Back in January when I started looking for a restaurant internship, I had no idea what to expect. I didn’t even know if those sorts of things existed or if anybody would want someone who didn’t attend culinary school. By amazing luck I got an internship at the best restaurant in town almost right away, “auditioned” in April to make sure it was a good fit, and started officially in June. Today’s my 4th-to-last day on the job and I thought I’d share what a “typical” day is like by chance anyone else looking for a restaurant internship is wondering what to expect.
I work during the lunch shift Wednesdays and Fridays. Since I don’t have to be in until 10 I usually sleep in until around 8 and make breakfast around 8:30-9. This is usually the last chance I’ll get to eat a full meal until mid-afternoon so I try to make it filling with protein, fiber, and fat. A normal breakfast for me is 3 eggs, gluten-free pancakes, fruit “jam” made with microwaved berries and chia seeds that have gelled for a few minutes, and almond butter. This day I also was still hungry after breakfast so I grabbed a peach on the way out the door around 9:30.
The restaurant is 5 miles away and I don’t have a car so I bike. Transportation is something to think about for any job you get. I didn’t know how to ride a bike when I first got the internship but quickly taught myself in time for my first day. Besides lowering your carbon footprint, you get pretty fit biking 5 miles 2 times a day 2 days a week.
Please don’t come and steal my bike now that you know which one it is.
The first thing I do at the restaurant is change into a uniform. Add a spiffy coat and sleek black hat and—voila! You’re a chef. Pants are also part of the uniform; who doesn’t like to start their day by putting on someone else’s pants?
There are countless jobs I do at the restaurant and it’s hard to stay consistent since the menu changes weekly. Typically I do things that are long and repetitive, which no one else seems to like but I love. It makes the day go by faster to only do a few things for a while than a lot of things quickly.
One thing I usually do is make pasta. It’s an Italian restaurant so we go through pasta like it’s bread(which we also go through a lot of). It’s a little ironic to have a celiac making pasta in the kitchen but from what I hear I’m pretty good at it.
With the pasta machine I can make spaghettini(little spaghetti), pennette(little penne), and bucatini. It spits out the shape and I cut + bundle them to throw in the freezer. It usually gets used that day or the next, so it’s definitely fresh when we serve it.
My favorite pasta to make, garganelli, is a little more complicated. I don’t make the dough for this; it’s usually made and sheeted the day before. What I do is take the sheets of pasta, which are roughly the size of a piece of paper, and cut them into 3-inch squares. Then I wet one corner and roll the other end over to it with the handle of a big wooden spoon(we used to have an actual dowel for this but I think it broke).
There’s a flat piece of wood with ridges in it that texturizes the pasta when it’s rolled on to it. It slips easily off the end and gets put on a floured tray to go in the freezer.
I told you I liked mindless, repetitive tasks, which is why I love doing this. I usually make 200+ at a time, which takes around an hour.
There’s also a lot of prep work that is involved with the vegetables we serve. Beets are commonly on the menu and need to be cleaned, roasted, and peeled along with the beet greens. Peas are also very time consuming. I’ve literally spent hours taking the fibers off of snow peas, on days when my coworkers got to go home early no less. That job really sucked.
Technically we are allowed to make ourselves a snack or meal at the restaurant, but I choose not to. Part of this is because I’ve seen how easy it is for gluten contamination to occur in a restaurant that has open flour all over the counters; the other part is that I could eat the restaurant out of vegetables like it’s nobody’s business.
Some days I work straight through until 3 without eating; others I’ll have a snack around 12 or 1. It’s either a Ziploc full of nuts that I pack or a Larabar/Pranabar. Anything with nuts that’s portable and semi-filling is a go, especially since it’s not a meal that will spike your energy and then make you crash. Working in a kitchen really is like a marathon and not a sprint: It takes a lot out of you; you need to remind yourself to hydrate or you’ll forget and start getting dizzy; you’re always on your feet. If that isn’t a marathon, I don’t know what is.
I get home around 3:30 after biking back. By this point I’m starving for lunch and something raw/vegan always taste good. This day I had a bowl with zucchini noodles, carrot noodles, bean sprouts, chickpeas, a homemade peanut sauce, and mushrooms sautéed in sesame oil. I was definitely craving mushrooms because I had just finished roasting a pan at the restaurant. The difference is their mushrooms are $20 a pound and mine are $4. I couldn’t imagine paying $20 a pound for mushrooms, or at least not the legal kind{kidding}.
The rest of my day isn’t that exciting; it involves more eating and a lot of Netflix + True Blood, aka how I’d be spending my entire Summer if it weren’t for my internship. I’ve really enjoyed my time at the restaurant, but I’m ready to move on. For the school year I’ll be focusing on balancing classes and food blogging. Maybe next Summer I’ll look for an actual job at a restaurant, but it would have to be one whose food philosophy 100% fits with mine or I would never truly feel comfortable cooking in that kitchen.
