BIFE Erasmus - Valladolid May 2022

 Erasmus mobility is a great learning process if you really focused on your career, or you really want a fortune in hospitality sector. If you like to move and learn cooking from Spain you have to have good Spanish command, if you just want experiment the 3 weeks of mobility no need that much of language skills, just prepare some basic Spanish. Before you go to mobility, just analyse yourself and make a proper plan what you want to achieve. Whenever you are in a kitchen first you try to Market yourself, just explain to the kitchen head what is your abilities and show them the pictures of your dishes and your workplace back in Ireland, because they normally don't have any clue about what you are, they normally think you as a free labour, so convince them your abilities and share your knowledge with them. Then only they will be open with you. Always note down the recipes. And take pictures of the dishes. Be willing to do every kitchen job, and show a good attitude always. 

 The chef I worked with had a great knowledge about real Spanish authentic cooking. So he was really focusing on his jus making techniques. The kitchen always have 3 kinds of jus all the time. One poultry, one meat.and one with fish. Any of the dish he prepare he just add  bit of his jus to flavour differently. Even to the omelette. I leaned the importance of sauce making in fine dining, and how to operate the kitchen efficiently in a tiny place, I learned the importance of the kitchen assistants, they prep everything for the busy kitchen rather than chefs doing everything, it is actually a cost effective operation and a good training for kitchen assistants. From the mobility I earned more confidence to operate the kitchen independently. More disipline and more control over me. Of course I earned more technical skills aswell.  Through out the mobility I experienced the real cooking world, and did comparison with Ireland and Spain, it was something I needed just  to b...

 If I mention about the free time, that was only the off days. If we work in siesta we never get any free time to do anything creative. So day offs were only the free time we got. First week I visited a national park and some villages near to beautiful zamora region. Next week I have been there in Madrid just for a day trip. The trains are very handy and comfortable to visit any of the nearby places.espain organised a trip to the asparagus plantation and foie gras farm in the following week, and that was really a great experience. The batch I went with to Spain was really great people, and whenever we got off together we gathered in the city Square and had lot of fun.  I don't know I participated any of the cultural events in Spain. But ofcourse I noticed some cultural activities were around  during our stay. 

 If we go to anywhere in the world first few weeks will be tough and confusing just bacause of the cultural differences. It will take at least two weeks to get an idea about how we behave and how we mould ourself to fit in that culture. We were here to work in Spain so we had more interactions with the workmates, it helped a lot to understand the culture bit more than a usual holiday maker. Valladolid was a great place to learn real Spanish traditions rather than big cities. Even the food is amazing in this place compare to other crowded tourist places. I believe Real Spain lives in villages. Language wise it  was tough to cope up with. But modern technology gave an ease when it came to reality. If you want to continue working in Spain. You must learn Spanish. Workplace and working standards if we compare in Ireland work as a chef is harder than in Spain. But worklife balance wise Ireland is way ahead. Food safety. Health and safety, risk management wise Spain has a very low s...

 The biggest tip I would give for the next group going to Valladolid would be to work hard however always remember you are only there for 3 weeks so learn as much as you can. A recommendation would be to not compare it to an Irish kitchen or other experiences you have had just live in the moment and enjoy.  

There was a lot of highs and lows on this trip but overall it was a great experience. I do wish there was more support for us as at times I would of liked to just talk to someone on how challenging I was finding it especially as I felt I was just at the restaurant at the wrong time and if I was there when things weren't as tease I would have enjoyed myself a lot more. Thankfully for the others in the group we were able to become a support system for each other.  This experience has shown me as long as I am confident within myself I can do anything. 

                                                                                                                                                                  On my free time I went to Salamanca, Leon and explored Valladolid. There is so much around Valladolid itself which was amazing as I love to travel. All the cities of Salamanca, Leon and Valladolid are quite small cities so was very easy to get around. Also we went on a group trip with everyone including the Swedish students to a asparagus  farm, duck slater’s house and pacos cave which were all amazing experience to see!...

  Yes I felt I adjusted very well to the culture. I can understand a lot of Spanish as I have friends who live here and I visit the often. However I felt the working way in Spain is very hard to get use to the hours and days are long as we have a break in the middle of the day which makes it feel like 2 days in 1. The lifestyle in Spain is very different to the Irish lifestyle as everything is a lot later however I felt towards the last week I was getting into it.  

I worked in a restaurant called 5 gusto. Martin and Pedro brought me to my restaurant were I met the owner and head chef Palmira and her sous chef Sandra. Sandra showed me around the kitchen which was very small however had everything. The restaurant did very traditional Spanish food just to another level as it is a Michelin plated restaurant. My day started most day at 12pm were we would pre for service, service usually began at 2 however sometimes earlier, during service I would usually plate the starters and desserts the main course was usually done by either Sandra or Palmira, we would usually finish at around 5 after cleaning down the kitchen. We would then start at 8:30pm for evening serve. This was a very challenging experience however I found it very rewarding and gain so much from this restaurant and the chefs I learnt from.  Unfortunlay the day I arrived Sandra gave her notice and in Spain you must give 2 weeks notices its the law, this meant that my experience in the kit...

My recommendations for people going on an erasmus trip is to take the language lessons. They will help greatly with the communication on the trip. Explaining to your boss even that you understand what you are going to do after they make the effort to explain a job is beneficial to your experience.  My tips are to try your hardest to experience new things to prove to your chef that you are there to work. 

I learned a lot form the top kitchen at the hotel. The Mexican head chef horje was very good at challenging me to try new things. He often had me taste traditional Spanish foods. Veal cheek and baby squid were too I didn't enjoy.  The abilities I have received are to do with confidence in  the kitchen around service time. The speed and plating techniques used by other chefs was impressive to watch. It inspired me to take the initiative with what the head chef needed. I think my intuition improved greatly as time went on.  Some positives I got from the experience was working with food I hadn't had the opportunity to before. Closely watch a head chef cook and serve plates in a professional kitchen.  Negatives were being far away from everyone else on the erasmus. Also sometimes I felt there was not enough to do in my kitchen until Saturday when we served the food for the event.

I was an hours walk away from the city centre. I couldn't order a taxi form the hotel because of a language barrier over the phone. Taxis usually cost 10-15 euro, so I tended to avoid using them.  I usually worked 9 -5pm which is 8 hours which was different fro  everyone else's schedule. Sometimes I would feel it was too late to walk to town and didn't go out a s much as I should have. I would walk to lidl and back again everyday for my breakfast the next. I went to McDonald's and burger king a few times. I wish I had experienced more of the spanish cuisine. A stand out moment was when we went to the foiegras farm. I was interested in trying it but not the butchery or slaughtering side. Pacos cave was fascinating to be in and I enjoyed the music a lot. I also enjoyed meeting up with friends at plaza de mayor at night. We had a usual spot at the green cafe which had a very funny waiter.

The cultural differences were interesting to me. The language I struggled with alot. I found they spoke very fast and I didn't pick up on what they were attempting to translate on Google very well. Not many people spoke English as they didn't seem used to tourists. This was my fat as I should have dedicated more time to learning the language. I liked the response to gracias was casually de nada or its nothing and used it often.  It was difficult to co operate with my colleagues as I didn't speak their language. There was  alot of pointing and demonstrations for me to understand the next step. At times I let useless standing around waiting for the next job as it was time consuming for them to show me my next task. 

 We stayed in Apartamentos Recondo which was next to the train station. It was a 1 bedroom 2 bed apartment with an en-suite and small living area with a stove and a sink. It was on the second  floor. I liked the apartment but I thought it was a bit unfair to my room mate that we were sharing one room with beds glued to each other because I normally wouldn't finish work until 12:00/12:30 and bipin would be in bed by then meaning I would have to sneak around our room to make sure that I didn't wake up Bipin some nights. I also found the apartment didn't have an Iron or a place to hang out washing making it a bit awkward to do basic cleaning of clothing and keeping clothes pressed and looking fresh.

In the hotel Santa Ana Palacio, there are two kitchens. They have one upstairs for the restaurant and to prepare tastings for events. Downstairs they have a larger kitchen for events e.g. weddings, communions.  My role was mainly in the events kitchen doing prep. There was a head chef Victor and Javier, Vanessa  who were in charge. There were other student from valladolid called yan and Martha. We together would do another of prep for events from Wednesday to Saturday.  I got to prep with baby squid, sirloin steak and prawns. It was interesting work and I felt I improved on my knife skills. On Saturdays we would serve the food. It was my job to clean the plates before service. I also got to plate some pieces like the deep fried cod and the mini burgers. 

 To prepare for Spain I attended weekly classes in BIFE where we were taught the basics of language, I also watched tv shows I liked in English with Spanish subtitles so I could see what the words were in Spanish but still hear them in English. I then organized myself with a packing list and got my suitcase down. Once packed I organized a carpool to the airport with Bipin a fellow chef. Once in the airport I made my boarding pass was in hand with my passport and off I went.

I had a room in the hotel that I was working in. This was good as I didn't have to travel to work. I found it lonely though. I was introduced to two Swedish girls on the first day Stella and Kimberly. They were very nice but much younger than me so I felt we didn't have a lot in common. We were on good terms and they helped me to translate when they gave me a tour and introduction to my workplace. I appreciated their help. My room was spacious and I had a small fridge so that I could keep food in. It was on the bottom floor so I had a whole door I could open to let air in. I contracted covid and had to stay inside my room for five days. I went a bit mad and couldn't wait to get out.  There was an attached bathroom and I was supplied with towels.

Yo, its Luke here, I am a 21 year old chef from Bray, Co.Wicklow. I have been a chef for 4 years now and I'm currently finishing my final year of culinary arts in BIFE. In my spare time I play sport such as basketball and I skateboard. I also enjoy making small videos on Instagram generally made up of 2/3 second clips stitched together to form one longer video.  I have one brother and one sister, who have both moved out while I remain at home with my mother until it is feesable for me to move out. In my future I honestly have no idea what I would like to do, I recognize the conventional answer is that I'd like to become a good chef and maybe even gain a michelin star but honestly I'd just like to have fun cooking with food I like.

I applied to the Erasmus through the college online and had an interview with Gabriel and Martin. When accepted I was told to participate in language classes in Spanish. I attended a few but didn't continously go throughout the year. I began an online spanish course called ols and completed the assessment. I went to two meetings which provided most of the information I would need to get to valladolid, receive my payments and what the experience would entail. I also enjoyed shopping for new summer clothes. Remembered to pack my knives and uniform. I was excited to go.

My name is Rachel and I am 26 years old. I have a level 4, 5 and 6 in professional cookery. I have studied at Roslyn Park college and BIFE. I work at the bakery section in Pettits Supervalu Bray. I love to listen to music and watching movies in my spare time. Walking my dog up Dalkey hill is my favourite thing to do.  There are four people in my family. My mom, dad and I also have an older sister Lauren. She currently lives in Malaga, Spain.

  I am working in GastroLava valladolid. Restaurant itself serving real aunthetic food with a modern twist, busiest days are only weekends, and whenever there is a concert in the nearby lava theatre. Mist of their customers are regulars as they are not in the middle of the city. Chef is really an expert to make the proper meat. Poultry and fish stocks. And he is very good in cooking meat and fish products. my role is plating and prepping and releaving other chefs during week days. I am also sharing my knowledge with them and teaching them how to cook my specialities. I really love this place except the working times. Start 11 finish 5.then work again at 7.30 to midnight.

 Accommodation is in the city centre 25 minutes walk to the workplace. I love Al the amenities near to the place we live. They clean and tidy up every second day, no iron box is a complaint as a professional, representing Ireland has to have a ironed well presented uniform at work place, or would have been informed earlier to have one on your own. Stay is nice and comfort. Sharing room with others bit occurred. Shared accommodation with others not a problem at all, but the room is quite unacceptable because of the nature of work we do. People finish different times and different offs.rest everything is superb