Mallory was a Parties & Special Events Intern for Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants at the RPM Event Venue in 2022.
To learn more about her experience and interning with Lettuce Entertain You, read Mallory’s story below.
Tell us a bit about the company you interned for:
I interned for Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants as a whole, and I was placed at the RPM Seafood & Events location for everyday work. Lettuce Entertain You is a restaurant company based out of Chicago, Illinois with more than 120 restaurants and 60 brands across the country. I participated in their Level 1 internship program which included following the full life cycle of events with catering sales managers, learning and utilizing Tripleseat Event Management Software, contracting, building menus, client contact, on-site tours, and marketing drops.
Tells us about your position during your internship:
I worked four days a week in the office at RPM Seafood, RPM Events, and Pizzeria Portofino, and one day a week virtually. These are all in the same building on the first 4 floors of 317 North Clark. My team, the PASE team, specializes in creating and overseeing events in RPM Seafood, the RPM Events level, and Pizzeria Portofino. These events ranged in all different sizes. Events at RPM Seafood are typically smaller business dinners, but can range up to 120 people if the full mezzanine is rented out, while the events level is for bigger events such as large corporate meetings or weddings and rehearsal dinners, and Pizzeria Portofino has small outdoor events such as birthday parties and cocktail hours on the river.
Another part of my internship was having a 3-hour virtual meeting one day a week to learn about the different departments in Lettuce Entertain You. Throughout these meetings, I was a part of a group that was required to come up with a restaurant concept from scratch and present it to Lettuce partners at the end of the internship.
The final part of my internship was working the Windy City Smokeout Festival and learning about the planning of a festival on the food and beverage side. During the festival, I was a food and beverage manager and was tasked with overseeing the BBQ and beer tent operations.
Tell us what you liked best about working for this company:
My favorite part about working for Lettuce was all the new friends I made and the people that I worked with. Everyone was just happy to be there every day you came into work, and it always helped boost morale. I liked how I got to do something different every day and learn about different areas in hospitality and events. One part of the internship that is unique is that you get to shadow so many different people – restaurant managers, chefs, wine sommeliers, inventory managers, etc. I also felt like I was wanted there, and my supervisor was always there for me and helping me grow. I feel like I learned more last summer with the team at RPM & Lettuce than I would have at any other job.
Tell us about the work culture at this company:
Lettuce Entertain You stresses the importance of having a work life balance. The work culture at this company always felt positive, and I felt like I was cared for. I felt like Lettuce was a great company to work for and I was always surrounded by great people.
Tell us why you would recommend more students intern for this company:
I think that Lettuce offers a great internship program, and it is a great way to connect with people to build more opportunities for yourself in the future. I received so much hands-on experience and got to learn all the ins and outs of the food and beverage industry and how it relates to events. It is a good resume builder as well.
Share your advice to students who plan to apply for an internship with this company:
My advice to students would be to keep an eye out for the Level 1 or 2 internship applications on Harri (the website I applied on), and to reach out to Lettuce recruiters and/or go to career fairs. I would also make sure to have hospitality (more specifically restaurant) experience in your resume before applying.
To learn more about an internship with Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants, visit their posting on Handshake. They are accepting applications until April 14th.
If you would like to connect with the recruiter for this internship program, reach out to Megan Banovic at mbanovic@leye.com
