Letters from Lisbon – Part 3

I almost didn't start this series because I thought there wouldn't be much to write about… Boy, was I wrong. 😅 This week, I moved into my new place, put the finishing touches on a project that I'll be sharing with you very soon, and finally made it through the week. Here's what my fourth week in Lisbon looked like as a student doing an internship at a Michelin-starred restaurant. 

February 15 – the move

Today I moved into my new Airbnb. Due to water damage (mold, a water leak, power outages…), I had to find another place to stay at the last minute last week. You can read more about that in my previous letter, which you can find here. So this morning, there I was again, standing on the street with my suitcase, waiting for my Uber to take me to my next place. In the drizzle—just to stay on theme, you know. Fortunately, the rest of my day looked much brighter and more luxurious. My new place was exactly as described in the listing: cozy and well-decorated, with friendly people… In short, a great base to relax in between my shifts at the restaurant and my wanderings through Lisbon. I won’t go into any more details about the place, but I promise I’ll share the address as soon as I’m back in Belgium, because I’d definitely recommend booking it if you’re planning a trip to Lisbon. 

February 16 – new project

Today I spent the whole day working on a new page for my website and putting the finishing touches on a little project that had actually been almost finished for a long time but never got completed because of all the urgent matters that kept getting in the way. About a year ago, I took a course for students who want to start their own business alongside their studies. I’ve since done just that. On this page, you’ll find more info about my plant-based catering service, which you’ll be able to book again starting in July of this year 🙂 For that course, I conducted market research on why so many people feel that cooking healthy meals during the week is such an insurmountable task. According to this study, 7 out of 10 Flemish people would actually like to eat healthier… It turned out that it’s not necessarily that we can’t spare 20 minutes of our evening. It’s more that we simply can’t muster the motivation or energy anymore after a long day of productive work. 

Then I had an idea. What if I filmed a cooking show where you can cook along with me live through the videos? That way, you don’t even have to read the recipe anymore—you just follow my instructions as I demonstrate everything step by step. You can choose whenever it’s most convenient for you to cook and then play the video for the dish you’re most in the mood for. The dishes are designed so that, if you want, you can prepare most of them over the weekend and just finish them up during the week. Plus, the dishes not only taste incredibly good but also look absolutely delicious. If you’re someone who always feels like you don’t have enough time to cook during the week, my weekly menu might just change that.

Below, you can sign up for the waiting list to be the first to hear the news. The first 100 orders will receive a little something extra. Want to know what it is? Sign up now!

Every morning from February 15 to 22

So before I head off to my internship, I have a nice morning to keep myself busy. I’ve been working a lot on my management case this week. I’m researching what could be done to increase the use of lesser-known Belgian vegetables and herbs in fine dining. Specifically, I’m looking into what information chefs would need about these vegetables to decide how to use them, and how that information can be presented as efficiently and practically as possible. I’ve already conducted quite a few interviews, and I have a few more scheduled for the coming weeks. I’ve done a literature review to gather useful information from previous studies and conducted a survey of people who do (or don’t) dine out regularly. The survey aims to determine to what extent it would be beneficial for restaurants to promote their use of lesser-known local vegetables in their marketing. If you’re willing and can spare a few minutes, you’d be helping me a lot by filling it out. It’s completely optional 🙂 You can find the link to the survey here. 

February 20 – Internship Update

I’m also starting to find my footing more and more during my internship. During prep, I can always make myself useful. During service, sometimes I help with plating, sometimes there’s a small task related to preparing a dish that I can do, and sometimes I just observe how everything is going. In any case, I definitely feel like I’m learning a lot.