University of Nevada - Reno | Week 8

THE FINAL WEEK!

This week I worked with Chuck, Shawn, and Jacob to help them train new employees and do a soft opening of The Works. It has been really great working with the new employees because they are all very enthusiastic, outgoing, and willing to learn.

Monday I worked with Chris and learned about how he works as the District Manager of this account. We went over how the budget looks and and explained to me how higher ups in Compass Group and Chartwells interpret the numbers that are given to them each month. I learned that it is very easy for corporate to get a a picture of how each business is going just from a spreadsheet. We also talked about contracts, how they are developed, how they are amended, and how they are managed.

Tuesday I worked with Russ to go over how they he works with Chartwells to align the Universities strategic plan with theirs. It is more effective for Chartwells and Compass Group to make decisions that fit with the Universities strategic plan so that everyone agrees upon the same thing. It is interesting to see how Housing works with a Contract Foodservice in comparison to how a Self-Op Foodservice operates. There are many similarities and differences which I was glad to have seen throughout my time here.

Wednesday The Works did a soft opening of Waffler which was really exciting (and delicious)! All the team members did a great job on their first service. They served 24 customers from the Student Services building, in which the Works is located. It was a bit chaotic at first, but customers loved the "Sweet Punks"  and "Sandwich Wafflerz."

Banana Split "Sweet Punk"

S'Mores Waffler

Sean making a Waffle Sandwich

Gabby Making a "Cheesy BrieLT"

Thursday Forklift has a soft opening and there were around 30 customers that were served burritos, rice bowls, and taco salads. Everything went a bit more smoothly as team members started finding their niche within the group. I wish I could stick around a bit longer to eat a couple more waffle sandwiches and burritos! I think the concept is very unique on campus and that students and employees of the university will really enjoy the food.

Customers checking out Forklift

The team eager to make burritos 

My favorite, "Chip Punks!" Get it?! 

That wraps up my time here at the University of Nevada -Reno! I am so grateful for all the experiences, knowledge, and people I have gotten to meet. I did this internship in the first place to see if Foodservice Management would be a good place for me to start after graduation. I have come to understand a lot of business management concepts I had never worked with before. Overall I can see my self continuing to pursue a career in Foodservice Management in a higher education setting. My summer internship with NACUFS was a great experience and I would recommend it to anyone that is looking to further their knowledge of foodservice management.

University of Nevada - Reno | Weeks 6 & 7

For the past two weeks I have been working in the Retail units. I got to work at Bytes, which is a coffee shop in the Knowledge Center (their library). I learned a lot from Lorena and Jacob who are managers there. Everything from basic operations, like opening and closing, to more in depth things like what they do to manage their food cost. Lorena and Jacob know a lot about how to successfully manage a retail unit because when they took over Bytes it wasn't doing very well. They worked really hard to turn the business around and make it a profitable retail unit. I really enjoy working there making coffee and espresso drinks, talking with customers, and seeing the regulars come in everyday. 

Next week a new retail unit called The Works is going to be opening on campus. Chuck, the Retail Director, and Shawn, the chef, have been working really hard on planning training and getting everything ready for months. I am really grateful to see the amount of detail that goes into opening a new unit. I have been helping with the new employee training and observing everything that Chuck and Shawn have been doing to make their awesome concepts a reality. I think I mentioned before, but The Works will have two station concepts; Waffler and Forklift. Waffler is exactly as it sounds, waffles, but with a twist. They will be serving sweet waffles with tons of toppings and also savory waffle sandwiches. Forklift is a Chipotle style burrito bar. The Works is 'Steampunk' themed and has awesome decoration and employee uniforms (expect more pictures next week!). Check out what steampunk is all about here! The whole idea of The Works is to have people be entertained while they get their food, sort of a Disney Land concept. All of the new hires are very out going and are really into the whole concept, which makes it even better. I am very excited to see how the soft opening goes next week (and to eat some waffles!). 

I cannot believe I have only one week left in Reno. I have really come to love the city and all the awesome things there are to do in Nevada and California! I spent the last weekend in Lake Tahoe with my sister hiking, kayaking, and hanging out at Kings Beach. Lake Tahoe is so beautiful, I have never seen clearer water in my life. This weekend I went horseback riding which was also fun, besides the fact that my horse was super slow. I wish I had more time to do some more exploring, but I guess that just means I'll have to come back and visit again! 

Mt Rose Hike

Delicious Breakfast at the Log Cabin in Kings Beach 

Crystal clear waters at Lake Tahoe 

Me and my horse who clearly didn't wanna be photographed

University of Nevada - Reno | Week 5

Since my mom came to visit me, I worked a very short, 3 day week this week. I spent the week in the Campus Dining office with Nick who showed me the ins and outs of accounting. Since I really don't know much about this it was a lot to take in and he was very patient with me. Monday I worked with Annette and learned how to use the My Finance program to check invoices, and enter in ones that haven't been entered. I learned what she does every day to manage all of the money from all the units on campus. A lot goes into tracking all of the transactions that happen at all of the units and making sure that cashiers deposits match up. 

Because it was the end of the month, on Tuesday Nick showed me all of the things that he has to do in order to "close the month." There are a lot of reports to be run and sent to cooperate. He explained a lot about how they keep their budget and how he manages all of the numbers that he has to work with everyday. Though I don't 100% understand everything that he was doing, I think I got a good lesson in accounting and retained the basics. 

I also learned a couple things about HR like how Nick manages staff time clock punches, pay checks, hires, and terminations. Over all the management programs available from Compass Group are pretty comprehensive and useful for managing finance and staffing. 

This weekend my mom and I went to San Francisco. We spent the fourth of july checking out Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf, and Sausalito. Today we are doing a day long city tour and tomorrow we will be checking out Muir Woods on our way back to Reno. I really like the city but it is so cold compared to Reno. 

Beer Tasting- Our favorite was Hell or High Watermelon!

Twins

Cloudy skys at Fisherman's Wharf

What's the Fourth of July without ice cream!?

University of Nevada - Reno | Week 4

Week four flew by, I swear it was just the end of week three! I spent another week at the Downunder Cafe. Monday I worked production helping making breakfast sandwiches, pizza, and grill items. I also helped the baker make jello, and accidentally created a new flavor, orange-lime! Woops! Note that orange and green make a delightful brown color, yum! Monday was a busy day with groups at the DC. Every summer groups come to UNR to have conferences and camps, which I am sure is similar to practically every other college university. This week there were two bigger groups eating at the DC amongst others. Nevada Boy's State, and Orientation which kept the staff occupied for the majority of the lunch hour. It was great to experience how they operate during a busier time, which would be similar to the numbers they'd have during the school year.

The rest of the week I spent helping Barbara with billing and other little things in the office. I actually like doing that kind of thing because its methodical once you get the hang of it. I also spent a lot of time working on my project and am happy with how much I am getting done. 

Thursday I went to the Reno Rodeo with some ladies from dining. It was so fun! I was blown away by how cool all the events were at the Rodeo. Being a rodeo newbie it was fun to see everything and learn what they were doing. I have a lot of respect for the riders that participate in the rodeo. 

Reno Rodeo!

Barbara and I rocking our cowboy hats

I am really starting to like it in Nevada, there are so many fun outdoorsy things to do on weekends like hiking. I met up with my friend Rosie (same name!) who lives in Sacramento and went to UW-Madison with me. We hiked the Mt. Rose Summit and then went to Lake Tahoe for lunch and an afternoon at the beach. Lake Tahoe is gorgeous and I cannot wait to go back! 

Mt. Rose Summit Hike

My first official time in CA

The Rosie's 

University of Nevada - Reno | Week 3

I cannot believe it is already the end of my third week at UNR! Starting to get the feel for the city and all there is to do which is making everything even more fun!! I spent this week at the Downunder Cafe working with Barbra and learning everything there is to know about how to run a residential dining unit. Monday morning we attended a meeting with all of the Res Life staff to confirm numbers for groups that were coming to campus for conferences and such. It takes a lot of coordination between departments, groups, and other staff to make sure that rooms are set up, there is enough space, and that counts are correct for meals. Barbra took me through the budgeting process which is very complicated. Once I got my head wrapped around everything that she was saying it started making sense. Because I am interested in foodservice management but have only taken a couple business classes I am eager to learn more about the inner workings of a business. I learned how to analyze profit and loss (P&L if you know the lingo), how to derive labor hours, and how to determine line items in a budget.

So punny! 

The DC

Tuesday worked on projections, which are based on many things including how many people will be eating a meal, meal rates, labor cost, and data from previous meals. Projections help to give a goal for what you are going to make that week and help to give an amount for billing purposes. In the afternoon there was a product tasting for Hormel which was delicious to say the least! Companies like Hormel will come in and pitch their product to the managers who decide if the product would fit in with what is currently being served and if the price is reasonable. I also got to learn about Webtrition, an online data base through Compass Group that is used to analyze recipes for nutritional data, portion sizes, and more. Recipes are added all the time to the data base from chefs within Compass Group. I learned that it is particularly useful for analyzing recipes for allergens which is becoming more and more important these days.

Wednesday I worked on final billing for groups. I learned how to create a bill and the process of final billing that is coordinated with the Res Life department. I spent most of the day working on my project reviewing menu cycles and coming up with creative and healthy recipes students could create themselves using the selection in the Downunder Cafe. I am having a lot of fun with the project and am really excited to come up with more ideas.

The Quad 

Thursday I helped make contracts for groups that would be coming to stay and eat at the university. It involved knowing how many people would be eating, for how many days, and what rate they would be charged for their meals. In the afternoon I went over to catering to help with an event. I am always impressed by how great everything looks when it comes together. The UNR campus is really beautiful and perfect for outdoor catering events, even though it can get a little bit hot and windy. Thursday after work we all went to a Reno Aces baseball game. We had a box reserved and on top of that we had it catered with delicious food. It was a great time, besides the foul ball that hit Kyle, the catering director, in the chin and sent her to the ER.

The selection for the catering event 

Another awesome flower arrangement

Friday was pretty laid back and I worked with Barbra on some office work and then spent the rest of the afternoon working on my project. Friday night I went to the Reno Rodeo with some people that I met here and had a ton of fun dancing the night away. Next week I am going to the Rodeo again with a couple people from work, I definitely need a pair of cowboy boots as a souvenir! I am having lots of fun and am looking forward to the weeks to come!

The spread at the Aces Game! 

Awesome sunset over the ballpark

University of Nevada - Reno | Week 2

I started last week off in UNR's main retail unit, The Overlook, and spent the majority of this week in the same unit. The overall concept in their retail units is familiar to me in that at UW- Madison all of our dining units within DCS are "retail." Here, retail means you pick out what you want to eat and pay for that amount of food as opposed to a dining hall where you would use "swipes," or the like. UNR has several retail units;

• The Overlook --> a marketplace concept including Chinese and sushi, sandwiches, taco salads/potato bar, tossed salads, a grill, and a coffee and smoothie station
• Elements --> Espresso beverages, salads, wraps, ciabatta sandwiches
• Bytes --> Coffee shop with grab-and-go items
• D-C Store --> convenience store with to-go sandwiches and pizza
• Pathways --> Espresso beverages and grab-and-go items
• Las Trojes Express --> Mexican food

Students, professors, staff members, and community members can access these units during their hours of operation and make purchases with cash, credit, foodbucks, their wolf-cards. Several of these units are owned by sub-contractors that run the individual unit including the popular Las Trojes which is operated by the owners of a local Mexican restaurant in downtown Reno. Likewise within The Overlook, Mandalay Bay is a subcontractor serving Chinese food as well as delicious sushi. All together these units bring in plenty of business for UNR's retail sector of it's dining program.

Grill Nation 

Mandalay Bay 

Outtakes - Grab-and-Go 

Starbucks/Freshens 

Well Bread 

The Overlook and Lake Manzanita

Opening in the fall of 2014 is a new retail location called The Works. I am particularly excited to see this unit open up because of its awesome design and it's two unique station concepts. First off The Works is a Steam-Punk Café. If you aren't familiar with what steam-punk is check out some of these pictures to get a better idea. The design of the unit is very intricate and creates an awesome atmosphere, they have even got ahold of some really cool uniforms for employees to wear. The two station concepts are Waffler and Forklift. Waffler will serve classic waffles to savory waffle sandwiches and everything in between. Forklift is a Chipotle style burrito bar. On Monday I got to go over to The Works with Chuck, the retail director, and Shawn the head chef at The Overlook, and create a smallwares order. A smallwares order includes things like knives, thermometers, pans, and much more. After coming up with a comprehensive list, I put together a document with everything on it including quantities and sizes.

Tuesday I began the day with the Silver and Blue Catering team. Along with special events, they hosted a brunch for about 65 people after the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Pennington Student Achievement Center. Guests were first at the construction site, which is essentially a hole in the ground, and were served coffee drinks, juice, and other light refreshments. They then walked up the main quad to the Honor Court, which is a lovely garden-y area. Beautiful tables were set up with amazing flower center pieces. The catering team set up a bar which included mimosas, coffee, juice, and soda as well as a brunch buffet. Everything looked delicious! I was glad I was able to tag along on such a creative event. Later that day I did an online allergen and celiac disease training, which was all review since we spend a fair amount of time on that material in the Dietetics curriculum. I also got to do some training on the Accounts Receivable and Inventory programs which was great because I am interested in learning the day to day management tasks that accompany running a foodservice.

The setup in the Honor Court 

The walk to the buffet line

Individual French Toast Sticks 

Flower Center Piece 

Red White and Blue Fruit Salad 

Wednesday I spent most of the day cashiering and working the Starbucks/Freshens station. In the afternoon I worked on making a comprehensive list of the YouFirst initiatives. The YouFirst program is a Chartwell's customer service initiative that involves several smaller programs to make customers and associates feel appreciated. The handout will be used as a reference guide for newly hired associates and managers when training for The Works.

Thursday I was assigned my special projects for the internship which I am very eager to get working on. My first smaller project is to sit down with the bakery chefs and devise a game plan to make the bakery and their products more allergen friendly. UNR has already gone to great lengths to make a lot of their menu items as allergen friendly as possible so the next step is to bring the concepts to the bakery. My bigger project, and the one that I am most excited about, is called Design Your Dine. Because the main dining hall is mostly self-serve, student have the opportunity to create dishes out of everything that is available to them, not just the standard menu items. It is my duty to come up with recipes for those students who lack the initiate or creativity to come up with these awesome ideas on their own. By using menu items, I will create healthy alternative dishes that students can make on their own. I am so excited about this because its the way I normally eat anyways and I love making recipes, trying new combinations, and creating things with food!

On Thursday I also created a ServSafe at a Glance packet to be used for training at The Works. New hires will be given serve safe booklets, but the guide serves as a quick reference for them and talking points for the managers and chefs that will be training them mid-July.

Friday was pretty laid back and I spent most of the day cashiering and talking with Chuck about brand compliance, promotions, marketing, and pricing. It's been a long week but I have learned a lot from my time with Retail. I am really looking forward to getting back with the team towards the end of July when they begin testing and training at The Works.

University of Nevada - Reno | Week 1

My name is Rosie Meyer and I am very excited to be interning this summer at UNR! I am originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin but have spent the last four years completing my Bachelors of Science Degree in Dietetics at the University of Wisconsin- Madison (GO BADGERS!). Throughout my time at UW- Madison I worked for Dining and Culinary Services in various units and have spent the last two years as a Student Supervisor. Through my work and my courses I discovered that I have an interest in school foodservice programs and knew that the NACUFS internship would be a great way for me to explore my interest and gain more management experience.

I arrived in Reno last Saturday (May 31st) with my mom, we flew from Milwaukee to Las Vegas, then Vegas to Reno. Surprisingly there are slot machines in the Las Vegas airport, that was interesting to see. When we arrived in Reno we were greeted by Russ Meyer, associate director for Housing Operations and Dining Services. I got a sign and everything! Ironically we are both R. Meyer, but that is besides the point.

We took a quick tour of places around Reno that I may be interested in, dropped my things off at my dorm, Argenta Hall, and then headed over to my mom's hotel downtown, Circus Circus. After napping and relaxing for a bit, my mom and I decided to check out the casino which was in the bottom part of the hotel. I have never been to a casino before and I did not know what I was getting myself into. The place went on and on, with restaurants, games, shows, you name it, I probably saw it! We ended up finding a sushi restaurant which we thought was a good idea, but it was also a combination mexican restaurant. Long story short, I don't feel the need to go back to a casino for a long time! The next day we spent exploring down town, looking at shops, and going to a farmers market. 

Monday was my first day of the internship. I spent the day touring the various facilities, meeting everyone, and learning about their company. Unlike UW- Madison, whose Dining and Culinary Services are self- run operation, UNR runs its food service through a contracted company called Compass Group. Compass Group includes many other well known contract companies like Bon Appetit, Wolfgang Puck Catering and many more. It serves a wide range of markets from education, to vending, to healthcare, and everything in between. A division of Compass Group, called Chartwells, runs UNR's foodservice program. Because where I had worked in the past was a self-op, I have been learning a lot about how differently a foodservice operates when it is under a contract company. On the outside, the dining halls look very similar, but the inner workings are very different. 

Tuesday through Thursday I spent working with the catering department, called Silver and Blue Catering. I got to know the operation by talking with Kyle, the director of catering, and Lori, the catering coordinator. We talked a lot about how they make a contract for an event, and what sort of detail they put into their events. I was surprised to find how much attention they pay to each of their clients, which I believe lends to their success on Campus. An ongoing contract that they have is with the National Judicial College located on campus where Judges from around the Nation, and globe, come to take classes on specific things. Each day they cater their meals for the judges that are in class that week. I got to work with Michael and Rod, who run the set up and service for the judges each day. Because I have worked in catering before I picked up a lot of things very quickly, but I did learn a lot about what Michael calls, "visual clues." Visual clues help you to remember what you have done and what you haven't done and give you an opportunity to succeed in busy or hectic times. I learned through my years of work in foodservice that it is easier to always train as if you are really busy so when the time comes you know what to do. Michael was very adamant about this concept. He also let me drive, and dock the delivery truck, TWICE! It was a miracle that nothing bad happened, so now I can officially say I can drive a delivery truck! 

I also got to work in the catering kitchen with Doug, the head chef, SonCha, and Sandra. We worked to prepare a dinner for the Board of Regents and then a tea party for Special Events. It was great to be in the kitchen since I love cooking! I learned about how Doug runs his kitchen and the steps he takes to prepare for an event, timing wise. I also got to take a look at inventory, and spent quite a while searching around the dry storage room for various items. 

Though I have worked in foodservice, I have never had the opportunity to see the billing process. Lori, the catering coordinator, showed me the ins and outs of what she does in the office. I learned how to make a contract, how to bill the proper people, how to make invoices, and many other things. Lori is very good with numbers, which I am not, so I had to concentrate pretty hard to keep up with her. But all in all I think I got a good foundation as to the inner workings of the finances behind catering. 

Friday I got to get my feet wet in the retail world. I worked briefly with Chuck to do an overview of what he does and took a quick tour of the Overlook Cafe, one of UNR's retail units. I worked with other employees learning their cash register system, which is way different than the one that I was used to making me extremely slow on the register. I also learned how they make their espresso drinks and their smoothies. I will be working more with Retail over the next couple weeks where I will  learn more about their operations. 

Overall it was a great week getting to know everyone and working with Silver and Blue Catering!