Getting The Internship

After I sent my resume, I got a call from their pastry chef Mia Ponce. I was looking for a culinary internship but they only had an opening in pastry. Their pastry however was more than just baking... they celebrate fruits! Mia was open to hiring a non pastry major as long as
I’m willing to try and learn from them.

I went thru an interview with Mia Ponce and then on a panel interview with her co-chef Mary Canales. I was really nervous. I thought they will ask me technical baking questions and fruit preparations of which I don’t have very extensive knowledge.

They asked questions like: What time do you get up for work? How do you prepare for work? Who are your favorite chefs? What cookbooks do you read? Have you read any of our books? Why are you interested in working for Chez Panisse? Are you aware that we don’t pay interns? Are you willing to work on pastry even if your background is culinary?

I answered every question in detail. It helped that I knew what my goals are. It helped me too that I’m a fanatic when it comes to chef, chef stories and cookbooks. I didn’t realize such habit will say a lot about ones dedication to food preparation.

After the interview, they offered me the job! I was relieved. Whew!

I had one more step to take though. I have to stage. I decided to head over to California and do my stage. This is my only shot at a job that I really want so it’ll be well worth it. I’ll make it well worth it.