Kebede

Name: Blaine Kebede

Guiding Question: Would I like to pursue a career in the restaurant industry?

(optional) Use this space to list possible activities, tasks, experiences. Remember everything you do should help you answer your Guiding Question.

(Required) This plan is a “best guess” as to what you and your mentor think you will be doing. It is not meant to be a hard and fast schedule for your Exploration. The plan should illustrate how you intend to complete a minimum of 80 hours.


 * = Date ||= Location/Activity ||= Number of Hours ||
 * = 5/23/2011 ||= Toscana/Book-keeping ||= 8 ||
 * = 5/24/2011 ||= Toscana/Book-keeping ||= 8 ||
 * = 5/25/2011 ||= Toscana/Book-keeping ||= 8 ||
 * = 5/26/2011 ||= Toscana/Book-keeping ||= 8 ||
 * = 5/27/2011 ||= Toscana/Book-keeping ||= 8 ||
 * = 5/28/2011 ||= Toscana/Kitchen ||= 8 ||
 * = 5/31/2011 ||= Toscana/Kitchen ||= 8 ||
 * = 6/1/2011 ||= Toscana/Kitchen ||= 8 ||
 * = 6/2/2011 ||= Toscana/Catering ||= 8 ||
 * = 6/3/2011 ||= Toscana/Catering ||= 8 ||
 * =  ||> Total Number of Hours ||= 80 ||
 * =  ||> Total Number of Hours ||= 80 ||
 * =  ||> Total Number of Hours ||= 80 ||
 * =  ||> Total Number of Hours ||= 80 ||
 * =  ||> Total Number of Hours ||= 80 ||
 * =  ||> Total Number of Hours ||= 80 ||
 * =  ||> Total Number of Hours ||= 80 ||

Originally, my plan for the senior exploration project was to intern at BroadReach Group, a recruiting company, located in new york city; however as contact between myself and the company owner dwindled, the initial plan for the exploration fell through. Nevertheless I was able to use some local resources to engage in a new and exciting exploration! Ever since my recent employment to Piccolina Toscana in Novemeber 2010, I have been interested in understanding the nuts and bolts of the restaurant industry. Luckily with the help of my mentor, Dan Butler, I was able to do just that. My first day of exploration, Dan showed me the not so fascinating world of book-keeping. My job consisted of plugging invoices into the computer, then filing them into a drawer. After that I would print checks and find the matching invoices to each check to ensure that the amount was correct, then file those in a separate drawer. The job was tedious and required MUCH organization. At first it was almost discouraging to see so many stacks of paper piled up to your nose in numbers, but I learned how much, what kind, and how frequently a restaurant must make purchases. For example, all of Toscana's seafood and vegetables are fresh, therefore new shipments must be delivered daily to ensure quality. And with those shipments, all come with invoices that are sent to me. I also learned that restaurants have all sorts of bills, such as laundry, taxes, and even car insurance (The catering cars)! This sure does add up to a lot of money, and a lot of responsibility! Today was an interesting day. I was able to do something much different then most of the days I spent book-keeping. I was glad because my eyes were starting to hurt from staring at numbers in the computer all day! Today I was able to shadow, Jayne, the pastry chef at Toscana. She had a checklist of all the things she needed to prep before dinner and we crossed them off as we got through them. We baked cookies, made praline, dumplings, cakes, birthday plates, and churned gelato. It sure did take a lot of skill and technique to accomplish these things, as well as a lot of of self control ( I was so tempted to devour the precious treats as soon as they came out the oven!) Working in the kitchen was such a different atmosphere than the days I had spent before curled up in the office. You make great connections with the other chefs in the kitchen, and establish friendly relationships with the staff. This job required a lot of communication, which if your lucky, was in English. There was a lot more movement, creativity, and pressure in this job, yet the reward was phenomenal, customers absolutely adored Jayne and frequently came to the pastry section to compliment her on her fine desserts. Though I do not have much of an interest in cooking or baking, I definitely enjoyed the type of environment the kitchen had and would enjoy working there again!
 * Journal Entry #1**
 * Journal Entry #2**

On my final day of exploration, I continued to do office work, however I also got to spend some time with the catering director, Erica Razze. Her job is very stressful! Every second she was either responding to an email or answering the phone. I never realized how much work went into planning these types of events. Decorations, food, prices, everything! The fun part of my day was when I was able to help Erica pick out table cloths and place settings. I also made the flower arrangements for each table. The job required some sense of style and fashion. Also knowing where to buy good quality stuff for cheap (ex: TJ Maxx). Although I thoroughly enjoyed the event planning, I don't really think I could see myself doing something similar to this in the future, it was just to much pressure. Someone is always at your door or your ear, asking you questions and giving you orders; at times I was surprised Erica didn't explode from talking to so many rude people on the phone, but she was very patient, and that is one characteristic that I don't have!
 * Journal Entry #3**