Our new Sammic scholars for BasqueStage, Marco Bahena and Cameron Rolka, are in the middle of their first days in the kitchen of Restaurante Martín Berasategui.
So, how are they getting along, in the heat of one of the world’s best kitchens? Where business is conducted (and conducted rapidly) in Spanish, Basque, and French, instead of their native English?
Marco tells us: “Things are good! First day went by really well for me. I gotta say, knowing Spanish is a real life saver. It has made learning and getting along in the kitchen much easier.”
Cameron says: “The day started off a little shaky…because it was my first day nobody really knew what to do with me and the kitchen has a particularly large amount of stages right now. I switched from Carne to Pastelería last minute because they could use me more. I’m still working through language barrier which is the toughest thing I have to deal with. I started keeping notes of any recipes, procedures, and Spanish words. Writing in my notebook helps a lot! Ready for another day to work harder and learn more.”
Good job and good luck, stages!