NACUFS Internship - Summer 2014: University of Georgia

What were we up to this week?

Monday
Our big banquet is scheduled for July 28th, so this week was spent finalizing many details and decoration ideas. We reported to Summit mid-morning and worked on a few things.

Nikki working on the cardboard cobblestone, and I'm finalizing the table number design.

Tuesday

This morning we reported to Tamala, the manager of Campus Eateries. A few minutes after arriving, we rode in the van as they dropped employees off to a few of the locations. When we got back, we learned about some of the daily job duties, including counting all the safes (there's 9, and each with different combinations!), the different inventory sheets, looking up transfers in FoodPro and documenting expired product. Right now, Tamala is working on a special coffee project. UGA is currently switching to a bagged coffee system for one of their locations, and undergoing a few product tastings. We lucked up and got the opportunity to attend one of the tastings. I don't drink coffee but it smelled good!

Coffee tasting.

Wednesday

Today we accompanied Kris on mock health inspection in Tate Cafe. UGA has a great system in place that involves frequent internal health inspections. Earlier in the summer we assisted a manager as he inspected another dining hall, and Kris also leads health inspections. This is a great way to stay on top of things. We are still studying for ServSafe Certification, so it was also helpful to apply that knowledge in a real life scenario.

Thursday

We went on an exciting field trip to Kennesaw State University, which is about an hour and half away from Athens. KSU has two NACUFS interns as well, so it was so much fun touring their facilities and seeing what they have been doing all summer. What was the most interesting thing about KSU is their giant sustainability efforts. Their entire foodservice operation is designed around this concept. Also, their contract relationship was truly unique. 40% of their product is locally and self-sourced, and the other 60% is through Sodexo. It was very insightful to learn about how they have created a mutually beneficial business relationship, while maintaining their own initiatives. We got to eat some yummy lunch in their dining facility and received a cool 'From Plow to Chow' t-shirt!

Their only dining facility, The Commons!

Their farm. It was such a beautiful day.

Baby goats! They will be used for goats milk.

This very cool thing-a-majig. (Ha! I can't remember the name!) But they grow leafy greens in the dining facility! Straight from the FOH to the BOH!

Friday

Friday was dedicated to project work and we started the morning off pretty early. First order of business was picking up the decorations we found from O'House and Snelling. After loading everything into my car, we drove over to Summit to unload everything. At Summit, we worked on painting the cobblestone floor and cooked with Chef Sam! (Or rather stared while he showcased his culinary skills and taught us a few things). He is an excellent cook, so it was such a great experience. One I will never forget! The food was absolutely delicious!

Cobblestone floor coming along nicely!

Chef Sam cooking away. Prepping crab cakes, marinating shrimp and the mushroom topping for the Filet Mignon.

Maryland Crab Cake topped with julienne red peppers & mango and a creamy dill sauce. Paired with a shrimp stuffed mushroom.

Filet Mignon, sautéed asparagus and mashed potato/sweet potato combo.

Fresh strawberries and a cognac creme topping.

Weekend

Friday afternoon we hit the highway to Atlanta to meet Marcus for the Braves game later that night. We ran into traffic (Boooo), but got there in enough time to change clothes and meet Marcus at the Underground Station. We took the Marta to the game, which was a great idea because traffic was a bit insane. Although it was raining a bit, the game was so much fun! The crowd's energy, the fireworks, Jason Heyward hitting a home run, and the overall winning game made for a fantastic night. Saturday we drove around and did tons of sight seeing. I've been to Atlanta a few times, but it's much different when you're with someone from the area. The weekend was a blast. Not to mention I couldn't have been with two greater people!