Week 6

On Monday and Tuesday of this week we continued working on projects.  Our main focus was on FoodPro, entering menu cycles for the football team. Tuesday evening Brian was able to get us tickets to a Giants vs Pirates game at AT&T park.  

For the remainder of the week we shadowed Alicia, the Manager of Crossroads (Cal's largest dining common). We met all the members of her team, sat in on a few meetings, worked with invoices and had an indepth overview of what each staff member's job entails. We sat and talked to the exuctive Chef Marcos and learned a lot about management styles.  

We went to Los Angeles for the weekend.

Driving on the Pacific Coast Highway

View of Malibu

El Matador Beach

 Hollywood sign! 

View on our way up to the Hollywood sign

Santa Monica Pier

We visited Veince Beach, on our way there we went through the Veince Canal walkway

Day 51-55: My final Week

Monday:

My last week here at CSU has finally arrived and it is a bitter sweet feeling.  This is the first times that I've been away from home for more than a month and have not missed home.  Of course, I'm looking forward to going back home for a bit.  The reality is that this is also my last year in Collge when I return to Minnesota.

I began my day working on reports for conference services.  I then moved on to calculating evaluations on pizzas and documenting them for the vendor.  Later in the afternoon I met Peter, one of the Directors.  Ironically, he had applied for a job in Minnesota at the College of Saint Benedict, just 3 years ago.

I must say that I am blown away by the staff's commitment to the students here at CSU.  I know that it is an expectation that  colleges and universities cater to the needs of students but here at CSU you see it in action.  I learnt that this was not Peter's first experience in collegiate dining services and his opinion was that it was the students that made the campus.

Based on the students' background, socioeconomic status or whether or not they were first generation students would impact their experiences on campus and interactions with other students and faculty.  The students here at CSU made it easy for the staff to connect with them and understand their needs.

Tuesday:

I started off my day with Becky discussing the budgeting process, financial statements and the relationship between a unit's revenue and expense reports and performance.  Food costs, distribution of labour, utilities fees, supplies and services, among other factors all affect a dining hall's expenses.  Any funds generated by the dining halls (after expenses have been covered) are used for the development of the housing and dining halls.  This explains the constant construction going on here at CSU.  The dining halls are doing pretty well.

Later in the afternoon, I met with Brittney to discuss evaluation processes for state-classified employees, hourly employees and administrative professional employees.  As expected, evaluations for the various types of employees are conducted differently.  Good evaluations all result in financial compensation for improved skills and/or work ethic.  However, poor evaluations are treated differently depending on the classification - as it should be.

Wednesday:

I spent a portion of the morning going over my end of internship presentation.  Later, Lori and I headed out to visit the Mishawaka.  I used the rest of the day as before - preparing for the presentation!

Thursday:

The big day finally came.!  As mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I enjoy one-on-one conversations but public speaking is one of my weaker areas.  I have a tendency to speak quickly and this can result in me losing the attention of my audience.

I went in early (with help from Hannah) and met this beautiful cake prepared by the bakeshop - just for me!  It was really yummy!  I truly appreciate the team's efforts to surprise we with a farewell cake.  I will surely miss them all.

During my presentation, we ran into a few bugs with IT but at the end of the day I enjoyed talking as I had my audience's attention and I was able to control the speed of my speech.  I was pleased with the presentation of my speech.

The past two months have been an awesome experience both for my education and career, as well as personal development.  I am also grateful for the exposure to various cultures and social atmospheres (civil and working) that I was exposed to.

I've found the team very supportive and open to freedom of expression.  Even if they don't personally subscribe to an individual's lifestyle or belief, they show respect and allow persons to express themselves freely within the boundaries that have been set for all.  Finally, A lot of times we think people may not "doing their best" and its our moral duty to "save" them.  I'm not saying we should allow our friends to drink themselves to their death but allowing people to be themselves may not be such a bad idea.

It was amazing to see so many people working for the university with sleeves of tattoos and loc'd hair.  This is truly diversity in action.

Working with the CSU Residential Dining Service team was a wonderful and rewarding experience and I definitely plan to visit Fort Collins again.

WEEK 7 UC Berkeley

WEEK 7


The week of our special event finally came , but before we could get started on the actual preparations we had to finish our Food Pro project of inputing menus for the football team!








We met with the Cal Catering team Tuesday and Wednesday.
We helped them transfer contacts to their new system and helped them with new employee payroll.
Their main offices are located in UC Berkeley's Memorial Stadium.
We observed a lunch period and practice for the football team.

NACUFS Summer Internship - (The Final) Yale Edition!

Week 8

Day 35 (Monday)

I can’t believe we've already made it to the final week! This week is going to be all about finishing all of our ongoing projects. Monday was dedicated to recipe testing and attempting to complete our nutritionals project. We started the day by using information from products’ websites to find nutritional information and started compiling a list of products which we’ll need to look for in the units.

Stu's mise en place

Later in the morning we walked down to SOM where Stu and company were continuing to test new recipes. To start off the week, Veronica has asked Stu to work with some ingredients which will go on the upgraded salad bar. The salad bars in Yale’s dining hall contain a variety of lettuces and raw vegetables. However, they are most proud to offer different composed salads each day. Their new goal is to add some more exciting ingredients which will replace some of the raw vegetables. Stu will be asked to improve on the plain chickpeas, corn, olives, onion, and other pickled vegetables.

About 35lb of Frozen Turkey!
(in an ironic box?)

Stu is also going to start testing some sandwich recipes later in the week. I think there is a list of 20-25 for him to perfect in the coming weeks before the school year begins. Andrew and I were given the enviable task of retrieving about 35lbs of frozen turkey breast from the other side of campus and walking it back to SOM. We also helped Stu a bit when we got back by making the pickling liquid and doing a little bit of prep for the next day. Of course we were mindful enough to measure out ALL of our ingredients without having to go back and double check, just like we were supposed to...

Day 36

We had a field trip planned for part of Tuesday morning. Unfortunately it fell through, but what can you do? Instead, Andrew and I started off the day by walking to a couple of the residential units to try and find some of the missing products in their inventory. We were successful with a couple of items but our list of products with information missing in Eatec is still fairly long.

In the afternoon Veronica asked if Andrew and I would like to sit in on a meeting she was holding with Ron. One of Veronica’s many responsibilities is to send out a 4 week semester-long menu cycle to all of the dining halls. With the many discussions in recent weeks about the improved salad bar layouts, as well as those about breakfast and the deli bar, Veronica thought she should take the opportunity to sit down with Ron and clarify any questions she had before finalizing the next set of menus. Veronica is always well prepared (she if famous for “The List” which she has created for another aspect of her job) and her preparedness was evident in this meeting; she had a relatively long list of questions. What was modelled to me during this meeting was that it is important to not only be prepared with questions, but also with your own interpretation of the issues at hand and, possibly, as subsequent action plan for this information.

As this meeting was progressing, Alicia, Matt, and Pedro were stuffing hundreds of envelopes with a couple of important documents. I thought it was only fair to offer to help them out. So for the rest of the day we sat in the meeting room, talked a bit, and stuffed envelopes.

Day 37

After Tuesday, it felt like the rest of the week just disappeared. In the morning we finished stuffing the rest of the envelopes that weren't completed the night before. I had to joke that this seemed like stereotypical intern work and I had it easy not having to do this kind of “labour” until the very last week.

Once all of the envelopes were filled, Andrew and I headed down to our office in TD. Veronica found a few more nutritional labels in the office so we went to enter them. Andrew and I showed her our list of products without nutritional information in Eatec the night before and she agreed we likely won’t find many of these products in the units. It sounds like this project is nearly complete! Relatively, anyway.

After lunch there was another product cutting, this time in Commons. This was probably one of the more interesting events as the product was relatively new and Rafi provided the producer’s representatives with some pretty important information which they can use to reach out to a larger market. I have heard about the amount of respect Rafi has earned within the foodservice industry but it is amazing to see him at work!

Tapas!

The day ended in a special way. Alicia set up a send off party for Andrew and me! Though this was a particularly busy week for the central dining office, most of the managers and directors were able to attend. The restaurant served tapas-style plates during happy hour and, since Ron knows the restaurant’s chef, we were able to get some off-menu items. My favourite dish was probably the flatbread with goat cheese and arugula. The entire night was a much appreciated gesture! Thank you, everyone!

Veronica, Matt, Pedro, and Gerry
at our Sendoff Party

Day 38

On Thursday we visited two retail outlets which we hadn't previously visited, KBT (Kline Biology Tower) cafe and the cafe in the Yale Health Center. Manager Betty Jo gave us a tour and told us about each venue, how they usually operate during the school year, and what each one has to offer. The big take-away from this meeting was when Betty Jo told us managing is about respect – if you respect to your employees then your employees will show it back. If not, you’re going to be in a battle with them every 

KBT

day. I fully agree with what she said and witnessed it many times so far at Yale. Managers are very respectful and encourage their employees to step up. It is much more effective to utilize individuals' assets than to try and micro-manage every little situation.  

After meeting with Betty Jo, Andrew and I put the finishing touches on the rest of the projects we've been working on, including adding information to Eatec from the nutritional jackpot we found at KBT.

The Retirement Party

The day ended with a small retirement party for three of the dining hall managers as well as Ursula who, among many, many other things, corresponded with NACUFS and international agencies to allow me to live in the U.S. and intern at Yale this summer. Best wishes for your retirement, Ursula!

Day 39

It’s hard to believe but I have already made it to my last day! Andrew and I started our day by having a final meeting with Rafi. We each told him about our perception of the internship and what we are going to take home from the experience. There is always something to learn from Rafi. Today he told us how to successfully think our way through responses to interview questions. There was a lot to what he said, and I don’t want to misrepresent what he told us, but within his statement he told us to prioritize people, and then discuss tasks and infrastructure. Veronica added to this later in the day by advising me to always respond in interviews by explaining what I can offer the hiring party instead of focusing on what the job can offer me. This was all great advice and I will be putting it into practice soon as it is now time to start job hunting!

Critiquing the Sandwiches Stu Prepared

Veronica, Andrew, and I walked down to SOM one last time for some sandwich recipe testing with Stu following our meeting with Rafi. Stu had tested about five of the sandwich recipes and about 8 or 9 managers stopped by to test the final product. I think of a sandwich as a pretty simple dish compared to most dinner entrees, or any other dish Yale normally puts out, but there is a lot to consider. The managers offered a lot of constructive feedback following the session and Stu seemed confident he would be able to make the necessary changes.

Rafi added to the experience following the taste testing by doing an impromptu demonstration of the effective use of salt for enhancing flavour. One of the sandwiches had a cranberry sauce on it. However, there was too much sauce for the bread to handle and the sauce subsequently dominated the taste of the sandwich. Rafi showed us how to use salt to increase the intensity of the cranberry sauce so less could be used, enhancing the ability of the bread to hold up to the moisture, and to allow for the sauce to be used without overpowering the other flavours in the sandwich.

Before we knew it it was time to work the Uncommon Market for the last time. We had noticeably fewer staff from the central office helping out this week but it was probably the most smoothly run market that I experienced.

Goodbye TD

Afterward, Matt and Veronica took Andrew and I out for lunch at a great burger joint just off campus. We then went to clear out our office in the TD building and had a quick debriefing and evaluation with Veronica. I appreciated her honesty when providing me with constructive criticisms and I will look to focus on in the future. Andrew and I then shook hands with everyone in the office, took a few pictures (okay, it may have been more than a few), and that it was it. The internship had come to an end just as quickly as it had started.

Reflection

Okay, so I admit I started to write this section before week 8 even started. But I thought it would be a good opportunity to think about the experiences I've had at Yale and express what I've gained, should Rafi ask in our meeting on Friday.

View From My Room -
 Last Night in New Haven

What I've been thinking most about is what I am going to take home with me now that this experience has come to an end. The one thing I think that has stood out to me most, both in the central office and in the residential units, is that being a manager and being a boss are not the same thing. You can’t just tell people what to do – you need to utilize your team's assets and compensate for any gaps using your leadership skills. In addition, and Sergio put this best, I have learned that the worst way to manage is from behind your desk. You need to be visible and you need to put yourself in a position where you can witness successes and shortcomings so necessary changes can be made immediately. I think I have learned all of this both as a front level employee and as a supervisor but never really understood the extent of its significance until witnessing the actions of the managers and directors at Yale.

  

It has been a humbling experience to intern at one of the greatest academic institutions in the world. I remember doing my interview with NACUFS during the selection process and having to explain why Yale was my preferred destination for the summer. When I sat down to evaluate the different programs I remember reading Yale’s lengthy list of criteria on which interns were to be evaluated at the conclusion of their internship. This was one of the reasons I wanted to be here this summer. I remember telling my interviewer how much I expected a department that would evaluate me on so many different criteria to push me. And I knew I would push myself past these expectations. Now that I have completed my internship at Yale I can say that my assessment of Yale’s expectations was relatively accurate. However, I was pushed further, and in more directions, than I expected. I am very fortunate and grateful for the opportunity I have had this summer. I will never forget this experience.

Excellence in Hospitality 

Thank Yous

There are a number of thank yous I need to throw out there. First, a big thank you to NACUFS for setting up the internship positions across the country and for giving me the chance to gain firsthand experience in university foodservice.

Thank you to Yale Dining and the residential units for being amazing hosts. Thank you to all of the directors managers, and administrators who took the time to sit down with me, to explain their position, to give me some perspective on where they've come from and where they are going, and for providing me with advice to handle the fast-approaching real world!

A special thank you to Veronica for all of the time she invested in Andrew and me. Veronica, you are an excellent role model; you have an incredible work ethic, are a positive team member, and are very patient. You were always available to answer questions and even to just sit and chat. I greatly appreciate everything you did for me while I was at Yale. Thank you so much!

Thank you to Simon Day and Stephanie Cook for your guidance, instruction, and patience. I might not have even considered applying for this internship without your mentorship.

Thank you to all my friends back home who've kept in touch this summer. Thanks for reading my blog and, yes, even for your Facebook jeers, chirps and (sometimes) compliments! Haha! I miss you guys. See you soon!

Thank you to my amazing girlfriend, Lisa, for all of your support and encouragement this summer. Not everyone would suffer through an 18 hour bus trip with a smile on to come see me. I really appreciate that you did!

Thank you to my family for all of your love and support. I wouldn't be where I am today without you guys. I love you and I’ll see you soon.

Last, but definitely not least, the biggest thank you of all goes out to Tina Marie (my mom)!! You have encouraged me to push far past any level of complacency by opening doors for me and making sacrifices. Because of you I have been able to participate in many opportunities I would not have had otherwise. I cannot thank you enough for what you have done to allow me to keep improving. I hope I've made you proud. Thank you!

University of Wyoming: Weeks 6-8

The NACUFS summer has come to an end! As our final day drew near it was hard not to count down the days that I would get to see my friends and family!

Week 6: Catering
Working in the catering kitchen of Crane Hall at UW was an opportunity to get more hand on experience with preparation of food  and cooking procedures. Bright and early in the morning, we prepared the cash ops foods like sandwiches and wraps that would be delivered to the retail locations. Afterwards we sat in on a weekly event planning meeting during which menus were finalized, dates and times set, and product quantities confirmed. Also during Week 6, we took time to research and test new recipes for cash ops menu items such as sushi, breakfast sandwiches, and wraps. We also prepared food for a few events on the catering calendar.

Week 7: Bakery
The bakery was definitely one of the more fun operations to work in for a week's time. While we took it seriously, making cookies and writing with icing is actually a lot more fun than I thought. One of the most interesting projects we worked on for the bakery was a photo book for items sold in the dining hall. As baked goods were delivered to the dining hall, we took pictures and wrote down a detailed description of the item including what food allergies it may have as well as what type of utensil it is best served with. This project involved coordination with the marketing department who would work on the graphics of the booklet. We also tested recipes in the bakery and perfected out measuring skills using a balance scale.

First Go

Butterscotch

The most difficult word in cake!

Applied my own technique here. 

Final Week:

The final week could not have faster than it did! During the final week we discussed the purchasing process with Doug, the purchasing manager. Purchasing is a very in depth process in a university dining hall. Between monitoring the quality and price of goods purchased and maintaining accurate inventory, there is not much down time. After purchasing we met with the director, Eric Webb. We discussed the process of analyzing profit and loss statements. P+Ls provide the overall bottom line of the university's operation. Upon observing the P+L statements, one is able to set new goals, long term or short, to get back on track or continue success.

Currently:
I am sitting at my dining room table in Pennsylvania, reflecting on my recent adventures out west in Wyoming. After a few days and nights of traveling home, I am glad to be back! This feeling may only last so long however as I make plans to move to North Carolina. Here, I will be working at Western Carolina University as a Food Service Manager. Couldn't be more happy to say my experience this summer should only prove to be great practice for what my near future holds!

Forever West,

Chris Ware

NACUFS Summer Internship - Yale Edition!

Week 6

Day25 (Monday)

Our week started off with a meeting with Adam Millman, Director of Auxillary Operations. Adam oversees multiple retail outlets on the Yale Campus, as well as Yale Catering and the Hall of Graduate Studies (HGS). HGS is one of the only facilities we haven't seen yet but, during the school year, it is where graduate students can purchase an all-you-care-to-eat meal, similar to the residential dining halls.

Adam’s current focus is in the School of Management (SOM). SOM’s café opened the Monday previous to our meeting and there is also a restaurant in the building that is currently receiving its final operational touches. The cooks at SOM will be testing recipes in the next couple weeks.

Today was our first opportunity to really sit down and work on the nutrition information project. Essentially, Veronica gave us a list of all items in Yale's Eatec database which do not have associated nutritional information. Our job is to find the information either on the distributor’s website, the manufacturer’s website, or on the product's label in one of the residential units. Hopefully this list won’t take too long to get through.

Day 26

This morning we met with Lisa Kimmel, a Registered Dietitian who currently works with employee health in Yale’s Health Center (lovingly nicknamed “The Beetlejuice Building” by Veronica).  Lisa came to Yale as a Sports Nutritionist, which is really cool. Our meeting

The "Beetlejuice" Building

was a great opportunity to talk about student nutrition on the college campus.

Lisa showed us a number of projects she’s worked on in the past as well as some of the projects currently undertaken by Yale faculty. She showed us all of this on her really cool, ergonomic, adjustable work station. It’s essentially only a computer stand which can adjust in height so the user can stand or sit throughout the day but, as a former kinesiology major, I thought it was particularly interesting.

Lisa Kimmel and her awesome
standing work station!

In the afternoon we had our third meeting for the Uncommon Market. Our main issue is the time it takes to check out each guest which, in turn, causes a lot of congestion and frustration in the market area. We brainstormed some new strategies to help speed up check out times. Fingers crossed everything will go more smoothly this week!

Day 27

Wednesday was spent in the office. Andrew and I were given more recipes and asked to manually enter all ingredients by name and weight into the spreadsheet, similar to a project we were assigned earlier in the internship.

Day 28

This morning we checked out Silliman residential college. This college is home to one of my favourite dining halls. Above the tables are three massive, sparkling chandeliers which are beautiful. The purpose of the trip was to test out Veronica's proposed setup of their salad bar. Veronica had been working on some different layouts over the past week or so and today, along with Betty, she tried out some of her options. Who knew how much effort it takes to set up a salad bar!?

After our short introduction to Silliman, Andrew and I walked over to Commons for a meeting with James Filtz, Director of Catering Operations. James manages Yale Catering, a very busy catering department which is in charge of both on and off campus events. Busy isn’t an exaggeration, as catering operates 50 weeks of the year.

Commons Dining Hall, from outside James' office

One of the most interesting parts of our meeting was the discussion the road one takes to building a career. James came to Yale after working in Las Vegas. A common theme among conversations with managers at Yale has been the advice that I be open to opportunities. James told us he didn’t really think about Las Vegas as a place he would like to settle down with a family but it was a great career move that he made for a few years. He advised Andrew and I to remain open to exciting opportunities and take them while we’re still young; before we settle down and have more personal responsibilities.

Day 29 

Friday of Week 6 started off in a very exciting manner. Veronica took Andrew and me to one of the dining halls to watch a 2^nd cook’s test. Here is how the test works. The candidate meets with a panel,

2nd Cook's Test - Cream of Cauliflower Soup

which included Chef Ron, on the day prior to the test. The candidate is given copies of the two menus which they will be asked to prepare, given time to get organized and make a game plan, and then given two hours to complete prep work. They return to the kitchen at 7am the next morning and begin to prepare the menus. During the cook’s test, a proctor stands in the kitchen and makes notes on the candidate’s process. They watch for organization, cleanliness, sanitation, creativity, and cooking technique. The meals, which need to be prepared and plated by a designated time, are then served to the panel of judges who are blind to the entire cooking process. The panel then marks the candidate using a standard marking sheet. The candidate must score at least 80% to pass the test.

The individual being tested had a strong culinary background and competes in culinary competitions with other cooks on the Yale staff. His skill is undeniable. He was very composed throughout the test and his food (at least the soup we were able to try) was delicious. I'm very glad we had the opportunity to sit in on part of the test.

Uncommon Market meeting #3

The afternoon marked our third crack at the Uncommon Market. We were well staffed and came with our game faces on. Matt created a list for each of us which included every product for sale as well as its associated price. My role, when the line backed up, was to check customers’ bags and write up a total for them. The customer would then take the slip of paper with their total written on it to the cashier and the cashier could process their transaction much more quickly. Because of this strategy, we are unable to track the exact quantities being sold but we are better able to satisfy our customers. It was a pretty successful day as that day was greater than any previous Uncommon Market. A much deserved kudos should be sent out to the team for that one, as well as a thank you to both the Yale and New Haven communities for their support!

Day 30 (Monday)

Today, we took a field trip to Widdy’s restaurant. This is the main Yale Dining retail outlet at Yale’s golf course. Our day really started when one of the managers, Brian, took Andrew and I on a tour of the golf course in a golf cart. The golf course is beautiful. Brian told us it is not the kind of course where you learn to golf; it isn’t a very forgiving course. We

The 9th Tee

visited The 9^th Tee, a small snack shop in the middle of the course on our tour. Outside of The 9^th Tee was the 9^th tee, the starting point of a short par 3. Apparently, this is the prize hole in most tournaments. The make and model is different each time, but many tournaments offer a free car to the golfer who can record a hole-in-one on this hole!

Will's Bruschetta

Our main task for our day at the golf course was to help standardize the recipes on Widdy's menu. This will help with both costing as well as inventory. So Will and Zephenia, who were working in the kitchen, suited Andrew and I up in a chef’s coat, apron, and chef hat and worked with us for the afternoon. They plated some of the menu items for us, being careful to report the weight of each ingredient, as Andrew and I made notes and took pictures… oh, and taste tested for quality (that’s the story I’m going with anyway!).

I enjoyed speaking with both Will and Zephenia during the day. Will has attended culinary school and worked in the restaurant industry for many years. His philosophy is that it is important for individuals to work their way up from the bottom of the work hierarchy. In this way, you are better able to perfect your craft and carry unique skills with you. He stressed the importance of always working hard and being a positive team player. I have to agree with much of what Will told us.

Andrew and I working
hard in the kitchen at Widdy's

Day 31

This afternoon we had a potluck lunch with all of the staff in the central dining office. With so many foodies in one place, of course it was a competition. And, since Rafi is the boss, he won (his jasmine rice was actually fantastic, but don’t tell him I said that. I tried to stay impartial…).

Rafi's Pre-Potluck Food Evaluations

Everything was actually fantastic. There wasn’t enough room on my
plate to try a taste of every dish with only one trip to the buffet line. Aside from talking food, the potluck was a good opportunity to talk with some of the managers and directors from the dining office. I asked Mike about his experience with the hiring process from a manager's standpoint, looking for any advice regarding resumes and the entire application process. He agreed to take a look at my resume and give me some tips.

Later in the day we attended a meeting about the improved salad bars. The meeting was led by Veronica and it was an excellent presentation. All of the directors in attendance were very impressed. She broke down the projected quantities of individual salad components, as well as of composed salads, which each college goes through in one day. She used this data, as well as the dimensions of the serveries, to design the layout for each college and choose the appropriate size of serveware. I’m glad Veronica had the opportunity to show off all of her hard work and receive the kudos she deserves. I'm sure she'll be glad to finalize these designs.

Day 32

Thursday was a pretty relaxed day. We continued working on our nutritionals project. To help find some data we went to ESM as Marie said she had a resource for us which might help. We ended up talking with Marie about dietetics a bit. It’s always great to gain insight from Marie. She tells it as it is. She also has a lot of experience and, being an RD, she was able to give us some information to consider. From her past, she does not appear to a fan of the clinical aspect of food; she loves what she gets to do at Yale.

Suppliers came to the office later in the morning to talk about ordering the serveware for the salad bars. Veronica was able to show off her presentation again, in brief, and the suppliers were also very impressed. They say they usually have much less information to go on when they are asked to provide an estimate so they were happy with what Veronica was able to provide. I would never have imagined, going into this foodservice experience, how much effort goes into one seemingly small aspect of a foodservice operation – the salad bar. I think I say the same thing after every meeting about the salad bar...

Day 33

This morning Andrew and I met Veronica at 7:45 and we walked over to SOM where some of the cooks were testing recipes in the brand new kitchen. Andrew and I were asked to make notes about

New and Improved - Roasted Sweet Potato and Corn Salad

methods and cooking techniques as well as to record accurate weights so they could be entered into the standardized recipes.

The day started off slowly as the chefs organized themselves so Dave, one of the culinary managers, asked us to create a standard inventory checklist for the display cases in SOM’s new café. The goal is to make it easier to restock at the end of the night. Taking inventory is usually a pretty tedious task but I didn’t mind. The two guys working in the café, Nick and Kenny, were chatty, and pretty funny, so time went by really quickly. It was a good opportunity for me to talk about sports, something that doesn’t happen often in the office.

After we created the checklist we returned to the kitchen to work with Stu, Cyril (aka Frenchy), and Kenny (aka KB) as they tested and adjusted some salad recipes. The Roasted Sweet Potato and Corn Salad tastes even better than it looks!

"Table 5, Stayin' Alive"
(I was told to say this...)

At 12 Andrew and I walked back to Timothy Dwight residential college where a special catered lunch event was taking place. All of employees within SFAS – Student Financial and Administrative Services - were invited to attend. These just so happened to be all of the people we share an office building with. There is a geographic divide between the different departments so James Filtz and company from Yale Catering decided to have us randomly draw our designated seating arrangement out of a hat. I drew table 5. I was a little intimidated by the concept but it was a great opportunity to break out of my shell and meet some new people, learn about their jobs, and more about the northeastern United States.

SFAS Lunch Set-up in Timothy Dwight's Dining Hall

Following the lunch, Andrew and I spent most of the afternoon in the office trying to make some more headway on our nutritionals project. At the end of the day we went to debrief recipe testing with Veronica.

Day 34

We finished off the week at The Yale Farm, a physical extension of the Yale Sustainability Food Project. It is a one acre plot of land with a number of crops that are sold every Saturday at the Wooster Square farmer’s market in New Haven. The day to day operations of the farm are taken care of by 6 Yale undergraduate interns. The interns put Andrew and me to work as soon as we arrived at the farm. We started by harvesting different types of turnips and potatoes. It was a great opportunity to talk with Yale students and gain their perspective on Yale.

Harvesting Potatoes at the Yale Farm

One of the interns we spoke with is originally from New York City. I was telling her about how creative I thought the city was in its use of space; there isn’t much room to build so people get creative with what is available. She told me that there are many teaching gardens on rooftops in the city because there isn’t much room for growth at street level. I thought this was a fascinating way of teaching innovative agriculture in such an urban setting.

 Weekend

Andrew and I headed back to New York to spend our second last Saturday at Yankee's Stadium. The field is beautiful and I love the immediate surrounding area. There are diamonds outside of Yankee Stadium with some decent sized crowds. On one of the outfield fences there was a motto which read "Sometimes You Win. Sometimes You Lose. Sometimes It Rains." I love it! Baseball is about having fun playing, not the outcome. It's very appropriate for Little League and something that should never be overlooked in sport.

Yankee Stadium

I was kind of disappointed by the lack of energy in the building for the afternoon game. It was a close game throughout but the crowd noise level rarely exceeded that of normal conversation. The game was a great opportunity to see Derek Jeter live. It will probably be the last time I see him before his retirement so I really appreciate the timing of this trip. The Jays pulled out the W in the end so it was the best of both worlds for me.

Until next time...