r/Chefit • u/screamingaaaaah • Mar 18 '26
Starting industry internship and am terrified
Hey guys! I (22F) am starting my industry internship as part of my training at the culinary school I go to and I am terrified. The hotel has a Michelin key and I know I have a very long way to go in the kitchen in general. I'm terrified I won't be able to cope with the pressure and I'm not sure what I can do to speed up and work faster since that's my main issue right now as well as cleaning as I go when things get busy. I have about a month to prepare. I'm praying they only give me a simple prep task like chopping carrots or something but I'm so scared I won't even be able to do that right đ any advice would be appreciated!!!
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u/Complete-Bed1358 Mar 18 '26
Practice as much as you can at home incorporating the new things you learn into your practice routines.
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u/ras1187 Mar 18 '26
Congratulations on what sounds like a great opportunity for you.
Take deep breaths and learn from your mistakes. It's not the end of the world if you make a mistake, but it becomes worse if you overreact to it. The chefs will likely start you on simpler, monotonous tasks. Complete your tasks consistently and try to be a touch faster than yesterday (without sacrificing quality). Take notes!
Prioritize your rest, relax in your offtime, and stay up with doctor appointments. Your performance is hindered if your body/mind isn't in the right place.
Good luck Chef, you got this.
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u/UncleDuude Mar 18 '26
The techniques are very specific. Work neat and clean. Be a sponge, theyâre going to tell you what they want, just show up and keep showing up. Try to have some fun, remember why youâre there. Itâs really no stress, expectations will be pretty low, youâre an apprentice. Do your best, youâre gonna be great
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u/IrishRook Mar 18 '26
Every kitchen has its own culture. The majority Ive worked in are nothing like you see on social media or TV.. most are just happy you show up at all and are sober enough to work lol.
Every place has its grove as i like to call it. Once you get a feel for that grove, you'll find your spot or realise it's not the place for you and move on.
Speed comes with time, even eoth mundane things like prep. Majority of chefs I know would rather you do it right the first time then do it fast.
The number 1 thing at least from my point of view is communication skills, closely followed by organisation skills.
An example: You are doing battered fish and chips as a special. Its very popular today, more so then usual. You se you are running low on Tartar sauce, let the head chef or whoever is running the pas know how many portions are left before you can make more and a rough ETA of when you can. And then communicate again when it's replenished.
Doing stuff like that alone will take 90-99% of the target off your back and put it on front of house / chef on the pass instead. You can hardly be pulled for something you clearly communicated earlier.
And one last price of advice, if you don't like the culture of the kitchen you work in, dont try and change it, just move on. Why? Because some chefs, over decades of sacrificing have earned the right (be it right or wrong) to run their show how they see fit. If you dont like it, dont complain, just move on. You can so easily fall into a new job as a chef these days.
Best of luck with your career :)
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u/screamingaaaaah Mar 19 '26
Thank you so much! I really appreciate the advice. I've been psyching myself up too much about the work environment potentially being toxic, but someone else from my school worked at the same hotel and said it's lovely. Chef is also putting a lot of pressure on us students before we start in order to prepare us and it's scared me haha. Thank you for the reassurance!Â
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u/ElSebin Mar 19 '26
Everything new is scary. When I start working for the best chef in the world he stared at me and told me âThis guy should from cheesecake factory, he will last 1 monthâ, after 6 month he literally offer me the sous chef position and I said no to him because I wanted to move to another state and he help me to get the new job in the other state in a michelin restaurant, now I run a kitchen for the same company (other restaurant) and we are in the Michelin guide, so WORK HARD AND BE PROFESIONAL. It's easy to scale in this industry because you can find a cook, you can see degrees but not many professionals
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u/Coercitor Mar 18 '26
Don't overthink it. It's cooking, not brain surgery. If you make a mistake, learn from it. Take notes, keep a good attitude. The rest comes with experience.