Hello Soupers!

First thing’s first. I am finally in a flat and no longer worrying where I will sleep at night. It’s a very nice place and a pretty good sized house. My room is a little, cozy space in the loft. Really just somewhere for me to put my head down at night, but it’s not like I need a huge room.

I now have six flat mates who are all very nice. Some people might say, “Wow, that’s a lot of people!” But I like to think of it as six more friends in France. The situation is pretty sweet and has taken a load off my shoulders.

My flat mates are all here doing their internships too. Most are seeking business degrees except one who is getting her PhD in Microbiology. All but two of us are from France. Mel is from Portugal or Brazil. I forget which one.

We take our meals together most times. No one ever just cooks dinner for themselves and goes to their room to eat. One thing I love most about being in France in general is that everyone I have met seems to know how to cook. They may not cook advanced dishes like you find at a restaurant, but they certainly are not tossing out microwave dinners either. I love that everyone loves to cook and eat together.  

One of my mates doesn’t speak any English at all and the rest speak only a little, so French is the language used in the house. Sure, they speak English to me if we’re having a conversation, but I only hear French around the house. I suppose this is good because I can catch onto the language faster.

Now that I have settled in to the flat, I have started going to the restaurants I researched for my internship. I woke up and headed out at 10am so that I would hit the restaurants before the rush. I had my cover letters and resumes with me and dressed professionally.

I targeted two specific restaurants; the Caro de Lyon and Leon de Lyon. These were the two that I had determined were the best for my goals. They were also in a district that is surrounded by so many other restaurants that I could fill the day.

At Caro de Lyon, I went in and asked for the manager or chef (in French). The hostess pointed the way. I went to the desk beside the bar and saw the manager sitting there. I asked if she spoke English. Luckily for me she did. I explained to her who I am and what I am doing, then handed her my cover letter and resume. I then told her that I had researched her restaurant and would like to intern for them in the kitchen. She said she would review my papers and get back to me after she talked with the Chef.  

I felt very comfortable going in to more places after that since it went so smoothly, so I headed to Leon de Lyon. I followed the same process there but the gentleman I spoke with told me they weren’t looking for anybody at the time. He did say he would take my resume and look it over.

After that, I walked around the area looking for restaurants that caught my eye. I checked out their display menus before I went in to make sure they served the kind of food I wanted to learn. I entered four restaurants. Two said they had no openings in the kitchen, one just took my resume without a word, and another said they weren’t interested in having an intern. I was kind of bummed and frustrated by that point, so I started back to the flat.

When I was on my way back home, I passed this restaurant that I see every day but have never thought enter.  I decided, “What the heck I have nothing to lose and have to keep positive,” so I mustered my confidence and walked to the door as if I never got been to those other places.

It was closed! Ugh! So, now I was even more bummed. I stood outside the door for like ten minutes just thinking what to do now.

I said to myself, “Don’t let this get you down. You are going to find a place and will stop at nothing to do so.”

Wandering a bit, I decided to venture down a street I have not been down before. Good thing I did because I found a restaurant that I haven’t heard of yet. I looked at the menu and noticed it was a Relais Chateaux rated restaurant! I walked in and spoke with the Maitre d’Hotel. He took my resume and cover letter and said that he would look it over more carefully then give it to the chef. He also told me that he would pass it along to their sister restaurant to see if they needed any interns, and then, he gave me his business card telling me to call him back soon to check in.

I was so excited after that! While it wasn’t a guaranteed interview, it was still a lot more than I had gotten the whole day. I mean, if he wasn’t interested I don’t believe he would have given me his business card. The restaurant’s name is Cazenove and is very nice and fine dining. I decided it was time to go back home on a good note.

Tomorrow, I will be out again looking for more restaurants. One restaurant that I am going to is Paul Bocuse’s! I am so nervous and excited about this all at once. I really hope to get a good response. I also have a connection through a friend whose boss said they could help. I am keeping my fingers crossed, and I hope you are too!  

Au revoir,

Coty

To read more of my experience in Lyon, click here