To the Sprouts Community, thank you for supporting my Chef-In-Training Internship. I loved my internship at my host restaurant, Mago. Before this internship, I mostly taught myself how to cook and was not very confident in my abilities. The chefs at Mago were very nice and always happy to teach me. I got to learn knife skills, how to grill, butcher chickens, clean fish and squid, and how to bake many sweet treats. I also had the opportunity to plate some of the dinner dishes which was very exciting. The chefs at Mago are very inspiring to me. Their menu changes daily, so I was always learning about ingredients and foods I never saw before. The head chef often uses foraged foods, and one time I was lucky enough to forage with him. We walked to a park near the restaurant and picked edible flowers and peppery leaves that he would then use as “taco shells”. It was very inspiring. I would never have thought to use the nature around me in the food I cooked, and that the plants that I see almost every day, growing naturally around Oakland, could have such interesting and lively flavors. I am now much more confident in my cooking and being in professional environments. I got to learn and grow so much during my internship that I will be working at Mago this summer as a paid cook. I can’t thank you enough for making this experience possible!