Communications FETAC level 4

What do I say? Making a safety booklet and giving a presentation was only apart of it. I cannot remember all of the module besides from researching information for different activity. There were 1 to 7 activities (as far as I can remember), then there was 3 written and 1 presentation for an exam. Yet I was really nervous (!)

Thats it for now, sorry for the short blog

Short Order Cooking

I am in a catering course and I have an exam coming up this Tuesday, 22/1/13 and I'm so nervous

I have to bake scones, brown bread, set up the sandwich bar, do fruit salads, set up the hot counter, do rashers, sausages, hash browns and an writing exam. The writing part is not so hard, but the cooking part of it has to be done within an hour and a half or shorter. Yep, thats fast, and I don't have the speed, so I don't know what I'm going to do! Can anybody please give some advice please?

Anything is alright :)

Happy news :D

Howdy,

.Well, it was hard, no doubt about that, had to do a:

continental breakfast 

 porridge

a fruit bowl

 brown bread

 scones

2 cold cereals

Full Irish Breakfast 

Hash Browns

Sausages

Rashers

Mushrooms

Buffet Style 

Wallnut salad

Tomato, cucumber and tomato onion salad

 Selection of Sandwiches 

Meat plates

Yogurts

Orange Juice

As well as making food, I also had to set up the counters for service, which was a challenge!

The buffet style was the hardest for sure. I was being timed for all of them as the buffet style was 2 hours and the other two where an hour and a half, all had to be done within them time limits. I also had to do questions and the instructors where asking me questions too during the cooking exam.

And the result was in yesterday......................................... And I got a MERIT

Meal service and personal effectiveness exams

Righty right right, how are you all? I never posted up these exams because I was super busy with exams. Now that I have the chance why not.

A few weeks ago, I had an exam called meal service, which was a FETAC level 5, the first time we had an exam that level. I found out that my course was the first course in the whole of Ireland (yes) to do the exam. I cannot deny how hard it was.

Apart from the exam, I had to:

• Written exam
• Take a booking
• Meet and greet
• Check the booking
• Show the people to the table
• Show the people menus, 1 food and 1 wine
• Take drink order
• Take food order
• Take away what they don't need
• Bring it up to the pretend chief (one of the trainees)
• Serve wine
• Bring down drink 
• Bring down the food
• Wait until they are finished eating
• Clear all the dirty dishes
• Ask do they want a dessert and tea/coffee
• Take the dessert order
• Reposition the fork/spoon
• Bring the desserts down
• Make tea/coffee
• Bring the tea/coffee with sugar, milk etc
• Clear the dirty dishes
• Bring up the order docket to the till
• Bring it back down to the customer
• Wait for the money (pretend)
• And finally saying goodnight

This was a really REALLY hard exam. Usually we would be allowed to look at our folders if we needed tfor answers but this time we werent, because it was a higher level and it would have different rules. I was really nervous about this exam. I just kept communicating with the trainees/customers, this would have been a few points.

So the exam was all finished! Waiting nervously for the exam for a few days, I had distanced myself from the others. A few days later, I got the result, I got a pass. To be honest, I wasn't too happy with the result, I wanted to do better. I felt liked if I had failed. But now that I know that I didn't fail, I passed it, and better of all, a FETAC level 5.

Now for personal effectiveness!!! 

I had been doing a portfolio for my exam, meaning paper work. The dreaded paper work, but I loved it to be honest I never get to do paper work as I'm training as a catering assistant. There was also a 600 presentation that I had to talk about myself. I was really nervous, this was my first time giving a presentation. I did do a few mistakes, and couldn't finish it because the instructor stopped me.

I was disappointed because I yet again thought I was going to fail. I was explaining that when I first started National Learning Network (NTDI) that I had no confidence, I never really talked to people, I wouldn't answered the phone or even made phone calls. It had taking me a while to settle in, and how stressful it was. But before I got to finish it my instructor stopped me. She had said that she wanted me to give the learning style I was, but I had forgotten to put it in.

So, in the mean time the exam was finished, delighted with myself. Now that it was my turn to listen to somebody else to give their presentation. Lucky enough it was only the two of us gave presentations. I don't think I'd be able to give the presentation if it was more than two. The other person I thought was better than me, I honestly did.  I nervously waited for a few weeks, it must have been about 2 and a half weeks or 3 weeks. I distanced myself away from my friends again. Hopefully they didn't think that I was being ignorant, because I wasn't, I was just really nervous.

Then, the result came in. Here it comes, I got a distinction for the presentation and portfolio. I was extremely happy for the result. I couldn't have been happier. This feeling was really good and it sort of boost my confidence a bit. I have been starting to talk to my friends, and me out of 6 people that done it we all passed. We all shared our results and all of us where happy. I just want to say that even giving a presentation is one of the most difficult things to do, but all you have to do is just make eye contact and BELIEVE that you can do what ever you put your head to, I believe that and look where it got me.

Powerpoint presentation

Right, a few weeks a go I found out that that I had to do a presentation. This presentation has to be through powerpoint. Meaning it has to be done on a computer through different slides. It will be on a small business that I already typed up, now I just have to put it on a slide on powerpoint, which some of it is already done.


I am quite nervous about it, but I know there is no need to be nervous, because I done one before. I know there is no need to be nervous. But at the same time there is a stress - related problem. I am afraid of standing up in front of a group, and also a person I never met.


The last presentation I had done it was only 2 people and myself in the room. This time, there will properly be 3 or 4 people. If I can do it for 5 minutes I should be grand. Every minute I think positive BOOM negative thoughts floods my head. I can do it but I am incredibly nervous about it.