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

University of Wyoming weeks3-4

Hey everybody! Weeks 3 and 4 at The University of Wyoming have been all about front of the house operations and retail food service.


We spent week 3 with Tom, who is the front of the
 house manager. We went over how he schedules
 students to work and payroll. Front of the house
operations are very different from cooking and prep
 in back of house operations. I found that I enjoy
cooking a little more than front of the house but
have a whole new respect for the lovely people
 in the dish room.



Near the end of work in the front of the house training one of the supervisors, Francisco, took us on a 30 mile bike ride up Snowy Range road. Our goal was to reach some lakes that he assured us were 9 miles away..

Half way point of our 30 mile bike ride

Thankfully any good bike ride is followed by a Mexican food feast. We stopped at Corona Village and had huge plates of carne asada and massive burritos

Carne Asada Burrito 

Wyoming Mexican food.. Pretty Great!

The Rolling Mill Cafe

The Panda Express kitchen

We spent time at all of the retail food establishments on campus including a coffee shop, convenience store and cafe.









I also spent time working at The Pita Pit and Chris worked in Panda Express. Making a Pita seems easy but when you have people watching it gets a little intimidating.

Nellie's Deli at Rendezvous

The Rendezvous is a new concept on the campus and has a sandwich shop, hot salad bar, tex mex cuisine and a coffee shop. Kara, one of the mangers of the retail space told me that the space is nearly profitable after only being open one semester. Any restaurant manager will tell you that is an amazing accomplishment.

The Beer Gardens

 One of the best days we spent in Retail was testing new turkey burger recipes for The Gardens. It is the only place in the state of Wyoming with a beer only licence and it is conveniently located in the student union.

  Cheyenne!

I went on a midweek adventure in Cheyenne to find a T-Mobile. It was a beautiful hour long drive, but I came but I came to find that there are no T-Mobile stores in the state of Wyoming. Regardless, I really liked the town, in fact it reminded me of a few cities near Phoenix. Minus the 100 degree weather of course.

Our Internship coordinator Mark playing at the Wednesday jam night

Our Internship coordinator Mark plays bass in a local band called Moose Bone every Wednesday night. As a part of the Laramie experience we checked it out and Chris even got up there and sung a song.

One thing I still haven't gotten used to are the amazing Wyoming skies.

Red Rocks!

 Fourth of July we went to Denver to see Micheal Franti and The Spearheads with Brett Dennen and SOJA at the Red rocks amphitheater. The concert was great but the Red Rocks amphitheater is probably one of the most amazing venues I have ever been to.

Weeks 3 and 4 went by so quickly it is hard to think that we are more than half way done with the internship. I have met some amazing people so far and learned more about food service than I ever have. I am looking forward to what Catering and the bakery have in store for us!

Wyoming Weeks 4 & 5

Beautiful Day on campus

These last two weeks have flown by. We've been busy as we transitioned from the operations in the back of the house to the front of the house as well as retail. In front of the house operations we were responsible for all aspects of what the consumer/student experiences while they dine, as well as dish room operations. Just like the back of the house, the front of the house revolves mostly around forecasting and planning for each meal. Priorities that the front of the house manages are predicted customer counts for a given meal and updating the displayed menu. Both of these tasks involves a great deal of communication with the senior cooks and chefs. Before the menu can be displayed, the front of the house must know what stations food will be served at and also what changes have been/need to be made to the current menu. With updated information on the menu, the manager can appropriately staff each station and assign other supporting roles such as beverage and soup attendants. With that said menu planning is often timed accordingly with the beginning of a new shift. Call outs, over-staffing, and under-staffing have a great effect on how the operation will run for that mealtime and also what tasks each employee will be responsible for.

Finalizing Menus

One of the most important (and overlooked) departments of a dining operation is the dish room. The dish room staff also relies on the customer count to prepare for the cleaning and sanitation of dishes that begin to accumulate during meal time. Not only do employees clean customer dishes but also prep equipment. They efficiency at which this gets done is important to the overall flow of dining as the next meal of the day may be only a few short hours away.
Front of the house operations operations has been my primary motivation for embarking on a career in college and university dining. While no more/less important than the rest of the operation, FOH manager's primary goal is customer satisfaction. A customer may be unhappy with a particular menu selection (which could ruin their whole day entirely anyway). However a quick and smooth card-swipe entrance, the ease at which they read what's on the menu, the cleanliness of the dining hall, and a fully stocked milk or beverage dispenser are just a few positive experiences that turn one bad meal into a decent experience. In summary, some things are out of your control as a manager, but it is important to focus on what can be controlled and aim for the highest level of customer satisfaction that can be achieved.


Week 5
Beginning Week 5, we moved to the student Union building, which is home to many of the retail operations at University of Wyoming. Here we had a chance to work at a few locations such as Panda Express, Pita Pit, Rolling Mill Cafe, Rendezvous, and CJ's Convenience Store.

Rolling Mill Cafe

Proudly Serving Starbucks Coffee

Mastering the Wok

Aside from physical work at each location we were able to look at the financial records each operation. Again, FORECASTING and COMMUNICATION were key. (Seeing a trend here?). Profit and loss statements, budget statements, and expense reports offer the raw data needed to analyze the efficiency and overall success of each operation. With these documents, managers in the retail department are able to reflect on previous profits and losses and discuss what changes need to be made if any, and what direction they will go next. These decisions are not made easily. We took a look at which retail outlets purchase and utilize the most and the challenges organizations face staying organized through it all. We were able to observe deliveries for cash-ops products and lend a hand in checking temperatures of received products such as sushi, that get prepared and delivered from across campus. At the end of the week we were able to do some more recipe testing with turkey burgers. At the end of the day we tested and approved three different recipes for turkey burgers, some including avocado, bacon, hot sauce, and cranberries.

The Allman Brothers - One Way Out

 Cello Workout

In our spare time we've joined a gym and have been proactive about staying in great shape. Even if you're on your feet all day, there's always time to exercise and become stronger. One of our supervisors, Francisco invited us to play tennis once and also took us on bike ride last Sunday. We rode 30 miles and I recorded a top speed of 51mph. Francisco and I also jammed with his band, who play strictly Spanish folk music. Good thing I brought my guitar! Aside from the gym and adventures with Francisco, I ventured over to the barber shop to get my ears lowered by Larry at the Haircut Company. If you're ever in Laramie, 4th and Grand is your go to. He is also a stylist too ladies! Over the weeks, we have made friends with a few locals and explored the night life in Laramie. I took trying new things one step further at nearby establishment last Wednesday by singing, "One Way Out" by The Allman Brothers with a local band. Thanks to Mark Zieres for the warm introduction. With confidence from my blues performance I dabbled with a Cello. I'll take the average of the two.

Mid bike ride and Francisco strumming a firm C-chord

For the fourth of July, we traveled two hours south to Denver where we met an old friend from college, Nick. We spent the day grilling at Denver City Park. We had to hold out for a few rain storms but if you ever been to Denver you know the weather report: Wait twenty minutes and check again. There was sunshine in no time. The Sunday following July 4th, we had our first Red Rocks concert experience with Trevor Hall, Brett Dennen, SOJA, and Michael Franti. That place is spectacular. At one point in Michael Franti's performance, he climbed through the crowd, up the stands, reaching out to everyone he could touch. Lucky enough he climbed straight for us and I was able to shake his hand 25 rows up. I'll never forget that experience.

Our Grove at Denver City Park

Michael Franti

With only a few more weeks here in Wyoming I can only hope it continues the way it has been going. I've met more than a fair number of people, all of which have been more than friendly and helpful in making an out-of-towner feel welcome.

Go Pokes

Chris

Wyoming Cowboys Weeks 1-2

 After a week long journey through the Grand Canyon, Utah, and the Rocky Mountains I finally made it to the cowboy state, Wyoming. My name is Josh Reyes and in the fall I will be a senior at Arizona State University working towards a degree in Food Industry Management. The education I have received so far has prepared me for the business side of agribusiness and the food industry and while I have worked with hunger advocacy groups on food policy and hunger outreach I have never had the opportunity to get food service management experience. I will also get to share this experience with my fellow intern Chris Ware, who graduated from Westchester University with a degree in nutrition. Needless to say I am looking forward to the amazing opportunities that are here in Laramie! I am happy to write about my experiences here in Wyoming but I find that a story is best told through pictures so ill stick pretty close to that.

The Northern desert near the four corners of AZ, UT, CO, NM

I started my journey from Phoenix, Arizona and drove over a thousand miles around the southwest and Rockies.

Downtown Denver

I made many stops along the way to Wyoming including camping in Ouray and Telluride, Colorado. The last stop I made before Wyoming was in Denver, Co. i really enjoyed Denver and could even see myself moving there one day.

Before i met my internship coordinator, Mark Zieres and Chris I wandered around the University of Wyoming campus for a while. I was a little surprised to see how big the campus was. Coming from a school with 60,000 students I didn't think the school would be so large.

On the very first day of work Mark took us around the campus to look at all of the different retail locations and dining options on campus. I was pleased to hear the school has a bakery that makes everything sold from scratch.


The Book and Bean is a retail location in the library that serves pastries and coffee as well as sandwiches and sushi.

Ames Monument

Vedauwoo 

At the end of our first day in Laramie Mark took us out to see some of the local scenery. The Ames monument was amazing to see in person. It was built in the 1800's as a tribute to the funders of the Union Pacific railroad that built the town around Ames and Laramie for that matter. After that we went to hike at Vedauwoo park.

 In our first week we also planted a garden with Amy Bey, RD. She showed us how to turn the soil and set up a watering system.

In our second week we got to do some prep work in the kitchen and even get our hands dirty making tacos and a vegan paella dish.

One of my favorite parts of the week was getting to test teriyaki recipes with the staff at the dining hall. Chris and I had to make six different batches to get the recipe just right but when we did it won the blind taste test.

THE BOOT BARN!! I will have to get some cowboy gear before I leave.

Wyoming Week 3

This week has been our busiest week yet! We jumped right into some hands on experience prepping food in the kitchen and looking over a Teriyaki sauce recipe to modify. We replaced the existing Teriyaki recipe at Washakie Dining Hall with a new one made from scratch (if you've ever taken a recipe yielding enough for a small family and tried to make it feed thousands, you know this is complicated). After about four tries at getting the flavor right we got pretty close. At the end of two full days of testing we took all of the different variations of Teriyaki we had and hosted an employee survey of them. The recipes were set at random and surveys were handed out. We took this data and crunched the numbers to determine which was the favorite. While I could go on with more details I'll let the pictures finish the blog this week.

Weighing some turkey for the Sandwich Station

 Peppers ready to be diced

Shout out to my vegans eating tofu!

I cried a little.

Slicing some ham on the slicer.

Cutting the cheese.

Morning manicotti prep for dinner.

Pizza.

Ingredients ready for battle.

Hard at work.

This makes me laugh every time. (Chris) Ware Wash

Color by (inventory) number!

Go Pokes!

Sensory Evaluation

Taste testers

A few of our samples

After this week we will transition into 'front of the house' operations. This weekend we plan to take a short ride out of town to Vedauwoo to spend a night or two camping. Thanks for following!

Chris