Guest Post: The End of an Internship
I remember when I first found this internship. I had just finished a 2-3 week research project, and after enjoying my new found freedom for a few days I decided I was ready for another experience. I was looking for an internship that would take me through the rest of the summer. I looked on Intern Match and typed in "history internship," as that is my major at Cornell and it seemed to be the most direct search for me. One of the hits I got was the internship at Fun Foodie NYC, which popped up as "interest in NYC history" was one of the sought out qualities of a potential intern. 'Wow," I thought, "so much cooler than a museum internship." It has always been a fantasy of mine to be a travel agent or a concierge to experience new places and try great food--and with this internship I got a glimpse into the industry.
It definitely delivered. Over the course of the internship, I learned a lot about the business. It was not all about food, although Adrienne was generous enough to treat me to multiple delicious food tours and restaurant week lunches. I learned about marketing the business, managing reservations for tours, sat in on a meeting to change booking platforms, documented the business's growth, updated social media, and helped to plan and research for new tours. I also learned more about technology and find myself much more able to navigate various social platforms now. Managing your own business is certainly hard work, and I have so much respect for Adrienne as she navigates this process of building up her company. There is more that goes into making a profitable business than simply being great at what you do--which as you can see from her reviews--Adrienne is.
I have also learned so much about New York City itself, only now beginning to really tap into the wealth of restaurants, history, and events that New York City has and holds. This internship broke me out of my shell--this New Jersey girl is now much more comfortable in the Big City. And that's a life skill.
And let's not beat around the bush. Let me just give you an example of the kind of perks that this internship offered--yesterday Adrienne and I went to Kristabelli in Korea Town for some awesome Korean BBQ. I had some great sweet potato noodles with jew's ear (which after my initial confusion I learned was a wood ear mushroom,) marinated wagyu short ribs, wagyu rib eye, korean ice cream and a brown sugar pancake. It was deeelicious and a fitting goodbye to a really unique internship. I will miss Adrienne and the work I have done with her but I am very excited for her as she continues this company and for her future interns--awesome boss, awesome internship.
--Rachel Kaplowitz
Rachel was such a great intern and I was so happy to have her this summer! There's always so much to do as a one-woman operation and her help was so very needed and appreciated! Whatever she chooses to do I know she'll be great at...and hopefully when she runs of to Italy for an exchange program in the spring, she'll find a way to smuggle me along with her! My only regret is that we didn't get more pics of our last meal together that was just so good we couldn't stop ourselves long enough to properly document the experience.