by Mahsum Aksoy, November 24, 2019

I do not know how time goes by so fast. I am doing my internship this quarter at The Peninsula Chicago Lobby Restaurant. This hotel positively changed my life a lot. I feel so lucky that I got into this place. Especially the Lobby Kitchen because Chef Curtis Duffy, who has three Michelin stars, had a restaurant here. Since I started working here, I have learned many things; such as multitasking, getting faster, and communication between line cook. I was plodding at the beginning, and I did not recognize which prep I should have done first or which two or three preps I could make at the same time. My chef was telling me the other day I got these skills in the last couple of weeks, and he appreciates it. I learned many talents, as well.

I can do many things like confit, sous vide, and I am perfect about meat temperature right now. I was less confident before expressing myself and calling the orders, but I am speaking very loud and calling the law every single time perfectly, which my chef likes about me. I am enjoying working a lot at this place. My chefs, co-workers, or even the servers are super cute and helping me a lot. For the first time, I was quite quiet, and they made a very warm welcoming to me and made me very friendly with them.

However, there are many challenges. For example, when it is hectic, I get many orders at the same time, and I have to look every single order very carefully so I can manage the time for meat temperature or any allergens or which order has to go first, and so on. I am still challenged with that, but I am getting there very soon. It is a big job to keep every single order in mind when it is super busy.

I think Peninsula made my career goal step one. I always wanted to be working with an excellent internationally known hotel, and I was lucky to get picked from this hotel. They even told me that they could transfer me to their new hotel, where it will open in Istanbul in 2021. I was fascinated by it because it is my country and I am going to a hotel opening. My education from Kendall College has prepared me very professionally to be in this industry, and I was one of the lucky people to receive a scholarship.

This scholarship showed me that I could succeed if I want it. Since I am an international student, I never thought that I would be able to receive the scholarship, but I did it, and it made me proud of myself and my family. Also, I feel more confident about being a leader in the team works at my internship place.