Name of trainee: Tin Van Nguyen
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone number: 0 888 26 69 60
Period ( dates ): from 20 November 2021 to 18 November 2022
Name of host employer: Stephanie Dres
Name of your supervisor: Rhonda McCullar
Position of your supervisor: Chef de cuisine
Part 1.
1. Orientation period
My introduction period was organised on the first day when I came at Uchi. I was greeted by
chef Stefan – an executive sous chef. He showed me a room in the building where I could stay
temporarily until I found another place to stay. On the same day, I was invited for an Uchi’s
dining experience that was on the house. When I was seated, I was surfing the Internet and
discovered that Uchi is translated from the Japanese word “house”. There were 3 types of
restaurants – Uchi, Uchiko, Uchiba. Uchiko is the sister restaurant to Tyson Cole’s original Uchi.
It matches that restaurant’s dedication to food, wine, and service, but it has a Japanese
farmhouse aesthetic with crafted materials and warm finishes to round out a completely updated
setting. The chef team at Uchiko has created a brand-new selection of composed dishes and
sushi, taken from ideas and plates created at Uchi. Uchiko is Uchi redefined. Uchiba is a bar
concept that incorporates elements of Uchi & expands that into a cocktail experience. During my
dining experience, I was introduced to new dishes that blew me away. Everything was bite size
but packed full of flavours and umami. It was like the exact moment in the movie “Ratatouille”,
when the mouse combined two different ingredients and suddenly, he found a new unique
colourful taste. A few days later I was going around stations to help out and simultaneously the
chef who was responsible for the station showed me the setup, the prep, dishes and how to
plate them during service.
2.Daily activities
- Serves meals by reviewing recipes; assembling, combining, and cooking ingredients;
and maintaining a sanitary kitchen.
- Executes cold food production in accordance with standards of plating guide
specifications.
- Attends the detail and presentation of each order. Places and expedites orders.
Prepares ingredients by following recipes; slicing, cutting, chopping, mincing, stirring,
whipping, and mixing ingredients; adding seasonings; verifying taste; and plating meals.
- Completes hot meal preparation by grilling, sautéing, roasting, frying, and broiling
ingredients and assembling and refrigerating cold ingredients.
- Adheres to proper food handling, sanitation, and safety procedures; maintains
temperature and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) logs as required; and
maintains appropriate dating, labelling, and rotation of all food items.
- Stores leftovers according to established standards.
- Maintains cleanliness and sanitation of equipment, food storage, and work areas.
3.Company culture
In my mind, I think there are a lot of things that can be learned from this company culture. They
have core values, which are humility, care and action, authentic, collaborative, passion,
awareness, inspiration, evolution, stamina, patience. Of course nobody has every value that is
stated, but the way I see it they put those words above the workplace, where they are visible.
So when each person looks at those values,they have something to think about themselves,
something to work for, strive for.
For the culture I would describe it as:
- Adventurous : This team takes risks and enjoys exploring new ideas. The company
encourages creativity and bold pursuits that will help propel the business forward. In this
role, I’ll be expected to contribute new, envelope-pushing ideas.
- Challenging : This company culture will push me to work hard and perform well. There
will likely be obstacles to my work that I’ll need to tackle head on. Problem solving isn’t
an asset; it’s an expectation.
- Collaborative : I’ll be able to work with my colleagues often and in an informal, engaging
way.
- Creative : This company culture operates outside of the typical office structure.
Employees are often working together and there’s an emphasis on brainstorming,
feedback and innovation. Processes are more casual, but team projects are still
results-oriented.
- Energetic : This is a dynamic company culture where employees are eager to succeed.
Individuals are motivated and have a lot of company pride; the work environment is
vibrant.
- Playful : This is a fun culture where people don’t take themselves too seriously. The
office is probably boisterous with regular social events, and employees interact with each
other frequently.
- Care : People respect and focus on their job and customer service.
4.Cultural diversity
I really didn’t find it complicated to adapt to any culture. If you observe people long enough, you
recognize the behaviour and the pattern of their thinking and intention. My only dilemma is if the
people who I am surrounded by are not constantly improving themselves, I am the one who has
to leave. I live by that principle.
I consider advantages and disadvantages from the perspective of society. If the culture builds up
and benefits the community, then it is the right way to go. If it is not useful,then the nation will
inevitably become extinct at some point.
When I am working with different cultures, I mostly learn about the history and tradition of that
place.
5.Trends
At Uchi, people always strive to create new innovative dishes with new taste. This is the first
restaurant where I have seen that any chef can have the opportunity to put his dish or idea on
the table where the customers can have a taste. There are team meetings every month, where
issues are addressed and what solution and improvement can be made.
Trends in Texas:
- Human longevity
The hospitality, travel, and entertainment industries will have to customise their offerings as
people live longer, thanks to life sciences ridding the planet of various diseases. Companies like
Netflix will create movies and other shows based on viewership patterns, with artificial
intelligence getting better over time at determining what people want to watch. AI also will
enable the hospitality and travel industries to tailor vacations and other trips to people’s needs,
from the hotels they stay at to the places they visit, all without much cost. Medicine and
healthcare will also become customised. That is partly from science being able to spot
disease-causing changes in genes based on the order of four chemical building blocks that
make up DNA.
- Mobility
Dallas’ Alto, which aims to be the Starbucks of ridesharing by giving safe lifts to consumers such
as women, professionals, and families. It does background checks and trains its drivers, who
are employees, and uses five-star crash-rated SUVs.
- Material science
Foldable electronics, batteries that last many times longer than they do now—our assumptions
will go out the window about physical devices we use daily, thanks to the generation of materials
ahead.Plano-based Ares Materials, which has created a type of plastic to protect lenses on
foldable electronics.
6.Learning goals
To learn every station, there are a few steps to do it. First is to know every dish with every
component that comes with it. Then you acquire knowledge of how to prepare those ingredients.
The last thing is the station setup and the dishes' plating.
There are a bunch of things that I have gained understanding of during this industry placement
for sure. Although some of the most important lessons I can share from chefs that I have been
working alongside are:
- Chef Max : Most of the time, he managed to pinpoint my mistakes that I assumed what I
was doing was the right thing. Which makes me realise what gets me in trouble is not
what I don’t know. It is what I know for sure that just isn’t so.
- Chef Sam : He is kind of a chef that will never take a shortcut and follow everything from
a to z. Never take a shortcut because the penalty is it will cost three times longer to fix
the consequences that are going to happen after.
- Chef Patric : Very funny and most expressive chef I have ever met. He taught me that
showing by example is faster,more efficient and better than talking and explaining.
- Chef Eric : Calm and positive, probably the most positive chef. When he said: Everything
is going to be great, people believe him because I know he believes it. I learned to
always stay calm. The calmer I am,the sharper I will think. Panicking is the fastest way to
create disaster.
- Chef Taylor : Very quiet chef,but that lets him focus and pay more attention to details. He
basically represents the saying how you do anything is how you do everything.
- Chef Jake : He follows the motto : fast and perfect, but I still don’t get it. If I get fast,
nothing is perfect. If I try to make something perfect, it is not fast. I am still working on it.
- Chef Allen : The fastest and cooperative chef I ever work with. When I asked him to do
something, it was already done. That is what I call a symphony. He has this kind of mind
map where he can organise and plan everything accordingly.
- Chef Donovan : He is the fisrt chef who has mentored me the longest. I was taught to be
more consistent, but his way of teaching is unique. He did try to teach me one thing
multiple ways and if he saw one particular method that was working, the chef would keep
pushing until I understood how to do it. He taught me that embracing the mistakes and
others' constructive criticisms is prone to expand understanding about myself and what I
can improve. So from then I tried to do everything multiple ways despite the high
possibility that I would fail. Basically 1 success new version I find out made up to the rest
of 99 failures.
- Chef Steffen : He reminds me of the vast ocean, extremely calm and rational. The chef
has an introverted personality and is really observant. You will never see him raise his
voice. The chef always talks in a calm and respectful manner. He taught me that it is
better to raise your argument than to raise your voice.
- Chef Rhonda : She is like a glue, where she bonds people together. Whenever there
was a big issue, the chef was always there to fix it. Everyday she is saying hello and
goodbye to everyone, which requires a lot of energy and time. On top of that, the chef is
engaging with gestures, which makes her approach genuine. She shows that in the
kitchen,it is not a one man operation. You rely on everybody and everybody relies on
you. If you respect, appreciate and help others, they will follow you.
If there is one thing I learn the most from my supervisor, it will be networking with people. The
more you understand other people and their competencies, the more you can work alongside
them. Everyone has something that they really like and they are drawing energy from it.
I think I have made some improvement through this internship. I remember all the struggles and
hardships I had at the beginning and now it seems easier than it is supposed to be. However I
cannot recall to what extent I did improve. The reason is a person has to know all the
knowledge in that specific area to make a correct judgement of how much he or she knows and
I am not there yet.As long as there are rooms for expanding my knowledge, understanding and
skills about cooking, I will keep going no matter how long the road is.
7.General
I am quite content and pleased with my supervisor’s feedback. If there was an issue, it would be
addressed immediately. From there I was able to reflect and fix the blunder I had made.
Part 2. Final report
1. About the company
Known for bringing the first James Beard Award home to Austin with the opening of Uchi in
2003, Cole’s restaurant group, Hai Hospitality, has since expanded to include additional Uchi
locations in Houston, Dallas, Denver, and Miami. Slated to open in 2023, the California outpost
will be the group’s sixth Uchi location — the first on the West Coast.
One of the few American sushi masters, James Beard Award-winning Chef and Owner Tyson
Cole is a passionate student of the Japanese tradition. Having trained for more than 10 years in
Tokyo, New York, and Austin under two different sushi masters, he continues his path of study
and experimentation each day at the restaurants in the Hai Hospitality family. Employing
classical cooking techniques with a Pacific Rim perspective, Cole marries global ingredients with
traditional Japanese flavours, resulting in inspired combinations of flavour, texture, colour,
technique, and style.
Chef Tyson’s cuisine reflects reverence for the Japanese aesthetic, marrying its technical
exactitude with a distinctive vision—sensuous, intuitive, playful, and superlatively smart. It’s like
the European Impressionists who discovered Japanese prints, their artistic responses seizing
the new structural possibilities with subjects and brushwork all their own. Inside the sleek,
modern dining room, cream-colored walls describe subtle waves, and warm-toned woods
dominate—pecan, walnut. Plates vibrate with colour. Fish and foliage entrance like cut gems..
Tuna glowing like dusky rubies over compressed watermelon’s juicer red.
2. First week of training
My first day of training basically consists of getting a knowledge and understanding of setting up
the station, how to prepare the ingredients and plating. I was introduced to a chef who is
responsible for everything that is happening to that station. He showed me step by step how to
set up and get comfortable with the ingredients like vegetables and proteins and the techniques
that are required to prepare the dishes. Eventually after everything was shown and explained,
he stayed beside me and let me do it by myself. If there is a mistake or a need to support during
services,the chef will always be available to help.
3. Tasks at the end of training
At the end of training I had to create dishes based on what I learned throughout the year.
Overall I got to the point where most people did not have anything to criticise or add. I think I
have achieved what I want but I would like to go further, so the dishes that I created have some
personality in them, not just look and taste good.
4. Cross-exposure experience
I had the opportunity to learn and help a few chefs in other stations. Those stations are tempura,
pantry, saute. It was for a short period of time,but the lessons that I had learned were quite
valuable. In tempura I learned how to paint with batter. In saute, I learned how to work multiples
stuffs simutaniously.
5. Cultural difficulties
Nobody is perfect as they seem. I do not find it hard to adjust to different cultures. The only thing
I still haven't gotten used to is following others, I would rather observe. I have a culture and
religion ,but I don't follow them. If people choose one particular culture and religion, they are
bound and attached to that one without seeing the other possibilities. It is just a perspective
mould from our mind to make sense out of the outer world. I can see some truths in all religions
and at the same time some beauty in every culture. It was not complicated to adapt because I
hung out with a lot of people, asked questions,and was open to explore and understand their
perspective.
6. Feedback
The only way to get feedback is to ask and make a lot of mistakes. However, most of the time, I
am my own supervisor. I review and reflect all the things and every movement I have made
throughout the day. If there is a cycle of movement I am repeating frequently that makes the
service or influence the making of dishes slow, I am going to think about how to increase
effectiveness by changing the setup or the way I do it. In addition I ask every person who has
been trained in the station how they manage themselves or overcome hard moments during
busy service. From there I make my own judgement and adjust myself according to my own
capacity.
7. Overall impression
Overall, this is the most effective team I have ever worked with. They are my mentors, friends
and biggest supporters. We have been working together through easy and hard times. I really
fell in love with working alongside those line cooks. I haven’t seen so many chefs with different
personalities get along that well.
8. Accommodation
I can recommend a few tips on finding the right accommondation. First is to know your budget.
With a low budget from 400-900 dollars, you can ask your colleagues, supervisors for advice or
they may even accept you as their roommate. There is a site called roommie.com, where people
offer a room for a stranger to stay. Make sure to read the lease carefully, so you can know your
rights. If you have a higher budget from 900-2000 dollars, it would be pretty easy to lease
anywhere you like. Popular leasing agencies around Dallas are MAA, Stella apartments,
Gables, The Marquis of State Thomas. The safest neighbourhoods are Farmers Market District ,
Government District, University Park, City Center District, Main Street District, Highland Park ,
Bluffview, Far North, West End Historic District, Winnetka Heights.
My approach to finding an accommodation is quite simple. I walked around the neighbourhood
near the restaurant, where I work for 6 to 8 hours every day for a week,asking every possible
leasing agency. When all the information was gathered, I made the final decision where to stay
based on destination and budget.
9. More information
I do not have a social life besides the workplace. When I was learning philosophy in high school,
I encountered three quotes that changed the way I interacted with the world. Those were :
“Madness is something rare in individuals — but in groups, parties, peoples, and ages, it is the
rule.”, “The essence of independence has been to think and act according to standards from
within, not without: to follow one’s own path, not that of the crowd.” and ‘’If you’re asked: What is
silence? Respond: It is the first stone of the Wisdom’s temple.’’ During my free time I usually
cook, read books, go swimming or go to the fitness centre. In Dallas, you can find a few places
to do sport. There are basketball courts, parks for running, fitness, tennis courts, swimming pool,
and golf.
There are a lot of bars that you can go to around the city. Unfortunately all of them have very
loud music, not what I imagine like a quiet place where you are able to drink a cup of tea and
speak to strangers. As I know there are 5 discos, all of them are almost next to each other.
I really have a liking to asian restaurants. My suggestion is Malai kitchen, Pho bowl, Omni
ramen, Uchi, Niwa Japanese BBQ, JINYA Ramen Bar, Wabi House.
