Week 4 at UGA!

Welcome back for week 4 here at UGA!

Monday:

Today we focused on learning the retail side of food service. We went our day working in Red Clay Café. Red Clay Café is made up of multiple areas which different food options, there a coffee shop, sandwich shop, and a salad bar. Customers can order food from any of the three stations and check out at one station. The orders are sent electronically to the appropriate area, and then prepared. The customer is simple just instructed where to pick up their order, depending on their purchase.

I spent a lot of time working with Andrew in the Sweet Java Browns where they sell Jittery Joe’s Coffee, a local company’s coffee.  Andrew taught me how to use the computer software, check customers out, and of course make lots of differently types of coffee!  This area of service is definitely a different pace during the summer, we had a few small rushes that kept us on our toes, but I cannot even imagine how busy they are during the actual school year!

Tuesday:

Today we met with three different individuals to discus and ask questions regarding their jobs! We started the morning at Central Food Storage meeting with both Brooks Oliver and Stuart Hammond.

Brooks is the Materials Manager and is responsible for creating contracts and finding products for the best prices. UGA runs on a bidding system and Brooks is responsible for determining the quality, specs, and products needed. Once Brooks submits his wants people will bid and the best price wins. (It’s actually way more complicated than that, and his job sure keeps him busy!) Brooks also gave us a quick tour, and it’s absolutely amazing how many products and varieties they keep in storage.  

We then talked with Stuart. He is in charge of FoodPro, which is responsible for EVERYTHING behind the scenes. FoodPro is responsible for inventory, purchasing, orders, recipes, nutrient facts, allergy information, etc. (Like I said, FoodPro does it all!) The amount of information Stuart is responsible for is insane, and we just got out a general description of what his job entails.

When then had lunch with Jeanne Fry, Executive Director of Food Services, at summit and spent some more time getting to know her position. After lunch we sat down with her in her office and discussed some of the things she believes are essential to being a good manager. Her words of wisdom were not only awesome but inspiring.

Wednesday:

Today was our longest day of the week, we spent the day with Marcus. Marcus was the closing manager that day for Summit. We spent the day helping where we were needed, researching recipes, and also witnessed our first health inspection! Later on in the night Marcus showed up how he deals with student scheduling, discipline actions, and the closing task, such as checking out stations.

Thursday:

Today was our first encounter with orientation. We jumped into the middle of the orientation week and learned about day two (this coming week we are working day 1!). The orientation team on day two sets up a continental breakfast for the parents, and we were there to see what the set up looks like. After the breakfast was finished we were swooped off by Susan. Susan is in charge of the retail side of food service. She explained more the catering to us, showed us other eateries around campus, and answered all the questions we threw her way. Susan has a lot of task she’s responsible for, and luckily the energy needed to handle it all!

Friday:

We wrapped up the week with a few more meetings Friday. We met with the dietitian, Sr. Public Relations Coordinator, Assistant Director of Business Services for Food Services, and the Human Resources Manager for Food Services. All of these positions keep the operations running smoothly through many different tasks. Their responsibilities are countless, and learning all about the different positions was intriguing!

Weekend:

This weekend Demi and I decided to go hiking out at the Botanical State Garden! Our planned mile hike turned into about a three mile hike, because we obviously didn’t know the trails! But the hike was beautiful and relaxing. If you like being outdoors definitely check this area out!

Tips for Future Interns

-Carry an umbrella, I got stuck in the rain this week and could have definitely used it ;)

-If you decided to go hiking, make sure you at least take a picture of the map!