Hey guys!

I apologise for my absence as I have been very pre-occupied with study and work! I thought I would just drop in a blog to keep you up to date with the happenings around here!

Study is going great. This term has been much more practical and we have been keeping ourselves busy over at our training facilities at the Menzies Sydney. We use the Piano Bar for our bar service training and the Parkside Restaurant for our restaurant service training. We’ve been down to the stock and stores area, helping out with deliveries and stock management and have even been down to the local cafĂ© to understand how businesses reconcile their daily takings. I’m really enjoying my small, yet intimate class and our mix of cultures allows us to learn language, culture and life from each other every day.

We’ve also been doing some ‘extra practical work’ by indulging in some of Sydney’s best hospitality establishments! We’ve had the privilege of lunching at The Ivy and were even able to celebrate our class mates 21^st birthday at Aria! (Happy Birthday Gilles!) Whilst this sounds like we are making excuses to spoil ourselves, we are really experiencing great service and amazing food from a customers view – allowing us to appreciate and respect what we are actually studying! We have even met some interesting people including Franck Moreau (The worlds 4^th top sommelier!) and Peter Sullivan (Co-owner of Aria).

We really are keeping ourselves busy and thanks to Natasha Bransby, our trainer, we are understanding and appreciating hospitality in a different light!

Take care for now,
Danielle

Hello again!

So I’m into my third week of holidays and, my gosh, it’s going so fast! I’ve just come back from a gorgeous long weekend away to the beautiful Hunter Valley. I stayed at the overly indulgent Crowne Plaza Resort and enjoyed a nice couple of days tasting wines, running through vineyards, eating amazing food and relaxing with spa treatments. It’s gorgeous up there. I’m not much of a ‘winey’ but I was definitely open to trying everything, from my favourite sparkling to the unknown land of port. And I must admit, I did discover some wines that I didn’t think I would enjoy but I definitely found interesting.

Last Monday night (5^th of July), a group of eight Hostec students and I trekked to the new Australian Hotels Association building to help them cater for their winter drinks function. The event featured drinks and canapĂ©s for the influential people in Sydney’s hospitality accommodation industry.

The event entertained representatives from Sydney’s five-star hotels including The Observatory Hotel, Hilton Sydney and Four Points by Sheraton and Sydney’s biggest hospitality suppliers and sponsors including Lion Nathan, Sydney City Lexus and ofcourse Hostec! I was appointed on the front desk in the lobby to ensure people were on the list and had their name tags. Later in the night, however, I was helping the bar staff refill drinks for guests. Other students helped in the kitchen and served canapĂ©s.

It was a great night, which allowed students to volunteer and be noticed. Also, the place has amazing 180-degree views of Sydney’s Circular Quay, which we enjoyed all night! I don’t know how they can concentrate over there at AHA with such great views!

I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate my good friend Tim Gatt on his new job at Tetsuya’s Restaurant! For a second-year apprentice he’s full of passion, enthusiasm and innovation and I know from here on he will only go up.

Also, please feel free to email me at draunjak@hotmail.com if you have any questions or ideas on topics you would like me to blog about – I am always looking for new ideas!

Kind regards
Danielle

Everything’s going great here. During the first term I was still finding my feet and getting used to the different styles of lecturing, the diversity of students and the level of study. Now I’m feeling right at home.

It’s a bit crazy at the moment but organisation is the key. We’ve got three assignments from each subject which is a decent effort of study a week. Then I have three or so shifts a week at work and trying to catch up with mates, see the family, eat, drink, sleep and hopefully give myself a little time to relax! It doesn’t sound like much but there never seems to be enough time in a day to do all you need!

I live out west so unfortunately I have over an hour train ride to and from the city for each day for college and this cold weather makes it very tempting to stay in bed! However, the train does give me time to read over my notes and listen to music or even catch up on sleep! Yes, sadly I am a part of the commuting cult that falls asleep during the journey, occasionally finding a comfy spot on the shoulder of the person next to me.

As eventful and unpredictable as my days are, there is no other way I would rather spend my time learning and working. Working at Crowne Plaza is great as well. It’s such a fun place to start and learn in plus, working within an entertaining team of people makes every shift enjoyable.

I stress and I do struggle with managing everything but we all do because that’s how we learn
 and really that is the life of a student in Sydney! Stress. Struggle. Accomplishment. Growth.

Danielle. X