(DESCRIPTION) Cole Swanson, Job Seeker, Food Industry
(SPEECH) I would describe myself as bored most of the
time. But right now, I'm searching for the next passion. College wasn't for me. When
I was growing up, my grandparents had a little mom and pop restaurant that I got to help
out at.
(DESCRIPTION) A photo of a small red trailer with a walk
up window, Serious Texas Bar B Q.
(SPEECH) They started with just a little trailer, like
sheet metal on the roof.
(DESCRIPTION) A photo of the updated restaurant sign next
to out door seating.
(SPEECH) I could see myself taking over the family
business, but there's a lot more I need to learn.
(DESCRIPTION) Text. Three jobs. One day. Career Paths. Jobs
in the food industry.
Cole looks up at the exterior of a restaurant.
(SPEECH) I'm interested to see how a more upscale version
of a restaurant operates.
(DESCRIPTION) Job one. Restaurant General Manager. Responsible
for overseeing all of a restaurant's operations. Elvin Santiago, Restaurant General Manager,
P6
(SPEECH) I've been doing this for about 16 years. I've
done everything from bussing to serving, bartending, and now I'm the general manager.
I don't know anything about managing restaurants at all.
I oversee a lot of things, but my main focus is to make sure that the restaurant is running
efficiently.
It's a fine balance between taking care of the staff and taking care of the guests.
What really impressed me about Elvin was his graciousness and his outspoken way of wanting
to make sure the guests had a really great time.
All right, so first things first, take off the jacket and put the apron on.
OK.
I had him put out a fire with me.
So my hostess just told me that we dropped the ball. Our reservation had to wait 15 minutes
for their table. So what I'm going to have to do is take this champagne over to them,
remember to smile.
His primary focus was just making sure that everyone that came to the restaurant was taken
care of and happy.
(DESCRIPTION) Cole carries two glasses of champagne to a
couple at a small table.
(SPEECH) Hey, guys. Welcome to P6. We're sorry about
the wait, so we wanted to give you all a little token of our appreciation, just to smooth
things over and wish you all a happy anniversary, and your table be ready soon.
All right, that was good. But they're already sitting at the table, so
(DESCRIPTION) Cole puts his hand over his eyes.
(SPEECH) you could have left that part out. No big
deal, great job otherwise. They seem very happy.
(DESCRIPTION) The couple clink their glasses.
(SPEECH) What impressed me about Cole was his demeanor.
He comes from a family that has restaurants, and you can tell that he has a passion for
it.
One thing I learned from Elvin today is that even if something goes wrong, you can still
recover and fix it, and it's best to just face that problem head on.
I'm excited to see where he goes with this.
(DESCRIPTION) Cole and Elvin shake hands.
Job 2. Chef de Cuisine. Responsible for creating menus and recipes as well as managing kitchen
employees. Cole enters a kitchen where dough is being rolled out on a counter.
(SPEECH) My name is Alejandro Munoz. I am the chef
de cuisine at Arlo Grey. The chef de cuisine is responsible for all day to day operations
that happens within the restaurant, as far as back of the house goes. I love the instant
gratification that I get from watching a guest enjoy the food.
I've been cooking for 14 years. I get to be creative every day, from conceptualizing a
dish to getting it onto the menu to the plating of the actual dish, which there's a lot of
thought, a lot of creativity that go into those things.
My first impression of Alex was that, wow, this guy's really energetic and passionate
about what he's doing.
I'm going to have you plate the burrata with me today. This dish is very focused on plating
creativity. People eat with their eyes first. It has to look appetizing, first and foremost.
(DESCRIPTION) The two peel and slice citrus.
(SPEECH) You want to think of the plate as kind of
a clock, so I like to plate my first bite at 6 o'clock. That was good. Now, that's going
to be a lot of lemon.
(DESCRIPTION) They layer segments of fruit in a bowl.
(SPEECH) I actually had a lot more fun plating than
I thought I would. It was fun to really get creative with it.
(DESCRIPTION) The two bowls side by side.
(SPEECH) Cole, with his plating, did very well. A little
rough around the edges, but all in all, it looked almost exactly the same.
It's something I'm proud of. I like it.
Excellent.
Seeing a chef be completely in his element and how happy that made him, that made me
excited to learn a lot more.
(DESCRIPTION) Job 3. Director of Food and Beverage. Responsible
for managing food and beverage costs while upholding menu standards and overseeing inventory.
Sang Aparadh.
(SPEECH) I'm the director of food and beverage at The
Line Hotel. The director of food and beverage is responsible for anything food and beverage
related. So restaurants, bars, banquets, and catering space, the kitchens. About 80 people
report to me. I wear a lot of hats, managing a lot of egos, and managing managers, managing
chefs. They have knives, so you have to be careful.
My first impression of Sang is that this dude clearly knows a lot about what makes a restaurant
tick. I barely knew that role even existed.
How long ago did you start?
So I've been doing this for a little bit over 16 years.
My family was in the hotel business.
Started at the bottom. I don't see myself doing anything else.
I loved learning that he came from a hotel family. I saw a lot of myself in him.
Hospitality is fun. You get to drink and eat.
Half of the revenue that food and beverage makes is from alcohol. This bottle costs the
hotel $15. What we pay for the bottle is what we charge the guests for the glass of wine.
It made me think a lot about what I could bring to something like my own restaurant.
He reminds me of myself. Good energy, he always had a smile. That kind of personality is extremely
useful.
I could really picture myself in that position, behind the scenes, running everything.
That's a $15 cocktail right there.
Good. There you go. That's what we want.
(DESCRIPTION) The two clink their glasses together and drink.
(SPEECH) I'll definitely look back on this day as a
turning point in my career.
I really think he can go as far as he wants to push himself.
I definitely see Cole in the hospitality industry.
I could potentially see myself playing a role similar to Sang's, I think because it's sort
of the best of both worlds. The strictly business side and the more guest-oriented, guest satisfaction
side.
You should be very patient. Takes a while, but it's worth it.
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in this video.
(SPEECH) [MUSIC PLAYING]