From intern to Chef...

We recently caught up with Chef Shining Ly, to hear the inspirational story of her journey from intern to Chef. We’ll let Shining tell you all about it – she tells her story much better than us! 

It was more than six years ago when I started my day one at Crowne Plaza Yantai Seaview, Shandong, China as a graduate. “I’ve devoted the prime time of my life to this hotel”, I would playfully say to my colleagues. Looking back, it was these six rewarding years that made me who I am today.

I started the journey as an intern in the kitchen as a fresh 22-year-old. Back then, everything was unfamiliar; but at the same time new, exciting and full of fun. Eight months of internship was no easy job, but it pushed me to learn and grow every day and I felt lucky and truly proud to be working with an inspiring team. When the internship ended, I stayed without hesitation.

As soon as I became an official member of the IHG family, I was immersed into the corporate culture. I got to delve into the true meaning of the Winning Ways, which have since become my motto and benchmarks for excellence.

Working at an IHG hotel has opened doors to a lot of cross-training opportunities at sister hotels too. In June 2012, I participated in a three-week training at Crowne Plaza Qingdao. There I learned about Italian cuisine for the first time and saw how IHG’s culture could be interpreted in a different but equally exciting way.

Several months later, I was in for the most memorable experience of my life – cross training at InterContinental and Holiday Inn Bangkok. I could hardly find words to describe how thrilled I was. I used to think being a chef was merely about cooking. Now, I had the opportunity to go overseas to experience exotic cultures, while learning their style of cuisine. I was only there for one week but the memories would last for a lifetime.

When I returned to my own hotel, I gradually took up managerial roles, while continuing to attend various training courses. It was especially fulfilling because I got to apply what I’ve learned in class into day-to-day work, challenge myself, and improve step by step.

I was given a lot of love at IHG, for that I’m truly grateful. I will do my best to contribute to the hotel, to give back to my IHG family.