If I wasn't already certain that the culinary arts is where my heart is set, this internship confirmed it. During these four weeks, I have been able to get really immersed in the lifestyle of a chef. Iv'e done a lot of professional work in a kitchen before this, but nothing compares to my internship at the Yellow Deli. I felt what it was like to do rigorous work in a hot kitchen for several hours, then head home, make dinner, shower, sleep, and do it all again the next day.
I've had the dream of becoming a chef since I was 10 years old and while it's more likely that my dream would have changed throughout these past 7 years, mine hasn't and my work during internship has proven this furthermore for me. If I had dreaded going to internship this past month, it would have shown me that the culinary arts isn't something that I wish to pursue anymore. However, this was not the case. I have enjoyed the work I have been doing at the deli and the parts that I didn't like (such as the dish washing or how physically tiresome the work is) are negated in comparison by the strength of my passion for the culinary arts. I am extremely fortunate to have found a strong passion early on. I have had many years to consider my options as a chef, look into culinary schools and their pricing, and much more. --- --I am going to mold the 1st part of the 2nd question in the prompt for this assignment to write about something very important to my internship experience. I will dig into the 2nd part of the question afterwards.-- As mentioned in prior posts, the first thing that I noticed about my mentor and employees at my site is that they are all very welcoming and mean you no harm. I find this really wonderful, however, one thing I haven't spoken of on my blog is the fact that all the Yellow Deli employees are part of a religious "community" (which I am certain is code for cult). I am only going into this for reason that I simply cannot document my internship experience without mentioning this, so let's continue. The Yellow Deli is run by The 12 Tribes which is a cult based on Messianic Judaism and Christian Fundamentalism. The mission of the Yellow Deli isn't to serve good food, but rather, to give awareness on The 12 Tribes and lead people into their group. The staff tried it with me. I cannot tell you how many invitations I have gotten to their cult gatherings that they hold every Friday night for the Sabbath. I, myself hold different views than them. I am not religious. I know that the employees at the Yellow Deli are only inviting me to these events because they truly believe it would benefit me, however, what I believe is that they are brainwashed into thinking that their cult is a very positive thing in their lives. None of the staff at the Yellow Deli is paid money. Instead, food and clothes and other necessities are provided for them by one head cult member. To make sure that no one ever wants to leave The 12 Tribes, the information members receive is heavily filtered. They all live off the grid (flip phones only for some leaders of the community), all the books or magazines they get are specially made for them (the bible, etc...), and the children are given a narrow, biased education from other community members. If you'd like to know more, This article talks about children of The 12 Tribe's education and the story of former member, Shuah Jones who escaped the cult. Also, This recent video from Inside Edition explains a recent scandal of The 12 Tribes breaking child labor laws. The duration of my time with them, I have been treated very very kindly. The reason for this is so that I am given a sense of acceptance and love that might make me want to join their cult. Unlucky for them, I have already made my decision about them and religion and am not as young and naive as they'd hope to believe that joining their group will only benefit me. The constant attempts at showing me that the ways of their cult would be a "positive" force for me is what ensures me that the reason they took me on as an intern is so they can spend lots of time with me and try to get me to join The 12 Tribes. Not many restaurants would allow a 17 year old to work in their restaurant, but in the Yellow Deli's eyes, the younger the prey, the more vulnerable it is. It's somewhat sad to know that this was their main reason for their eagerness in having me as an intern, however regardless, I am still grateful for the things I've learned in this past month. I've just had to bear the attempts, kindly decline the invitations, and keep my head screwed on right. --- To achieve my dream of becoming a chef, my next step is to apply for culinary schools. At this point, I have enough to put on my applications (including this experience) so, I just need to apply and see. I also need to look further into culinary school costs and see how or I can manage them if at all. If everything goes well, I should be on the road to becoming a chef soon!
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Final Internship Photo Essay: Final Internship Project: To help keep the Yellow Deli organized, for my internship project, I created a general prep list for the prep workers to use so that when workers are rotating positions, everyone is clear on what tasks need to be done. The list basically outlines the daily and weekly tasks that need to be done. Here is he link to the spreadsheet I created it on and here is a screenshot of it: I worked with the head of prep work to make sure it is organized how it needs to be. Now that it is completed, I just need to have a company print it nicely for me on thick paper, then I need to laminate it and buy a white-board marker so the staff can check off the boxes daily and erase the marker off the laminate at the end of every week.
Part 1:
How did you measure the success of the work you did while you were an intern? What did you learn from this? The staff at the Yellow Deli has been ecstatic to have me working with them since I begun, and their appreciation for me has only grown. It's been really refreshing to walk into an environment every day where I am truly appreciated, accepted, and where the work I do is meaningful (to them and to me). Not many restaurants allow 17 year old teenagers to waltz into their business and casually get to work everyday for a month straight. But at the Yellow Deli, not only do I get to do this, but I am happily greeted by each staff member, I have made friendships with half of them, and not an ounce of harsh judgement has come my way about being too young and therefore possibly unfit to work among them in their kitchens. For this reason mainly, I know that the work I am doing as an intern has been highly successful and of much profit to their business. Another reason I know that the work do is done well is that I am always clarifying the details of the task I am being set to do. Even in a basic task like dicing 12 cups of red peppers into a measuring pitcher that measures only in quarts, I asked a co-worker how many quarts equals 12 cups. It's always better to make sure I am completing the task correctly beforehand or during the beginning rather than completing it incorrectly, wasting ingredients and time. Through asking questions about my work, I have learned how important it is to not ignore the specifics of a kitchen task. For example, when a recipe calls for 5 tablespoons of onion powder, the amount that goes in has to be exactly 5 tablespoons. Not a granule over or under. And when scallions need to be chopped 1/2 a centimeter in width, you know its time to get out your ruler because if it's not close, you're redoing the whole bin. On top of that, if you spend an hour perfecting the size of each slice of scallion, I can assure you the staff won't be thrilled that you took so long. This is not to say that I've made any of these mistakes. In fact, I haven't made the staff dissatisfied in the slightest. I work hard and I work fast. Through learning how things need to be done at the deli, I have learned and adapted so I can complete each assignment as close to flawless as possible. I don't mean to sound like I am boasting, in fact, I'd rather that I had made more mistakes by now. I'd like to have been given something with more room for mess-ups. Something other than following recipes off of a paper and working as a pepper (knife work). Nevertheless though, I have been learning more than I know and can only be grateful for my time at the Yellow Deli. How was your work meaningful to your education? As I went over for FOUR paragraphs long above this prompt, my work at the Yellow Deli has been extraordinarily meaningful to my education. You see, in just over a year, I will be headed to yet another kitchen. One big kitchen that is divided into hundreds of them which all double as classrooms. That's right, I'll be headed off to culinary school. I don't know if you've ever heard anything about cooking school, but if you haven't, it is not a walk in the park. It is one of the harshest environments ever where you are not treated as a human, but a dog. If you dare make a mistake, you will be verbally attacked until you get it right. If your souffle (one of the hardest pastries to master) fails to rise, you get to enjoy a 2 minute lecture/assault in front of the class about the failure you just set before your professor. Then, when it and class is over, you can run home and cry for about 10 minutes until it's necessary that you bake souffle after souffle for eventual mastery until 2 am (which is when fish class starts). Culinary school is all about being yelled at so you have enough incentive to prove your professor's words wrong. To show them that you CAN make a goddamn souffle. But hey, as tough as it is, at least you'll learn. For these reasons, I wish to go into culinary school with as much knowledge as possible about the culinary arts. Doing so will spare me shame and earn me time. If I know how to julienne carrots before I walk through those doors, I will be sparing myself shame for when my professor asks me to and I don't know how. I will be sparing myself hours of sitting in my dorm room kitchen with 10 sacks of carrots working my hands sore just to finally learn to slice them perfectly julienne. And while I've been on my internship, This is what I have been doing. I have been sparing myself future pain and earning myself more sleeping time in the future. At internship, I have been learning about the culinary arts, the flow of a restaurant, the level of attention needed towards the specifics of every task, the need for speed, and far more. Nothing is greater than knowing you are doing rewarding work for yourself and I am more than proud to be doing so at the Vista Yellow Deli. Part 2: What new appreciations did you develop while working as an intern? Why? For the first week or so that I've been interning at the Yellow Deli, one of the only thing I was working on was prep work. I was solely a prepper chopping bins after bins of vegetables and fruits, washing, food processor-ing, dicing, slicing, and mincing all of the ingredients needed for salads, soups, sandwiches, and more. The heavy emphasis on monotony in this first week (and even in the rest) is what forced me into a sort of ultimatum: I could be annoyed by the redundancy of my work and claim that slicing dozens and dozens of apples isn't going to help me as a chef any further, or I could be grateful that I am getting to slice dozens of apples in a restaurant kitchen at age 17 and take note of the fact that practice makes perfect. I could either love it or hate it. The reality is that with each apple I am cutting, I am, in some way, becoming a better chef. Sure, standing and cutting each apple exactly the same isn't that exciting, but there are more benefits from the task than there are negative factors and I am happy to have taken appreciation for my work rather than hatred. What qualities or characteristics did you see in the people around you that you want to develop in yourself? Why? The staff at the Yellow Deli is kind. That's it. I want to be more kind. More, nice and caring to others in my everyday life. Working in a kitchen, you may have expected me to aspire to be as undaunted, valiant, or knowledgeable as my co-workers. But that is not exactly what the Yellow Deli restaurant, in specific, is about. The workers there aren't professional chefs. They know darn well how to prepare food, but the restaurant's mission isn't about food. It's about community. It's about being there for each staff member as family and creating a place for the city of Vista to enjoy good food and spend time with family and friends. If you aren't aware, the Yellow Deli is a large chain with sites across the country and outside North America as well. It is run solely (with the exception or me) by a religious community that some call cult-like, but that I now know isn't . While I myself am agnostic, I don't and never have denied that religion has a way or bringing people together and teaching people how to live by core morals. I have seen this first hand in the staff at the Yellow Deli. They take almost nothing for granted, and are ever so kind to each other (including me). It is nice to be treated with respect, so naturally, I strive to replicate this into relationships that I have with others. I understand that a large problem in our modern society (and especially in Millennials and younger) is that we, as humans, bring each other down more than we do support, love, and appreciate them. I have more recently taken note of the fact that I don't have a lot of true friends. I have a couple solid friends to whom I have known for years and I have recently understood why we have such a strong friendship. Relationships take effort on both ends. You have to treat the other person kind from the start and hope they do so in return. A problem that I have had is that either the other person or I haven't treated each other with enough respect. And when the other person sees this, they or I gradually float away from that negativity. Most of the people of newer generations value their social media and the relationships they have over the internet more than real, true, ones. It's far easier to drift off into your phone than it is to maintain a solid conversation with somebody, and because of this, many of us haven't given ourselves the chance to learn the demands of upholding a relationship. The staff at Yellow Deli community is all off the grid and, in them, I see true character quality, and among them, I see valuable relationships. So, recently I have been working more on censoring my words and heeding the kindness of each sentence I speak. I have no need to bring people down. It won't make me feel better and it'll only limit their success. It was never a conscious thing I did to hurt others. I didn't even realize the effects of my actions or words. I only did it by nature of seeing it done to me and around me. I now see that there are wonders that a little positivity can do , and I want to be the person who makes that change. I want to lead by example. One thing that I am always trying to work on to better myself is my confidence and self-advocacy. I learned as a child how important it is to take initiative in our own life and the role that self advocacy plays in making something out of nothing. We're in control of our own life, every situation we find ourselves in, and every decision we come across. For every good thing that happens in our life, we must have had to put in some amount of effort into making it happen. You want to eat an apple? Cool, plant a seed and nurture the sprout that rises from the soil. You'll soon see it grow into a beautiful tree, and eventually, you'll not only have one apple but you'll have 5, 10, even 100 apples ready to be harvested and devoured. Were I not to go through the trouble of securing myself an internship I enjoy, I would be forced to intern every week for a month at some random business that my school secured me an internship at. However, I made sure that this wouldn't be the case. I made sure to make something great of this opportunity and am now having one of the best times of my life working in the kitchen of a restaurant--something I thought I would'nt get to do until after I completed culinary school.
Just as important as it is to take advantage of every opportunity and make good things happen for ourselves, it is crucial that once we have done so, we make the most of it. For example, we could drag ourselves through high school claiming that it's a boring waste of our time, or we could start a fun club, join a sports team, etc... and see it as an educational system that'll open many doors for our future. Life gives you lemons, make lemonade. I've drawn a little away from the point of this passage, but if you are asking me if I a full advocate for myself what I would love to say is YES. The reality being that, yes I am a great advocate for myself, but I could be better. Then again... we could all be better. It's just about what we're doing, if anything, to become better. In my case, I am doing what I can to strengthen my self advocacy skills and let me explain: I understand that If I need something or have a question, I need to ask someone for help, so in 99% of situations, I reach out for help. I have no problem asking any one of the workers at my internship site to aid me. The only thing that gets in the way that other 1% of the time is complete lack of confidence or certainty. If I have a simple question, like where the vegetable peeler is kept at my internship site, I won't hesitate to ask. But if I have a larger question about something that could be common knowledge, I would hesitate asking it for fear of appearing stupid. It's a silly reason stemming merely from self-consciousness, and I've had every intention of squashing this little worry out. So, since long before I even got my job, I've been asking those questions--doing those little things that scare me--and I am stronger because of it. We must do things that scare us or else we'll never grow. Required by my school, is for students to work on a project that betters the business they are interning at. My mentor and I spent the whole first week coming up with a product I could make that would aid the restaurant moving forward.
While I've been at internship so far, I have been working alongside the head of kitchen prep-work (let's call her Bethany for sake of not mentioning her real name). Everyday, she assigns me tasks and teach me how the restaurant likes them to be done. With all that she has been teaching me, I have been becoming more and more independent in the Yellow Deli kitchen. However, I'm still in need of her to assign me tasks (things to chop, recipes to get started, etc...) to complete. Well, one thing I have noticed is that, on occasion, when I have come to Bethany for a fresh task, it'll sometimes take her a moment to get her mental checklist open so she can put me to work on needed prep. Seeing this as well, my mentor suggested that I make a tangible to-do list that includes all of the things that need to be done to be able to make all of the menu items. Some of these projects need to be done weekly, bi-weekly, tri-weekly, daily, etc... and it will help to have a well organized list of everything needed in order to make one dish. This way, the other employees and I can consult the list to know what needs to be done and can get to work without needing to confer with Bethany. Hoping everything runs smoothly! This week I got the chance to interview my mentor, Laura Franks (who goes by Nevya) about the Yellow Deli and her experiences working there. Here is my full interview with her:
Me (Rayna): Why did you choose to work here? Nevya: Well, probably because we're all just a big family and we all just wanted to be together. Also, its just an amazing place where you can be hospitable to people. I mean, what else could you want to do? Take care of people and be with your friends. R: What skills and training was necessary for you to be at the position you are now at the Yellow Deli? N: (laughs) The main skill would probably be being humble and learning. I think that's the main thing. Especially in our place its not any special skill. Everyone can do anything, its just that we have to be taught. The main skill is just to listen and be inclined to learn and give your whole heart. R: So did you ever dream of becoming a cook when you were younger or working in hospitality? N: (laughs) Never once! R: What did you imagine yourself doing as a child? N: I didn't know (laughs)! Being a hermit or a monk or something?? No (laughs), I didn't know. R: At It's creation, what do you think was the purpose of the Yellow Deli? Was it to serve wholesome food or was it to be a part of the community like the Vista community, for example? N: Well the first deli that was created--you know, that we had one like 40 years ago--that one was just for the purpose of having a place that we could be together and also to make a place that people could come to get to know us and also so we can just love people. So it's the same with every deli. Just as an extension to reach out to the local people and get to know them. R: And, lastly, I've noticed that the employees here--all of you guy--are very close and you all know each other from outside the workplace. How do you think that helps in everyday life here at the Yellow Deli? N: Well, I think running a restaurant--well probably many different businesses, but especially a restaurant--you have to communicate a lot and you all need each other. I mean, the waiter is nothing apart from the cook. The cook is nothing apart from the waiter. If there wasn't a dishwasher, there would be no restaurant. The bus boy, the host, every person is necessary and you all need each other so there is a lot of communication that needs to happen and the closer you are with the person, the easier it is to communicate. Week 1 Reflection: Interning at the Yellow Deli this first week has proven to be a really beneficial, fun project for me. Yesterday (Thursday, May 17th) I moved a little away from basic prep work and helped the head of kitchen work with making the restaurant's famous ranch dressing-like sauce that goes on their "Chicken on Ranch" sandwich. Today, I helped make the spinach artichoke spread for their "Yellow Submarine" sandwich. I am really stoked to be moving away from prep work. I anticipated and feared that my only tasks while interning at the Yellow Deli would be monotonous work that don't challenge my skills as a chef. However, I can see that this is not the case and I am really ecstatic. I have been doing great work that is beneficial to me, the staff is happy to see me when I come in, and I have already made friends with many of the workers. Going into this internship, my original plan was to switch internships mid-way through, however, I am liking interning at the Yellow Deli so much that this is no longer in my plans. The lovely Yellow Deli restaurant to which I am interning at functions far from ordinary. In the kitchen, workers don't follow the order of a traditional professional kitchen environment. Outside of the workplace, workers are like family to each other. I always imagined the kitchen of a busy restaurant like the Yellow Deli to be loud with lots of workers bustling about to get everything on a plate. But the flow is different at the Yellow Deli. Workers are rarely stressed out, everyone is calm, and it is quiet enough to still hear the folk music that plays through the dining area.
The Yellow Deli is a chain restaurant run by people of a certain religious community. Now, I don't know much about their community, but I do know that family and friendship are at the highest of their values. The fact that their community built the Yellow Deli Businesses from the ground up (literally. They hand-built the building themselves) and continue to run it together is what keeps it running and keeps everyone happily working. The relationship you have with your co-workers means everything--especially as chefs who have to work as a team--so to have such a strong relationship with each other like they have is absolutely amazing to me. I am currently working as a prep worker at the Deli which means I am doing various tasks to prepare core ingredients for the rest of the workers to make meals of. I am chopping produce, bending butter, slicing deli meat, etc...etc... While this may not seem like a whole lot because I am not, say, cooking soup and baking bread, it is a great experience for me, as a 17 year-old. By working in a restaurant, I am not only learning by doing, but I am learning by watching. In a busy kitchen with lots of workers working around me, there's plenty to watch and plenty to learn from. For example, I was cleaning some bell peppers (removing stems, core, and seeds) today at the island counter in the kitchen. In front of me was another worker and she was chopping apples, but before she was putting the chopped ones in a container, she was dunking them in a bath. I asked her what she was coating them with and she told me it was lemon juice. Lemon juice keeps apples and many other fruits from turning brown as fast, so by coating them in the acidic juice, she is ensuring that all the fruit salad they serve will be fresh and pretty. Little things like this is why I am so happy to be interning in a kitchen. Even if i'm not doing something that challenges my abilities and teaches me something new, I can learn by watching people with more experience than me do the things they do. 11th graders at High Tech High are supposed to have their career day at their internship site to meet everyone beforehand, but because my internship is in northern California and I live in southern California, I needed to find a place to intern at on the spot. Calling many places in one day, I was running out of hope...until I remembered what the staff at a restaurant called the Yellow Deli told me when I was a freshman. I had done my career day with the Yellow Deli back in 9th grade, and when I did, they made sure to invite me back to help them out any time. Going to a place I had already interned at before wasn't my first choice, but the workers there are so friendly and I had no doubt that they wouldn't decline me coming back. So, I called them, and within 2 minutes, I had my 1 day internship set up. I arrived at 10 AM on May 1st, they welcomed me warmly and passed me an apron. In the kitchen, they have what they call, "the main kitchen" area (for preparing produce, etc...), the soup making area, the sandwich bar, and the salad/desert bar. Upstairs they also have the juice/coffee bar/lounge and next door they have a bakery for pastries and bread. While I was there, I worked in the main kitchen helping to prepare vegetables, fruit, meat, cheeses, and butter needed to assemble sandwiches and make soups. I did a lot in the 4 1/2 hours that I was there and when I finished, everyone complimented me for working fast, thanked me 1,000 times over, and sent me off with a big, fresh salad and a drink. The Yellow Deli is no ordinary restaurant and same goes with the kitchen. I always imagined the kitchen of a busy restaurant like the Yellow Deli to be loud with lots of workers bustling about to get everything on a plate. But the flow was different in this kitchen. No one was stressed out. Everyone was calm and it was quiet enough to still hear the calm folk music that plays through the dining area. There isn't even a dress code at the Deli. All that is required is an apron, gloves (only for some tasks), and for your hair to be tied up. The workers don't have a schedule either. The main 7 workers are expected to be there every business day, and the rest can just wander through the doors whenever they want to. The Yellow Deli doesn't even have work shirts or pants. I actually think that they fact they don't is part of the reason why they are able to bond with each other so well. It helps everyone to get to know each other by being allowed to choose their own clothes. Outfits are part of what we use to express ourselves. At my job, we have to wear work polo shirts and pants. We all look the same and it's hard to see past the uniform and into the person. I've been dining at the Yellow Deli since I moved into the area years ago. I've always appreciated the calm, warm feeling you get by walking through the doors and the delicious, wholesome food they serve. And by being in the kitchen working and chatting with the staff, I truly felt and saw the care and love that they put into their work, each other, and the food. As chefs, being a team is absolutely key and the chefs at the Yellow Deli are one big happy family. They practice order, precision, kindness, and love and I am happy to have been part of their family if even for just one day. Below are some of the real world applications of various topics I've learned in schooling at High Tech High North County: |
Rayna ChavezHello, welcome to my 11th grade internship blog! I've had a passion for cooking since I was 9 years old, so I knew that for my school-required internship I wanted, more than anything, to intern at a business in the culinary field. Fortunately, I was able to land an internship at a health-conscious restaurant in Vista, CA called The Yellow Deli. Read about my once-in-a-lifetime educational experience here. Business Info:My MEntor: Laura Franks (Neviah)
My School: |