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