Piccolo Camino : Masterpiece of my mind..

Ep. 26

“All these things that enter your head are assignments. You write them up and then throw them out there and if someone wants to do it, your assignment is done.” - Martin Short.

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Around this time last year, I was on a painful stress of finishing my final project. Let me tell you a little bit about the background. In order to be graduated from Hotel Management of Pelita Harapan School of Hospitality, you will have to defend your final project against 3 lecturers. The final project should be in a form of business plan, around hospitality industry, which will include all subjects that we had learned during the past four years. What kind of business would come into your mind? Regarding hospitality, service and profit?

Prosciutto Asparagus Spiral

Well, as for me, food and beverage industry would be the “top of my list” answer when it comes into this kind of thing. I am most confident in that subjects of all other subjects and I had more experience on it (do you want to see my CV? Just kidding). We have the choice to do it as a group assignment or individual. I chose to do it as an individual project. My considerations are, that I don’t want to depend on other people regarding my own project, and especially, I want to avoid all the dramas, because during 4 months of stress, it is most likely drama will appear here and there. I just don’t want to turn my friends into enemy only because a mere final project. So be it! A Restaurant is my decision. I will make a business plan for my dream restaurant. The challenges (and the stress) started there:

1. We have to start on picking the right name, and tag line in order to set our business empire in the industry.
2. We also have to design the logo, the interior, the exterior, the menu and so on and so on
3. Menu means pricing, we have to set our menu prices, do all the recipe calculation.
4. We have to do the research about the market view, the projection of demand and supply, on how unique and different our new business would be.
5. We have to calculate all the expense of fixed cost, the rental price, the building depreciation, all the inventories of the restaurant and all the utilities
6. Finished with all the design we have to plan the standard service procedure, the human resources, recruitment process and scheduling, even all the benefit for the employees.
7. Calculating all of the aspects, we have to make a financial projection 10 years in the future, would it be profitable and feasible or is it better to put the same amount of money in bank investment.

Smoked Salmon Blini Puff

Our deadline? 4 months. And it was, if I may say, the 4 months of brain splitting moment. I was thinking like transferring all about my dream restaurant from my head into papers and planning, and it was not as easy as I thought before. I was crazy over the Internet, browsing about all the data and I, for once in a lifetime period, buried myself for the longest time in the library for hours and hours and keep coming back (oh those days!). I was thinking of making a unique restaurant concept, which made one item as the core of all the menu profile, which finally I decided, puff pastry restaurant. Started on making up the logo (boyfriend helped me to make it perfect). And the tag line as well. Background research regarding the puff pastry, all the necessity information needed and put it all together into one chapter.  And it’s called PICCOLO CAMINO project.

PC floorplan.

Why I do think that this kind of restaurant would be success in the market, in this case I chose Jakarta as my market? I started on making the demand and supply analysis. Putting the entire statistic that I searched from the area. I even asked my cousin, Nita, to share her thought about the concept and lend me her final project as a stake (it is occurred that 4-5 of my cousins and relatives were studied hospitality as well either at the same school or at the competitor institute). Doesn’t it sound interesting? I bet it sounds depressing! I remembered how I went to the mall to search for a suitable unit for rent for my project, asking the management how much would it cost (with a all the drama pretending like I would like to be a tenant and have all the money), how much the fee for this and that and also how I filled my list of inventories price by barged into the wholesale market in the town just to copy the prices, comparing from one to another and start made up the rough calculation in my head, would it be too expensive or just make sense for the project. All of those 4 months, I couldn’t sleep well before at least I add up a paragraph or two about Piccolo Camino. I felt that I obliged to add or edit here and there (call me perfectionist then) and make it as good as possible, at least based on my standard.

2 months past already and the papers showed it result. I already finished (by asking interior designer, friend of my friend) my 3D interior and exterior design. I have dedicated my time, by living as a vampire every night (sleeping at 4am almost everyday) doing the food costing and making up the menu. I still do my part time job at EF and I still do my project. I even can’t breath and even want to scream my heart out loud! Not to mention I was also browse for the flight attendant job and applying here and there. It seems like my brain has to many things going on and not enough space or memory anymore. I was thankful that I was not the only one that faced the same problem; all of the D members were also fighting for their own final projects. Then we had a new activity, which are gathering around the library with stacks of book, going to buy the printer ink ( and also new printer as this project even made the printer sick and collapse) and paper, also sleep over at one’s place to do all the cross information (we didn’t manage to find all the information and data by ourselves than we do exchanged all the information we got, mutualism I guess?).

Piccolo Camino Menu *i made it from scratch!*

Jammed my head with all the designing ( I even designed my menu card and comment card while waiting and supporting boyfriend for his own final defense, sitting at the corridor of his university and still with my lovely MacBook), the worst part have not yet to come. Consulting about the progress week to week to week with the advisors (2 advisors for 1 student), I did all the revisions they asked, even it was only grammar twist, punctuations or even only swapping the paragraph position. Sometimes it was more that that, I had to delete and revise the data that I have put. Ah! I forgot to mention, all D class member has to do the project fully in English (due to our international class program). I even sometimes brought along my laptop to EF, wishing if suddenly I got spare time, I could do a paragraph or two or even I brought it when I’m doing the booth at the mall for EF. Gosh! Now I’m amazed by my own endurance during those days.

Tomato Jewel

The cost in order to make this project into succession is beyond my imagination. I spend most of my allowance and also my part time pay slip to support my project (I hate asking parents for money, think I am too old already to do so). Printer ink, papers, transportation fee, internet bill, 3D cost, menu printing, etc. robbed my pocket inside out! But that wasn’t it. The last chapter and the most important, challenging part of the project was the Financial projection, which will show, either all the past months efforts was vain or not. Is it feasible or not? Is it a prospectus business plan or not? So I put all the numbers from the data collecting and calculation that I did and thank God, by some revisions and like 5 times changes, I finally made it. It was showing the right numbers and reasonable result that I could defend and present in front of the lecturers (prosecutors). Haha!

Non-stop supports came from all over the place, boyfriend, family, lecturers, friends, relatives and many more. They really made it a lot easier as they keep me in a good mood. I also thank God that he gave me a lot of friends that has different area of specialties and expertise so that I got help from them a lot. The final print, or as I may say, the hard copy was (only) 350 pages + one CD of soft copy. Just it? Nope! I got to copy it into another 3 sets of it. 1 for me and 1 each for 3 lecturers, I was almost got my early heart attack when I saw the copy bill. It was heavy I have to carry them to be signed by the Dean, the Advisors and the Head of Department of my major. Hans, who had the same advisors as I am, offered his kindness to accommodate me to go to the lecturer and sign our paper together. Rosi was always there to hear my babbling and swearing about the project. Aileen was always there to lend me a last minute emergency paper and printer. And many others supports. I could say that D is always dependable at some points.

the sleep over session

The timing was set. 6 July 2011 on 18.00 sharp I will put all of my 4 months efforts onto the table to be tested by 3 lecturers. In order to get the best result, I made all the preparation. All the paper was set, all the power point and the scenario has been reviewed, slide shows has been tested, and the only thing left is the product testing. I asked Rosi and Aileen to help me in making all the sample product of my puff pastry menu. They came to my house early in the morning, boyfriend was also there to give his best assistance and support, to help me jammed the kitchen and oven. We spent almost 5 hours baking the pastry and as I prepared myself (take a bath, make up, changing, and pack all the papers), they helped me packed all the other things, for example, the banner I printed especially for this as a marketing tool, as well as note pad and pen. We even double-checked whether I’ve got all the ammunition to face my “war” or not. We successfully loaded 2 cars (my boyfriend’s and Rosi’s), to carry all the important things. We arrived at the campus at around 4 pm, 2 hour in advance. I saw some of my friends queued up for the final defense and all of us got the same look, stressful and nervous. We will not be informed who will be our three “prosecutors”, but one of them must be one of our advisors, most likely, the second advisor. I don’t know whether it was a sixth sense or what, I just know that one of my prosecutors must be one particular lecturer. Don’t ask me why, I just got a felling, strong one.

Asparagus Prosciutto Fontina

On 6.15 pm, I entered the room, I was scheduled for the last time slot, which means there would be no other queued after me, then the lecturer can stretch the time which should be for 2 hours to no matter how long they want. My supporters and me filled up the room with all the things we’ve prepared (Raymond, Gitta, Anas, Marlene, who were also either scheduled or became a supporter on the same day also helped out). Few minutes later, they left the room as the first prosecutor entered the room. It was him, I just knew it since the first day of my final project started that he will be one of my judges. Then came my advisors and one other lecturer. They, who usually talked to me casually suddenly, became all serious and ready to eat me wholly!

My Ammo

We started by opening the defense formally, and I start my 10 minutes presentation about the whole business project and prospect. They clapped their hands (out of courtesy) and here it comes the questioning. They questioned me from a-z, reasons behind this and that, why I chose the particular color as my interior, why I chose that design, what is the reason behind the recruiting process and the payroll and benefit, how do I got the calculation of this and that, how do I got my positioning of my restaurant among the other competitor and so on and so on. And due to the “international class” program that I took, English is a must in that particular room. I was like almost burst my brain when it finally ended. The clock on the wall showed that it was almost 9 pm and the campus was almost closed already. The defense closed formally, the prosecutors said they will review and discuss about all my defense process and I went home after thanking my supporters. Tired? Absolutely! But relieved as well, just like a hundred ton of burden has been lifted up from my shoulder.

sleep over team

I went home peacefully, knowing that I’ve done my best and present my best, and have no time to worry about it as the next day (7^th July 2011), I have another thing to worry, CX contract signing. The days after that day were just as busy. I signed the contract already and have to prepare for my departure to HK, I also resigned already from my part time job, many farewells to be arranged and also helped some of D members facing their defense. On the 20^th July 2011 (a week before my departure to HK), we, all the hotel management students of 2007 (90+ of us), were gathered in the grand hall. That day was scheduled for the result announcement regarding our final project. How did I feel? I felt like nothing to lose. I have definitely had given my best and whatever the result, I will accept it whole-heartedly.

i proudly present.....

The announcement was started by a prayer, then the slideshow and the calculation of scoring method and all the formalities, until finally the Head of Hotel Management major, was about announced the result. She will announce the score of our final project from the best to the least. 1..2..3..and at the 8th call, I got my name called. Phew! I got an A of 92 points out of 100 for my Piccolo Camino project. I can smile ear to ear already. It will guarantee that the whole score at my transcript would be just as perfect as I can ever imagine. Praise the Lord that He has given me many helps through people around me to pass this phase of my life. All the things that I did, made something meaningful. I felt relieved as my responsibilities to prove to my Daddy that I can do what I really want to do and I did give my best to finish my study in the major that like. At least a cum laude predicate, that I achieved, would make him happy already.

D after the final exam...no stress at all!

If I looked back right now, those days of my life were just those among the most fun pages in my whole entire existence. I might be stressed out, I might said that I almost gave up, I might just did something stupid and laughed at it out loud, but the point is, I would never be a person I am today without those experience behind me. And thinking of it, I believed that God has arranged every single minutes in my life to make my life counts, to make it meaningful so that when I am old, I could just remember those colorful days of my youth and regret nothing, as I have done my best already.

D after the final grade announcement!

“No matter how long a war will take, no matter how the result, when you’ve given your best, at the end of the day, you will walk away proudly as you’ve fought for what you believe.” –Me.