I attended my internship program, which started on March 13, 2023, at Voco Orchard

Singapore.  Throughout this experience, I will gain a clearer understanding of how school
and work differ. Aside from learning new skills and gaining knowledge, my internship will
also allow me to gain practical experience. Additionally, I will gain a better understanding of
how a hotel's kitchen operates, which I can apply to my future career.

For my internship, I was assigned to the cold kitchen, where the emphasis is on preparing
cold food items such as salads, sandwiches, cold cuts, and salad dressings. In addition, I
decorated plates and cut fruits and other ingredients. In the cold kitchen, I need to create
daily requests for the necessary materials for production. I also need to prepare all dishes
according to the yield guides and recipes.

During the past four weeks in the cold kitchen, I learned about different types of salad
greens and how to identify which types of greens will last longer or easily rot. Also, I learn
which salad greens are more suitable for each. For example, arugula is best used in a
sandwich or Caprese salad, while baby spinach can be used in a roasted pumpkin salad, and
iceberg lettuce can be used in a fattoush salad. As well as learning about the different types
of salad greens, I also learned how to keep vegetables fresh longer.

On the other hand, I also learn about varieties of cheese, such as fresh cheese, soft white
cheese, semi-soft cheese, and so on. This part is considered challenging for me since I wasn’t
used to eating cheese before. It was also very challenging to identify each type of cheese by
its appearance. There were much more things that I needed to study and explore about
cheese, such as the taste, origin, and foods that go well with each type of cheese.
Furthermore, I was able to learn how to plate ham and air-dried cold cuts in a different way.
This is a new experience for me, and I learned the importance of plating. Well-plated and
presented food is as important as taste when it comes to attracting customers.

Those were some of my action plans to close learning gaps during my internship. Firstly, I
brought a notebook to my workplace every day. I take note of what I learned during the day
and write down the recipes given by the chef. I can always refer back and revise my notes
during my free time. This way helped me a lot, besides always making sure I was on track,
and it helped reduce the mistakes that I made during the operation in the kitchen. Since the
pace in the kitchen is very fast, this efficient way enables me to capture everything and
adapt quickly to the workplace. Secondly, I always asked questions and clarified my
confusion on the spot. This is also another good way to close learning gaps since the chef
can respond to my question and guide me directly. Sometimes, I request more hands-on
experience so I can build a mindset around which parts still need improvement. Also, I take
pictures of the plating of the dish so I can use it as a reference in the future, and this helps
me become familiar with the combinations of foods. In addition, I will use web sources to
get more information and study those parts that I do not understand.

I was able to identify my strengths and weaknesses based on my past few weeks'
performances in the kitchen. This gave me a direction for which parts I still need to work on.
Even though everything was new for me, I was still able to adapt well and fulfil my job
scope. In addition, my chef and colleagues were always willing to guide me when I was lost.
This gave me the confidence and courage to ask them questions without suffering silently.
Besides, they gave me encouragement and advice, which helped me improve and stay on
the right track. Apart from that, I also realised that having a positive attitude and mindset
helped me a lot during the past four weeks. I always told myself to become more confident
and trust my own abilities. During my free time, I will hang up with family and friends to
release stress and get a clean mindset. The past four weeks in the kitchen were challenging
but fun and meaningful.