English
We continue to introduce you to the team of professionals who are part of Villa Adeje Beach. Today we would like to introduce you to Alba, our head chef, you can’t miss her!
Alba’s career path at Villa Adeje Beach
Alba is Uruguayan and has been working with us for 14 years. After 9 years working as a cook in the United States, and after studying a management course there, Alba came to Spain and this was her first job. “I’ve been offered other jobs, but I really appreciate the people at the hotel,” says Alba. Her relationship with the manager, the owner and her colleagues, she says, makes her very comfortable at the hotel and she doesn’t want to change.
What is Alba’s day-to-day life like?
As head chef, Alba is in charge of the day-to-day running of the kitchen. Her tasks include controlling the kitchen, making and checking the orders. She is also in charge of making desserts and homemade meals that require more elaboration.
For her, every day is different. Alba likes to innovate and that is why she is always looking for inspiration in cookbooks or on YouTube. “Every day I’m looking for new things to do because that’s what I like about everyday life, otherwise it would be monotonous,” she says.
Highlights of the hotel’s meals
Being Uruguayan, Alba always takes the opportunity to implement recipes from her country in the hotel buffet. “When I make Uruguayan food, they are fascinated,” she says. Among the Uruguayan dishes, she highlights the meat sauce, the pascualina, which is a spinach puff pastry with egg, and the Uruguayan pizza. The clients love it!
Baking
One of Alba’s favourite things is baking. As she tells us, baking is something that she has been discovering over the years and which she does with great pleasure. Alba makes it clear that she likes to innovate in the kitchen, and that is why she always tries to make different desserts and sweets.
Among the desserts she most likes to prepare, she highlights the quesillo, tiramisu, brazos gitanos and polvito uruguayo. “The polvito uruguayo is the best dessert our customers can eat”, says Alba.
Special celebrations at Villa Adeje Beach
One of the favourite moments for guests and employees alike are the Christmas galas. Although it requires a lot of work, it is one of the most special moments and Alba is looking forward to it. “I am already organising this year’s gala,” she says.
At Villa Adeje Beach we take advantage of special dates to innovate and make original and delicious presentations: Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Canary Islands Day, Halloween…. You won’t get bored at our hotel!
Contact with the customer
At breakfast, Alba tells us that she likes to help her colleagues at the grill, as this is the time when she talks to the customers the most. Although she doesn’t usually have much time at lunch, Alba tells us that she always finds time to say hello and chat with them. “There are many repeat customers who call me when they come to talk to me and bring me gifts,” she says.
As we have already mentioned, Villa Adeje Beach is a hotel with a high percentage of repeat clients. Moreover, it is a hotel where stays are long: “We have had repeat customers who stay for 3 or 4 months”, says Alba. This is why they always try to innovate and change the menu so that it doesn’t become repetitive.
“We always try to pamper our customers”, she confesses. The closeness and familiarity with the clients sets Villa Adeje Beach apart from other hotels. “I’m always researching what our guests like best and I’m innovating and adapting the meals,” she says.
“I like my work very much and I do it with a lot of love”
When asked what she likes most about her work, she is clear: everything. “I like my job very much and I do it with a lot of affection”, she stresses. “I always tell cooks that they have to cook as if it were for the house”.
For Alba, the most important thing in the kitchen is that you like your work. “Sometimes you think that you work just for the money, but no, I do it from the heart because I love my job”. If she had to highlight something, it would be seeing the customers happy with the food: “When you see the customers happy, that’s what fills you up the most”.
At Villa Adeje Beach we want you to get to know our team little by little. We are waiting for you in the south of Tenerife!