres some dishes that have influences from both cuisines however, such as the Malai cauliflower, which is a cauliflower dish that has been steamed then marinated in indian spices and then baked to order and served with a Scottish cheddar bechamel to offset the heat from the marinade. Working in the A70 has been beneficial for me as it is a smaller kitchen, there is only two of us most days so communication is vital for sending food out of the kitchen. Another thing about the A70 kitchen is that its an open kitchen so the way I carry myself is vital as I'm in the view of the customers. There has been times where we have gotten absolutely slammed and once we sent all the food we would have to completely reset the kitchen because of the mess, a small kitchen can get messy very quickly when its busy!

I find the Dormy environment very different to the Birnam, for example the very first day I worked in the Dormy I was invited out for the staff night, whereas I was in the Birnam for two months and there was no work/social crossover with any of those colleagues. The best thing was I met two Irish lads who were both also from Waterford and had done the BA in hospitality management and never came back from their placement because they liked it there so much! Meeting these lads was so good because hearing an Irish accent for the first time in two months was so refreshing because learning to understand some Scottish slang has been a struggle!

Working the A70 and Dormy has been very beneficial for me because I have learned so much about different cuisines, I have never used so much different spices since starting here! The best thing has been the kitchen team, I have made so many friends in the Dormy, we spend 60 hours a week together so we are all like family. Ive learned so much and in this kitchen I feel appreciated and not viewed as another pair of hands solely because I'm a student. I have made some great friendships in my time and I don.t see myself leaving Scotland anytime soon.

Gleneagles Part one: The Birnam

 How’s it going everyone this is Cian Rockett from fourth year checking in from Gleneagles. I’m going to be here for 6 months and I’m in agreement to work 2 months in the Birnam Brassiere, The Dormy Clubhouse and the Strathearn. Each of these restaurants has different offerings so I plan to learn as much as I can in my time here! 

The first restaurant I started in was the Birnam on January 24th The first section I experienced when working here was the Garden Café. Working this section had me responsible for making soups, salads and sandwiches. The soup allowed for my own personal creativity and intuition because the soup had to differ day by day and the head chef accommodated and critiqued ideas that I had for new soup ideas. The common theme of ideas that I had was that “they sound tasty but just not for the general café clientele”, which makes sense because  the soups I suggested were often spicy and the clientele of the café are usually elderly who have little spice tolerance and would prefer a more “boring” soup as put by the head chef himself! The salads that are on the café menu have quite an Italian influence due to the head chef being Italian, salads such as a Panzanella  salad made with Heritage tomatoes, focaccia croutons and roasted red peppers, or the Ortolana salad made with red pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes and cous cous are two of the best sellers on the café menu. 

Finally the sandwiches are quite simple to put together but the ingredients have some element of luxury to them to justify their place on offer in Gleneagles. For example the San Daniele sandwich consists of sourdough bread, buffalo mozzarella and prosciutto from San Daniele that is bought in as a whole leg and sliced in house. Another offering is a cheese and tomato croissant using Isle of Mull cheddar which is a native cheese producer so this justifies the price point of the sandwich.

Working the café section is enjoyable but being on it for a whole week without a section change did get boring.

 

The next section that I worked on was the cold larder section, which took care of cold starters and salads for the main Birnam restaurant. One of the chefs described this section as the easiest section to serve but the  hardest section to prep. As each dish has 7-8 components each, mise en place is vital to have correct or else you’re in trouble. Working this section showed me flavours combinations that I never thought would work and also ingredients I had never seen utilised before.

For example, cold larder utilises the same prosciutto the café uses but for the cold larder dish the prosciutto is paired with burrata, port and vanilla poached figs and a smoked beetroot and greek yogurt purée. The smoked taste comes from smoke powder which I’ve never seen utilised before so this was very interesting to me. Another flavour combo that interested me was the goat cheese starter with  goat cheese mousse, blackberry gel and pistachio purée. 

Working the cold larder section was a lot more enjoyable for me than the café but it’s a section where they need me to be more experienced to run by myself so it was seldom that I worked this section.

The final section I was on was fryers. The fryer section also has responsibility of the hot starters in addition to giving fries with the grilled main courses. This section taught me how to multitask because I was never used to keeping my eyes on orders for starters and main courses simultaneously, so this was difficult to do initially but I soon got the hang of it and thoroughly enjoyed working that section. The only issue was this section was one of the most annoying to clean after service!

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed my two month stint in the Birnam and am sad to see it come to an end but it’s now time to move to the Dormy for the next two months and learn as much as I can here!

Bye Bye Savages Bakery

Hi everyone,

 

Shannon here posting for the last time. My work placement in Savages Bakery, Crossmaglen came to an end in a few days ago. I am relieved to say the least. 

 

The past three months presented their own set of challenges for me. I had to be on the road every morning for 5am, arrive in work for 7am and work in an extremely fast paced, high volume environment until 3pm, then do a drive taking anywhere from 2-3 hours dependable on traffic conditions and then have to look after a toddler filled with energy. It was exhausting. I was in survival mode, just barely making it day by day. The challenges I experienced were entirely due to personal circumstances as I doubt any students will have to commute to complete their international placement, if any student does find themselves in that situation they need to remember it is doable and the final hurdle to complete your degree. Just persevere and keep going, it is only temporary.

 

 If you have the option, I would recommend travelling to potential work placements to experience them in person before making your decision. I was considering doing my work placement  in a five star hotel in Belfast with a fantastic reputation and superb food. When I actually visited Belfast and got a feel for establishment and area, I quickly came to the realisation that this was not the right choice for me personally. This came as a shock to me as I really had my heart set on it, instead I came to realise what I actually wanted to achieve with this work experience. Even though, it would have been a great opportunity to work at the five-star establishment, it was not suited to me personally as I realised I could not be away from my daughter for 5/6 days a week for 3 months and that I was not interested in the fine-dining scene of being overworked pulling 12+ hour shifts and even that kind of food. I always had an interest in small businesses, artisanal produce, bread from scratch and I needed to be home as often as I could so I decided to stick with somewhere that could offer me that.

 

Thankfully, I done my research and chose a work placement option that I knew would be the right choice for me personally and professionally where I could see myself working in the future. For future students, I cannot emphasise the importance of researching into any potential work placement options and finding out information such as the shifts required, team size, yield of produce daily, employer flexibility and the chain of command.

 

Reflecting back on the experience, I have grown on a personal and professional level more than I ever could have imagined. It was an extremely positive experience from start to finish, the only challenges I experienced were on a personal level. To any students who may feel overwhelmed by the thoughts of the work placement, try not to be as my experience and from what I have heard from the rest of my friends on their placements they have all been positive experiences where we all have grown more than we could have ever imagined.

 

 

Bye & best of luck,

Shannon :) 

The George Edinburgh

 Hi all, Bethany here with my final blog post about work in The George Hotel Edinburgh.

So I have finally completed my hours for placement and its almost bitter sweet writing this last post. Although it feels sad, this isn’t an end, only a new beginning. I remember being so frustrated, like the rest of our year group when covid hit and our college experience was changed completely. But now I get to think of this experience as entirely unique, I don’t have to leave this city that I’ve fallen in love with. No more college to return to, I can stay in my job, and continue to plan my life here. I’m now incredibly grateful to have been given this experience at all.

The George hotel has had its ups and downs since I’ve worked here. We’ve lost some good chefs, some friends have left us for better opportunities, or some like my dear friend Lauren who is returning to WIT for her final year. We have dealt with some extremely busy nights and some very quiet ones too.

For the most part I’m glad I don’t have to leave, I’ve made friends working in the hotel, and learned a great deal about the hotel industry. I have been ordained “Chief of Pastry” by my co-workers and we’re never short of a laugh.

The kitchen team has it rough sometimes, like most chefs around the world. But now we officially have a new Head Chef and a Sous, so there will be more structure and better management within the kitchen. I really have enjoyed learning the ins and outs of each section, and taking on the pastry section as my own, I have full creative control over the dessert menu… within reason of course.

 

My goals for the next few months are to completely revamp the dessert menu, the ingredients used and the methods. I’ve been reading into more eco friendly and healthier pastry recipes lately and I think it would be interesting to try incorporating that into the hotel’s food. We are a 5* hotel after all, the food should always reflect the star status.

I do one day hope to move on and to continue expanding my patisserie experience, but for now I’m glad to say I have a job and I’m comfortable, so I can’t complain. Who knows, maybe I’ll stay in the hotel for longer than I envisioned, maybe I'll move up the ranks. I have been given the opportunity to learn the kitchen operations that are handled in the office, which I’ve been told could lead to a managerial type level of experience and the pay to reflect that. The experience will be incredibly helpful to learn considering I still have a dream of opening my own bakery one day.

Anyway, things are going well, there are always bumps in the road. But I try to remind myself that I’ve been through worse, and this is a great opportunity to be given. Not many are as lucky in life, and I will forever be grateful that I can consider myself lucky.

Finally just to say thank you to my friends, the last 4 years have been amazing, I miss you all and can’t wait to see you again. 

Goodbye for now, Bethany. 

Grand central 3

 Hello everyone, Faith here again for the final time. 

Since the last blog post we have had the Taoiseach Micheal Martin and Minister of foreign affairs Simon Coveney at the hotel for meetings, to which everyone was coming up to tell they were here. We have gotten two new chefs joined the team, one of which is our new executive sous chef. There is exciting times ahead with Damien starting to change the direction of the a la carta menu and with the extra help we can start to implement this direction, all I need now is for another pastry chef to join. Further in the pastry department we have had to come up with a new afternoon tea menu to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee and have begun to batch make the items such as the lilac earl grey macaroons.

I would highly recommend coming to the Grand Central for industrial placement. Not only is having a free five star accommodation right in the city central amazing but the hotel is a great place to work. They believe in your ability and allow you to come up with your own ideas for specials, if you feel like things aren't working efficiently you can implement changes to make your life better. Everyone here is very helpful and its a great team to be apart of. There are tough times where there is a lot to do with little time, it is then a matter of just stepping back looking at the list and organise it due to importance .It has taught me to tell people no when they are being unreasonable and expecting me to preform miracles, I would just have to remind people that there is only two people in pastry and some days only one of us.

Other than the few negatives which there will all was be ,I have been enjoying my time here so much that I have decided to stay on at the hotel for the summer. Now I can look forward to spending time in Belfast during the summer and see where the direction of the hotel will go.

If you have any further questions don't be afraid to contact me.

That's all for me, bye.

Edinburgh, Over and out

 Hey Guys this is Lauren back with my final blog in Edinburgh. I just finished working at The Intercontinental, the George hotel. Overall my experience there was generally positive. The main negative was the changing team and general lack of chefs. However that issue seems to be resolved now as a new head chef has started and is bringing more chefs with him which is great. He is changing a few things around and I think if the restaurant goes in the direction he is taking it I'd definitely recommend it. However as it was when I was there I think I definitely would have learned more in BABA. Something I did like was getting to be in charge of my own section. Even though I had less experience than the others working there I still felt very respected and my input was appreciated. For my last week I was on the banqueting team, which was a nice switch of pace and a nice way to wind down working at the hotel. If you want more flexible working hours I'd definitely recommend asking to work on the functions as they are very relaxed. I could basically come in when I wanted as long as the prep got done.  And once the function was sent and everything was cleaned you could leave. So generally I was finishing around 9 when if I was in the restaurant I wouldn't be finishing till around 11. I also feel very lucky to have made amazing friends while working. I feel very lucky knowing that I always have a job and people to call if I come back here. 

Edinburgh is such an amazing place to go regardless if you choose the George or not. There are so many great places to eat. On Sunday I went to the neighborhood market and got to try lots of different foods and listen to live music in the sun. I would definitely recommend checking it out if you are in Edinburgh. It is Stockbridge which is also a very cute area with lots of nice cafes, bakeries and restaurants. So definitely a good spot to go to. The start of the water of Leith walkway is also in Stockbridge which feels like an escape from the city which is great if you are in need of a bit of peace and quiet. I could honestly go on all day about Edinburgh but I will leave you here.

Thanks for reading,

That's me over and out

The End of Canada

 

Right so, that was Canada. It was many things that I didn’t expect or think of beforehand such as the 4 month spell of cold weather, I expected like 2 months but sure it was grand. The distances to go from one place to another was definitely a culture shock. Money is definitely something to be considered, as in seriously save a lot it’ll be needed and more. It was definitely a much different time in comparison to my time in Denmark. Going from 70+ hour working weeks in a city you can cycle around everywhere and the atmosphere is bright and clean. To a massive metropolitan city where it takes an hour to go for a coffee, doing 4 hours of college work a week and it's dark for a solid 2 months. Two polar opposites but both gave me a lot of experience and lessons learned.  

The Humber College experience was definitely something very different, to be honest.  Our classes in WIT seem to be somewhat busier but both classes get the same level of content across, with regards to their information, pace and so on. LeeAnn, Sam and myself were always the first finished in every class, and to be honest found it maybe a touch easier than our WIT classes. The food was moreso Italian or Asian in cuisine when I had expected maybe some more Canadian food, given the massive multicultural way f life however, it made sense. As a word of advice, perhaps I would’ve lived off campus so to cook for myself and others as in residence you couldn’t. This could definitely allow you to progress yourself just by making home cooked dishes from produce from the likes of St. Lawrences Market, a must see by the way!

On a positive note we made some great friends over there and had good nights out, seen some cool things and enjoyed the social side of college life. There are some great foodie places in Toronto, none of which are very cheap but all delicious. From this angle an being exposed to such a varying culture of foods, it’s amazing to see what’s possible for us back in Ireland. The 3 personal favourites of mine were Rol San, 416 Snack Bar and also Bar Raval. Rol San is based in Chinatown and in my opinion was the best Asian Food we had over there, although not so cheap, the portions are massive and well worth the price, even for chicken feet. Next was 416, the chef Dustin actually was a guest chef in one of our classes and his food is definitely a reflection of him, big in flavours, delicate little plates and overall great vibes. And my all time favourite from Canada was Bar Raval, super authentic Spanish Tapas Bar serving great food, beer and wine, for a reasonable price surprisingly. All these foodie places make up for the college experience so I would definitely recommend exploring and educating yourself, just as mentioned before, don’t forget to save up for it. Also seeing some NBA and Baseball games is a must they’re unreal craic!

Canada was a big experience and one that I'm dead happy I did, in fairness to all the lads I met and knew before it wouldn't have been nearly as good without them, and on that note God Bless and enjoy Erasmus! (Here's Sam with his stick)

And lastly, the year is really what you make of it, so always say yes and don't leave with regrets!

 

Hotel Camiral

 Bon dia , It's Semeehat!

 I'm blogging straight from Espanya. My international work placement will be taking place in a hotel Camiral , in the number one golf resort in Spain, named Pga Catalunya. I mean how exciting is that!

I know absolutely nothing about golf, but PGA is more than just that and that's why I think I will enjoy my time here.

PGA Catalunya

 Owned by an Irish businessman, Denis O'Brien. PGA Catalunya Golf and Wellness is one of the world's leading real estate developments and fully-serviced lifestyle resorts, located less than an hour from the vibrant city of Barcelona, 20 minutes from the stunning beaches of the Costa Brava, and just 15 minutes from the historic town of Girona. This estate includes two championship golf courses, a five-star hotel, Hotel Camiral, a Kids Club, and a wide range of dining options. The Forest Park zip wire, a family adventure park featuring an exciting zip-wire experience in picturesque woodland, is one of the many outdoor activities offered by PGA Catalunya to encourage tourists to appreciate the lovely surroundings. Cycling, trekking, and horseback riding trails through the neighboring forests are among the other recreational activities available. The golf resort includes another hotel called La Vida, a contemporary hotel with a view of the forest park and mountains.

Restaurant 1477

My first week in the restaurant was enjoyable. The restaurant is located on the first floor of the hotel. The menu has European influence with a Catalan twist. I will complete my placement in the pastry section of the kitchen. The dinner service starts at seven and ends at half eleven for us, working in the pastry section.

As you can imagine, I was a bit worried because I don't speak Spanish. Fortunately for me, in the kitchen, there are a lot of the chefs, that speak English. Finding this out eased my worries and I felt like communication in the kitchen would be easy after all.

Well, that is all for now. I can't wait for more to come. I am really excited about everything to come. 

Hope to see you in the next blog!!! Take care...

Adios xx

Semeehat