Hi, my name is Rifa. I’m from Bandung and I’m 23 years old..

I just graduated this year from NHI tourism polytechnic Bandung, majoring in culinary arts.

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What first made cooking feel exciting to you?

The first time I felt excited about cooking was when I was a junior high school student. It was my 15th birthday and I decided to cook for my friends and for people on the road. Then, I just felt excited to cook for other people.

What has been the biggest adjustment from university to restaurant life?

The biggest adjustment, I cannot compare between university and restaurant because it’s very different. But I think, more to the teamwork. In the university, we still get a guide from our teachers on how to do things. But here in real restaurant life, most of the time, we do it by ourselves.

What are you focusing on the most right now?

Right now, I’m focusing on developing myself as a chef, surely because I still have a lot to learn. I’m just a chick that was just born yesterday. So yeah, I’m trying to focus on developing myself right now to be a better person, a better chef.

What does good hospitality mean to you?

In my opinion, good hospitality is when a customer comes with a hangry (hungry and angry) mood, and we serve them with all of our hearts and make the customer feel like home and leave the restaurant very very happy and thankful. I think that's good hospitality.