This was the one department that was selfishly on my list of departments to work in. The reason it was for selfish purposes? I like to think of myself as well rounded, and yet I can't bake; nor have truly found it as relaxing a hobby as my mother has always found it to be. My priorities were my own when beginning this week of work, and not those of my internship professor. Day 1 in this kitchen I was asked what I wanted to learn to make and I said, "Bread". Naturally I didn't jump right into making bread though. For the first day I sheeted cracker dough, the process of thinning out the dough to a width of 1 cm or smaller so that it can be promptly frozen until it is baked. I also learned that our owner loves these crackers and we send over two bins every so often. One of these bins would have unsalted crackers in them, the ones his wife preferred he had, and the other bin with salted crackers; the ones he ate when she wasn't there. Whether the last part is true or not is inconsequential, but still a great story of love for the crackers. After a full day of sheeting, and sometimes resheeting I got the feel for how dough would shrink and stretch depending on how warm it was.
During my time in this kitchen, Chef Joel; our executive chef, worked closely with us and gave us a lot of direction. Matias was working on preparing different breads to be closely scrutinized by the chefs to see if they could be used when the new restaurant opens up. I was able to work with Matias as he did his preparations to learn some of his techniques. The former pastry chef Jamie, worked with me as well to help me create a turtle cake and gave me direction as much as anyone. They taught me how to make truffle filled chocolates, bake bread and make the dough successfully. So as I said in the beginning, this was my selfish week so that I could experience this side of the cooking spectrum. I enjoyed working in this kitchen very much. Though it was only to be able to prepare these things at home. As a consolation prize they sent me home with every recipe they had; so my dessert portfolio just grew by a few hundred pages.
Friday, July 18, 2014
Sales and Catering
I've noticed that in writing the first several blogs I can't help but see how many times the word "I" comes up. In saying that, this piece will be written on how the Sales and Catering team is anything but just "I".
My objective for the length of time given to me to spend with this department was to observe an effective team. However, the first assessment was to see if the team was in fact effective. After 3 days of watching them interact there were several observations that could be traits of an effective team. Of course I was fortunate enough to spend 9 days with my "colleagues" of sales and catering and observe a truly effective team. Of those traits the best by far was the teams ability to resolve conflicts. Now the conflicts that came up ranged from internal to customer to secret. I was given the opportunity to listen in on calls to customers where we resolved conflicts, and to sit in on meetings, or even outside of meetings, and listen to these problems and potential issues get worked through to a solution.
I enjoyed mostly the view of Little Rock from the 15th floor. However, the close second was to be able to be around knowledgeable and witty people who have without a doubt, been-there-done-that. I was able to have many notable conversations with Shelby Tate, and Chuck Magill. And the thing that came to have more meaning whenever I was no longer working with this department was "What happens in sales, stays in sales"-Shelby Tate. I gained knowledge that the rest of the hotel wasn't privy too, through meetings that I was only allowed to sit in as a learning experience. I was reminded that my being there was a blessing daily as I experienced working towards the same goals as this team did for nearly 2 weeks. And this being said I was fortunate to be apart of this team.
My objective for the length of time given to me to spend with this department was to observe an effective team. However, the first assessment was to see if the team was in fact effective. After 3 days of watching them interact there were several observations that could be traits of an effective team. Of course I was fortunate enough to spend 9 days with my "colleagues" of sales and catering and observe a truly effective team. Of those traits the best by far was the teams ability to resolve conflicts. Now the conflicts that came up ranged from internal to customer to secret. I was given the opportunity to listen in on calls to customers where we resolved conflicts, and to sit in on meetings, or even outside of meetings, and listen to these problems and potential issues get worked through to a solution.
I enjoyed mostly the view of Little Rock from the 15th floor. However, the close second was to be able to be around knowledgeable and witty people who have without a doubt, been-there-done-that. I was able to have many notable conversations with Shelby Tate, and Chuck Magill. And the thing that came to have more meaning whenever I was no longer working with this department was "What happens in sales, stays in sales"-Shelby Tate. I gained knowledge that the rest of the hotel wasn't privy too, through meetings that I was only allowed to sit in as a learning experience. I was reminded that my being there was a blessing daily as I experienced working towards the same goals as this team did for nearly 2 weeks. And this being said I was fortunate to be apart of this team.
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Week 2 and 3 Banquet kitchen, and Capital Bar and Grill kitchen
Banquet
The Chefs at the Capital Hotel are the most respected people on the premises as they are given respect by the internal and external customers. The term "Chef" is used more often than the name of the chef, except amongst themselves. This being said I believe my instructor/supervisor for the banquet kitchen was Chef Mark. Immediately I was put to work cutting pita chips in half to prep them for frying. Afterward I fried them to make the chips. I never once felt as if I was being made to do something minuscule or unimportant/away from what was needed. I talked with the other cooks, to see what they did with their time off. I found that the general answer was "sleep". This was just a defensive answer they were giving me; they later revealed what they really did in their free time. Turns out they are normal functioning members of society. This kitchen was the most diversified group that I have ever seen. The Capital has done well to get such a staff together.
My second day I had a significantly different experience from the first. I ,more or less, chose from which of the events the banquet staff was hosting that evening I'd be working by making the 50 salads to go with it. I cut the lettuce plated it, cooked and cut the bacon that went on top of the salad. Then I sliced the cherry tomatoes that I then strategically placed on the salad. Next I was asked to get the salad dressings for the salads from the CBG, Capital Bar and Grill; I worked there later. When asked if they had the dressing they told me I'd have to make it myself. I was given a recipe and sent on my way. The things I needed were literally everywhere but where I needed them. I spent an hour looking for the things that the recipe called for. When it was all said and done though, I have made ranch and blue cheese dressings from scratch. Then came the actual dinner. I was working with Tiffany for the evening at a high school reunion. We were the two cooks in charge of the kitchen. She created a blueberry lemon sauce to cover the grilled chicken that Chef had prepared the outside of for us. I popped the vegetables in the oven along with the chicken, to actually cook the inside. When the time to plate it came along the food flowed from the pans onto the plates in a wonderfully simple manner and we created our masterpiece for the night. Our guests ate every single morsel.
On day two I did something special. I suggested that instead of throwing away the pineapple cores that we fry them and sell them as a bar food. Upon this suggestion the line cook, who sadly I can remember everything about him except his name, prepared them and we had the servers try the product. Their response was very positive. They told me I'd fit in just fine around here. This was the second thing that happened on wednesday. First, Chef had me prepare potato cakes. The big-time consumer for my night was the prep for the beer mustard. I converted a recipe to 20 times it's original quantity. As part of that I cracked and separated egg whites from 140 yolks. I'm afraid most of the prep work is quite boring otherwise I'd share the intimate details here with you. All-in-all this was a positive experience and my respect for kitchen work has only intensified.
*After every picture taken my hands were washed, therefore not many pictures were taken; they interrupted my work!
The Chefs at the Capital Hotel are the most respected people on the premises as they are given respect by the internal and external customers. The term "Chef" is used more often than the name of the chef, except amongst themselves. This being said I believe my instructor/supervisor for the banquet kitchen was Chef Mark. Immediately I was put to work cutting pita chips in half to prep them for frying. Afterward I fried them to make the chips. I never once felt as if I was being made to do something minuscule or unimportant/away from what was needed. I talked with the other cooks, to see what they did with their time off. I found that the general answer was "sleep". This was just a defensive answer they were giving me; they later revealed what they really did in their free time. Turns out they are normal functioning members of society. This kitchen was the most diversified group that I have ever seen. The Capital has done well to get such a staff together.
My second day I had a significantly different experience from the first. I ,more or less, chose from which of the events the banquet staff was hosting that evening I'd be working by making the 50 salads to go with it. I cut the lettuce plated it, cooked and cut the bacon that went on top of the salad. Then I sliced the cherry tomatoes that I then strategically placed on the salad. Next I was asked to get the salad dressings for the salads from the CBG, Capital Bar and Grill; I worked there later. When asked if they had the dressing they told me I'd have to make it myself. I was given a recipe and sent on my way. The things I needed were literally everywhere but where I needed them. I spent an hour looking for the things that the recipe called for. When it was all said and done though, I have made ranch and blue cheese dressings from scratch. Then came the actual dinner. I was working with Tiffany for the evening at a high school reunion. We were the two cooks in charge of the kitchen. She created a blueberry lemon sauce to cover the grilled chicken that Chef had prepared the outside of for us. I popped the vegetables in the oven along with the chicken, to actually cook the inside. When the time to plate it came along the food flowed from the pans onto the plates in a wonderfully simple manner and we created our masterpiece for the night. Our guests ate every single morsel.
Capital Bar and Grill
When beginning work at the CBG, Chef Zach was my supervisor and each day he had a list of things that I would prepare. Knowing I would be doing prep work for the entirety of these two days I went a bought myself some good knives so that I wouldn't have to continue to borrow from other cooks. For my first day the list from Chef included, Pickled Beets, Slicing aged meats into super thin slivers, Cutting and weighing blue cheese, Beer cheddar, and Goat cheese into 1 oz portions. Other prep was done, these are just the major items.On day two I did something special. I suggested that instead of throwing away the pineapple cores that we fry them and sell them as a bar food. Upon this suggestion the line cook, who sadly I can remember everything about him except his name, prepared them and we had the servers try the product. Their response was very positive. They told me I'd fit in just fine around here. This was the second thing that happened on wednesday. First, Chef had me prepare potato cakes. The big-time consumer for my night was the prep for the beer mustard. I converted a recipe to 20 times it's original quantity. As part of that I cracked and separated egg whites from 140 yolks. I'm afraid most of the prep work is quite boring otherwise I'd share the intimate details here with you. All-in-all this was a positive experience and my respect for kitchen work has only intensified.
*After every picture taken my hands were washed, therefore not many pictures were taken; they interrupted my work!
Friday, June 13, 2014
Week 2 Recreation, and Laundry
Walk-through
I arrived on the premises knowing that my next two days would be spent in laundry. To anyone who has doubts on the importance of laundry workers, rethink it; laundry at the Capital Hotel is literally the backbone of the operation. Without those men and women, whom everyone knows and adores, there would be no sheets or towels for the rooms, no linen for the tables, nor napkins for silverware, and not a single rag to wipe a kitchen down with. So be nice to laundry folks, they have a job that nobody wants, but everyone needs!
With any laundry system there are also the horrors that come down that chute, the stuff of nightmares. I stripped a room only a week earlier that looked like a lady had birthed twins in the bathroom. What's worse is she tried to clean it up with the towels, it was a horrible stinking bloody mess. Where did those sheets go, well you already know they went down that chute just like all the other linen. Fortunately I didn't come across any such atrocities during my two day excursion in the heart of the Capital.
Tuesday morning I arrived at laundry to be met with Chris. Chris showed me around the laundry room and how every would work. I already had laundry experience before the internship, therefore I jumped in automatically and started folding. I noticed by the end of the day that the men and women have different roles of work within the laundry. The men separate laundry, when it comes down the chute, into towels, and sheets and then basically anything else gets a special holding container. Next they load the washers, then the dryers. After that they go and pick up rags from the kitchens and replenish that kitchens stock of clean rags.The women work the 12 foot wide iron. This machine is always on and almost always in use. every piece of linen gets run through the iron then folded neatly by the ladies. They will feed each item in the front and it will make it's way through a series of hot rollers until it reaches the back where it will feed half of it down until sensors detect the middle then jets of air will push it back towards the front will it will be half folded already. The women will also be in charge of uniform pressing, and dry cleaning in general.
Laundry is always an experience you'll likely never forget. However that's not all I was doing for the first half of my week.
I arrived on the premises knowing that my next two days would be spent in laundry. To anyone who has doubts on the importance of laundry workers, rethink it; laundry at the Capital Hotel is literally the backbone of the operation. Without those men and women, whom everyone knows and adores, there would be no sheets or towels for the rooms, no linen for the tables, nor napkins for silverware, and not a single rag to wipe a kitchen down with. So be nice to laundry folks, they have a job that nobody wants, but everyone needs!
With any laundry system there are also the horrors that come down that chute, the stuff of nightmares. I stripped a room only a week earlier that looked like a lady had birthed twins in the bathroom. What's worse is she tried to clean it up with the towels, it was a horrible stinking bloody mess. Where did those sheets go, well you already know they went down that chute just like all the other linen. Fortunately I didn't come across any such atrocities during my two day excursion in the heart of the Capital.
Tuesday morning I arrived at laundry to be met with Chris. Chris showed me around the laundry room and how every would work. I already had laundry experience before the internship, therefore I jumped in automatically and started folding. I noticed by the end of the day that the men and women have different roles of work within the laundry. The men separate laundry, when it comes down the chute, into towels, and sheets and then basically anything else gets a special holding container. Next they load the washers, then the dryers. After that they go and pick up rags from the kitchens and replenish that kitchens stock of clean rags.The women work the 12 foot wide iron. This machine is always on and almost always in use. every piece of linen gets run through the iron then folded neatly by the ladies. They will feed each item in the front and it will make it's way through a series of hot rollers until it reaches the back where it will feed half of it down until sensors detect the middle then jets of air will push it back towards the front will it will be half folded already. The women will also be in charge of uniform pressing, and dry cleaning in general.
Laundry is always an experience you'll likely never forget. However that's not all I was doing for the first half of my week.
I got some beautiful shot of a rain system moving in on my location
These pictures are actually from the weekend. I keep solo climbing, but it's worth it!
I went trail-running, therefore the helmet; plus it has speakers in it for music.
This is my new buddy Jeff
The above picture are from my day off Thursday
This is the only picture I took during my climb on Monday
Monday, June 2, 2014
Week 1: Re-learning Housekeeping
Now to provide some background, before interning at the Capital Hotel, I first spent 8 months working as a housekeeping supervisor. I also spent roughly two months in the maintenance department, 3 months at front desk; with around 12 float shifts where I'd fill in at the front desk since I was Hilton certified throughout my time there at the Homewood Suites.
So my main objective for my first few days was to legitimize myself as a hard worker. I feel that even though it's only been roughly 5 days that my supervisor's understand that I'm ready and willing to work.
My second objective was to meet and remember 15 people's names in the first week. However, I'd like to keep these employees names anonymous. I believe I've met my goal.
During my time in housekeeping I learned that each floor, above the first, had guest rooms. Each floor has a different amount of rooms and there are different features throughout the rooms. No two rooms on one floor are alike and the furniture, windows, and bathrooms are set up differently based upon its location on that particular floor. At the Capital, the ladies are the housekeepers and the men are housemen. The duties of the housemen are to disburse the baskets prepared for specific room types to the outside of the doorway. The next thing housemen will do is get a list of rooms from the detail report which will tell whether the room is a stay over, due out, or if it is due out with a known arrival. With the information they now have they check to see who, if anyone has already vacated their rooms. Then they'll go to strip it of linen and carry out the trash in preparation for cleaning of the room. This process will take hours. If it is a slower day they will clean the globes that hang in the bedroom of most rooms. Also, whenever they can, they will make beds to help out the ladies and replenish the baskets in the storage room. While going through the hallways the housemen will see the baskets that have been used and will proceed to pick them up and take them back to the storage closet. Towards the end of the day the halls get vacuumed and if anything else needs to be done these men will be sure to get it taken care of.
I found it hard to remember to stop working and snap a picture of what I was doing at the time. In fact none of these pictures will depict the work that I performed. I spent more time doing than observing. However, in my down time I managed to take these...
My locker, with my ID picture hanging in the back.
While stripping this room, I stopped to just take in the beauty of the windows.
1st day on the job
Last day on the job
Sunday, May 18, 2014
The Mountain
Thursday I visited Little Rock to move a carload of my belongings into my summer home. As a result, I spent the night and familiarized myself with a few local streets. On Friday I woke up late and decided to do the single most exhilarating activity on my summer to-do list. Pinnacle mountain, the mountain I'd neither heard of nor had any desire to climb until my friend Carlos told me about it. I'm an outdoors-man at heart, I went backpacking twice a month every month in Jr. High until I was strong enough to lead an 8 man crew at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. In comparison Pinnacle is just an ant hill, however it was still the best thing I could have found time to do that day. My set goal for the next 2 months is to ascend Pinnacle 10 times, on and off the beaten trail. You can expect many nature pictures on my blog from my time off.
Friday, May 16, 2014
Razorback's New Secondary
I'm generally not a painter of the artistic nature, therefore painting the razorbacks is a new discipline for me. Perhaps symmetry should be an improvement for my "free hand". Regardless I'm enjoying spending my free time to continue sharpening my mind. I'm planning on cutting this out painting the edges black and then hanging it on a door. I contemplated making this into 3D art by making it into a giant cutout Hog, after I made the body and legs pieces. Then I remembered that I'm moving into a smaller apartment in the Fall and I stopped with the head.
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