Postcard from the Winter Olympics

Guest blog by Sung Hyuk Bae (Nick),

Fresh from completing my first year at SHMS and internship in Barcelona, I returned to South Korea to begin my military service. As my enlistment was delayed I found myself not knowing what I was going to do for several months.

Enter PyeongChang Winter Olympics 2018!

Just as I was fretting about what to do with my time, I was offered the opportunity to work at the Winter Olympics as part of Mosimann’s catering team, founded by Swiss-born chef Anton Mosimann OBE. I knew this was going to be a mammoth task, but I was up for the challenge!

“

The opportunity for me as a Korean to be a part of the Olympics hosted in my country was an opportunity not to be missed!

”

I sent my resume in and before you know it, I was placed at the Intel House as part of the F&B team and one of it’s youngest members! Intel was the top-level Olympic Partner for this edition of the Winter Olympics, integrating technology into many facets of the Games. Unlike the Team Houses, the Intel House is a blend of hospitality and product showcase. So you had the F&B team from Mosimann’s and the Corporate team from Intel who oversaw the showcase.

The F&B team comprised 10 people for service and kitchen. I was the only Korean and most of my team members were from UK and Canada. As I was most familiar with the ingredients, locations and of course the language, the team depended on me greatly during this period.

“

My team didn’t see my age or inexperience in the industry as a hindrance, and had confidence in me and allowed me to take the lead

”

The first five days on the job were probably the most challenging! In addition to getting some basic training in service, familiarising ourselves with the kitchen and dining areas, we also had to source ingredients and special local produce for the different events we were catering for.

After the intial training period, we were all eventually split to work different shifts – the morning shift was from 6am to 2pm and the night shift was from 2pm to midnight. Depending on how many events we had for the day, we also had to be flexible and change our shifts around where necessary.

Working at the Intel House, I learnt first-hand what it takes to organise high calibre corporate events, catering to VIP guests. Although the job was similar to what I did for my internship at Hotel Art Ritz Carlton in Barcelona, the way of service is quite different and I learned to be more adaptable to last minute changes and flexible with the way I work and interact with different type of guests.

“

It was an intense experience but I think my experience from SHMS helped in regards to etiquette, serving people in the right manner, interacting with VIPs and working under pressure

”

Getting to know my team and working with them was one of the highlights of my experience at the Winter Olympics. The team spirit was great - we were all very motivated and worked hard to make the best out of our stay. Some of my team members have had many years of experience in the industry working in different countries. Speaking to them and learning about their experiences further ignited my passion for hospitality and I’m very much looking forward to finishing my studies and starting my career in this industry.

---

Sung Hyuk Bae (Nick) is currently undergoing his Bachelor in Hospitality and Events Management from SHMS
Programme Details		Dates & Deadlines		Entry Requirements
Application Procedure   Fees