Official Update

It's been forever since I have updated my blog and I am sorry. I graduated on May 20, 2011 from Johnson & Wales and received an associates degree in culinary arts with honors. I wore a black cap and gown and had a gold rope for completing the honor's program and I had a gold sash for having a high GPA. It was a great graduation I got to see all my friends and classmates again and then my family went to a cook out with Drew's family at Lake Norman. They had a cake made for us and it was made by a former JWU grad! I then went home to spend a week with my family that was great and it was what I needed.

I then had to go back to reality and go to work, and we changed a few things on the menu and are planning to change some more later in the season! I did get to do something fun and volunteer for Special Olympics Championship, that was so fun and so hot outside. All the athletes were so excited to compete and they were good! I worked the long jump event.

I recently have been thinking and praying about making this internship into a full time job. So I talked with my chef about the possibility and we made a deal and I think I'm going to take it :) He has let me finish my internship and come home for the rest of the summer and then he will have a job for me to come back to sometime in the fall season. I finished my internship and am back home!

Now I'm home with my family and all our animals. The day after I got home officially Mayday our goat had twin baby goats :) They are tiny and both girls. They have little legs and are still wobble and they fall down with their legs spwalded out, it's so cute. We named them Sugar and Spice! That was exciting.

Since I have been home I have gotten to cook supper alot and help mom plan supper around what we get out of the garden or at the farmers market. We have had so many good meals!

Yesterday mom and dad took me out to eat and I have to tell you about this wonderful restaurant. It's called Nana's located in Durham, NC. The dining room had a great calm atmosphere and was decorated very fancy and elegant with white table cloths and local artists displayed their masterpieces on the wall. The servers worked in a semi-brigade with the head server who tended to the table and took orders and changed the flatware. Then one server only did bread and refills and another brought out the food. This was very similar to what we did and was tested on in Dining Room Class at school. So it was neat to watch and remember what I had to do in that class. The restaurant is a farm to table style french restaurant and has a new menu every month depending on the season. So after mom and dad had asked me a million questions about what was on the menu and what it was lol then it was time to order! We shared an appetizer which was a Risotto with Chanterelle mushrooms and roasted red peppers and sweet corn topped with apple wood smoked bacon. It was delicious, very creamy and very flavorful. For the entrees Dad ordered a Black Angus beef tenderloin over eggplant ratatouille with bearnaise sauce. Mom ordered pan roasted scallops over summer sweet corn with haricot verts and topped with a rock shrimp and tomatillo sauce. I ordered cast iron roasted duck breast with mango relish over Moroccan couscous and cherry tomatoes with a chilli relleno stuffed with spinach & goatcheese. Oh my goodness they all were amazing! And we were celebrating my birthday early and the chef surprised me and made a special white peach souffle with lavender honey anglaise sauce and a candle on it! It was very very good and cooked perfectly. We also ordered a blackberry tartlette topped with a wildflower honey ice cream. Lets just say it was a delicious night and a great birthday dinner.

My Duck Breast                                                                         Blackberry Tart

 

Mom's Dish

Today I had foot surgery to fix my bunion because it has been bothering me especially when I work 9 hour shifts in the kitchen. So since chef gave me some time off I decided to go ahead and get it done so I will have enough time to recover and be back on fresh feet when I get back to take my job. It went good I'm still nice and numb so not in pain yet. I had a pleasant surprise visit from Mike and Angela and they brought me my first care package full of goodies and candy! It was so so nice of them to do that, thank you two.

So the plan is to recover well and quickly from surgery and come out with a strong foot in the end. I hope to get a part time job that I can sit down sometimes while I'm here at home. I am considering starting with Pampered Chef because it would be something I love doing. I want to save up some money while at home so when I go down to Florida I have some to lean on. Then I hope to start my full time job, hopefully, and start some classes that will go toward my Nutrition Degree. That's the plan and that's my goal so far. I have plenty of time to think and pray about my goals while I recover.

This is my officially update sorry it took so long.

P.S. Tomorrow is my birthday!!

Mother's Day Today

My brother and sister missed me alot! It was so good to see them, on Thursday I met them at their hotel and we went and ate breakfast then we went shopping at the Florida mall and we took Nolan to the m&m world. We went back and swam in the pool and had fun then got hungry so we ate at KFC at like 9 pm and I got to show them my apartment and stay with them the rest of the night since I didn't have to work. On Friday we played put put and ate lunch at sweet tomato and then went to downtown Disney and walked around and watched Soul Surfer, which was a really good movie. We ate seafood that night and then we had to say goodbye :( Nolan brought me some eggs from our chickens and mom brought me my Easter basket and she fixed it up and wrapped it in a bag so I would have to open it on Sunday morning! I loved that, I missed being there on Easter morning very badly but having a basket to open just like always made it better and made my Easter special! We did dye eggs at work and gave them out to the kids, that was cool!

So lets see its been two weeks since Easter. So I will go through the highlights, we had a room inspection and we received the white glove award, yay! I got to shadow at the Grand F. Cafe and that was alot of fun, I met new people and new chefs and did some networking! And Chef Amy that I met there I found out today that she is transferring to Cinderellas soon, my chef told me it was a secret right now though. But im excited she is an amazing chef and she has a ton of great recommendations. The past two Friday and Saturdays have been Grad Night and our restaurant closes early so our shifts are shorter for the day time and the night shift gets out at like 6:30 instead of 11:30. Today was the last Grad Night and I worked the morning shift and then stayed till 6:30 cause the night shift needed more people. So today I worked 12 hours, but I got off and took a nap and watched a movie and went to the hot tub. My roommate's birthday was on Cinco de Mayo and that was fun, yummy guacamole!

I found out my boyfriend got an internship for the summer here, and he got placed at Cinderella's!!! Isn't that crazy the chef that interviewed him had over 30 spots to place him and he put him at my place. I told him I am the princess in the castle and maybe he can be my prince! We work good in the kitchen together so I think it will be fun. There is officially 23 days till he gets here.
I graduate in 13 days! Which is crazy to think about. Me. . I am graduating college! And by the way since I am counting there is only 75 days till my birthday!

The clock just turned to 12 and it is now Mother's Day. I want to say I am so thankful for my mom and all she does for me, I couldn't ask for anything more. I also am thankful for my ma maw beach and for everything she does for me and she supports me in. And to all my "second moms" I love you and I am always thankful to have you in my life. Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful moms that have touched my life. And Happy Mother's Day to my mommy, I love you!

I love the great women in my life!

Not so homesick now

This week we officially opened up the full restaurant because the renovations got finished. So now we serve about 500-700 people for breakfast and the same for lunch and at least 1000 for dinner. I have been working breakfast and lunch most of the week, and they put me on a new station, domo which is a large puff pastry with cabernet sauce and a scoop of mash potatoes and then a scoop of roast beef and sauteed vegetables on top then an aoli sauce drizzled on top. I also got to work saute for one day. Then the past two days I have worked nights and got to work fryer one day and saute the other. There where so many orders of fish since it's getting closer to Easter and people are on lent or fasting they only eat fish or vegetarian, which is the two dishes that saute does. So the day I worked saute we were slammed! This whole week me and my amazing roommate had the same schedule so I was nice and took her to work everyday and picked her up so she didn't have to ride the bus. We are getting along really well and I am so glad I have her as my roommate and not any of the other girls in my apartment. They are all really nice but we don't always get along with each other, but I guess that's what you expect from a room full of 6 girls. This week I have been talking to my chef about shadowing at other places around Disney, and he got me a day to shadow at the Grand Floridian next week! One of my suite mates works at one of the cafes in the Grand so she met me there after work and showed me where to park and where to go in. That place is huge! and it's gorgeous they had a jazz band playing in the lobby and then when they got done a piano player came out and played on a huge grand piano(I really wanted to play that piano when he wasn't there, I miss playing). So I am really excited about going over there to see their kitchen and I am supposed to meet Chef Amy, who will be the first female chef I have met since I have been here. But my chef told me he would introduce me to a few other really great female chefs around Disney!
Two days ago I got to go meet up with my aunt and cousin and ma maw in St. Petersburg, which I found out is only an hour and twenty minutes away. I got to see my cousin's house, which is beautiful I really want to live there! and I got to meet all her dogs and see her town where she lives. It was such a cute little artsy downtown with lots of restaurants and bakeries and a peer. If I can't find a job anywhere I can just go there and I will be happy. But it was so good to see them and spend time with them we went and ate at a really good french restaurant! Now I know where I can go and visit if I get homesick again or if I need anything.
Today Mom, Melissa, and Nolan got here, but I was at work. I get to go see them in the morning and spend my two days off with them. I'm so excited :) I have missed them so much and they just came up to see me for a few days, yay! So I can't wait till tomorrow morning! I will update on what all we end up doing soon.

Lobster Fun

Sorry I haven't  updated in a while I have been super busy. So I told you about my promotion to saute station well the next day they put me on grill, which is the station that changed alot when the menu changed so I had to be refreshed on what to do, but after the first couple of tickets I got the hang of it. I cooked the rack of lamb for the lamb dish which has Israel cous cous with mushrooms and cherry tomatoes and sauteed zucchini topped with 4 slices of rack of lamb with an apricot sauce and a mint oil drizzled on the side.Then the pork edtufe  dish is built with a round mold and I put two scoops of corn spoon bread and pulled pork then press that down and put braised swiss chard on top and surround the mold with edtufe sauce, then pull the mold off and top with bacon. Both dishes are very tasty but have alot of work in plating them. I also grill the kids mahi mahi and the asparagus for the tenderloin station. I did well on grill so now when I work nights I have been working saute and grill. Yay. The renovations in the dining room are almost done, so lately we have been really slow, but sometime next week we will be back up to speed. Last night we were super slow and chef ordered in some lobster so we had fun with them posing them for pictures and having lobster battles and then we cooked them just for us and ate them for supper with some melted butter, they were SO yummy.

A few days this week I worked mornings too and usually they just put me on salads or dessert station but one day they put me on saute to see how I would do, and I did good the morning chef told me that I was one of the best college program students he has ever had, he said most of the students that come in don't work hard and don't know what they are doing and don't use common sense! I talked with some people that have stayed working here since their college program and asked them how they liked it and what they thought. One guy told me he finished the college program and went to seasonal status to stay on the pay roll and just worked over the summer while he finished school and then came back and got a job offer and has been here ever since. He said it's great cause there are so many places to work and if you get bored or want to work somewhere else you can transfer and don't have to worry about quiting and finding a new job like in the real world. Then I also talked with some people that have worked here for 25 years and asked for their wisdom and their advice on what to do for my career, it was neat to hear what different people said but basically they said do everything, learn it all and move around! So that is my plan while I am here I already asked several places about shadowing other restaurants and resorts.

Today I had  a day off and went to the doctor and then went searching for hotels for mom and then went to Epcot. I walked around the whole park and found some restaurants that I want to eat at when I have money. I got to sit down and eat at the Mexico area and it was the perfect spot to watch the Reflections of the Earth light show so I stayed and watched that. When I was sitting there an elder couple came up and asked if they could share the other half of the table since there were no more seats, and of course I said yes. So they started talking about how they live in the area and they brought their grandchildren here when they came down and had one more day left on the ticket so they came and walked in all the shops and looked around by themselves. They asked me about what I do and how I liked it. Then they found out I worked at Cinderella's and they said on one of the days their family was here their grandchildren went and ate breakfast there. So then they called their daughter and told her that they just met one of the cooks that made their breakfast in the castle. It was neat to see how excited they were and to hear about how much they enjoyed the food and the restaurant. I don't really get to interact with the guests that much but I do get to have an impact on them. When I got back from Epcot I had a letter from a friend waiting on my bed for me. It really made me smile and the two penguins (Waldo and Rubert) are now beside my snow globe to keep my room nice a cool :)

A visitor and a package all in one week!

After a long day of work, where everything seemed to go wrong, on Thursday night the 31st I had a surprise visitor that made it all better, my wonderful boyfriend drove down to visit me from Charlotte since he didn't have to work. :) It was so good to see him and to take him around to meet everyone and to show him where I live and what I do. He is so good to me he had another surprise, he gave me a promise ring when he got here, and he told me he was promising to always be here for me even if we are far away and that he is going to wait for me as long as we need to, and wait to do anything until we were married. He said he wanted to show me how serious he was about our relationship and that we wasn't going to let something good get away just because we had to work at it. Isn't that sweet! And the ring is gorgeous. On Friday we got to go to the parks because I got my guest pass in the mail. We went to animal kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood studios and back to Epcot to watch the light show, it was a good ending of a wonderful day. Then Saturday we just hung out and took it easy, I took him to my little paradise and it was a nice day to rest, then he had to drive back so he could work Sunday. Then my work week started back on Sunday working in the mornings and I got to work downstairs in the prep kitchen cutting kiwi, strawberries, apples, making the shrimp cocktail appetizer, making some sauces for upstairs and lots of other stuff. It was fun to see all the prep work of the things that I use upstairs, and I was happy to actually use a knife, since I haven't used one since I have been here (other than at my apartment). When I was cutting  the tops off of strawberries I found one that looked like a smiley face, and another lady found one that had a flower shape and one with a heart shape! I worked breakfast and lunch on the line the next day. Then I had two days off and I got to hang out with my roommates and watch a movie and make cookies! My first day off I took my roommate to the dentist she had to get a root canal :( and it rained but then it cleared up and we went to the movie theater in downtown Disney cause on Tuesday there is a special and the price is cheap, that theater was huge they had their own food court inside and they had cool drink machines that had every flavor of coke products you just tap the screen and pick a drink and then pick any flavor, it was neat! We watched Hop, it was a cute movie. Then my other day off I went to the doctor in the morning and got back and cooked some delicious french toast, that I had been craving for a while. Then me and my other roommate went to Hollywood studios for the rest of the day since it was so nice outside. Now we are up to today I worked the night shift and  this time I got promoted to a new station, saute yay! Over the whole night I bet I made over 70 cobia fish dishes and maybe 30 casolette bean dishes. I did good at keeping up with the orders and making sure I had enough fish cooked, even though my oven was not staying at the right temperature so it was taking longer to cook all the way through. My chef said I did good, so hopefully that means I get to work that station again tomorrow. When I got home from work I had a HUGE package on my bed from mom!!!! It had lots of food :) like trail mix, hamburger helper, brownies, macaroni, and Easter candy- sour patch jelly beans(I didn't know they made those), Peeps (already ate half the box :/ and I got a letter and most important, my soccer shoes! I was so happy to get a package, and my mommy knows me so well she had everything that I like in there. I love her! Oh and as of today I have officially been here at Disney for one month.

4th Week

Well this exciting week started on Sunday morning being at work at 6:30 AM I worked the breakfast shift and the lunch appetizers. I think I like working mornings other than waking up so early and not seeing the sun rise, but I don't loose my whole day. I got off at 4 from work and came home changed clothes, then walked to my recently found paradise a little lake across the road where they have white sand and hammocks! I spent a few hours reading a book while laying in a hammock soaking up some sun, it was nice. Monday I worked PM again and was on the fryer station we were really busy, but I kept up, yay! Tuesday I had the day off and I found

a marathon of law and order svu on tv that made me happy and I made pasta salad yum. Then me and my roommate went out to eat and went to walmart along with a million other people. Today I worked PM shift and apparently there was a tornado watch while I was at work and I was up in a castle good thing there was not a tornado, but it was raining alot. I worked on the fryer station again and did really really good all day long until the last turn of the night I ran out of roasted chicken and had to cook one at the last minute so that ticket was a little late, oops. So far I love it here and I really enjoy working in the kitchen and getting to meet new people. Oh and one of my many dreams came true, I got to meet pooh bear!

My day off, their senior trip

Today I had a day off from work, and I got to meet up with a group of the seniors, Mr. Manning and Mrs. Avery and hang out with them all day, that was fun. We went to Hollywood Studios and Epcot and then they went to pack at their hotel and I went to find my car, which I got a little lost but I did find it after about 20 minutes or more of walking in the 95 degree sun, good thing I had on sunscreen(yes mom I really did listen to you). Then I found a new grocery store and got my food for the week. But now I am getting a little homesick and missing everyone, seeing all them made me miss home more but at the same time it gave me a taste of home enough to hold me over until mom and dad and everyone gets here, which is only a few weeks away! It's a little weird and scary to talk to the seniors about them starting college and giving them advice on things cause I still think of them as sophomores and I thought it was just yesterday when I was a senior. But at the same time it's neat to see where I have been and how far I have come. They all were talking about being scared of leaving home and meeting new people and having to live with them and I just think about how I felt the same way but now it's different I've already done that like three times now. I can really see how much I have grown from that little freshman and how I have matured and become more independent. It seems like now that I have gotten out of my comfort box I have more dreams and goals that I want to reach, like this adventure in Disney! All my family and friends that have been in my life forever have helped me become who I am and who I am becoming but I know for a fact that if certain things hadn't happened or certain people hadn't been put in my path I would not be here and I would not be the same person. So back to my original thought, I am so glad I got to see the seniors and spend time with them and talk to them about things they were concerned about.They are currently getting on the train right now and I pray their trip home is safe and enjoyable. Good luck class of 2011
Well I am going to go rest and watch a movie and make greeting cards!! Oh I never gave you all my address, I forgot here it is: 13501 Meadow Creek Drive Apt. #3905 Orlando, FL 32821

They let me off the leash, and on my own!

So for seven days now I have worked the PM shift from 2-11:30 I graduated from training and passed my assessment and for my reward I got to go see the castle suite! I first day on my own I did appetizers and helped with desserts. For apps we serve shrimp cocktail over roasted corn, cheese trio plate, or fresh mixed salad with pumpkin seeds and cranberries. I did good serving apps I had to work with the servers and people told me that they can be impatient, but none of them had to wait on me! Then the next couple days I have worked on middle or fryer. I am in charge of frying the cornish hens for the roasted plate, and frying the chicken tenders for the kid's plate and getting the pizza, mash potatoes, corn, and mac and cheese which they make in the back. So almost everyone who eats at the castle has a kid and I am in charge of all the kid dishes. So that station is VERY busy! The chicken roasted dish has mac and cheese that is baked in a ramekin and is really good, its like alfredo and noodles, then steamed brocolini and the cornish hen. My first day on this station I did really good at keeping up with all the orders but I had to get used to watching how much I had left so I could tell the chef in the back to make more or not. The second and third day I did much better at that! One of the college program students asked me how long I have been on my own and I said 4 or 5 days now, she said I must be doing really good cause they put me on a hot station and now just salad or dessert everyday, she told me one of the students has been on desserts everyday since she has been here. So that is encouraging! It's fun meeting all the different people who work there, some of the people I met are now leaving though. three college program students are leaving this week and I am the only one coming in to take their spot, and they don't like when people leave. One night the chef was called out into the dinning room because there was a little boy hiding under the table and he wouldn't come out because he said he was allergic to princesses, it was hilarious! This week we had our menu change and the big executive chef who is not there very often was there alot to make sure that went smoothly. We now have a pulled pork dish with a gravy like sauce and spoon bread, tastes like cornbread just smoother made with polenta, and topped with sauteed swiss char greens and bacon diced. We changed the duck to rack of lamb served with cous cous. And we changed the sauce for the beef tenderloin to a demi glace based sauce. The desserts also changed to a trio with a fruit tart, small cheesecake, and chocolate mousse in a glass. Then they took away the creme caramel and replaced with a large cheesecake. The menu change went pretty well we had to get through a few bumps with the plating of the new dishes, but they definitely sold well. Our apartment had our first cleaning inspection, and we almost got the white glove award for being extra clean but there was one thing they wanted a little cleaner, but we did pass the inspection! I did have a surprise this week, the seniors from ACS came for their senior trip on Tuesday and I got to meet up with them on Wednesday at Hollywood Studios before I went to work and then today Thursday they were in Magic Kingdom and I got to see them while I was on break. It was so good to see someone from home! Tomorrow I get to spend the whole day with them and I just finished making sugar cookies for their train ride back home. That is all the excitement for this week now I get two days off YAY!

Cinderella's Secret Suite

See the pictures at

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=652796&id=815970120&l=5a54dd7d38

 

More training

Sorry the Internet went down in our apartment, but we fixed it and I'm back! So Tuesday the 15 I trained with the AM again. I got to make the cream cheese french toast fried in pancake batter, then I helped make the eggs and hash browns. When the tickets started coming threw I plated the french toast, the yogurt and fruit bowls. When service was almost done I got to go stand out in the dining room and watch as people got our food. Every princess gets a wand and every prince gets a sword when they come to eat there. The little girls where all twirling in the isle with their princess dress and wand in the air. It was neat to see the faces of the guests as their food was brought out to them. I saw a server make a proposal platter with rose petals and a glass slipper and the ring inside the slipper, it was gorgeous! I met Ariel on Tuesday that was exciting! Then we got set up for lunch and I worked the saute station. I braised two pans of cobia fish with fennel, olives, and tomato sauce. I sauteed vegetables for the beef domo to use for their plate. I was in charge of plating the cobia and the cassollet. For the cobia I put a ladle of pomadora sauce in the bowl and I heat my noodles hot water, while heating basil oil in a pan, then I throw the noodles in the basil oil and saute that. I twirl the noodles and place it on the plate and then put the fish on top with some of the vegetables from the braise pan. To plate the cassollet, which is a chick pea soup, I put two ladles on soup in a bowl a sprinkle the top with bread crumbs while sauteing mushrooms, onions, shallots, olives and tomatoes, then the vegetables go on top of the soup. It's not too hard when you are doing them one at a time, but I had 5 cobia and 3 cassollet orders coming all at one time. After the first rush of orders I got the hang out it and the expediter said I did really good he didn't have to wait on me for an order. Then I got to work some with desserts plating it and giving it to the server. For desserts we have creme caramel, chocolate mousse. raspberry sorbet, and for the kids create your own with either a cup cake or ice cream and they get chocolate chips, marshmallows, and sprinkles to decorate with. For birthdays they get either a little cake with their name on it or a chocolate slipper on an angle cake pillow with their name written in chocolate. That was most of Tuesday.
I had two days off and I got to rest which was much needed!
Yesterday Friday the 18th I worked in the PM I made a huge batch of hollandaise and a batch of choron sauce by hand. The hollandaise went with my beef tenderloin and the choron with the duck confit. I worked the beef station. Which involved carving the tenderloin to order and plating it with potato crockets and asparagus, but the hard part was getting the order right, if they wanted medium rare or well done. The first turn on the night I plated and my trainer cut then we switched and then the last two turns she let me do it on my own so I had to plate, then cut then put the meat on the plate without making a mess then set it up in the window. I did pretty good, it was hard to keep up with the orders though. While we were setting up for dinner we could hear the fireworks go off above us, that was cool. Then after dinner was done we cleaned and that was pretty much it. Tomorrow I get to work appetizers and desserts. Maybe I'll have pictures

Training and My First Day!

These past few days have been magical and its just getting started. On Saturday March 12 I went to an all day orientation called Once Upon A Time is Now just for people working at Magic Kingdom. We toured the tunnel, which by the way is NOT underground because we are in Florida and underground is water so it is actually the first floor and the park is the second floor. Oh and I found out that guests can tour some of it too, you have to sign up for the Keys to the Kingdom tour and it is about $70. We went through the park and talked about why some things were set up that way and the reasons behind little things. We went to the front gate and watched as people waited for us to open the park. They all stood behind the rope with anticipation and when we opened the rope they came running in smiling and jumping and cheering. One dad really wanted to be the first one to see the castle, he had his daughter in one arm like holding a football and he ran and grabbed a map with the other hand and then just kept on running. It was so neat to stand on the inside and wave to the people coming into the park, some for the first time ever. Most people associate Disney with the castle because that's what's at the beginning of all the movies and that is the first thing they expect to see, but no when you get off the monorail and go to the gate all you see is the train station. You have to walk all the way down Main St. USA and over the hill until you see it, I learned that they designed that on purpose to build up your anticipation. As you walk down Main St. have you ever looked at the names on the windows they are credits for some of the many people, imagineers, casts member, and others, who contributed in some way to the creation and start of Disneyworld. Some of the names are fictional businesses (gyms, realtors, dentists), and they often refer to a hobby or interest that the person honored. Some also are fake realtor names that Walt and his brother used to secretly buy the land in Florida for the future Disneyworld, like for example M. T. Lott Realators-if you say it out loud it is empty lot. We learned about the history of each land in the Magic Kingdom and how detailed they are decorated even down to the fence and light post. We got to ride Buzz Lightyear and the Haunted Manson!! So that tour was to tell us background and give us a since of pride about working at Magic Kingdom, becuase every guest that comes to Disney must and always do see Magic Kingdom. My tour guide said take pride in what you do, you don't have a job you have a role to play, you don't wear uniforms you wear costumes, you don't serve cutomers you serve guests, it's a different kind of place to work but it's fun. The rest of the day we split up into the department we would be working in so culinary we went and got our scheduals for training and got fitted for our costumes. Sunday I had more training but it was on the computer, learning how to clock in and how to request days off and stuff like that.

Today Monday March 14 I had my first day of on the job training. I met my trainer this morning at 6 am and she showed me around the kitchen. We entered from the tunnel onto the loading dock into the first kitchen, which is prep and storage mainly. Then we went up the elevator and the second floor is the break room and the third floor is the main kitchen and the dining room. The kitchen is pretty small but it's workable. The dining room is gorgious, it is all decorated like a palace and the staircase from the dining room to the lobby is neat. The lobby is where Cinderella meets and greets, and this morning her friends Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Bell, and Jasmin came to visit. Outside the lobby a royal steward takes your reservation and rings the chime when your table is ready. This mornig when we walked outside it was still dark and the castle was all lit up and there was a bride and groom taking pictures in front of the castle. So today in the kitchen after I met all my chefs I got to work on the line plating breakfast. First I plated the french toast, which is a cream cheese danish dipped in pancake batter and deep fryed served with fruit compote, whipped cream, and bacon. It's so good! Then I plated the adult plate with hashbrowns, eggs, sausage, bacon. and the child with egg, bacon, french toast sticks. I got to try everything later on my break, I ate friut bowl, granola and yougurt with banana slices and sugar on top then brulade, crosant and chocolate crosant, the french toast, eggs, bacon, sausage. It was a lot of food but it was very good! Then we set up for lunch (oh and I could hear the fireworks going off right above me) and I worked the grill station, I cooked the pork chop, which has been in a brown sugar brine for at least 2 days, seared off tuna for the mixed green salad, cooked mahi mahi to order. I was incharge of plating beef tenderloin with mashed potatoes for a child plate. Pork chop with butternut squash, blanched greens, onion marmalade, herb butter. I worked that station all the way untill 20 minutes before lunch ended. Then I got to taste one of the desserts, I got the chocolate mousse it was good! Tomorrow I train in the AM again and then Friday, Saturday, Sunday I train in the PM. So far I love it

Disney History and Traditions

Walt Disney said "You can dream, create, design and build the most wonderful place in the world. . but it requires people to make the dream a reality." Yesterday March 10 I went to orientation or what Disney calls Traditions, the class that every single cast member at Disney goes through. We learned about how we are expected to work at Disney and the values we have to uphold. As cast members our common goal is that we create happiness by providing the finest in entertainment for people of all ages everywhere. We got to take a tour of Magic Kingdom and pick out other cast members that were demonstrating that goal, but the neat thing was how we got to Magic Kingdom. We rode a bus that took us to the back of Disney property, past where they keep the Christmas decorations, and we went through the underground tunnels. It's like a whole other world down there and you can get to any of the parks. We stood in the middle of the tunnel system and we were under the castle. I saw the entrance to Cinderella's Royal Table, where I will be working. We went out a secret door and ended up on Main Street in front of the castle and walked through the rain on a tour. Then when we went back to the orientation room Mickey came and welcomed us to the Disney family, he brought our name tags for us, and when he was leaving he was shaking people's hands and he came up and kissed my hand! Then we talked about the history of Disney, I won't go into all that but I will say some of the important ones. Mickey Mouse was born Nov. 18, 1928; Disneyland Park was opened July 17, 1955; Walt Disney World Resort was opened Oct. 1, 1971; Epcot Oct. 1, 1982; Tokyo Disneyland April 15, 1983; Disney Hollywood Studios May 1, 1998; Animal Kingdom April 22, 1998; Disney Cruise Line July 30, 1998; Hong Kong Disneyland Sep. 12, 2005.
That was interesting to hear all about that. I got my training schedule for Saturday I train 8 hours and Sunday I train 4 hours. I'm excited!

To My Supporters

I just want to say that I know I have a lot of support and prayers behind me. I have a wonderful mom and dad who encouraged me from the beginning to reach for the stars, and I have a great sister who is my best friend and a great little brother. My ma maw got to come down and help me move in and we had a great time here in Florida, I'm very thankful for that. All my family is excited for me and a few of them might be coming to visit me soon! I have a wonderful church family from back home, and a great group of ladies supporting me from my bible study in Charlotte. I have several friends from back home who have always been encouraging. I have some wonderful "second parents"(you know who you are) who have been there for me from the beginning! And last but not least my friends and teachers from Charlotte have been there for me, and encouraged me to apply and do the interview, I am very thankful for them. My wonderful boyfriend really encouraged me to reach for my dreams and helped me practice for the interview and was there when I got the acceptance letter, and helped me pack and move here, he has been the best! I just wanted to say thanks to everyone, I am a little scared to get started but knowing that I have all this support behind me I know I can do it and I know I am loved and I will have a great time.

The begining of my journey

About Me:
My name is Meredith I am a sophomore at Johnson & Wales University working on my Associate Degree in Culinary Arts. I have a wonderful family who supports me in everything I do and I love all my friends from back home, Graham, NC. So far in my college journey I have completed all academics and culinary labs. I have finished the Honor's Program. What I was involved in at school: Nutrition Club, Co-Op(garden), Honors, Math Tutor, RUF, volunteering, and babysitting for the ladies in my bible study. I have met some wonderful people that will be my best friends for life, like my roommates Zee, Amelia, and Sam, Drew, Tim and my friend Kaitlyn, Katy, and Pastor Dirks and his wife Carrie, Chef McCall and several others, but those are the important ones! For the past two years I have lived in Charlotte and made many memories, but that's a different story.
What is Happening Now:
I am about to start my internship which will be 11 weeks(the last term of my sophomore year). I am currently in Orlando, Florida and I am in the Disney College Program. I will be working at Cinderella's Royal Table which is in the castle at Magic Kingdom. So many people are supporting me and I know they all want to know what I am doing and they all want to hear the exciting stories. So I have decided to start this blog as I start this journey. Hopefully we will learn some new and exciting things and maybe even some secrets!
How did I get Here:
Back in October and November I applied to several places to maybe work at for my internship including the Biltmore Estates. I had an interview and everything with them and I was so excited that I might get that as my intern site, but then I found out that they already filled the spots and I didn't get it. I was really disappointed and I wanted to give up and just find some place near home to work at. But that same week I got an email that said Disney was not filled up yet and they were coming back to do interviews. They had already came earlier in the semester and I missed them, so this was an open door from God and I took it. So I signed up for an interview which was going to be over the phone, I had never done one over the phone before. Someone told me to make sure I smiled while I talked so I sounded excited the the person on the other end, that was the weirdest thing I had ever heard. So I got an appointment for 3:30 on Tuesday. Normally on Tuesday I go to class and then tutor in the library until 3:30 or 4, so this Tuesday I was still going to tutor just end it early. Well that didn't work as planned, I was helping a student and lost track of time and didn't quite know how to politely tell them I had to leave, because I was supposed to be in a quiet place where I would not be disturbed. So I finally left the library at 3:25 and I am literally running down the sidewalk to get to my apartment before Disney called. I pass the Little Village Restaurant and my phone rings. I answer it out of breath and you can hear the cars and buses riding by, the man on the other end says hi this is Chef Pauly from Disney, wait are you outside somewhere? I said yes chef I am on my way to my apartment, Do you want me to call back in 3 minutes? Oh yes that would be wonderful I said. So I have 3 minutes to run the rest of the way and get up to the 7th floor and in my room. I made it  with 1 minute left to spare. The interview I thought went great, and I did try the smile thing, I think it worked even though it felt awkward. He asked me several questions like if he gave me this what would I make or what would I put on a menu? He asked me if I was hired if I would be interested in working over the summer too, I said yes I would be interested, so he said he would write that down and I could decided later. The interview was finished and he said I would find something out by January. So I had to wait till I got back from Christmas break to check my mailbox and find out. My roommate got back from Christmas break before I did so she checked the mailbox for me and said I had a big folder from Disney! I got back to school and opened it up and there was an acceptance letter in it! So now it is Spring Break and I had to move out of my apartment in Charlotte and pack things to bring to Florida. This past Thursday Drew and I drove down to Cocoa Beach and met Amelia and Tim and had a mini vacation. Then my mom and ma maw drove my car down on Saturday to Orlando and we went to Universal and Islands of Adventure and saw the new Harry Potter Theme park and saw Lynard Skynard in a free concert. Drew and Amelia drove back to Charlotte on Monday night and my mom, ma maw, and me had a girls night. Then Tuesday I checked in at my apartment and moved in to a 3 bedroom apartment. And then went to a meeting to set up payroll and do a background check. The next few days will be training and orientations but it will be fun.