NACUFS Summer Internship - (The Final) Yale Edition!

Week 8

Day 35 (Monday)

I can’t believe we've already made it to the final week! This week is going to be all about finishing all of our ongoing projects. Monday was dedicated to recipe testing and attempting to complete our nutritionals project. We started the day by using information from products’ websites to find nutritional information and started compiling a list of products which we’ll need to look for in the units.

Stu's mise en place

Later in the morning we walked down to SOM where Stu and company were continuing to test new recipes. To start off the week, Veronica has asked Stu to work with some ingredients which will go on the upgraded salad bar. The salad bars in Yale’s dining hall contain a variety of lettuces and raw vegetables. However, they are most proud to offer different composed salads each day. Their new goal is to add some more exciting ingredients which will replace some of the raw vegetables. Stu will be asked to improve on the plain chickpeas, corn, olives, onion, and other pickled vegetables.

About 35lb of Frozen Turkey!
(in an ironic box?)

Stu is also going to start testing some sandwich recipes later in the week. I think there is a list of 20-25 for him to perfect in the coming weeks before the school year begins. Andrew and I were given the enviable task of retrieving about 35lbs of frozen turkey breast from the other side of campus and walking it back to SOM. We also helped Stu a bit when we got back by making the pickling liquid and doing a little bit of prep for the next day. Of course we were mindful enough to measure out ALL of our ingredients without having to go back and double check, just like we were supposed to...

Day 36

We had a field trip planned for part of Tuesday morning. Unfortunately it fell through, but what can you do? Instead, Andrew and I started off the day by walking to a couple of the residential units to try and find some of the missing products in their inventory. We were successful with a couple of items but our list of products with information missing in Eatec is still fairly long.

In the afternoon Veronica asked if Andrew and I would like to sit in on a meeting she was holding with Ron. One of Veronica’s many responsibilities is to send out a 4 week semester-long menu cycle to all of the dining halls. With the many discussions in recent weeks about the improved salad bar layouts, as well as those about breakfast and the deli bar, Veronica thought she should take the opportunity to sit down with Ron and clarify any questions she had before finalizing the next set of menus. Veronica is always well prepared (she if famous for “The List” which she has created for another aspect of her job) and her preparedness was evident in this meeting; she had a relatively long list of questions. What was modelled to me during this meeting was that it is important to not only be prepared with questions, but also with your own interpretation of the issues at hand and, possibly, as subsequent action plan for this information.

As this meeting was progressing, Alicia, Matt, and Pedro were stuffing hundreds of envelopes with a couple of important documents. I thought it was only fair to offer to help them out. So for the rest of the day we sat in the meeting room, talked a bit, and stuffed envelopes.

Day 37

After Tuesday, it felt like the rest of the week just disappeared. In the morning we finished stuffing the rest of the envelopes that weren't completed the night before. I had to joke that this seemed like stereotypical intern work and I had it easy not having to do this kind of “labour” until the very last week.

Once all of the envelopes were filled, Andrew and I headed down to our office in TD. Veronica found a few more nutritional labels in the office so we went to enter them. Andrew and I showed her our list of products without nutritional information in Eatec the night before and she agreed we likely won’t find many of these products in the units. It sounds like this project is nearly complete! Relatively, anyway.

After lunch there was another product cutting, this time in Commons. This was probably one of the more interesting events as the product was relatively new and Rafi provided the producer’s representatives with some pretty important information which they can use to reach out to a larger market. I have heard about the amount of respect Rafi has earned within the foodservice industry but it is amazing to see him at work!

Tapas!

The day ended in a special way. Alicia set up a send off party for Andrew and me! Though this was a particularly busy week for the central dining office, most of the managers and directors were able to attend. The restaurant served tapas-style plates during happy hour and, since Ron knows the restaurant’s chef, we were able to get some off-menu items. My favourite dish was probably the flatbread with goat cheese and arugula. The entire night was a much appreciated gesture! Thank you, everyone!

Veronica, Matt, Pedro, and Gerry
at our Sendoff Party

Day 38

On Thursday we visited two retail outlets which we hadn't previously visited, KBT (Kline Biology Tower) cafe and the cafe in the Yale Health Center. Manager Betty Jo gave us a tour and told us about each venue, how they usually operate during the school year, and what each one has to offer. The big take-away from this meeting was when Betty Jo told us managing is about respect – if you respect to your employees then your employees will show it back. If not, you’re going to be in a battle with them every 

KBT

day. I fully agree with what she said and witnessed it many times so far at Yale. Managers are very respectful and encourage their employees to step up. It is much more effective to utilize individuals' assets than to try and micro-manage every little situation.  

After meeting with Betty Jo, Andrew and I put the finishing touches on the rest of the projects we've been working on, including adding information to Eatec from the nutritional jackpot we found at KBT.

The Retirement Party

The day ended with a small retirement party for three of the dining hall managers as well as Ursula who, among many, many other things, corresponded with NACUFS and international agencies to allow me to live in the U.S. and intern at Yale this summer. Best wishes for your retirement, Ursula!

Day 39

It’s hard to believe but I have already made it to my last day! Andrew and I started our day by having a final meeting with Rafi. We each told him about our perception of the internship and what we are going to take home from the experience. There is always something to learn from Rafi. Today he told us how to successfully think our way through responses to interview questions. There was a lot to what he said, and I don’t want to misrepresent what he told us, but within his statement he told us to prioritize people, and then discuss tasks and infrastructure. Veronica added to this later in the day by advising me to always respond in interviews by explaining what I can offer the hiring party instead of focusing on what the job can offer me. This was all great advice and I will be putting it into practice soon as it is now time to start job hunting!

Critiquing the Sandwiches Stu Prepared

Veronica, Andrew, and I walked down to SOM one last time for some sandwich recipe testing with Stu following our meeting with Rafi. Stu had tested about five of the sandwich recipes and about 8 or 9 managers stopped by to test the final product. I think of a sandwich as a pretty simple dish compared to most dinner entrees, or any other dish Yale normally puts out, but there is a lot to consider. The managers offered a lot of constructive feedback following the session and Stu seemed confident he would be able to make the necessary changes.

Rafi added to the experience following the taste testing by doing an impromptu demonstration of the effective use of salt for enhancing flavour. One of the sandwiches had a cranberry sauce on it. However, there was too much sauce for the bread to handle and the sauce subsequently dominated the taste of the sandwich. Rafi showed us how to use salt to increase the intensity of the cranberry sauce so less could be used, enhancing the ability of the bread to hold up to the moisture, and to allow for the sauce to be used without overpowering the other flavours in the sandwich.

Before we knew it it was time to work the Uncommon Market for the last time. We had noticeably fewer staff from the central office helping out this week but it was probably the most smoothly run market that I experienced.

Goodbye TD

Afterward, Matt and Veronica took Andrew and I out for lunch at a great burger joint just off campus. We then went to clear out our office in the TD building and had a quick debriefing and evaluation with Veronica. I appreciated her honesty when providing me with constructive criticisms and I will look to focus on in the future. Andrew and I then shook hands with everyone in the office, took a few pictures (okay, it may have been more than a few), and that it was it. The internship had come to an end just as quickly as it had started.

Reflection

Okay, so I admit I started to write this section before week 8 even started. But I thought it would be a good opportunity to think about the experiences I've had at Yale and express what I've gained, should Rafi ask in our meeting on Friday.

View From My Room -
 Last Night in New Haven

What I've been thinking most about is what I am going to take home with me now that this experience has come to an end. The one thing I think that has stood out to me most, both in the central office and in the residential units, is that being a manager and being a boss are not the same thing. You can’t just tell people what to do – you need to utilize your team's assets and compensate for any gaps using your leadership skills. In addition, and Sergio put this best, I have learned that the worst way to manage is from behind your desk. You need to be visible and you need to put yourself in a position where you can witness successes and shortcomings so necessary changes can be made immediately. I think I have learned all of this both as a front level employee and as a supervisor but never really understood the extent of its significance until witnessing the actions of the managers and directors at Yale.

  

It has been a humbling experience to intern at one of the greatest academic institutions in the world. I remember doing my interview with NACUFS during the selection process and having to explain why Yale was my preferred destination for the summer. When I sat down to evaluate the different programs I remember reading Yale’s lengthy list of criteria on which interns were to be evaluated at the conclusion of their internship. This was one of the reasons I wanted to be here this summer. I remember telling my interviewer how much I expected a department that would evaluate me on so many different criteria to push me. And I knew I would push myself past these expectations. Now that I have completed my internship at Yale I can say that my assessment of Yale’s expectations was relatively accurate. However, I was pushed further, and in more directions, than I expected. I am very fortunate and grateful for the opportunity I have had this summer. I will never forget this experience.

Excellence in Hospitality 

Thank Yous

There are a number of thank yous I need to throw out there. First, a big thank you to NACUFS for setting up the internship positions across the country and for giving me the chance to gain firsthand experience in university foodservice.

Thank you to Yale Dining and the residential units for being amazing hosts. Thank you to all of the directors managers, and administrators who took the time to sit down with me, to explain their position, to give me some perspective on where they've come from and where they are going, and for providing me with advice to handle the fast-approaching real world!

A special thank you to Veronica for all of the time she invested in Andrew and me. Veronica, you are an excellent role model; you have an incredible work ethic, are a positive team member, and are very patient. You were always available to answer questions and even to just sit and chat. I greatly appreciate everything you did for me while I was at Yale. Thank you so much!

Thank you to Simon Day and Stephanie Cook for your guidance, instruction, and patience. I might not have even considered applying for this internship without your mentorship.

Thank you to all my friends back home who've kept in touch this summer. Thanks for reading my blog and, yes, even for your Facebook jeers, chirps and (sometimes) compliments! Haha! I miss you guys. See you soon!

Thank you to my amazing girlfriend, Lisa, for all of your support and encouragement this summer. Not everyone would suffer through an 18 hour bus trip with a smile on to come see me. I really appreciate that you did!

Thank you to my family for all of your love and support. I wouldn't be where I am today without you guys. I love you and I’ll see you soon.

Last, but definitely not least, the biggest thank you of all goes out to Tina Marie (my mom)!! You have encouraged me to push far past any level of complacency by opening doors for me and making sacrifices. Because of you I have been able to participate in many opportunities I would not have had otherwise. I cannot thank you enough for what you have done to allow me to keep improving. I hope I've made you proud. Thank you!

NACUFS Summer Internship - Yale Edition!

Week 6

Day25 (Monday)

Our week started off with a meeting with Adam Millman, Director of Auxillary Operations. Adam oversees multiple retail outlets on the Yale Campus, as well as Yale Catering and the Hall of Graduate Studies (HGS). HGS is one of the only facilities we haven't seen yet but, during the school year, it is where graduate students can purchase an all-you-care-to-eat meal, similar to the residential dining halls.

Adam’s current focus is in the School of Management (SOM). SOM’s café opened the Monday previous to our meeting and there is also a restaurant in the building that is currently receiving its final operational touches. The cooks at SOM will be testing recipes in the next couple weeks.

Today was our first opportunity to really sit down and work on the nutrition information project. Essentially, Veronica gave us a list of all items in Yale's Eatec database which do not have associated nutritional information. Our job is to find the information either on the distributor’s website, the manufacturer’s website, or on the product's label in one of the residential units. Hopefully this list won’t take too long to get through.

Day 26

This morning we met with Lisa Kimmel, a Registered Dietitian who currently works with employee health in Yale’s Health Center (lovingly nicknamed “The Beetlejuice Building” by Veronica).  Lisa came to Yale as a Sports Nutritionist, which is really cool. Our meeting

The "Beetlejuice" Building

was a great opportunity to talk about student nutrition on the college campus.

Lisa showed us a number of projects she’s worked on in the past as well as some of the projects currently undertaken by Yale faculty. She showed us all of this on her really cool, ergonomic, adjustable work station. It’s essentially only a computer stand which can adjust in height so the user can stand or sit throughout the day but, as a former kinesiology major, I thought it was particularly interesting.

Lisa Kimmel and her awesome
standing work station!

In the afternoon we had our third meeting for the Uncommon Market. Our main issue is the time it takes to check out each guest which, in turn, causes a lot of congestion and frustration in the market area. We brainstormed some new strategies to help speed up check out times. Fingers crossed everything will go more smoothly this week!

Day 27

Wednesday was spent in the office. Andrew and I were given more recipes and asked to manually enter all ingredients by name and weight into the spreadsheet, similar to a project we were assigned earlier in the internship.

Day 28

This morning we checked out Silliman residential college. This college is home to one of my favourite dining halls. Above the tables are three massive, sparkling chandeliers which are beautiful. The purpose of the trip was to test out Veronica's proposed setup of their salad bar. Veronica had been working on some different layouts over the past week or so and today, along with Betty, she tried out some of her options. Who knew how much effort it takes to set up a salad bar!?

After our short introduction to Silliman, Andrew and I walked over to Commons for a meeting with James Filtz, Director of Catering Operations. James manages Yale Catering, a very busy catering department which is in charge of both on and off campus events. Busy isn’t an exaggeration, as catering operates 50 weeks of the year.

Commons Dining Hall, from outside James' office

One of the most interesting parts of our meeting was the discussion the road one takes to building a career. James came to Yale after working in Las Vegas. A common theme among conversations with managers at Yale has been the advice that I be open to opportunities. James told us he didn’t really think about Las Vegas as a place he would like to settle down with a family but it was a great career move that he made for a few years. He advised Andrew and I to remain open to exciting opportunities and take them while we’re still young; before we settle down and have more personal responsibilities.

Day 29 

Friday of Week 6 started off in a very exciting manner. Veronica took Andrew and me to one of the dining halls to watch a 2^nd cook’s test. Here is how the test works. The candidate meets with a panel,

2nd Cook's Test - Cream of Cauliflower Soup

which included Chef Ron, on the day prior to the test. The candidate is given copies of the two menus which they will be asked to prepare, given time to get organized and make a game plan, and then given two hours to complete prep work. They return to the kitchen at 7am the next morning and begin to prepare the menus. During the cook’s test, a proctor stands in the kitchen and makes notes on the candidate’s process. They watch for organization, cleanliness, sanitation, creativity, and cooking technique. The meals, which need to be prepared and plated by a designated time, are then served to the panel of judges who are blind to the entire cooking process. The panel then marks the candidate using a standard marking sheet. The candidate must score at least 80% to pass the test.

The individual being tested had a strong culinary background and competes in culinary competitions with other cooks on the Yale staff. His skill is undeniable. He was very composed throughout the test and his food (at least the soup we were able to try) was delicious. I'm very glad we had the opportunity to sit in on part of the test.

Uncommon Market meeting #3

The afternoon marked our third crack at the Uncommon Market. We were well staffed and came with our game faces on. Matt created a list for each of us which included every product for sale as well as its associated price. My role, when the line backed up, was to check customers’ bags and write up a total for them. The customer would then take the slip of paper with their total written on it to the cashier and the cashier could process their transaction much more quickly. Because of this strategy, we are unable to track the exact quantities being sold but we are better able to satisfy our customers. It was a pretty successful day as that day was greater than any previous Uncommon Market. A much deserved kudos should be sent out to the team for that one, as well as a thank you to both the Yale and New Haven communities for their support!

Day 30 (Monday)

Today, we took a field trip to Widdy’s restaurant. This is the main Yale Dining retail outlet at Yale’s golf course. Our day really started when one of the managers, Brian, took Andrew and I on a tour of the golf course in a golf cart. The golf course is beautiful. Brian told us it is not the kind of course where you learn to golf; it isn’t a very forgiving course. We

The 9th Tee

visited The 9^th Tee, a small snack shop in the middle of the course on our tour. Outside of The 9^th Tee was the 9^th tee, the starting point of a short par 3. Apparently, this is the prize hole in most tournaments. The make and model is different each time, but many tournaments offer a free car to the golfer who can record a hole-in-one on this hole!

Will's Bruschetta

Our main task for our day at the golf course was to help standardize the recipes on Widdy's menu. This will help with both costing as well as inventory. So Will and Zephenia, who were working in the kitchen, suited Andrew and I up in a chef’s coat, apron, and chef hat and worked with us for the afternoon. They plated some of the menu items for us, being careful to report the weight of each ingredient, as Andrew and I made notes and took pictures… oh, and taste tested for quality (that’s the story I’m going with anyway!).

I enjoyed speaking with both Will and Zephenia during the day. Will has attended culinary school and worked in the restaurant industry for many years. His philosophy is that it is important for individuals to work their way up from the bottom of the work hierarchy. In this way, you are better able to perfect your craft and carry unique skills with you. He stressed the importance of always working hard and being a positive team player. I have to agree with much of what Will told us.

Andrew and I working
hard in the kitchen at Widdy's

Day 31

This afternoon we had a potluck lunch with all of the staff in the central dining office. With so many foodies in one place, of course it was a competition. And, since Rafi is the boss, he won (his jasmine rice was actually fantastic, but don’t tell him I said that. I tried to stay impartial…).

Rafi's Pre-Potluck Food Evaluations

Everything was actually fantastic. There wasn’t enough room on my
plate to try a taste of every dish with only one trip to the buffet line. Aside from talking food, the potluck was a good opportunity to talk with some of the managers and directors from the dining office. I asked Mike about his experience with the hiring process from a manager's standpoint, looking for any advice regarding resumes and the entire application process. He agreed to take a look at my resume and give me some tips.

Later in the day we attended a meeting about the improved salad bars. The meeting was led by Veronica and it was an excellent presentation. All of the directors in attendance were very impressed. She broke down the projected quantities of individual salad components, as well as of composed salads, which each college goes through in one day. She used this data, as well as the dimensions of the serveries, to design the layout for each college and choose the appropriate size of serveware. I’m glad Veronica had the opportunity to show off all of her hard work and receive the kudos she deserves. I'm sure she'll be glad to finalize these designs.

Day 32

Thursday was a pretty relaxed day. We continued working on our nutritionals project. To help find some data we went to ESM as Marie said she had a resource for us which might help. We ended up talking with Marie about dietetics a bit. It’s always great to gain insight from Marie. She tells it as it is. She also has a lot of experience and, being an RD, she was able to give us some information to consider. From her past, she does not appear to a fan of the clinical aspect of food; she loves what she gets to do at Yale.

Suppliers came to the office later in the morning to talk about ordering the serveware for the salad bars. Veronica was able to show off her presentation again, in brief, and the suppliers were also very impressed. They say they usually have much less information to go on when they are asked to provide an estimate so they were happy with what Veronica was able to provide. I would never have imagined, going into this foodservice experience, how much effort goes into one seemingly small aspect of a foodservice operation – the salad bar. I think I say the same thing after every meeting about the salad bar...

Day 33

This morning Andrew and I met Veronica at 7:45 and we walked over to SOM where some of the cooks were testing recipes in the brand new kitchen. Andrew and I were asked to make notes about

New and Improved - Roasted Sweet Potato and Corn Salad

methods and cooking techniques as well as to record accurate weights so they could be entered into the standardized recipes.

The day started off slowly as the chefs organized themselves so Dave, one of the culinary managers, asked us to create a standard inventory checklist for the display cases in SOM’s new café. The goal is to make it easier to restock at the end of the night. Taking inventory is usually a pretty tedious task but I didn’t mind. The two guys working in the café, Nick and Kenny, were chatty, and pretty funny, so time went by really quickly. It was a good opportunity for me to talk about sports, something that doesn’t happen often in the office.

After we created the checklist we returned to the kitchen to work with Stu, Cyril (aka Frenchy), and Kenny (aka KB) as they tested and adjusted some salad recipes. The Roasted Sweet Potato and Corn Salad tastes even better than it looks!

"Table 5, Stayin' Alive"
(I was told to say this...)

At 12 Andrew and I walked back to Timothy Dwight residential college where a special catered lunch event was taking place. All of employees within SFAS – Student Financial and Administrative Services - were invited to attend. These just so happened to be all of the people we share an office building with. There is a geographic divide between the different departments so James Filtz and company from Yale Catering decided to have us randomly draw our designated seating arrangement out of a hat. I drew table 5. I was a little intimidated by the concept but it was a great opportunity to break out of my shell and meet some new people, learn about their jobs, and more about the northeastern United States.

SFAS Lunch Set-up in Timothy Dwight's Dining Hall

Following the lunch, Andrew and I spent most of the afternoon in the office trying to make some more headway on our nutritionals project. At the end of the day we went to debrief recipe testing with Veronica.

Day 34

We finished off the week at The Yale Farm, a physical extension of the Yale Sustainability Food Project. It is a one acre plot of land with a number of crops that are sold every Saturday at the Wooster Square farmer’s market in New Haven. The day to day operations of the farm are taken care of by 6 Yale undergraduate interns. The interns put Andrew and me to work as soon as we arrived at the farm. We started by harvesting different types of turnips and potatoes. It was a great opportunity to talk with Yale students and gain their perspective on Yale.

Harvesting Potatoes at the Yale Farm

One of the interns we spoke with is originally from New York City. I was telling her about how creative I thought the city was in its use of space; there isn’t much room to build so people get creative with what is available. She told me that there are many teaching gardens on rooftops in the city because there isn’t much room for growth at street level. I thought this was a fascinating way of teaching innovative agriculture in such an urban setting.

 Weekend

Andrew and I headed back to New York to spend our second last Saturday at Yankee's Stadium. The field is beautiful and I love the immediate surrounding area. There are diamonds outside of Yankee Stadium with some decent sized crowds. On one of the outfield fences there was a motto which read "Sometimes You Win. Sometimes You Lose. Sometimes It Rains." I love it! Baseball is about having fun playing, not the outcome. It's very appropriate for Little League and something that should never be overlooked in sport.

Yankee Stadium

I was kind of disappointed by the lack of energy in the building for the afternoon game. It was a close game throughout but the crowd noise level rarely exceeded that of normal conversation. The game was a great opportunity to see Derek Jeter live. It will probably be the last time I see him before his retirement so I really appreciate the timing of this trip. The Jays pulled out the W in the end so it was the best of both worlds for me.

Until next time...

NACUFS Summer Internship - Yale Edition!

Week 5

Jurassic Park @ Peabody

4^th of July Weekend

My girlfriend, Lisa, came to visit for the 4^th of July weekend. With Hurricane Arthur’s arrival on the east coast, the 4^th of July in New Haven was pretty rainy so most of the weekend’s festivities were

pushed back a day.

Our weekend really started on Saturday morning when we went to visit the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. There was a large exhibit on dinosaurs and another focusing on evolution. It was a fun way for a couple of science nerds to spend the morning!

Does this remind anyone else
of "Pirates of the Caribbean"?

In the afternoon I covered for ESM’s manager Kristen Gill and oversaw

4th of July setup at ESM

the staff for dinner service. It was a relatively slow service so there wasn’t a whole lot required of me but it was still a good experience. Kristen let me look at some of the tools she uses as a manager, such as training sheets and a checklist of daily tasks. The shift was also a good opportunity to interact with staff one on one and gain an understanding of them as people outside of the workplace.

After work we met up with Andrew and his girlfriend, Alex, to (attempt to) watch the fireworks. Unfortunately we didn’t think of the best vantage point and weren’t able to see. But we sat on the New Haven Green downtown and talked for a while so it ended up being a pretty fun night.

On Sunday, Lisa and I ventured down to Lighthouse Point Beach. It was a bright, sunny day so the beach was pretty busy. We found a quite spot at one end of the beach to tan (or, in my cases, get a sunburn). It was a relaxing way to wrap up the long weekend!

THE Lighthouse @ Lighthouse Point Beach

 Day 20 (Monday)

Today we worked on a marketing project Veronica introduced to us last Friday. There is a list of the top colleges for foodservice in the United States released every year. Our task was to summarize the positives of each of these programs for comparison to Yale’s current initiatives and philosophies. We then used this information to help edit a document Yale will publish to market the highlights of Yale Dining. 

It was interesting so read about other college’s strengths. Apparently many campuses are joining the food truck craze and opening a food truck or two of their own. One campus had as many as seven! Yale was #10 on this list. There was a quote which started the description of Yale dining which read “Yale’s dining program couldn’t be more impressive if it tried” (http://www.thedailymeal.com/60-best-colleges-food-america-2013-slideshow). I think this quote should be taken with incredible regard. However, after being at Yale a little more than four weeks it is clear to be that it could be more impressive. And I know this because that is the attitude of all members of Yale Dining from the Executive Director all the way down. The creativity and vision with which the Yale Dining department operates is truly humbling. I expect more big things to come in the near future which will push Yale further toward the top of this list in coming years.

Day 21

Andrew and I were able to complete our two part marketing project yesterday so Veronica introduced us to a nutrition scavenger hunt project. The nutrition database Yale uses, Eatec, is still in its infancy and there are items in its inventory which do not have associated nutritional information. Andrew and I were asked to find the nutritional information for these items from the distributors’ website and then input the data into Eatec. For items which do not have information posted online we will have to go to the units and take the data right off the individual item’s nutritional labels.

So much more to consider than I ever would have imagined...

Before starting our new project we joined the directors and managers from the central dining as they attempted to choose new containers for the salad bars and hot lines. The CSC will be opening for the upcoming school year. One of the most important contributions of the CSC to the dining experience is that it will promote consistency. To go along with the consistency theme, Yale Dining has decided that all residential dining units should have the same containers in all units. Currently, some dining halls use silver containers, others use black. For Yale to provide students with the same dining experience in every setting there needs to be consistency. 

Rafi contemplating this serveware with other members of the central office

One of the major challenges to choosing the serving containers is that not all serveries are set up the same; each unit has different equipment, such as different depths of steamtables. The dining hall designs, as well as appearance, durability, and functionality all needed to be considered and debated before choosing the new containers.

Following the lengthy meeting, the team went back to the office to draw up some layouts and determine what to order for all of the units. I would never have guessed the process would have taken so long is I hadn’t witnessed it first-hand.

Day 22

We switched things up and spent today in the Jonathan Edwards (JE) residential college today, shadowing the managers Rashmi Nath and Sergio Gonzalez. We were able to have conversations for

JE's Spider

at least an hour with both managers at different points during the day. These conversations were very insightful. I found they were also particularly motivating!

Rashmi has been working as a manager at Yale since her internship 30 years ago! She shed light on her management style – keeping her employees accountable but making sure they understand they’re communicating at a human level. She minimizes the difference in power between herself and her employees to help earn their respect. This is not to say that there is any question as to who is in charge. If Rashmi makes a mistake she will own up to it. However, she also demands that her employees are responsible and accountable for their own actions, or

JE's Buttery

inactions, depending on what the case may be. 

We spoke with Sergio during lunch. He approached our conversation from a different perspective. He has been a manager at Yale for about two years. He graduated from college with a degree in Spanish Literature. He told us an excellent story, linking chess as a metaphor for life. He told us of how he was able to work his way up from the bottom in the food industry, staying persistent in his achievement to move up the ranks. He told us to be open to new opportunities and that not everything in life is

JE's Game Room

going to go according to plan, so just enjoy it! I felt motivated to go out into the world, find a new opportunity, and go for it after listening to Sergio talk. I really appreciate the time that both he and Rashmi took out of their days to speak with Andrew and I. 

Day 23

We were up bright and early this Thursday, heading to JE to shadow First Cook, Stu, and Second Cook, Dave. Not only were we able to ask the cooks some questions, but they even allowed us to help with some prep work.  Dave told us that he started at Yale as a dishwasher and worked his way up from there. I admire Dave’s passion for cooking and the work ethic he possesses to allow him to advance to the Second Cook’s position. My personal motivation for applying for the NACUFS internship came from coursework in an on-campus restaurant so I was very excited to work in the JE kitchen.

Seasoning Chicken in JE

We moved from the kitchen to the servery for lunch. We talked with other staff during that time and gained a different perspective on what it means to work at Yale. One of the staff members was telling us about the secret societies, which I find to be fascinating. Another staff member told us about the positives of working for Yale. She told us that Yale provides its employees with a number of benefits and opportunities for growth that I could not imagine would be provided elsewhere. The interesting part of her story was her obvious appreciation of Yale. When someone possesses a negative attitude on the floor it is obvious and stands out. It is rarer to gain insight from employees who appreciate their job because it is not as easy to see. It was a unique opportunity to hear someone preach their passion for their job and the institution for which they work. 

Day 24

Today marked the second day of the Uncommon Market. The farmer’s market was much more successful today from an operations standpoint. There are still some small tweaks to make for next week but we were able to serve customers much more quickly than last week. One of the largest improvements was the use of a checklist. Andrew and I filled out a checklist of produce for everyone in line with a large order. Each customer then gave the checklist to the cashiers, making the checkout process quicker. Despite this, we found it was even more effective to write up a grand total for each customer to speed the process up even further.

Our Improved Order Form for the Uncommon Market

Andrew and I decided to walk over to the newly opened SOM building for lunch after the farmer’s market. It was interesting to see the shelves fully stocked after seeing the empty counter. There were samples for some of the pastries at the counter (I may have had two or three ginger molasses cookies) and the iced coffee was probably the best I’ve ever had.

We were able to arrange a last minute meeting with Sergio this afternoon. He walked us through some of the challenges of being a manager this afternoon. Sergio’s unit is closed for the summer so he was at JE this week to cover for another manager. Since he was only here for a week, he didn’t want to change anything in the unit. One of his tips for success was to utilize existing assets. One of his staff was particularly effective at making sure everything was locked up before closing. Sergio understood this so he allowed this staff member to take care of this take and he could focus his efforts elsewhere; it was all about appraisal.

Our main purpose for meeting with Sergio was to better understand working within a budget. I have used many of the formulae he presented to Andrew and I but it was a helpful refresher, especially with real-world examples. What I liked best about Sergio’s talk, similar to our previous conversation, was that it applied to all settings. He didn’t limit our scope to the university setting. Outside of working on the budget, one of the things he said that will most stick with me is that you cannot manage from behind a desk. This makes sense to me because I would find it difficult to listen to someone tell me what to do as they sat in a chair but, after learning about the many responsibilities a manager has to complete within their offices, I see that this is a difficult objective to achieve.

There is one more thing I would like to mention before describing my exciting weekend. As I said, Sergio was only filling in for one week; this was not his unit. There was an employee who had mixed up their schedule and needed it to be fixed. However, this employee brought up the issue at the same time Andrew and I were sitting in the manager’s office. Instead of becoming flustered or putting off the issue, Sergio quickly resolved the issue and that was it. I appreciated his composure and understanding of the business. It is clear to me that there is a lot to be learned from Sergio, even if he has only been at Yale for 2 years.

The Weekend

Lisa and I bussed over to New York for the weekend! We stayed

This is... umm... I forget?...

in a hotel/hostel on the Upper Westside and Lisa expertly planned a packed trip. We purchased tickets for a package of four double decker bus tours which allowed us to jump on the bus and leaveas we pleased. This package also included a pass for 80 or so of the biggest attractions in the massive city. In two days we completed two of the 2 hour bus tours and visited Madison Square Garden, the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, andthe Met; cycled around Central Park; saw the musical Chicago; and ate pizza at a relatively famous restaurant on Greenwich Village. I had a great time but I think I need a vacation to catch up on some sleep now that the trip is over! 

Lisa and I on the observation
deck @ The Empire State Building

Me @Madison Square Garden!

Before closing for the week I have to see how surreal it is that I have already been interning at Yale for five weeks! I was speaking with Camelia in the office this morning and I mentioned that my time at Yale was almost over. She had to think for a minute before she believed me. She said it felt like Andrew had been in the Dining office for two, maybe three, weeks at most. I am very grateful for the opportunity I have had so far and look forward to these next three weeks! I’m sure they will fly by.

Until next time…