Trainee diary

Over the course of a semester at the Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management, two students take us through the highs and lows of their induction to the tough world of F&B


Nasseem Mirtahmasebi

has lived in Dubai for six years and previously studied at Jumeirah College. She enjoys living in Dubai and hopes to work in the emirate in future.

I have to say that so far, I’m finding the F&B side of things really interesting; it’s all very hands-on and practical. It is long hours — eight hours in the restaurant followed by eight hours in the kitchen straight after — but I’m enjoying it.

We’ve learnt a lot already, and it’s definitely affecting how I think about things from the customer’s point of view. Now, when I walk into a restaurant and sit down for dinner, I’m smelling the glasses, checking the set-up, little things I didn’t even notice before! Because now I really know how much effort has to go in to every details of a restaurant, even if it looks effortless.

This month hasn’t been the easiest start for me: after the initial orientation class, I was ill and missed the second two kitchen sessions. And it is difficult — in the kitchen if you miss even one session there’s a lot to catch up on because there are so many new skills to learn. We’re being taught cutting methods, cooking methods and all about produce — so there’s a lot for me to catch up on.

I came back in time to start on service, serving people in the restaurant. They could see us in the kitchen while they were eating, and it was crazy – just go, go, go! You really had to be on time and I struggled with that a bit. It’s quite a challenge; you have to wash as you go, cook as you go, roll as you go, bake as you go.

We were put in different groups, in charge of different items, and so it generally flowed quite nicely. But sometimes there was a bit of a panic and I felt I was falling behind.

But then I had a stint at the end as ‘head chef’, and had to assign orders as they came through, and ask the rest of the group to do specific things, and that was fun. Being in charge is definitely more my thing!

The response from the invited guests was great; they knew we had just started and were really positive with their feedback, so that was good.

Looking back on the first few weeks, I think the important thing is to stay on top, do what the chef tells you to and stay on time, then you’ll be fine. It’s just a long day, so you have to make sure you’ve had your breakfast in the morning!

For the coming month, I’m aiming to be on time and on top of things, and really get quicker overall.

Nipul Laxman

came to Emirates Academy from the UK, where he studied hospitality and gained first-hand experience working in banqueting for a major hotel brand.

The first few weeks have been fairly straight-forward, looking at cuts and the correct methods for chopping and so on. There were several bits and pieces that I had learnt before, which helps a lot — although I did actually learn a different way to hold a knife when chopping!

A bit of a stumbling block has been the team work; obviously many of the students do not have English as their first language. But this is something you have to deal with in a cosmopolitan working environment, so we try to get along with the group work and get things done as quickly and coherently as possible.

There was a lot of new stuff for me as well; in the UK, we’d just been thrown in at the deep end a bit and I didn’t know much of the theory that goes with kitchen work: I didn’t know what stewing was, I didn’t know what braising was. But here, we start with the theory then put it into practise.

We saw a sushi demonstration as well, which was great — although I would have liked to try it out myself, after watching how it was done.

We have also taken on the challenge of running an à la carte menu this month.

I must say there was some disappointment on this front; we struggled with team work and coordination, and I hope next month will be much better. But to finish on a positive note, we did at least finish a full service.

I think, as it was the first time for some people doing a full service, it was always going to be hard to a degree, but from hereon in I hope all of us will be properly geared up for service.

I am really looking forward to kitchen this month, as I believe we will not make the mistakes we made last week.

Overall, I’d say I’m definitely enjoying my time in the kitchen, as I look forward to a better service each coming week and then also gain the theory knowledge from the presentation in the kitchen as well as the theory class we have once a week.

I think my highlight so far has been getting really involved in the kitchen and out on the floor. We’re working on the team communication, so that should improve over the next few weeks!

LECTURER'S NOTES:

The Academy’s executive chef and senior lecturer Michael Kitts shares this month’s key lessons
 

• The main drive through November has been introducing the à la carte menu, rather than the set menu, which has proved very popular so far!

• Obviously cooking methods are playing a part in each and every session.

• Product knowledge training has included focuses on red meat — cuts from beef carcasses, ageing and marbling — and dairy products.

• The students have also had to give presentations on luxury items: caviar, truffles, lobster and foie gras.

• We had two demonstrations towards the end of the month, one on fresh Chinese noodles and another on ice-carving.

• In the final week, we had careers masters visiting The Academy, and the students hosted a three-course dinner for them.