Lyka Mae Castillo

Follow me along my journey with CLS Catering!

[lykawithclsjourney]

WEEK THIRTEEN

DAY 26

Second last week of placement! 😭 I thought today was my last week actually and brought a little treat for the CLS team! It was definitely a hit and cheered up the office team 😊🍩. It's funny because they were all saying, "so you'll have to bring doughnuts again next week!" hahaha. I mean of course I will, but it was just funny because I was actually getting emotional as I thought the time went by so fast! It definitely did go by fast, but I truly am grateful for the experience and time I got to spend at CLS Catering. I have learned so much with my time with them, and hope to see the CLS team again in the future whether that is seeing them in my future endeavors in the aviation field, seeing the CSRs ahead of a flight or even on the tarmac! I highly recommend for those FSO students at Seneca looking to do placements, to try their hand at applying with LSG SkyChefs! Such an amazing time and you will definitely learn a lot!

[lykawithclsjourney]

WEEK TWELVE

DAY 24

One of my last few meals at CLS Catering (going to miss it alot!) 😭 This week I am just continuing the work I was assigned last week with the cutlery team. It's crazy how some of the women in the cutlery department have been working with CLS for more than 20 years! They tell me how much they love working for CLS Catering and say that it truly is one of the best companies to work for, and I see why! It's also very admirable to see the women also just memorize the flights they need to do everyday as they've been doing it for so long. With the few exceptions and changes, they are able to adapt quickly and make changes when necessary.

[lykawithclsjourney]

WEEK ELEVEN

DAY 22

Nearing the finish line! This week I'm finally getting to start something new! I finally finished the last project that was assigned to me and now I am working and learning at a whole new department! With this new project I was assigned, I am working with the Cutlery Department to ensure their work is being done efficiently and to see how their time is being allocated when packing each cutlery for each flight. There is so much that goes on before a flight, I didn't realize that even down to the cutlery, there are people manually doing this job by hand as well to ensure quality every single time! Since there are a lot of human factors involved, some days things don't always goes as planned as other departments, such as the Dish Washing department could also be backed up in getting all the utensils cleaned from the flights for the Cutlery team to pack up. So with that being said, it's hard to say exactly how long it takes them to pack the cutlery for each flight as every day is different. But the staff are all so hard working and it's admirable to see how they do their job and how fast they also work!

As you can see above, we have the Korean Air Business class cutlery and the Emirates Economy class cutlery! (Halal items are packed separately and are always in green organizers or separated using the colour green to easily identify them!)

[lykawithclsjourney]

WEEK NINE

DAY 19

BIG DAY!! Today, Karen and I got the chance to accompany one of the CSR supervisors to the ramp today and got the chance to visit Emirates' Airbus A380! It was such a fun and informative time as we got to obtain a temporary visitor pass for airside access, learning everything from random checks when entering airside, tarmac lines and road sign meanings, and also everything that needs to be done ahead of the flight crew making their appearance before boarding. This was also the time I found out that the CSRs are also responsible for organizing all the items in the first class seats! A lot of moving parts at this time to ensure flights are leaving on time!

[lykawithclsjourney]

WEEK SEVEN - STUDY BREAK

DAY 13

It is the first day of the study break, however I took this as a chance to come to co-op on the days I'm free! Today we had our second progress check with professor Ava - it was such a treat to see her come in and tour the CLS Catering facilities! It was nice to catch up with her and our supervisors, Gagandeep and Henry, to evaluate our SMART goals for the remainder of the placement. I'm excited for what is more to come and to hopefully visit the ramp in the next coming weeks!

[lykawithclsjourney]

WEEK FIVE

We are more than half way through my co-op placement and it is a very bittersweet feeling. I feel like there is so much more to learn and opportunities to explore different departments. With only nine weeks left I really hope to go to the ramp with the CSRs to see the aircrafts and to see the process of meeting with the Flight Attendants when they are receiving their trolleys!

Day 9:

I finally got to see Karen after not seeing her last week at placement since she could not be in that week. It was nice seeing a familiar face at co-op and to catch up on the work we've been doing. We both have been working in different departments so it's nice hearing what they have her doing as well. She works closely with their operations department and the production team so she is able to interact with more departments. We were able to catch up with our supervisors this week, so hopefully we'll be able to go to the ramp some time next week or during the reading week!

Day 10:

Such a cute sign! Employees are easily identifiable in the production area by their hairnets! As a co-op placement student we still wear the white hairnet as we are current "employees" for the time being of our placement :)

[lykawithclsjourney]

WEEK FOUR

This week is a little mundane, but I am still really enjoying my placement. Due to the limited amount of time I have with my placement, it is difficult to get the work done that I was assigned in the timeframe that I would have liked to finish this project.

Day 7:

Today is September 30th, the last day of the month and the fourth week of my placement with LSG SkyChefs. I am still continuing the project I was assigned at the beginning and started taking pictures of their chiller and freezer inventory. I am feeling better from last week so it makes going into the cold areas not as bad. Another short day today since it is Monday, however starting next week I will be in Tuesdays and Wednesdays so atleast I'll be in a bit longer since my classes on Wednesday start at 1600.

Day 8:

I worked a little slower today since working in the freezers and chillers get really cold really fast. Even when I am in the jacket, it feels like a really cold winter. My favourite part is going into their walk-in freezer with all the sweets hahaha.

[lykawithclsjourney]

WEEK THREE

Week three down! Overall, another great week of learning on the job. I am mostly continuing the project I was initially assigned to help with operations, and hopefully will be able to complete this project by the end of the reading week.

DAY 5:

Mondays are usually a short day for me since I have a class around 1pm. I continued the work I was assigned and enjoyed a nice lunch as well before I left for school.

DAY 6:

On Tuesday, I ended my placement a little bit earlier because their system shut down. I needed the program to continue my work so I finished an hour earlier than I would usually end. It kind of worked out because I was feeling a little under the weather today since I am a bit sick. Hopefully I will be better by next week :)

[lykawithclsjourney]

WEEK TWO

That concludes week two with LSG SKyChefs! Right before week one ended, I was able to obtain my employee I.D. pass with CLS, making it easy-peasy for checking in!

Day 3:

Monday I got assigned to a project by one of my supervisors at CLS Catering. Definitely excited to contribute to the success of the company and to help streamline their processes. The project I got assigned entails me to make their ordering and purchasing easier by providing pictures of their products with their ordering list so there is a visual of the item that needs to be purchased.

Since I am at CLS for a short time on Mondays due to my school schedule, I was able to familiarize myself more with their stock room where they keep all their products. I was able to start taking pictures of some items, so it definitely helped me be set up for the next day I was in.

Day 4:

I was next in on Wednesday. I would usually come in on Tuesdays, however due to prior commitments I had, I was not able to come in for Tuesday and asked if I was able to come in on Wednesday instead. Thankfully, it all worked out and it was okay with my co-op supervisors. Continuing from Monday's assignment, I made significant progress with the project that I was assigned.

While transporting the photos from my phone to the company's computer, I was sitting next to one of the employees in management and they were impressed on how I was able to obtain the photos in JPG onto the computer. It was a nice feeling to be recognized as they were having difficulty prior with transporting images from their phone onto the computer as it wasn't in the correct format. They asked me how I did it, and to show them how so for next time they would be able to do it.

I'm grateful to be able to add value to the CLS team and to also learn from them as well! As this is only my second week, I know I will have learned a lot by the end of the term!

Until next week! :)

[lykawithclsjourney]

WEEK ONE

Just finished my first week of co-op!

I had my orientation with LSG SkyChefs on Monday and had my first full day on Tuesday. The photos shown above is from orientation day where I met a fellow Seneca student, Karen, joining me on this CLS journey.

DAY 1:

Orientation day started bright and early at 8:30am where we joined other part timers learn about CLS Catering and participate in powerpoint presentations about food safety in the workplace. We were lucky to join CLS just at the right time as it was there Employee Appreciation Day so they had a food truck come in serving delicious street tacos and fries! Definitely excited for what's to come and to learn more about catering for the skies!

DAY 2:

Reported for duty bright and early again starting at 8:30am. As being brought on to the team as a Customer Service Assistant, I got the chance to meet their Customer Service team and to see what their day to day entails and how their job plays a role in catering to the airlines. I was fortunate enough to be with my fellow classmate, Karen, and we had the opportunity to tour their facilities. As pictured above, we had to wear the full gear to enter their kitchen/production facilities where they make all the delicious meals for their partnered airlines. Also had a delicious lunch made by the CLS team!

After lunch, we got straight into work again this time taking a deeper look into their operations. We met with the operations team where we got to see how they get the production/kitchen team started and ready to ensure all meals and special service requests meals are prepared accordingly to the airlines' needs.

That concludes my first week with CLS, be sure to follow for more content as I post more about my journey with CLS Catering!