Features
PAGE 4
Winter 2016
Culinary Students Make the Cut
Photo by: Justine Bautista
Photo Courtesy of: Austin Janurary
Mikayla Knight
Co-Editor-in-Chief
Justine Bautista
Staff Writer
Every Monday and
Tuesday during conservatory, select seniors from
Culinary Arts and Hospitality (CAH) venture out
into the world as a part of
the conservatory’s senior
year internship program.
Seniors travel to restaurants like Mar, in the hip
4th Street Market, The
Pacific Club, in Newport
Beach, The Black Marlin,
in Tustin, and Little Sparrow, in the art district in
downtown Santa Ana.
There, students are able
to display the skills they
have learned in OCSA
classrooms and lab
settings in a professional
environment.
At the start of the year,
CAH students were encouraged to find an
internship related to
hospitality or other fields
of interest where they
could rotate within different stations, departments,
or responsibilities in order
to experience all aspects
of the student’s desired
profession.
Other businesses students have worked in
range from the Montage
Resort in Newport Beach
to St. Joseph’s Hospital in
Orange.
“We wanted to create
an opportunity for our
students that would take
them out of their comfort zone and be able to
put to use what they’ve
learned through our
conservatory,” said CAH
Director, Chef Daniel
Mattos. “This opportunity
furthers the student’s real
world experience and
adds to their résumés.
Most culinary schools
require students to have
experience in the industry
prior to applying.”
Students are required
to work a minimum of
160 hours, an average of
60 hours per month, and
record in a journal information responsible for
finding employment and
negotiating their paychecks and hours.
Mattos said, “Some students earn a paycheck.
Students are networking
with industry professionals.
I’ve witnessed students
become more mature.
I’ve seen this senior class
grow from young teenagers to young adults. It’s
awesome!”
This program gives
students a chance to
explore their future plans.
OCSA has also given students a head start in the
culinary arts and hospitality industry.
According to senior,
Austin January, he will
be more prepared for
the industry through his
internship at The Pacific
Club. “I’m learning the
social aspects as well as
how to follow rules, how
to use equipment, and
how to get tasks done so
that when I work in the
hospitality industry, in the
future, I’m going to have
that knowledge,” said
January.
Leading up to the
internships, students are
required to be in Level
Four with the prerequisite
of three years of preparation. In those three
years, they learn various
skills and concepts that
will help them in the
real world where these
learned elements will be
necessary. Along with
this, they are able to build
up their résumé through
participation in conservatory catering events.
The purpose of the senior internship program is
to provide students with a
chance to apply the skills
they have acquired in the
conservatory classroom.
January said, “Because
of my conservatory, I
Photo by: Justine Bautista
have the foundations
necessary to work in any
kitchen including knife
cuts and techniques like
braising, frying, poaching,
etc. I’ve learned a lot of
technical terms over the
years at OCSA as well like
‘brunoise’ … that have
helped me understand
the terminology when
talking to my chef in the
kitchen.”
For the managers, the
internship program has
allowed students to showcase what they can offer
in their work setting.
Lilly Beltran, Manager at Mar Restaurant in
Santa Ana, explained, “I
feel like they’ve learned
a lot about working with
people since they can’t
really do that in class.
And they’ve learned
about how a real kitchen
works, so it’s nice for them
to have that foundation
when deciding what they
want to do in the future.”
As for its future endeavors, Mattos said, “The
internship program will
naturally grow. My hope
is that we