I started off my morning with Ben discussing management, particularly within collegiate dining. He introduced me to a few the ManageFirst program that I'm sure will be pretty helpful in the long run.
After that I worked on a few projects for a while and then everyone headed for lunch. Ben had offered to take Ryan and I to Five Guys for lunch. In my head I was thinking, "what am I going to eat?". I've always heard students in Minnesota talk about five guys and I wanted to try it out - but I don't eat hamburgers so I figured it wouldn't leave much for me to purchase. Luckily, that had a veggie sandwhich, so I ordered that with some cajun fries. Ben joked that I got the Five Guy's Lite version.
After lunch we had a staff meeting to update everyone on their MS 150 roles and then we headed down to the field. My task for the evening was to monitor temperatures. Everything started off pretty smooth, fruits, salads, the hot pass and truck were all at the ideal temperatures. Ideally, cold foods would remain below 41 degrees and hot foods above 140 degrees (give and take a few degrees depending on your system) - however it was a pretty hot day and we were serving outdoors so we had to take extra precautions.
Jeb and Skyler both advised me that the truck may fluctuate in temperatures during its defrosting periods. Jeb also advised that it would be pretty difficult to maintain due to the constant opening and closing of the truck to move items out - but despite the circumstances the truck's temperature remained pretty stable throughout the day.
All of the hot food was fine too. However, the ranch dressing and hummus was giving us a hard time. The items weren't moving as fast as the others so they were out in the heat longer. We figured it would be best to switch them out or just use smaller bowls of ranch/hummus.
After I was done managing the temps I headed to my room for a quick nap. Later eventually I woke up a little hungry and I realized I actually had enough time to make it to the Ras-ka, the Ethiopian restaurant. It really felt like I've always known Hanna (the owner) and the food...or atmosphere was a home-cooked style. I had some really interesting conversations with other customers about hair (as one had dreadlocks and the other was starting his as well. She also had a "fortune" jar. My message was "may you never encounter betrayal" - and that sparked another conversation about life and relationships. Throughout the evening, Hanna offered us to try other items she made just for the sake of it. She was really a wonderful person to meet and talk to.
Sunday:
It was 2:00am when I left my dorm to head over to Durrell to begin preparing food for MS 150. It was a little weird because people were actually just getting back to the dorms from a night out, or on their way somewhere else - and here I was in my uniform, on my way to work. As I was walking down the street I heard something going through the fence and I thought it was a person - but it was a raccoon. I'm used to squirrels, but that raccoon was way too big for my liking so I crossed the street and began speed walking to Durrell.
I eventually made it without being noticed by the raccoon. I helped Vita and Jarrad with preparing turkey and veggie sausages for the breakfast that we would be serving that evening. Time passed and we began service again. It was interesting to see the change in the people early in the morning. Last night as we served dinner we got a lot of "great job's" and "thank you's" but today the varied responses was on an even greater spectrum. We received a whole lot of people who were amazed and truly grateful that we were out there at 3am preparing to serve their meals and then there where others who were obviously not morning persons and grouched their way through the lines.
After we were done serving, I headed to my dorm for a quick nap. Later in the afternoon I headed over to Fuzzy's with one of my dorm mates. I got a shrimp burrito, it was pretty good. I'm not sure how many different burrito places I'm going to visit while I'm here but I hope that was the last one.
Saturday:
My Saturday began with discussions with Ben on management and specifically within collegiate dining. Ben introduced me to the ManageFirst program that appears to be a great program that adds significant value. The program covers hospitality and restaurant management, ServSafe (food safety program), Human Resources management and supervision, and foodservice costs among other courses. Unlike college/university degrees which can teach one topic in various way, this program is standardized and created by the National Association of Restaurants.
Next, I worked on my special event projects until it was time to head for lunch. Ben had offered to take Ryan and I to Five Guys for lunch. I have heard about Five Guys from other students in Minnesota and I always wanted to try this restaurant. I do not eat hamburgers so I figured my choices would be limited. Luckily, they offered a veggie sandwich which I ordered with some Cajun fries. Ben joked that I got the Five Guy's Lite version.
After lunch we had a staff meeting to update everyone on their MS 150 roles and then we headed down to the field. My task for the evening was to monitor temperatures. Everything started off pretty smooth, fruits, salads, the hot pass and the delivery truck were all at the ideal temperatures. Ideally, cold foods would remain below 41 degrees and hot foods above 140 degrees (give and take a few degrees depending on your system). However, it was a pretty hot day and we were serving outdoors so we had to take extra precautions.
Jeb and Skyler both advised me that the delivery truck may have fluctuation in temperature during the defrosting periods. Jeb also advised that it would be pretty difficult to maintain the temperature due to the constant opening and closing of the truck door to move items out. Fortunately, the truck's temperature remained pretty stable throughout the day.
All of the hot foods faired pretty well. We were however, concerned about the ranch dressing and hummus as these items were not moving as fast as the others so they were out in the heat longer. We decided it would be best to switch them out or just use smaller bowls of ranch dressing and hummus.
Finally, after I was done, I headed to my room for a quick nap. Later, when I woke up, I was a bit hungry and decided to visit the Ras-ka, an Ethiopian restaurant. It felt as though I have always known Hanna (the owner of the restaurant). The restaurant's vibe was as if you were eating in your Mummy (mother) or Grandmother's kitchen. It was such a warm and inviting environment. I had some interesting conversations with other customers about hair (as one had dreadlocks and the other was starting his as well). Hanna also had a "fortune" jar. My message was "may you never encounter betrayal", and this sparked another conversation about life and relationships. Throughout the evening, Hanna offered us to try other items she made just for the fun of it. She was really a wonderful person and I am happy to have met and talk with her.
Sunday:
I left my dorm at 2:00am and headed over to Durrell to begin preparing food for MS 150. It was a little weird because people were just returning to the dorms from a night out on the town or on their way to some other event. Me, here I was, in my uniform and on my way to work. As I was walking down the street I heard movement near the fence. I thought it was someone, but it turned out to be a raccoon. I am used to squirrels, but that raccoon was so big that I decided to cross the street and began speed walking to Durrell.
I eventually made it without being approached by the raccoon. I helped Vita and Jarrad prepare turkey and veggie sausages for the breakfast that we would be served for breakfast. Time passed and we began service again. It was interesting to see the different personalities of the people we served early in the morning. Last night as we served dinner we received good feedback such as, "great job" and "thank you" Today, however, the varied responses was on an even greater spectrum. We received a whole lot of people who were amazed and truly grateful that we were out there at 3am preparing to serve their meals and then there where others who were obviously not morning people and grouched their way through the lines.
After we were done serving, I headed to my dorm for a quick nap. Later in the afternoon I headed over to Fuzzy's with one of my dorm mates. I got a shrimp burrito and it was pretty good. I have had so many burritos while here in Fort Collins, I think I'm just about done.
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