Internship Week 1: Lunch Shift

And just like that, my first week of internship at my school's restaurant has flown by. For my first week, my group had the honour of having Chef Jeremy Lovell as our facilitator for the lunch shift. As we all got to know him, he seemed to be a very good teacher and leader. He directed us on the basic elements of the menu while still allowing us to be creative and make each of our dishes our own. He was there to monitor our progress and able to address any question we had. We learned quite a lot from him, particularly time management, technique and plating skills. His plating style, from what he taught us, is simple yet elegant and sophisticated. He showed us the value in minimalism while also appreciating grandeur. Lunch platings are usually simpler than the dinner platings as the lunch period for most persons are short and service needs to be fast. Dinner allows for slower dining and therefore more elaborate meals and platings.

Vegetable fritters on a carrot crema topped with pickled vegetables.

Mushroom-cream soup with rice and spinach.

Untraditional Caprese salad.

Rosemary lamb loin with tomato concasse, Italian-roasted garlic
parmesan potatoes and garlic tossed string beans.

Each day, we were each assigned individual dishes (or one dish per two-three persons depending on its complexity or weight) rather than working by stations, for preparation. However, we worked in a station-type setting during service time. We were given a different menu each day and assigned our duties each morning during our briefing. On the Friday, we collaborated with the breakfast shift group to create a buffet brunch that turned out to be quite successful. Needless to say, our feet were killing us at the end of shift but it was quite enjoyable.

Muffins and breads.

Quiches

Smoked salmon on cucumber and cream cheese with dill.

Roasted beef and braised pork for the carvery.

Pasta station.

The dessert selection for brunch.

The first week has passed by quickly but successfully. Some persons say it's just for a month (i.e. the internship) and it will be over faster than you know it. However, I have not felt that way about it; this is something we all enjoy and, at the beginning of the journey, said we have a passion for. It's not about getting it over with but learning and gaining experience - we should all take delight in every day of this period, and decide if this is what we truly love and would like to spend the rest of our lives doing. Of course, sometimes we change our minds about what we want, and that's okay. But for now, the journey is ever incredible and learning more every day is wonderful.

Curried lobster with gnocchi dumplings in a coconut-spinach sauce.

Fish broth.

Apple, Walnut and Feta Salad

Chicken roulade with beetroot gastrique, sauteed potatoes,
thyme infused broccoli and baby carrots.

Traditional flan with toasted genoise cubes and fresh fruit.