Blog Entry 1: Introduction
Trip Start
Sep 10, 2008
1
46
Trip End
Sep 04, 2009
London, England, United Kingdom
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
If you are reading this then you may either know me, are interested in the Taste the World Scheme run by Sainsbury's or came upon it by chance!
To all, welcome, and I hope this blog:
http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog/taste_the_world/1/tpod.html
...or the slightly easier to remember http://www.travelpod.com/members/taste_the_world which links to my blog,
will be informative and help you understand a bit more about what I get up to for the next 12 months.
Firstly, to introduce myself and the "Taste the World" scheme (from here on referred to as TTW):
I am the third lucky successful graduate to be going on this amazing experience. Last year's "guinea pigs" were Jessica Chambers and Jonathon Wright, both survived to tell their own incredible tales in their own blogs last year:
http://tastetheworldjess.blog.co.uk/
http://taste-the-world.blog.co.uk/
and the Sainsbury's official explanation of TTW:
http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/graduates/schemes/taste.shtml
Before I start my blog properly, I would like to warn you that as this blog will act largely as a way for me to remember this experience, as well as being read by those interested in the companies and my activities; I will be including quite a lot of detail. This will result in quite lengthy posts that may be tweaked over time to add relevant photos etc as I get to grips with the site.
I hope my entries won't be tiresome, and as it is always available online, those who wish to can dip in and out as they wish and as they have time to do so. I will try to divide it into subtitled easy sections where possible though, and see how I go with the format.
In essence: be prepared for long posts! :-)
So, what is "Taste the World"?
TTW is a new scheme designed to attract food science graduates to apply for a role as a Food Product Technologist for Sainsbury's, in an ever competitive market with falling numbers of people studying Food Science at university.
The following link provides more detail: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2006/nov/28/highereducation.uk
The scheme runs for up to 12 months post graduation and prior to guaranteed full time employment (I will start in September 2009 with the new intake). During this gap year "the graduate" (this year it's lucky me!) gets to work for different suppliers and partners, both current and potential, around the world for about 6 months in total, and is free to spend the remainder of the year doing as they (I!) please! The companies give some form of payment in exchange for work carried out (which varies with each company) and Sainsbury's provides a financial contribution towards flights. In exchange the graduate gains a clearer understanding of how suppliers operate, problems faced, and takes what has been learnt back to Sainsbury's through a blog (this one), updated throughout the year, and when they join the company.
How I got it:
...So you may be wondering how I got this amazing opportunity? Well I had to first apply for the Sainsbury's Product Technologist (food) graduate position (http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/graduates/schemes/product_technology.shtml), with the correct requirements:
"Passion for food and satisfying customer needs is a must. A sharp eye for detail and a determination to see things through to the end are essential too; so are confidence, flexibility and willingness to learn. We will also require a minimum 2.2 or above in a food or science related degree" (from the website).
In my case in relation to the latter requirements: I graduated in 2008 with BSc Nutrition and Food Science from the University of Nottingham, with a semester spent at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and a year in industry working in Cadbury Trebor Bassett's Candy Team.
Then I had to express my huge desire to go on TTW. There are usually two places available, but I am the sole graduate to go out this year! This makes it both a little scary, but also a great privilege!
A little about me and why I wanted to do it:
I am 22, from Surrey (half English, half Finnish) and have always had three great passions: food, traveling, and experiencing as much as possible in life (everything from meeting people, trying new things, doing new activities and eating unusual foods). Therefore I followed a career in food (which offers plenty of choice for worldwide travel as you can see!). Following on from my passions, applying for Sainsbury's and their Taste the World Scheme, just seemed to make sense...and let's face it, who wouldn't want a paid gap year to eat food around the world and come back to a secured job in Central London!
What I did when I found out/What I have to do:
When I found out I got it I was understandably ecstatic! All the more so because my path to getting the job had been quite challenging, and I had had my heart set on TTW since seeing a poster in the Food Science Department a year before. Most of my friends and family knew how much I wanted it, so I promptly called them all and raced up and down the stairs like a lunatic telling my housemates!
I later received the booklet of placement choices from all over the world...Italy, to South Africa, to Australia, to Costa Rica! Last year's graduates went (between them) to: New Zealand, France, Australia, Kenya and visited many countries in between! With a requirement of a minimum of 4 placements (spending a minimum of 6 weeks at each), that gives plenty of time in between for my own travel.
As I said before, I will be updating this blog as I complete sections and travel to inform you of my whereabouts and activities.
My itinerary:
My itinerary (after a lot of hard work and tweaks, some of which I am still working on), now looks like this:
- Mid Sept-Mid October 2008
4 weeks in Rome (privately traveling/au pairing with a family) - more of this in Blog Entry Number 2!
- Mid October 2008
Hectic weekend in the UK to get ready for 11 months away from home!
- Mid October 2008-Mid/End November 2008
6 weeks in Ghana working for Blue Skies (exotic fruit) with an amazing itinerary organized for me.
- End November 2008- End January 2009
7 weeks working for Flamingo (various products)
1/2 time working on the eating quality of beans
1/2 time working on the quality of tea
hopefully squeezing in some time to see their flower production side as well!
2 weeks at the end traveling (not decided where yet, depends if anyone can join me or if I go alone).
- End January-End May 2009
A mixture of two placements and free travel time. The itinerary is still being sorted, but it looks like:
6 weeks working for Cleanseas, Austrade (fish) mainly around South Australia
6 weeks working for Quandong Bush Baskets (native Australian produce)
with additional time (up to 2 weeks) spent in different locations Australia wide on tours/smaller projects/gaining further insight into the industry.
At least 3 weeks of personal travel at the end with my friend from home up the East Coast!
- June 2009
A month traveling the West Coast of America (at the moment on my own).
- July & August 2009
8 weeks in Mexico (privately traveling/au pairing with another family).
As you can see I have already embarked on it. The slight delays in publishing, despite writing draft material as I go along, will depend on finding enough time with all my jet-setting with a free computer (I haven't brought my laptop) with the internet, and getting it checked over in some cases - thanks for your patience!
Looking at the itinerary, you may be wondering: why all the au pairing?
Simple: I have experience with children, and it is a great way to see a country from the inside. I get to stay with a family who knows what's good and what's not, with regards to eating/sightseeing, get a comfy bed, full board, some pocket money and in exchange play some games and talk in English (which is good as I don't speak Italian or Spanish anyway!). Sounds good to me!! It has gone well so far, au pairing in Italy and prior to that, au pairing for 4 weeks in Southern Finland in August 2008.
My thoughts on it all (written before starting my journey):
I am VERY excited about my plans so far. To include so many countries and so many areas of food is more than I could hope for! Each work placement will give me a different view point of suppliers and how they operate, from big well established companies, to smaller ones who are just starting up.
I will be getting:
- A thorough grounding in all aspects of Exotic fruit (coconuts, mangoes, papaya, pineapples) production looking at Fruit farms, production and waste management amongst other areas, in Ghana
- Experience on specific technical project work in Kenya looking at sensory and eating quality of beans and tea, and hopefully some education in flower production.
- Another area of project work, possibly on product specification for fish in South Australia
- A huge variety of exposure into different areas (both food and possibly nonfood) of the Australian native produce industry. This will include: market visits, work on the fields with aboriginal tribes, a short placement working for a 5* native foods restaurant in the centre of Melbourne with top chefs, and insight into high tech food factories...
...and receiving payment to keep me going!
The first section of my epic year in Europe acted as a "tester." It allowed me to ease myself in with more familiar territory of Europe and a family. I got to test out my luggage to see if it would see me through 11 months in different areas, and test out my homesickness - however having lived in Australia and traveled a fair amount before, I'm not too worried about this. I then get to come home for a very short time to sort out some finer points: doctor's check up, malaria tablets, bank details, insurance... getting my iPod collection up to date, and then setting off for the "real" start...Africa!
In my next blog I will cover my time, experiences and learnings in Rome. What I've gained from my incredible time already in just four weeks!
Throughout this time, for those of you who wish to, feel free to comment or email me (I'm new to blogging, but I think there is a link somewhere!). With this website, I also aim to upload photos and map updates showing where I am, again please bear with me as I get used to it all.
Ciao!
Natasha
Comments
First comment
So far so good Natasha!