Guy-Lionnel at Talent Developer ©TD

Guy-Lionnel has had an atypical career path. Passionate about cooking since his childhood, he left his home country, Gabon, to study for two years in a Moroccan school. Upon his return, he was lucky enough to work for the Gabonese presidential family where he developed his love for cooking! After 15 years of hard work, he decided to leave everything behind and obtain a recognized diploma in cuisine and pastry making. And what better way than to join a school in the capital of gastronomy, Paris, to improve his skills?

He succeeded in joining Le Cordon Bleu to obtain the Grand Diplôme ® in cuisine and pastry. As the final step in his course, he had to carry out an internship in Paris to obtain the Holy Grail and be able to make a living from his passion, and that’s when the Talent Developer team stepped in! After obtaining his consent, we welcomed him in our office to conduct an interview on his experience with Talent Developer. We let you discover…

How did you hear about Talent Developer  ? 

I found out about Talent Developer through some Le Cordon Bleu students who had already called upon your services. I went directly to your website where I found the telephone number which enabled me to get in touch with Philippine who explained to me how Talent Developer works and reassured me about the internship I couldn’t find.

Why did you get in touch with Talent Developer  ? 

I needed to contact Talent Developer for my end-of-study placement which I couldn’t find. I had never had any experience in France and despite having responded to a lot of offers, I only received rejections… I needed help and the call with Philippine confirmed my decision to need support to find my internship in Paris.

What were your expectations when you contacted Talent Developer? 

The support and the listening were very important to me. I very much hoped to find an internship that would meet my expectations and help me to increase my skills in nutrition. I spoke at length with the Talent Developer team and in particular Estrella and Philippine so that they could understand my world and the type of company I was looking for and they understood my expectations.

How long had you been looking for an internship? 

Before Talent Developer found my internship, I did my own research and sent my application to many companies for two months… The school also tried to help us in our search and gave us a list of companies with which I had two interviews which unfortunately did not lead to any results.

How would you describe the customer experience offered by Talent Developer? 

I really like the service that Talent Developer offers, it’s just a pleasure to have such support. We can count on the team to be very responsive and to listen to our needs. Beyond the support in finding an internship and all the advice I received from the team, there is a whole follow-up and the company offers very interesting online content that helped me prepare for my interview, which I successfully completed.

Do you think you were listened to and understood?

I have always wanted to do my internship in a company that shares my values and that attaches particular importance to the products used and Talent Developer understood this. As soon as I was interviewed, I knew that the Maison Mère hotel was going to give me a lot. The chef I work with pays attention to nutrition and I learn a lot from him, I couldn’t have wished for better!

How did the company search and the appointment with your mentor go?

The Talent Developer team really understood what I was looking for and very quickly found the company that suited me. Everything went very quickly, I prepared for the interview, I applied all the advice Philippine gave me and I was put in contact with the company for an interview which went very well.

What do you think of the help in signing your internship agreement?

I am not computer literate so the fact that Talent Developer took care of everything was a real relief!

How is your daily life in the company? 

I joined the Maison Mère team as a trainee in the position of kitchen commis for 6 months and I was very quickly welcomed by the whole team. I do the mise en place, I assist the chef in all his needs, I learn a lot of new French culinary techniques and I put into practice what I have seen during my training.

I started with small, low-risk tasks so that they could assess my level and I am increasingly allowed to take the initiative. The tasks fit me and this is what I expected.

Would you recommend Talent Developer to your friends and family? 

Yes, without hesitation! The services offered by Talent Developer can help many foreign students like me who have difficulty finding an internship in Paris! The teams are very attentive and efficient.

What do you want to do next? 

After my internship, I want to return to Gabon to be able to pass on all my knowledge. There, I manage a restaurant for sportsmen and women that offers dietetic cuisine, but I still lacked a lot of knowledge in this field. Thanks to my training and my internship, I will be able to import all my know-how.

French cuisine is very different from what we know in Africa, to be credible there, they require a certain amount of experience in France because cooking is not as well regarded as it is here, it is not yet an art.

Article written by Talent Developer