Day 2 of Cape Town?s 2012 Bursary Boot Camp

The five Cape Town finalists taking part in the Boot Camp 2012 finals, hosted by The Peninsula Hotel, have survived Day Two of their five-day learning and hands-on experience in various hospitality departments. This is what they had to say about their experience on Tuesday 2nd October…

Keletso Motau

I think calling today a success would be an understatement. So I got the opportunity to work in the front office today and it was just fantastic. I was taught the system of how to check guests in and out. I was then shown how to answer in-house calls and also external calls. Besides all that, what I learned the most is how to always treat a guest with a smile. Today has been the most fun day of all.?

Lindsy Baadjies

This was how my day started… Tired and even more tired! Because of the fire drill, it took me ages to go back to sleep again, so I struggled to get up this morning, but I?m not complaining. I?m still enjoying it here a lot!

Today I worked in the kitchen and boy oh boy was that hard! I had to work in the walk-in fridge for a whole hour. I was freezing, so this day is called “almost freezing to death”!

I?m loving this experience and the chance to experience this is awesome! After my shift I went to take a walk to the beach and had ice-cream; sooo nice!?

Adriaan Vlok

Today was so much fun, we had 20 bookings for breakfast buffet and I had a blast helping all the guests. The security woke us up at half past two this morning for a fake fire drill for which we kind of slept through for five minutes… ?But at least ?they gave us off the afternoon. We had a nice sleep until Nicola and the annoying bell woke me. ??After that we went off to SPAR to buy squids. They were huge and lovely to make with some fresh garlic and butter.

We stopped by our second-hand clothing store again; the people are so nice, whoever reads this must pop in there. Hope taught me some valuable lessons today; she is a student at The International Hotel School and I was working under her supervision today. I even prefer front of house above the kitchen; it was just the best experience.

This hotel is more like a family house to me, everyone is so friendly?

The sunset was beautiful tonight, we took some photos and we will have them up soon.

I?ve got to go, I have a hectic cleaning session tomorrow in housekeeping.?

Nicola Alberts

Nicola completing her Housekeeper duties

Tring tring?!!! Fire alarm at 3 o?clock in the morning! Last night we were woken up by a security guard telling us that we have got to get out, there?s a fire. We soon learned that this was just a drill and not the real thing. I really enjoyed running down the flights of stairs in my PJs in the early morning hours. Later the boys came strolling on, in no apparent rush?

Today?was NOT my day. I overslept and everything was done in a rush this morning. I worked in Housekeeping today and I am so not cut out for it! I?couldn’t?get the hang of folding a bed with five sheets and sticking my hand so far down a toilet pipe! I worked with Gloria, Ethel, Maggie, and Gale. They were very friendly and I could really experience the whole family vibe between all of the staff! It was great to see that no-one thinks they are better and everybody is willing to get their hands dirty to get the job done.

I really gained a lot of respect for the cleaning ladies today, seeing how much work and energy goes into making the rooms look spotless and giving the Hotel its five-star value. The thoroughness in which Gloria cleaned really made a big impression on me. I also saw the value of saving electricity and water in every little thing you do. Thinking green and saving for the future?

After my shift I was really exhausted and a chill session was definitely in order! I relaxed and tanned on the balcony for a couple of hours? ?Once again, the view is amazing! Attie and I went to SPAR where we bought two squids for supper. Cleaning the squids was almost as bad as washing the toilet and it added quite a bit of laughter to our day. It was all worth it and supper was delicious! We even took a bit for Hope to taste. I will really enjoy my bed tonight and hopefully there won?t be any interruptions??

Stephanie Petro Stone

Kitchen duties for a day! Lindsay and I worked in the kitchen today, and got off early. This means we had time to head to beach and soak up some sun. We also spoiled ourselves with some mango and granadilla sorbet… But more about or work: we prepared a recipe or two, I cleaned the dry store, and we got timed while cleaning bins! We sure had a lot of fun today, but I’m looking forward to tomorrow! I’m as enthusiastic as can be to work in the F&B department!?

One lucky Bursary Boot Camp contestant will soon find out how exciting a career in hospitality can be. Only one winner at the Cape Town campus can be chosen to have their full tuition fees paid for ? for any IHS programme they wish to study ? valued up to R180?000! The pupil who succeeds in all of the challenges will take home the bursary and winning title. Watch this space to find out who it will be…

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