Caitlyn Valerie

B.A (Hons) in Gastronomy Science and Food Innovation – 3rd Year

Galway City – Dublin Road

Name: Caitlyn Valerie

Programme: B.A (Hons) in Gastronomy Science and Food Innovation – 3^rd Year

ATU Campus: Galway City, Dublin Road

1. Where are you from (town and school)?  IPEKA BSD (went to high school in Indonesia)

• Tell us a little bit about yourself and what led you to choosing your course? Hello, my name is Caitlyn Valerie. I was born and raised in Jakarta, Indonesia. I came here to Ireland at the age of 17 to pursue my honours degree in Gastronomy Science and Food Innovation at ATU. I grew up loving food, as my parents raised me with a deep appreciation for having good meals. I was in the kitchen from the young age of 6; my sister and I constantly had cook-offs between ourselves to see who could win our mom’s heart with our dishes. When faced with the dilemma of choosing my major for university, I knew I had to go with what I’ve been familiar with my whole life, and the premise of some of the best memories I’ve had with other people, food. Browsing through different options of food courses around universities in different parts of the world, this course, in particular, caught my eye because of how much hands-on experience it offers throughout the four years. I always knew that I preferred to learn things by doing them instead of reading about them from a book. Which made it clear that a practical-centric course was what I was looking for. Choosing this course was the right choice for me, because it ticked all my boxes.

• What are your favourite modules on the course? Please let us know why they’re your favourite modules to give prospective students an insight into your course! I do love my practical classes like the restaurant kitchen and service class, as well as pastry and desserts, as they helped me to practice my skills and show what I am capable of. The restaurant kitchen and service gave us students a taste of how the professional kitchen works, which helps us to gain confidence in doing service. Aside from those practical classes, I do think the other modules are also good, in a way that we get to learn more about the food science and production background of food, whether it’s the process, the steps towards production, nutrition, or even the food health and safety aspects, which are really important if you want to work in the industry. Other modules that I enjoyed are the drink-centric modules, whether it’s the mixology, spirits, and liqueur module in the first year that I get to take as an elective, or the wine module in the second year. I do think that knowledge around drinks is a good thing to have as a chef, as it can help you to know good pairings as well as what drinks you can incorporate in your dishes, as you get to know the differences from the type of drink, what it’s made of, date of production, and how it was produced.

• Is there anything else about your course that you particularly enjoy or find beneficial? e.g., work placements, practical projects, etc.  As someone who likes doing projects and presentations, I do like the fact that our course is more project-based (as in Continuous Assessments) rather than exam-based. Work placements also play a big part in the course, as we have two of them (one in the first year and another one in the third year) that helped me a lot in a way that I got to jump into the industry and learn how it’s done straight from the professional kitchens. That helped me to gain a lot of hard and soft skills around the kitchen, including communication, speed, and efficiency.

• What is the best thing about your course that you think new applicants should know? It covers the important basics that are handy to have in the industry. Whether it’s the knife skills, good techniques around pastry and dessert, knowledge about health and safety, or other soft skills around ways to work in the kitchen. The lecturers I have are all very helpful in showing you how things are done, sharing their knowledge, and also open to discussions if you have any questions about all sorts of things. The practical kitchens we have are equipped with all the things you need, and the classes we have there will definitely help you to be comfortable in the kitchen.

• If you were speaking with a first-year student about to start your course, what advice/information would you give them?  Don’t be afraid to show what you can do, as you are the only person who knows what you are truly capable of. If you have questions about anything, please ask. It’s the fastest way to understand things. And sometimes you have to ask about the opportunities that are available out there, once you have one that you are interested in. Take the opportunity and just do your best.

• If you are/were involved in sport, volunteering, working, or have other passions you pursue outside of your academic life, can you tell us about that (especially mention any teams, clubs, or awards)?  I have enjoyed being in organizations and doing projects since high school. That’s why I was a part of the Indonesian Student Society of Ireland from the year 2022 to 2023. I made “Towards a Zero-waste Kitchen” with one of my lecturers last year, where we got to contribute preservation methods for food, as well as other ways that might help to reduce food waste in the kitchen. Other than that, I do like to play the piano whenever I can.
  
  

• What are your plans after graduating?  I used to have a clear plan of working and gaining experience for the next 2-3 years after I graduated from ATU and then opening up a cafe or restaurant back at home in Jakarta, Indonesia, but recently I started to gain interest in other things like doing a master’s in either Sustainability or Food Production Marketing and then working and opening up my own business. We don’t really know what’s going to happen in the future, so I’ll just see where the wind takes me.