I found a job. I found a job!!!
Actually, it’s been an interesting process. I’m a foreigner here, and according to my student visa, I’m only allowed to work 20 hours per week.
I have a pretty decent resume and I interview relatively well. I got my resume out there simply by utilizing Gumtree and actually got a ton of responses. Loads of restaurants wanted to hire me! I was even suggested for the position of head chef in a traditional English pub, where I would have my own little brigade of commis chefs reporting to me! Many, many available jobs. That is, if you’re able to work full-time. I’m not.
Don’t get me wrong! I am completely aware that many people come to England and work full time and get paid cash. However, I actually do only want to work 20 hours per week! My focus here is on school; it’s the reason that I chose to come to London, and I plan to make LCB my first priority. It became obvious that finding a job was going to be difficult. A foreigner with visa restrictions? Is it worth training someone in who may not even be in the country for more than ten months?
Slowly but surely, I was running out of options. Now, I would like to point out that I was being incredibly picky. I came to London to improve my skills as a chef, and I would be damned if I was going to get a job doing what I already knew how to do! I needed a challenge!
One company stood out above all the rest. Young’s was helpful beyond all hope and expectation. I had multiple interviews with multiple pubs managed by Young’s, and have never experienced such help and care by any potential employer in my life. They gave me so much hope for my future here.
Eventually, I ended up interviewing with one of the most amazing people that I have ever met in my life. Alessandro Cristiano. From Italy, chef for 25 years, and now working for Young’s. Warm, helpful, funny, and truly an incredible man. He made some calls. He made many calls. And eventually, through his own personal connections, he found me a job.
I am now working at a gorgeous Italian restaurant. Possibly the oldest Italian restaurant in London and one of the few restaurants still standing after the end of WWII. Amazing menu. Unbelievable wine selection. And, as a bonus, some of the most amazing and wonderful employees that I have ever met. Every chef in the kitchen has taken time to teach me absolutely anything and everything that they can. I have learned more in the last few weeks working only 20 hours per week than I have learned in the last three years of my life!
The menu is an absolute dream. Daily specials that include venison carpaccio with baby spinach and pomegranate. Catering parties with some of the most beautiful canapes that I have ever seen. Celebrating a good night with a couple of bottles of Prosecco. Everything is brought in from Italy, from the Italian espresso the chefs are served every shift to the bottles of imported Italian water we drink while we cook.
Working here has been an absolute dream.