University of North Dakota

Week #4

It is so crazy to think that I have passed the halfway mark of this amazing journey in North Dakota! This week we officially launched the project I first started on, the ServSafe study course for all of the employees! We held a few short little workshops to teach the staff how to use blackboard so they can get the course finished before the test in July.

 

I was even able to spend a couple days working with the night crew in the bakery! I may not have gotten much sleep those couple of days but it was so much fun seeing all the activity that occurs there when I am normally sleeping. I have never considered myself much of a baker, but I love learning about the art. It takes a lot more practice than one might think to begin with. Below the master baker, Tracy is teaching me the ropes on how to make donuts.

The next step they taught me how to bake, fill, and frost all of the donuts. It was cool to be able to see them go from start to finish.

 

After that I helped to shape dough and put it through the sheeter to make French bread. I also helped to make cookies, muffins, and about any other amazing tasting baked goods you could think of! 

 

I ended the week with a bang by going to the art fest. They transformed the town square and surrounding park into a maze of vendors and really amazing art work!

 

 

Week 2 -- UGA

Time is flying by down here at UGA, and I cannot believe we completed our first full week already! The week went so fast, and I am constantly learning. For future interns I want to give you a quick run-down on my week, so you can have some sort of idea what you will spend your time doing. However, I want to focus on Friday with more detail, because I felt a great sense of accomplishment with developing my strengths. Sit tight, I’ll tell you all about it!

1^st weekend:

Saturday and Sunday Demi and I spent some time downtown exploring Athens. Demi and I plan on spending our weekends exploring the area, kayaking, hiking, and taking a trip to Atlanta! Downtown Athens has a lot to offer, great shopping, restaurants, live music, and culture. Because the dining halls are not open for Sunday dinner we have decided that Sunday nights we will try different restaurants! We were giving a list of must try’s, and we want to try as many as possible! We actually tried two this weekend, Sunday morning Kris took us to The Grit for brunch. The Grit is a vegetarian restaurant and I had an awesome breakfast sandwich to start the day! Demi and I choose to try Cali N’ Tino’s for Sunday dinner, the restaurant is all open seating outside and serves great (and affordable) Mexican food! Both the meals were awesome and places anyone traveling to Athens should take the time to try!

Monday:

We started our day by meeting with Bryan, Associate Director of Meal Plan Operations. Bryan is responsible for product orders for all the dining halls, menu creation, product selection, maintaining quality. We spent the first part of the morning asking questions about his job to get a better understanding of his position, and the importance of his job. Bryan then took us on a tour of the Niche and New Bolton, the dining hall to be opened Fall of 2014! The building is huge, and gorgeous! New Bolton, offers two levels of sitting and different selections of foods. The place is definitely going to rockin this year.

After our tours we headed back to Summit to end our afternoon by learning the ins and outs of the service line. Demi and I were each placed and a different stations to serve lunch. I spent time working at the grill. I learned the process of prepping for dinner, keeping the stations clean, monitoring food temperatures, and customer interaction.

Tuesday:

The focus of today was production. We spent our morning working within the hot food and bake shop. Today was very hands on, and I earned a new respect for being in the kitchen all day. It sure does get hot back there! I kept asking the cooks if they got used to it, most of them said they didn’t mind the heat, must be because I’m from Michigan!

In the afternoon we sat in on an inventory procedures meeting with Bryan and Susan. Susan is the other Associate Director but she focuses on the eateries. Bryan and Susan are creating new standards for inventory procedures to ensure everyone on campus is doing things the same.

Wednesday:

One thing you learn very quickly is to go with the flow, and this was one of those day! We were supposed to start our morning but learning operations in the dish room, but instead we just spent time helping the morning kitchen crew prepare for breakfast!

Around 9:00 a.m. we sat down with Adam, Brian, and Chef Sam to discuss the Freshmen Closing Banquet. The closing banquet is one of Demi’s project for the summer, actually our main and biggest project. We are in charge of planning the menu, selecting the recipes, choosing a theme, and planning the decorations. Today we gave them a list of theme ideas, discussed them and narrowed it down to two. Stay tuned in for our choice!

Thursday:

Today Demi and I were split up at different dining halls, with a different focus on management. I spent the day learning about general management duties and payroll.

Friday:

Today was my favorite day of the work week, and no, not because it was Friday! Today we spent the morning portion of our day in a mangers workshop. Before I came down to Georgia I was required to complete a strengths assignment, which then told me my top 5 strengths; woo, includer, positivity, adaptability, and self-assurance. I know what you are thinking, workshops, borinnnnng.

But, seriously, the presentation was awesome, and extremely interactive! I learned more about my strengths then I had ever considered before. We talked with other managers about how our strengths can allow us to work in a positive and negative manner. I took my strengths to the next level, and reflected on ways to improve myself regarding my strengths.

As a young professional developing is the key to my success. Being able to see the potential in your-self is self-rewarding and exciting. The entire workshop was focused on taking the individual strengths of the department and bringing them together to make improvements. I reflected on ways I have previously used my strengths, and situations which may arise that will allow me use my strengths. Today was not focused on Food Service as much, but I believe the workshop will help me use my time even better here at UGA!

Tips for Future Interns:

- If possible avoid online summer classes while you are here! I'm currently taking two, and while it is doable, I'd rather spend those hours exploring! On a positive note they are almost done with! 

- Check out legion pool! 3 dollars with your student ID :)

- Take lots of pictures -- a tip Demi and I are trying to improve on! 

Montana State University- End of 3rd Week and Weekend

Some highlights from the last few days:

We had a meeting with a broker that was a UND alumni!  It was really cool to talk to him, he had some really good advice for when we start looking for jobs and as we start our careers!  He is also a huge Sioux hockey fan, he was just as devastated as I was when the Sioux lost to the Gophers in the playoffs!

We also had a Kronos representative come to the dining center to do a sampling.  The food was really good!  We are considering switching to their products so after the presentation we talked about prices and the bill-back that we could get from this company if we choose to switch. 

We toured the cook-chill operation where the Bozeman schools get their food.  This was an AMZING facility!  They are just finishing a remodel and we got to see all of the new equipment.  The cook-chill machine is so fascinating.  They have a large pot where they cook the food, it has a rotating paddle that stirs the food.  Once it is cooked, it gets sucked through a tube that takes it to the packaging machine.  It gets pumped into a plastic bag, gets vacuum packed and sent on a conveyor belt into a tub of cold water where it is rapidly cooled.  They then store their food in a cooler that is about 30 degrees.  The machine wasn't in use when we were there but it would be cool to see it in action!

After the tour, we had a representative from Franz Bakery come to the dining center to do a sampling.  They brought many different breads and pastries!  It was really good! 

On Friday evening one of my best friends, Amy, was in Bozeman to visit.  Amy, her boyfriend and I went for a hike and then us three and Carla and Sam went to Norris Hot Springs.  It rained the whole time but it was still really fun!  On Saturday I went road biking with MSU's executive chef!  It was fun, we went about 20 miles.  Saturday evening Carla, Sam and I went to the movie, "The Fault in Our Stars."  Such a good movie!

And on Saturday we hiked the "M" again!  It took us less time than the first time we did it.  It was a beautiful day.  We have a really busy week ahead of us, a lot of products to sample and some big decisions to make!

 

Purdue Week 2

Hi everyone!

Our second week here at Purdue was as wonderful as our first week! Elisabeth attended many safety meetings where she learned what she would be doing for the rest of the summer. She also worked on her projects that consisted of creating presentations to teach staff about blood borne pathogens, chemical labeling, lock out tag out, hazard assessments in the dining halls and the Global Harmonized System of Classification. Kelly and Maggie got a headstart on their Nutrition Education projects such as the Jeopardy game shown below. On Wednesday, Elisabeth attended a Marine Stewardship Council meeting while Maggie and Kelly attended a presentation where a young woman spoke about her recovery from an eating disorder. As usual, on Thursday we all participated in the Farmer's Market by selling BBQ sandwiches and slushies. On Friday, Elisabeth attended some more safety meeting where she learned about various health risks in the kitchen. Kelly and Maggie worked in the kitchen with the catering team to help prepare food for their events. On Saturday, they continued with the catering team however, this time they assisted in serving a wedding in one of Purdue's ballrooms.

One of the Nutrition Education projects Kelly and Maggie completed.

The smoker we use during the Farmer's Market.

The delicious brisket in the smoker.

The ice sculpture the bride and groom requested.

The ballroom.

Weekend: Day 15 & 16

Saturday

My phone has been dying a slow death over the past few months, last night it just completely gave up.  I tried to go to Walmart to replace it but that didn’t happen.  I went to T-Mobile today instead.  I also forgot to mention that I had dinner at Toy’s Thai Café last night (Friday).  It was really good, but it was too much food so I finished the rest of it this morning for breakfast.

Normally, I would use my phone’s GPS to help me with directions but that wasn’t an option as my phone had died.  I had to resort to writing the directions down from google.  Riding there to T-Mobile was no problem.  I got my phone and was actually headed to another store when the rain came pouring down.  I didn’t think the rain was a big deal but I saw all the other bikers go for cover so I figured it may be smart idea to try and stay dry.  I followed suit and then decided to look around the plaza for a raincoat.

I didn’t find the raincoat but I found a Mexican grocery store and restaurant (Taqueria on College and Prospect)!  In the grocery store I found sweetened condensed milk and coconut water.  A few of the items I need to make one of my favorite drinks from home.  I then went into the restaurant and ordered a bean burrito.  I’m pretty sure it was one of the best burritos I have ever had.  The tortilla was actually fresh!  The rain had eased up after I was done with my meal so I hopped back on my bike to return to CSU.

Somehow I ended up on a dead-end road.  I figured that there was no need to write directions back because it would just be the same route but just going in the other direction.  I guess not.  I found a “seasoned” local riding his bike and I asked him for directions.  He told me to follow a road but the direction he pointed me in was just a park and I really couldn’t see any road from there.  I was doubtful of his directions but I followed anyway.  Once again, I came to a dead-end.  As soon as I was ready to turn around I noticed there were a lot of bikers on the side-walk.  I got on the side walk and followed the bikers.  Eventually I realized that I ended up on Spring Creek Trail!

I decided to take some photos but they were nowhere to be found on the phone. Apparently I was still struggling with learning how to take pictures with my new phone.  Anyway, it started to rain again and I was sure I was now lost again for the third time.  I stopped at bench and attempted to take a few more pictures.  As I was standing there a guy in ROTC wear passed by and once again I asked for directions back to CSU.  Ironically, he was a recent graduate and was headed in the same direction.  I followed him and he showed me where I needed to turn off

I finally made it back on campus safely!  I actually don't regret being lost, as I enjoyed riding on the trail and exploring new areas!

Later in the evening I played volleyball at the gym and then headed into town to see Slow Caves Punk Rock Band at Hodi’s Half Note.  It was my first time at an event like this and I really enjoyed myself!  I’m planning to make this a regular trip.

                       

Sunday


Happy Father's Day!

I went up to Horsetooth today with a few of the USDA interns. It was amazing and I was in awe at how wonderful the Earth is.  Hopefully this is one part of the Earth that we can save from destruction.

Later that evening we hung out at City Park.  This new phone actually takes decent pictures.  I included a few - enjoy and have a great week!

University of Kansas - Week 2

June 16th

This week really seems to have flown by! On Monday Tonya and I met with Sergio and Travis to iron out our rough starting menu for our special event dinner to be held at Mrs. E's. We're slowly working towards getting all of the recipes figured out and will soon be starting in the test kitchen to make sure they all work well, especially taking into account how much of the food has to be made at once. It's estimated that about 400 people will attend the dinner; I think the most I've ever had to worry about doing a meal for is 5! 

I was able to meet with Janna Traver the executive chef for KU Dining who is also my mentor for my personal project. She brought me up to see the fabulous rooftop garden in the Union. Most of what is grown is various herbs (basil, parsley, chives etc) and tomatoes. These kinds of plants have shown to be the most resilient, useful in production and easy to process and store.

My main role with this project is to help spread awareness about the garden and how it is used in throughout KUDS as well as educate people about the growing cycle and what it really takes to get food from the ground onto the plate. Growing up in the rural countryside of Vermont and having two parents who always kept gardens has given me first hand knowledge of this process. Most people in the country get all of their food directly from grocery stores and may not have ever had the chance to even see any kind of food be grown from seed. There has been a massive movement of the public wanting to get more involved in the farm to table process and for them to see where their food really comes from. The concept of urban gardening is spreading, so hopefully this will help with community awareness and even contribute to the local food concept as well. In doing a little research, I found a couple websites that have some great information about urban gardening such as www.urbanfarming.org, www.urbanorganicgardener.com and even a local site for the Cultivate Kansas City movement. 

Janna and I came up with a couple good ideas already, so hopefully we can create a successful promotion by the end of my time here.

At the Underground, I met with John Whittington, the general manager. I was interested to see how they handled having multiple franchise operations together in one location; it's actually much easier than I had originally thought. Pizza Hut, Chick-Fil-A, Cafe Spice and Sushi with Gusto all have their own rules and regulations, but most of them already fall under those mandated by KUDS anyway, so there isn't too much juggling for all the supervisors and managers to deal with.

Salad bar - always an option

The Crimson Cafe that we visited last week is also home to the Training Table during dinner hours. Athletes are given this time to eat with each other and refuel after their days of training. The preparation crew and menu is different and is designed to keep the athletes full and offer foods that will help keep them in top performance. Although it is summer, there were still members from the football team training over the break that we were able to meet. We talked to them about their typical training routines and it's no wonder they were getting two to three times the amount of 

food I'd ever be able to eat in one sitting, or maybe 

even an entire day! 

Some information about fruits posted in the cafe

Cindy Faircloth, the manager of the Crimson Cafe, talked to us about the challenges of running two different dining concepts especially out of a fairly small kitchen. She also made a point to recognize how hard the athletes work and how dedicated they are to their sports; with all the funding athletics receives at KU, it really is the least the university can do to thank the athletes for giving it their all. 

Nelson, the head chef of the Training Table, showed us around the football stadium and also took us to meet Aaron Carbuhn the sports nutritionist. This was especially exciting for me because I've toyed with the idea of going this route when I become a registered dietitian. Coming from a college that doesn't have much of a sports culture and seeing what the athletes at KU had available to them really blew my mind.
Aaron showed us all the different guides he designed over a three year period that contained nutrition and meal planning information for specific sports. His role is to make sure the athletes are meeting their health goals nutritionally and to help them get to a place where they can handle planning balanced meals for themselves on their own.

Sample of Training Table Menu posted in athletic gym

Aaron also showed us the new DEXA machine; it can scan an athletes body and accurately determine the bone, fat and muscle composition.This can be used to track progress and identify areas in need of improvement. I'm glad to say that meeting with Aaron has only peaked my interest of the sports nutrition field more than before. 

The famous Allen Fieldhouse basketball court

On Wednesday I met with Chris Johnston, head of the satellite dining operations, at six in the morning- luckily it was just a quick coast down daisy hill on my bike to get there. We started the day by prepping some of the food from the Tempo line (recently converted from Grab n' Go) that we would be delivering. I took over the parfaits, Chris handled the fruit salad and Jeff, driver and prep cook extraordinaire, whipped up some chicken Caesar salads. We packed this all up and hit the road.

Handmade crimson and blue parfaits by yours truly

At the Mortar and Pestle

We delivered to the Market, the Pulse at the Union and the Underground. We then took a tour of many of the other locations. The Mortar and Pestle, one of the newest additions to the KU Dining locations, is sadly mostly shut down due to unforeseen limited traffic in West Campus as of now. I was still able to snap a picture of the open side and it's tasty treats.

Chris also told me about how dining services will soon be changing the 'Hawk Stops' (small convenience-type food operations around campus) to 'Jay Breaks'. The new name is supposed to differentiate it from Hawk Shops (not operated by KUDS) and to be more fitting of what they stand for.

Location in Anschutz Library also to be converted

Satellite operations are a whole different game in dining services. The food is mainly prepared in one central area and is then delivered, as we did that morning, to all the different locations. Many people don't realize that these operations are actually run by the same group that does all the other food service on campus.

The Market was the last retail location for me to do my shadowing. Keith Lake, the manager, showed me all the ins and outs of ordering and receiving. We played a rousing game of taking inventory of the 'big storeroom' (it's big), the 'small storeroom' (it's small) and of course the walk-in fridge and freezer. Keith explained that to know what to order, you must be fairly comfortable with and aware of the pace at which products are used. Since food is so time-sensitive, the order forms must be accurate in order to avoid unwanted spoiling of product. I put the orders into the CBord FMS (food management system) and only messed up once- super proud of myself. 

Later that same day, Tonya and I met up with Karen Cross,  the dining access administrator. She explained to us how the computer system works that reads all of the dining cards and also how the dining plans at KU work. There's actually a lot of information that can be gathered through this system about patterns of eating that can be used to increase efficiency and usefulness of the dining meal plans.

My first experience with the catering side of dining services was with Kim Nixon at the on-campus restaurant Impromptu. There is an interesting story behind the name of the restaurant that actually means 'done without previous preparation'. Dining services sensed the want and need for an on-campus restaurant and executive chef Janna Traver took on the task of designing a full menu and within six weeks the whole team had the restaurant up and ready to go. Kim had worked at the location before when it had

housed two other separate, non-affiliated restaurants. She playfully described Impromptu as the "chefs playground"; it's small enough to be able to play with recipes and use ingredients that would otherwise go to waste in the larger part of the catering department. Another thing about Impromptu is that it can be very difficult to estimate the number of customers on a given day in the summer. It happened to be fairly slow when I was shadowing Kim, which gave us plenty of time to talk about all the interesting facets of the restaurant. I was also lucky enough to be able to eat at the cafe as well!

Special of the day- Porkloin sandwiches with peach pepper chutney
Soup du jour- Beef tenderling and vegetable

After my delicious lunch, I met up with Tonya at North College Cafe to discuss the role of camps and conferences with Jim. KU hosts many different groups year round. It is beneficial to both parties; it can be convenient and comparatively inexpensive for the groups to stay, eat and use the facilities at the university, while often acting as recruitment advertisement to many of the younger people attending the events.


The last bit of work we did for the week consisted of re-visiting Oliver's dungeon and rifling through tons of boxes in search of decorations for our Athens/Mediterranean themed special event dinner. We found a whole cartload of stuff and stashed it away until further notice.

Midwest Adventures
I thought I'd create a section for me to showcase what we do outside of our work-related responsibilities. At first I thought I'd call it 'Kansan Adventures', but then I realized it's possible we might go beyond the borders!

On Friday we traveled to Clinton Lake hoping to multitask and get a little bit of work done before the weekend officially started, however we completely forgot about the lack of wifi needed to do our work! Unfortunately we just had to enjoy the view without sticking our heads into our laptops.

Mass street also called our name that night. We got dinner at Fuzzy's Taco Shop and proceeded to check out a little bit of the night life.

Wicked awesome interior of Fuzzy's

A tub of guac!

Found these two cuties chillin' at a record store.

Farmers Market on Saturday!

Interesting lawn art found at a yard sale

We found Waldo!

Found a weird nut/seed thing

Stomped on it and it turned into fluff!

Little slice of home

We also went to the aquatic center!

We turned into a couple of par-boiled lobsters after our days in the sun, but it was definitely worth it!