by jessica yoon
Despite the ridiculous amount of chocolate shops in Belgium, we (my sister, her good friend, and I) actually spent more time overindulging in frites, mussels, and beer. Some of it was good and some of it was bad, but coupled with all of the sites and good company, the overall experience was wonderful.
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The greatest light to the end of my stage tunnel was my sister’s visit to Europe. Her arrival meant freedom from the crazy patisserie life and ten days of nonstop sister talk and Euro food tastings. Among the places we visited was Belgium, and let me tell you this is where the chocolate is at! Between two cities and three days, the montage above only begins to scratch the surface of the amount of shops in Belgium.
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It’s been a roller coaster of an experience, but I’m glad to say that I (successfully) completed my two month stage, especially because at one point I thought I wouldn’t make it. After working for one week I wrote that although the kitchen was harsh, I was still eager to go back the next week. I ended with, “Talk to me again in eight weeks and my answer may differ.” My answer sure as hell differs, so let’s talk.
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Although there are number of hardships and challenges about my stage, there are also a lot of things that are great about my internship. Although the chefs (the two owners) are tough, the other people I work with are nice. There are five other interns/apprentices who are both friendly and helpful. I work mainly with one other intern, who has the same afternoon shift as me. She is my life saver and steady mast! Without her, I probably would be lost and 100x more stressed out. We work for one of the two chef de parties…luckily the nicer one. Although he can get annoyed or frustrated, he never directs it towards us with anger or loud emotions. Unlike the other “upper management” people, he doesn’t have crazy mood swings or outbursts. He’s a good boss.
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It has probably been the longest, physically most challenging and taxing week of my life. Working in a kitchen is in no way glamorous or a bed of roses. I spend half of my day wearing these fashionable chef shoes, an awful white hairnet, and a variety of food smells and stains; lovely, no? Putain (fuck) and merde (shit) are probably the two most used words, and I have been criticized as a cochon (pig, which always means dirty and messy in French) and slow many, many times. The chefs are crazy/uptight/angry/unreasonable/scary/insane and I hope I never become like them. My hours are long, our lunch break is 10 minutes, and I work on the weekends…but I’m still looking forward to going back to work tomorrow.
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