Apprenticeship Contract - Finally

Hello!

So i`m 17 years old boy from Finland!

I just must come anneal my new start in Chef Career! I studied last time about 1,5 years ago in Helsinki Culinary School, but i stop it because, i dont have money and i just want to learn what is life in the real kitchen. In Finland i appreciate our culinary school, but there is just few hours a week "Kitchen and restaurant" lesson so i get tired of this. Then i try to find Apprenticeship Contract deal and ask many many restaurants, but nobody want it. BUTTTT NOWWW! I just got that place!! (Restaurant Casa Mare) I`m so happy and tomorrow i had my first work day! OOOH EXCITED!

Sorry if this the wrong place to this thread, and my english sucks, but just want to share this thing! :D
 

Thanks for answer!

Yes i`m now be there 6 days (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Torsday, Friday and Saturday) and i`m really enjoying be there. I just now, that kitchen is my home and i certainly love to be there. I just get to do very much different things, even thought i`m be there really short time. I`m doing basic things like cutting herbs, wash sallad and like that. But i`m doing also bread, lobster broth and lot of chili con carne for 11-15pm(our restaurant lunch buffet). I just think that those 6 days, i am do more stuff, than that 1 year which i studied in culinary school(sick)... :)

Now i have 4 days off, and i hate it because i just want to go there and learn new stuff, every other chef likes me because i`m young and like to learn lot of new things. 

-FTS93

PS: I Promise, that u heard of me more(ofc i wroting here) but after 4-5years i promise to come to work foreign country, just dont know where yet ;) And i think, that i take part off finnish young chef cooking competition after 2-3 years. :) There is lot of good finnish under 20 years old chefs.

AND IF U KNOW SOME GOOD COOK PROGRAMS WHICH I CAN DOWNLOAD, I PRECIATED IT! (NOW SEE TOP CHEF, HELLS KITCHEN, MASTERCHEF) 

06.10.2011

Ayee dudes! 

I have this week (mon-wed) my first school days in Helsinki Culinary School. We must attend 3 times/per month in school in this apprentice ship.  In work i had so many good days and i just get more and more love for this job. Although i have been every weekend now in work and made some loong days, but i just know that is the normal in this business and just got phone call from my Head Chef that he need me in work tomorrow(really i would have day off :D)... In school we made just few thinks(tomato soup, french onion soup(just love this) and finnish salmon soup and dessert white chocolate&rasberry mousse cake. We fillet the fish and i do it first time and it wasss sooooooo hard! And i`m very demanding for myself, so when i made few mistakes in first time I GET SO ANGRY TO MYSELF. I know it was my first time and my teacher said it to me, but i just cant accept that i makes mistakes. But i`m good learner maybe because that. Wednesday we although speak with my director(one chef in our work) and we made decision that i made 2 or 3 weeks more morning shift, because we had more quiet then, than evening. So i learn better our dishes because our head chef and one chef leaves, so i must learn fast these things.  In home i made today burgers for my brother. Oh these was so good! I live in home now, but i have few apartment application going, but in Helsinki is so hard to get apartment right now... :( But i wait and work, wait and work :)...

13.10.2011


Hello!

2 day off, and again weekend in work, just love it. Yeah, but i have been very great week again, and two lunch shift almost whole of myself. My "tutor" just check little bit what i`m doing and let me do buffet table for myself and then we have some lunch dishes ofc what we made, when someone order it. I´m kind off proud to myself, but i just want to be more faster even i`m heard, that i`m surprised very many people how i`m advanced very fast. Our head chef leave few days ago and now our restaurant find new one, all we are excited which kind person there is coming. One guy has made one test shift, and he affect very nice dude.

Today i`m just chilling and get my few papers from my job and tomorrow i`m going to go "Eat&Joy" hall, which is one of the most best ideas a long long time in Finland. It is Hall, which have only finnish food producers(milk, fish, ham, vegetables). So great, ALL FROM FINLAND!!! So opening ceremony is tomorrow and today i heard that they already have over 500 hundred different producers from Finland. It`s amazing step to the our own local food culture! There is one restaurant too, which use only these product, what this hall have. Fresh fish and all every single day. SICK! I wait it so much, and going to go eat there tomorrow if they open that restaurant too tomorrow. One of my ex-culinary student friend is working there so i wait very much from that restaurant, and i`m ready to pay for that kind of concept food.

If someone read this i hope some comments and questions if u have any or if u even understand what the f*ck i`m writing here . 

17.10.2011


Oh boy, monday what a easy day usually, but i think that i made it hard to myself... I`m very over selfcritic and today i see it very well. Monday is usually pretty quiet for our restaurant, customers eat lot of from buffet, but they can also order dishes outside from that lunch list. And our maintain aim is serve lunch dish for max 10minutes to the customer, and today i f*ucked up few stupid thinks, and customers must wait becaus of me. Stupid things, I`m so pissed of for myself. I don`t want to hear, that i`ts okay because you even dont must be in this position right now, but omg, i know that customers dont care, they want their food.

But yes i`ts over now, and tomorrow i`m certainly do these things better. Otherwise i`m doing great in the work and also see few long days(11-12h) my boss just watching and asking all the time "Kalleee(it`s my name)how u doing?, Is this too long day for u?"  I`m okay, that they care, but it`s my job and future i also need do long days, so i`ts okat, that i can make these right now. I just want to learn, and when i`m working i`m learning.

 

Sorry i dont uprgrade this blog in few months. butttt

26.1.2012
Hi!

I`ts been 4 months since i started my apprentice ship contract in one of famous A`la carte and Lunch restaurant in Finland. Before that i studied in Helsinki City College of Culinary art school for 1 year. I Stop it because i think, that i`ts not right picture for me about this business. I`m not saying that it`s bad school, but u know that in school u dont see that rush and pressure what u gets in work.

I stop it and making stupid things about another one year. Drink too much and working some weekends different work places. Then i grab myself from neck, and start to try find apprentice ship place from some restaurant. It takes few monts and then i found one place which want one student for apprentice ship contract. I`ll grap it. I was be there about 3 weeks and they put me in a grill section. After that, i`m been one of the constant cook in there. And honestly i think, that my attitude makes me one of the best there.

And what i means for my attitude? I means that my passion and attitude really(i dont want to be self lover) but it`s really are so great that i dont want to do anything else than go to work. Always it`s not be so great thing, because honestly i`m closing all my closest friends outside of my life and owned all my life for the chef career. I think, that i`m graduate on December 2012 lastly, and after that, either continued there 0,5 year-1 year or try to get some of top 10 restaurant in Finland to work. If that`s not possible (i think it is) i go to find some place in UK and go to work there. 

02.02.2012

I`m working very much in December and January, really are see what it takes to be chef. No social life, otherwise with my workmates. But it is nice to see that i love it still. I get general-purpose machine for christmas present and i`m doing so much stuff with that. Everyday trying some new things or try to make old things better and train hard. Because in my job we makes, pretty much same things every day so i see important for me to practice some other things too. Today i make just basic home food for my family and bake Runebergs Tart, which is traditional dessert in february here in Finland. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runeberg's_torte

There u can see what it is. I try to think, have u same kinds tart in u`re country? 

Have a nice day!

-Kalle

03.02.2012

I`m not sure, but i think that someone are reading this blog. I want to know, that if u living in usa, or uk, is there any chef who want some apprentice to there. I`m not saying that i need to get there, but because i`m graduate about least december(this year) i think, that i want to leave Finland and get to England or Usa, where i can get name about being chef. I`m young, and when i`m looking chefs, which one said that they are young (they are 23-26 years old) i want to be best, so i want to get out here young and show my passion and talent for some, which can hmm how can i say, break through to flower? Right now our kitchen are going to go repairs on april, and for there i go some of top 10 fine dining restaurants in Finland to work, because Fine Dining is that what i want to do my future. But after that, i just dont know reason why i stay in Finland. I love my family, but i certainly want to be chef. Best chef. 

-Kalle Kröger (kalle.kroger@gmail.com)

09.02.2012

Finally we got our old head chef back, and we got the new menu! That`s awesome. That head chef is a great guy and he`s getting us to back rail. If something doesn`t have salt(i`m usually taste everything, and other dont) he say something about it, or ask to make it again, love it. Our old customers has coming back, because they know that this guy knows how to lead kitchen!

I`m also ask chance to work g.w sundmans on april 01-15.4 because our restaurant is closed(we got the new kitchen). And other goes holiday, but because i like to see fine dining(what i certainly want to learn and work future) i decide to ask. G.W Sundmans head chef is Matti Jämsen(our last year bocuse d`or competitor) he`s a great guy and knows what to do.http://www.sundmans.fi/palvelumme/g-w-sundmans there u can check them menus. If u come to the Finland(Helsinki) i recommend this place to visit!

Then i`m starting to go gym! Oh my god, i`m sure that i`m gonna die. Before i started to work Casa Mare i went about every day in gym and running, but after i started there it stops. Now i`m think that it is good for me and for my future. I`m good shape, it doesn`t depend on that, but i want to be good shape also in future. My vice is alcohol(most of chefs in Finland) :D And i dont stop it, but must to drink less, so i could train after work or before it. Dont think, that i`m alcoholic(i`m just chef u know ;))

 

18.04.2012

Yeah practice is now over, and want to say something about it. That place (g.w sundmans) doens`t reply for me in the time that i wanted, so i went to the finnish best restaurant 2011 and asking for them, can they take me 2 weeks practice for free, and they said "yes of course" Even my first day in there, i see how they really want to teach me and show different things. After they was showing things, they give me to do same things. I prepping lot of lamb and fishes, and making some ice creams too. It was very great 2 weeks for me, and i certainy didn`t except so much.

It was fine dining restaurant, so it was little bit different type of restaurant, than my gastropub work place. But certainly i see, that fine dining is the thing for me. I like to do little things, and want that all the things is great. Now i`m grabbing neck for myself, that i can get that cook education before january 2013. And after that i really want to go fine dining place to work, or leave Finland and go some different country. Suggestions? London is first on my list, but say some different countries, which u prefer for my types of person.

-Kalle 

 

Who i am?

Yeah, i`m sure that i dont even know myself. But one of the miserable alcoholic from Finland. 18 years old. Okay, i`m not a really alcoholic. Just started to my career. Career to be cook, then chef. I grew up in big family(4 brothers, 1 sister) parents was an alcoholic. But yea i dont complain. I lived quite a good life, when i was younger. Of course i did stupid things, i think most of us did. But i´m still alive. Since 13(years old) almost all of the weekends has been drunk. Proud of it? No, just tell you. Shame on it? No, of course not it`s just my life and i do what i want to do. Since 18 almost every friday, saturday, sunday has been drunk. I start to work in restaurant 17 years old. I`ts my destiny. I just feel, that i`m not get all of my potential out in Finland. I`m young and read Bouluds book, where he said " You should go so far until your money is the end" I`m largely agrees with that. I`m now working at the restaurant which use only Local ingrediends and mostly organic. Lunch food is pretty much home food, which is IMO good to learn because i have not finish culinary schools. Basics must to learn, but is this a best place? I dont know. Then there is a a`la carte, which is casual good looking food. Not a rush on a plate. Simple, but good look. I have 5k bankroll after working these restaurants. I only wait that some bigger says to me "go for it and go to learn" But one thing is sure, this guy dont to do any other work in this shitty life.

Then you say "Stop drinking, it`s ruining your life" Yeah i know it, when i stop and now you`re say "all who are start it said same thing" i know. But i know that i`m not those of kind people. And actually, what the fuck i care what people say of my lifestyles? I want to be cook, and i`m ready to make anything for it. And i really mean anything. I`m working long hours, i`m ready to work for this time, to end of my time if that is what they want me to do. I`m ready to go every fucking country to learn from the best if that is what is needed. I`m ready to look at the mirror and staring guy who had dark black rings under he`s eyes. I`m ready to go hospital with my knees and back, laughing and go back to work.

Now i`m told you that i have a passion. Btw i just leave my house, i`m actually homeless now(working still this restaurant) i live now few day with my sister and his husband and two kids. Tomorrow maybe with my friend. Just waiting for own rent house from Helsinki. But so what? I have a little bit of money and my dreams, what i`m still gonna catch.

-Kröger Kalle

(That is maybe same words, than first posts, but start new blog in google so this was my first post. And many things that u actually dont know)

Thank you very much for answers. Especially to petals. Your reply was nice to read and put me think little bit more again my working and life. And yes i really know that i need to get my own apartment. Cook`s life and living with friends just not be so wonderful. And mentally i get broke very fast with my personal life and things what happen near to me. I put just relations with my dad off. And i really appreciate all people who are older than me, and listen to things what they say. My older brothers are seeing same things, than me and i try to look how they are working with it.

And yes i`m working now in pretty good restaurant. And my chef has good relationship to Nordic (Sweden and Denmark) and French kitchen so, i think that maybe i need just stay there for least 1,5years or so long, that i can learn new and good things. And then say to my boss, if he want to recommend me to this countries.

And FlipFlopGirl, yeah dont bully me for, that i cant write or speak good english ;D. Actually in next month starts English course, which doesn`t pay very much. I think that i take it. Because i want learn to speak and write English perfectly before i leave this country.