Strike That, Reverse It

I just realized that I haven't told you about my last weekend, and skipped to all the fun details of our meal from this past week, soooooo....in the words of Willy Wonka "Strike that, reverse it".

For those who have been following me like die hard Smiley fans, you may be wondering about the wine passport I mentioned many some blogs ago. I accepted the challenge of getting at least 16 wineries visited and stamped in the passport so I could enter to win a trip to Spain. Well, in the game of I win, I WIN! I completed the challenge this past weekend. I officially have 17 stamps, and will be submitting my passport in the near future. Fingers crossed that I win the drawing in December. A trip to Spain would be a great graduation present! :)

So, Brittany and I visited a total of 12 vineyards from Friday to Sunday. We hit up different areas of the state and made the most of each area. We vineyard hopped, and even met some new friends along the way that we just happened to run into at every vineyard we were at. Looks like we aren't the only ones who had the bright idea to vineyard hop. :)

All in all a great weekend, and a great idea (thank you Carol for telling us about the passport)! Visiting the vineyards was a great way to see many areas of the state and get to sip on some tasty vino. And in the event that I don't win the prize to Spain, I have 14 new wine glasses to show for my efforts (as most vineyards give you a glass with a tasting).

It's Luncheon Time...

Wow....this week went fast! Time flies when you're having fun...and preparing a meal for 775+ people. Our meal was a SUCCESS!!!! We had a great turn out and everyone gave great feedback to us. Let me paint a picture for all of you of how things played out to make everything come together.

Monday, I spent the day finishing up any odd and ends planning for the luncheon. Labels were printed, cut, and laminated. Decorations were picked up. Ingredients started to arrive for our meal so we started prepping. We had a couple of very labor intensive prep recipes. The roasted root vegetables all needed to be peeled, cut, and chopped (in total 300 lbs of vegetables, yowsers!). It was time to break out the knives, pull up our sleeves, and get down to business. It was a great relief to find our butternut squash already peeled. We got hopeful that maybe all our veggies would be partially prepped for us. Our hopes were soon shot down Tuesday when we switched over to the parsnips, the onions, the beets, and the turnips (and our hands have the blisters to prove it). We did catch a little luck in the end with the carrots because the recipe called for baby carrots, all we had to do was open the bags and dump them into our containers.

Just when I thought I had seen a light at the end of the vegetable tunnel, it was time to start on the peeling and chopping of 94 lbs of sweet potatoes. We finished up the prep by 5 pm and headed home for a bit. We returned to the dining hall at the close of dinner so we could decorate for our luncheon. We gussied the place up, Brittany hung flags (I was about a foot too short to reach the ceiling on the ladder), and then we headed home for a short night's sleep.

The morning of our meal came quick. Our minds were going a mile a minute of all the things we were going to be doing over the next few hours. We got to work and immediately threw ourselves into the hustle and bustle of the day's prep work. I started with making falafel patties, moved onto gyro meat, and then salmon. I had to take care of some front of house things, and then came back to the kitchen to help with panning up the food items. Lunch got started and I switched out of my kitchen clothes and into a more appropriate (and clean) outfit for lunch. Everything ran smoothly, and the customers loved loved loved it!

I have to give snaps out to everyone that has helped us along this journey. We have lots of pictures from the event. Here are just a few that we would like to share:

Drumroll Please....I'd Like to Present...Our Menu

For all of my followers, here's what you've been waiting for. Quick reminder, our luncheon theme is A Taste of Nations....Enjoy!

Bread

African/Middle Eastern

African Honey Rolls

Egg and Onion Matzo Bread

Soup and Salad

Curried Cauliflower Soup

Salad Bar

Assorted Specialty Salads

Deli

Assorted Deli Meats and Toppings

Assorted Sandwich Breads

Wok

Thai

Vegetarian Pad Thai with Rice Noodles

Shanghai Shrimp with Miki Noodles

Dragon Rice (Vegan)

Mini Spring Rolls

Hot Mustard Sauce

Grill

Middle Eastern/Mediterranean

Build Your Own Gyros and Falafel Pitas

With the following toppings:

Shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, grilled onions, grilled peppers

Dressed with: Tzatziki or Tahini

Carving Station

Brazilian

Gaucho Grilled Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

Comfort

Islands/Brazilian

Coconut Rice

Cuban Black Beans

Bahaman Vegetables

Jerk Chicken with Caribbean Glaze and Pineapple Mango Relish

African

Whipped Sweet Potatoes

Pork with Eggplant and Apples

Warm Cornbread

Scandinavian

Roasted Root Vegetables

Salmon with Dill Butter

Blueberry Crisp

Smoothie Bar

Islands

Tri-Berry Smoothie

(Strawberry, Raspberry, Blueberry)

Tropical Smoothie

(Pineapple, Mango, Banana)

Whole Fresh Fruit

Desserts

Baklava

Fruit Tart

Almond Butter Cookies

Holiday Weekend and Some Managing

I keep giving my readers empty promises....I keep saying I'll blog more frequently, but I always seem to fail miserably at this.

Holiday weekend was a blast. Saturday, Brittany and I slept in and then we decided to head out on the open road and work on our Connecticut wine trail passport. We hit up three vineyards in total for the day, and then headed back to Storrs. Somehow or another, we forgot to eat dinner Saturday night, so Sunday morning when we got up we were Starvin Marvins.

We had decided to hit up a beach for the holiday, so we got an early move on. We hit up a Dunkin Donuts for coffee and a bagel and then off to Rhode Island. We had an original e.t.a. of 11:45 at the beach. Hahaha, not so much. As we were merging onto the RI beach highway, there was a sign that said heavy beach traffic, seek alternate routes. Here's where being an out-of-townie does not pay off. I didn't know alternate routes. We decided to stick it out on this route, and see where we ended. Two plus hours later in stop and go traffic and we arrived at the beach at 2 pm. We found a place to put our stuff down, and headed straight to the water (it was near 90 outside). We cooled off and then laid on the beach till we were hot again, and then repeated the cycle. The drive home was much quicker than the drive down. We made it back, and found a place to eat. Here we were again, starving. We really need to remember to start feeding ourselves. :) Being the holiday, there wasn't much open. We found a pizza place, and grabbed a bite.

My week was spent shadowing different managers in three of the different dining halls. Monday and Tuesday I worked at McMahon. Basketball camps had started and were all the hype at McMahon. One of the biggest concerns, food allergies. There were 30 some camp attendees with severe food allergies. Everything went off without a hitch, no issues. Everyone got fed, and no one had a reaction. :) Wednesday and Thursday, I was off to Northwest to shadow Dave, the area manager for that location. Dave showed us a lot of what he does as a manager, and let Brittany and I forecast for the week that needed to be completed. He verified what we did, based on history, and we only made a couple errors due to piece size. :) Friday, we headed to South to work with John, the area manager of that location. He gave Brittany and I a couple of tasks for the day. The main one, we needed to decorate the international bar for a pasta dinner they would be having on Sunday evening. Great practice for us, as our luncheon is right around the corner and we will be needing to decorate the same area for our meal (only a different theme).

Speaking of our luncheon being right around the corner, I still haven't given you the menu for our meal yet. I've strung all of you long enough...check my next post and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with what you'll find....

Ducks, Lobsters, and More Bee's

Last Monday was A-mazing! We had a tour of Foxwoods Resort and Casino. We met our tour guide and we got asked what we were interested in seeing throughout our tour....we all agreed on back of house :). We definitely got the red carpet treatment while we were touring the facility. We saw so much....it was like we were celebrities who get to go places you normally wouldn't be allowed to go. We got to see the many different kitchens, the bake shop, the butcher shop, the coolers/freezers, the ballrooms, the vip players lounge, and then finished off the tour with a meal on the casino in one of the employee lounges. Here are a few of the many pictures that I took during the tour:

After our tour we were done with work for the day so Eric, our director, took us to see some sights we'd stressed interest in seeing. Our first stop, a winery. We all went to one of the vineyards, walked around the vineyard, and then went inside for a tasting. From the vineyard, we headed out to Mystic, Connecticut. We walked the strip of shops and took some pictures. I even got one of the famous Mystic Pizza that the classic 80's movie was based on. :)

When I first arrived in Connecticut, one of the first things I asked Eric was about the fresh seafood available out here. I am just starting to like seafood, and crab is one of my new found loves. He told me that while you can get fresh crab here, the lobster is where it's at. I have never had lobster, and told him I was willing to give it a go. He had mentioned this place called Abbott's Lobster in the Rough. It's in a town right outside of Mystic, and they serve fresh lobster and you eat at picnic tables. So after Mystic, we headed over to Abbott's so I could have my first lobster. I did my first experience right, and ordered a whole lobster dinner. I got a tutorial on how to eat the lobster, and then went to town. My mom always taught me not to play with my food, but as you can see in this video, I just couldn't resist. As far as my final verdict on lobster....not my first choice (I'll stick to crab as my first choice), but not too shabby at all.

What better way to finish a great day than to end it with a nice swim at the pool. It was a hot day, and it was so refreshing to relax!

Monday set the tone for the rest of my week last week. Tuesday we had another date with the bee's. We went back out to the hives to check up on our little buzzing friends. They were all doing well in their new homes, and many of the hives were going to be ready for additions to the hives. We helped feed the bees by giving them sugar water, and then we got to check on one of the more successful hives. I got to see a whole insert filled with honey. It was incredible how much it weighed! We then got to see the kitchen where all the honey is extracted when it's ready. The extraction process was explained to us, and then we got to take a couple of samples of last year's harvest home with us. Below are pictures of the comb filled with honey and the extraction equipment.

Wednesday, we got to hang out in the student union. We worked at the Union Street Market, the food court in the union. We got the grand tour, and each of us got to work at different concepts during lunch. I worked at the FireSide Rotisserie. I helped customers as they went through the line, plating up their meals. After lunch, we all got to hang out in the coffee shop at USM.

Thursday and Friday were my first management training days. I worked at Northwest Dining Hall with Carol, our assistant internship director. Thursday we got a feel for the dining hall, as it was my first time at this location. We got a last minute catering order, and Carol had Brittany and I locate all the items needed to put the catering order together. We also got to help one of the chef's prep crab cakes for that day's lunch. Carol let us have some project time at the end of our shift and we ironed out some of the details to our dinner that is coming up right around the corner. Friday, I spent most of my day handling the catering event that came in on Thursday. Brittany and I got all the beverages, pastries, and bagels around. I then drove the big catering van over to the catering site, to check out where we would be delivering to later on that morning. After the breakfast delivery, we prepped the four pizzas for the catering lunch. We delivered the pizzas, and returned to have more project time until close. At close, everyone pitched in with clean up so we could all go home and enjoy our holiday weekend.

No Time Like the Present

Hey Everyone,
The last few days, heck last few weeks have gone by so fast, the summer is ending shortly and my time in Connecticut is coming to a halt. However, I am not letting this get the best of me and I will keep enjoying my time here. With the almost good-byes out of the way, now it is time to get down to business. Last week, I and the other interns had the opportunity to tour Foxwoods Resort and Casino. This was an interesting tour for me personally because prior to applying for the NACUFS internship I was in the process of having a backup internship and well Foxwoods was my backup plan. So being able to tour a facility I almost worked at, was really ironic to say the least. When we first arrived at Foxwoods we were introduced to Chef Mark, who is an Assistant Executive Chef. Once introductions were done, he asked us what we were interested in seeing along the tour, our answer was back of the house. We walked around the resort to the different kitchens that produce majority of the food for the guests at the casino. While we observed one of the prep kitchens, we were able to see hanging Pekin duck in one of the prep coolers, and then as we walked by a prep table we saw cooked Pekin duck fresh out of the oven.


The production kitchens that we visited were Garde manger, the butchering area
the bakery, and other prep kitchens. Along the tour we say the large industrial size equipment that helps mass produce the food for the restaurants. Chef Mark talked about how there are more than 30 restaurants at the casino and how they feed anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 people in a day. We were able to meet with James who is a banquet chef, and he showed us one of the ballrooms, which is very large. This tour was useful because it gave us an idea of more career options, meaning if we wanted to branch out and do more large volume food, but with fineness. The tour was the extent of the educational part of the day, the remainder of the day was spent as “laid back casual intern time”. With that said, we conducted a wine tasting at a winery down the road, then went to Mystic, walked around the little shops, and finally made it to Abbott’s in the Rough. Abbott’s is a seafood restaurant that we had lunch/dinner at, because one of the interns has never had lobster prior to the internship. I think it was a great day and a lot was learned.

Another adventure that the interns and I participated in was feeding the local bees that the university harvests throughout the summer. We learned about the different boxes, the bottom box contains the queen and most of the bees, the upper boxes or supers contain the honey. We also learned about the honey extraction process. Once the honey has been collected, jarred, and label it is then distributed throughout the dining halls on campus, they collected about 700 pounds last year, and that was only with 10 bee hive bodies, this year they have increased the number hive bodies to 20. Harvesting starts in August.

Towards the end of the week, Gretchen and I were involved with Area Manager training, with Carol Cronin, who is the manager at Northwest Dining Hall. We did a little bit of everything during our training. Such things as ICA, catering an event for twenty five people, worked on our project, drove a huge white van (well Gretchen did anyways), and we even help shut down the unit for the weekend. Oh and I almost forgot, we made roughly 400 crab cakes for lunch on Thursday, this was fun.

Brittany

USM

Hi Everyone,

Union Street Market is the place to be lol. Anyway, today I work at the Union Street Market and was trained by a couple of the managers on staff. The girls and I had a tour of the front of the house and back. Later we worked with one of the chefs learning how the set up for the lunch rush. After our little tour we eat breakfast and were placed at individual stations, I requested to be on salads. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. That station got so busy during lunch break; I was making soups and salads left and right. I messed up a few but I was successful for the most part. When lunch was over, we went over a checklist of managerial duties, and even toured the C-Store. For the last few hours I helped out in the coffee shop till it was closing time. That was basically my day at USM. Till next time.

Mahalia

I Just Want To Celebrate.....

I have once again failed as a blogger. I keep letting all of my lovely followers down, by not updating frequent enough. So sorry, never fear though, Gretchen is now here.

Let me bring you all up to speed on last week’s ventures. Tuesday and Wednesday were management days for me. I helped complete a weekly inventory with minimal supervision (except for the help from my two partners in crime, aka the other two interns). I also learned about forecasting and got to help forecast for a whole weeks worth of menus. Thursday was another scheduled tour day for us. We travelled down to East Haven, CT and learned all about the cheese making business at Calabro Cheese. We got the history of the company, walked the production area, and even got to try a few things. Calabro are masters in the cheese industry, and were kind enough to spend time with us. While I experienced and saw a lot while I was there, I am going to remain true to my word and keep my lips zipped on all the fine details.

With summer comes weddings, and Friday was my turn to participate in the celebratory season. I travelled to Indiana early Friday morning to help two of my very close friends celebrate their love. I helped run a few errands with the bride when I arrived, and then got ready for the rehearsal. We had a lovely time learning our roles for the wedding, eating a delicious meal, and even learned a non-traditional Greek dance to perform at the wedding to honor the bride’s roots.

Saturday started early at the hair salon. We each took turns getting our hair styled, all while eating breakfast and drinking mimosas. After our hair appointments, we headed to the church for lunch and to finish getting ready for the big event. It was crazy hot, but we made it through the ceremony gracefully. We spent the next couple of hours traveling around the city taking photos along the way. We stopped at a fountain, Purdue University’s campus, the church garden, and a local bar favorite Harry’s Chocolate Shop. The next stop was the reception. We had a beautiful dinner, and then I danced the night away to the live band. I headed back to my hotel at midnight, and left the hotel at 4:30 to head back to the airport. Short trip, but sooooo worth it!

I spent the rest of my Sunday either travelling or resting as my exhaustion from my short weekend was kicking in. I slept on both of my plane rides, and took a very long nap when I got back to Storrs. I got up Sunday evening to have dinner, catch up with the other two interns, and then called it an early night so that I would be fully recuperated for Monday’s adventures, as we had another tour planned.

As time would have it, I’m now slipping into my sleepy state tonight, so I will hold off telling you about my many exciting adventures from Monday until next time….

Past few days..

Hi Everyone,
This blog will be multiple days because a lot happened in the past few days. Friday the girls and I had a chance to do area manager with Eric our supervisor. While on our area manager rotation, Brittany and I did forecasting for the day. At the end of the day, my coworkers surprised me with a huge birthday cake because it was the day before my birthday. That was really nice, I was touched.
On my birthday I spent the day at the Mohegan Sun Casino Resort where I had a chance to have dinner at Michael Jordan’s Stackhouse and catch a comedy show. No I didn’t get wasted on my 21st birthday if you are wondering. However, I did have a good time and was sober enough to remember the next day. After the fun was over, I spent the rest of my weekend relaxing and enjoying being 21.
Monday however, was another great day on the Job. After Carol aka “Annie” surprised me with a really great birthday gift, Eric and Carol took the other interns and I to the foxwoods Resort Casino. Our little trip to the casino was nice; I am glade it involved more back of the house than front. We toured the various operations inside the casino while taking great pictures to show. The tour was very informative; although there were many highlights of Foxwoods, I have to say one of my favorites had to be taking pictures of the ducks. I have pictures to show by the way. Mystic Seaport was the next stop on our schedule for the day. The girls and I walked around Mystic for a short while. We didn’t stay long in Mystic because it was so hot outside, but that didn’t stop us from getting a lobster dinner at Abbott’s Lobster in the Rough. You have to check that place out if you are ever in Mystic by the way. Eric took us to Abbotts because Gretchen and I had never had lobster before so that was another first on my part. Anyway that’s it for today. Till next time…
Mahalia

Sandy Beaches and Fresh Produce

Friday arrived and it was time to party it up, wedding style. We met with the catering staff on Friday morning and learned the ins and outs of what it takes to get an event planned. I worked mainly with Rachel, and she walked me through the process. She had a couple of events that were called in while I was sitting with her, so I got to see the planning in full motion. After lunch, it was up to the ballroom to help set for the wedding I’d be working on Saturday. We met the manager on duty, and were each given different tasks. I got assigned to set the entryway to the provided map. I had a lot of play room to be creative and had a lot of fun. When I was finished with the entryway, I helped string twinkle lights and then we all called it a day. When I returned on Saturday, it was full speed ahead to the finish line on completing all the last minor details before game time. We were introduced to the other two managers and got a quick rundown of the game plan for the day. I was going to be doing a little bit of everything. I helped set up, serve, clear, expo food to the servers, and clean up. In the end, a successful event, and I learned a lot.

When I woke on Sunday, I felt like a train had hit me. I was tired, sore, and wanted to do nothing, but sit. So…we decided to hit the open road and head to the beach in Watchhill, Rhode Island. Watchhill was a great destination to relax for the day. There are a lot of shops, restaurants, a carousel, and of course the beach. It was slightly overcast on Sunday, but still warm enough for us to hit the water. We sanded and swam, and all and all had a great Sunday.

Monday brought the return of work, and the return to another business to tour. Our stop today was Fresh Point, a company dedicated to delivering produce around the region including many regionally grown items. We had a very informative presentation about the business, asked some questions, and then were off to walk the facility. We were able to see how produce is received, and how it gets transferred to the different storage coolers. The produce is all stored by the controlled temperature needed, the gases the produce lets out, and the similarities between like produce items. After our tour, we got to go see one of the local farms that supply Fresh Point with some of their products. We walked the grounds, saw the many varieties of items grown, and even said hello to some horses.

Farm, Forecasting and Surprised birthday party all in that order

Hi Everyone,
Note: I am starting a count down to my 21st birthday (June 26th) and now I am at 3 more days. All birthday wishes and gifts are welcomed lol.
…I am coming to the end of my internship where I am trying to make the most of each day. So far, I have been able to do just that. Monday Carol C. and Eric took us on another tour to FreshPoint. FreshPoint is a produce company that supplies most of Uconn’s produce. We toured the storage area at FreshPoint, which incorporated the building’s cool and dry storage areas and office space. The tour guide even took us out to the loading dock and offered samples of produce throughout, which in my book is always a plus. However, the fun part of the tour came when we went to the Beckett Farm. This particular farm grows everything from beans to apples and even has its own veterinarian practice. I learned a lot that day and took a couple of really nice pictures. I wasn’t excited about the farm tour because I am definitely not an outdoorsy type of girl but it turned out to be really nice. While we were at the farm, we saw the most beautiful horses and we got to take pictures with them. During the tour Eric and Brittney kept picking and eating the vegetables but I was not taking that risk…I like my vegetables washed lol.
Eventually it was time to leave the farm and the horses. On the way home from the farm, Eric and Carol stopped at this strawberry farm and the girls and I picked fresh strawberries, again I couldn’t just eat them right off, so I decided to have them for dinner and boy were they good. Note to everyone, if you haven’t been to the strawberry farm right here in town, HURRY your time is running out. The rest of our day was spent working on projects which are coming along really well.
Tuesday and today was spent doing office work with Eric. I got most of Tuesday to work on my two projects as well as do inventory. We knocked out most of inventory because it was three of us however, we still weren’t done so we had to continue with it today. After we finally finished with inventory, Eric showed us how to do forecasting in detail. Before I forget, we also met with John Kuhl to do forecasting on our menu project but that didn’t take the whole day so that is why we were back with Eric doing Forecasting. In addition, I also had a midterm evaluation with Eric, it went well but talk about a nerve racking experience. Anyway, I saved the best for last. Today was Debbi Lee’s 29th birthday (ok…maybe not 29th) so we had a little surprised party for her. Debbi Lee is one of our assistant managers here at UConn. You could tell she had no idea we planned it and it was nice to see the shock on her face. The cake wasn’t bad either. Man! the staff at the UConn bakery sure can bake up a storm, I will give them that. All this talk about cake is making me hungry so bye for now.
Mahalia

catering

hi everyone,
I have to say that I had a wonderful weekend. I think I have found my calling in life and that is catering weddings lol. Friday was office work where I helped with the final touches of the wedding, it was very nice working in the catering office for half a day, I couldn’t have asked for a better staff to work with. The reason we only worked in the office for half a day was because Brit and I went upstairs to the ballroom to set up for a wedding. We did everything from setting tables to setting up a bar. Man weddings are hard work, by the end of the day I was so tired but little did I know that the work hadn’t started yet.Saturday I catered a wedding at the Alumni House while the other girls catered at the ballroom. From the get go it was work work work. The guest at the wedding were so festive and even though I was helping out, I still had a great time. Anyway, at the wedding I helped serve as well as clean up though I enjoyed serving more than cleaning . After the wedding was over, the work really started. The other staff and I had our work cut out for us. Cleaning up with a fun staff always makes the work go by faster. The night ended eventually and that was basically catering. On Sunday the girls and I laid out at the beach…can’t give you details on that on. Till next time...

Mahalia

Oh The Places You'll Go....

Monday brought the beginning of another work week, and the beginning of many new experiences for me. We started at South Dining Hall to have a mock health inspection with the health inspector. I've had some experience in actual health inspections, but have never had the opportunity to see the other side of things. Cheryl, the health inspector who completes all of the universities audits, was very informative and helpful. She gave us some reading material, and explained to us the different type of audits that can be conducted. We were going to be conducting a risk-based audit. We had our forms and notes sheets out, and we walked around in the order that Cheryl would normally go in. We each got to take turns taking temps and made notations on the audit inspection form. When we were done, we got to ask any questions we had and then had the rest of the day to tie up any loose ends with projects and catch up on our work.

Tuesday, was supposed to be a scheduled day off since I'm working in catering this weekend, but I am leaving town next week for a wedding and will be missing Friday so I made the day up early. I shadowed Eric for the day. We worked on a physical inventory of the equipment that gets completed only once a year. When we were entering in our numbers into the spreadsheet, we realized some prices for items were missing so I worked on locating prices out of the catalog online. When inventory was complete, Eric showed me how the cycle menus work within FoodPro. Tuesday afternoon, the other two interns and myself had a meeting with Gail in marketing to discuss marketing for the luncheon. We had some great ideas to pitch to Gail, thanks to Mahalia, and we were hoping she could turn our ideas into a great end product. Gail was very helpful answering our questions, taking notes, and giving suggestions of what we can do. The girls and I are looking forward to seeing the samples she's drawing up for us. :)

Wednesday began the real adventures....we started our tours. Our first stop was Carla's Pasta. It was here that I had my second celebrity siting since my arrival here in Connecticut. I met thee Carla! She was so nice and very hospitable. She showed interest in our studies and shared some stories of how she got started in the pasta industry. For those who don't know, Carla's Pasta is commercial operation that's been in business since 1978 that provides pasta to many vendors and customers all over the nation. They are even starting to show up in grocery stores out here on the east coast offering steam bag meals (and they are tasty, cause we had a chance to taste some!). Our tour was very interesting, and top secret (no pictures allowed). We got to see the production room, the storage room, and the packaging room. Johnny D. also provided us with lots of information and knowledge about the history of the company. It was great to see a company hold true to the same values and recipes that Carla instilled at the beginning of the company. And when the tour was over, in true hospitable form, we were sent home with some tasty morsels to consume later. :)

Day two of tours, and we were off to visit Omar Coffee and Sysco. What better way to start your day off then with a good cup of coffee, mmmm caffeine. We arrived and unlike yesterday's tour, there were no secrets here, which meant pictures for me. We started in storage and then got to walk through the entire process that the coffee bean goes through to get to our cups. They were in the middle of roasting a batch while we were there, and were prepping to start another batch. So we got to see the beans being dumped into the roaster, the beans coming out of the roaster, and the beans being ground up and packaged. I've worked with coffee for four years, and it was great to see it all the steps it takes to get the coffee to the store level.

We had some time before our next appointment so we made a quick stop to Stew Leonard's to check out their impeccable marketing skills they practice. We pulled up and I immediately realized I'd seen this place on one of those food network shows. They're tricky there, making it nearly impossible to run in and run out to grab an item. This is due to one of two things, either the maze they create to get you through their store, or the samples and interesting decor that is displayed throughout the entire store. Either way, customers are bound to leave with something. Eric swore he wasn't going to purchase anything, and still left with a handful of items. :) Job well done Stew Leonard's!

We grabbed a quick lunch at a local diner, and then headed to Sysco. We were getting a tour of their warehouse and coolers. Let me just say, that if you are a foodie, than the aisles in the warehouse would be your candy store. Wowsers, they go on and on for what seems like forever. We learned all about the different shifts at the warehouse and what each employee does during their shifts. We also got a good understanding of how such a large operation keeps employee productivity and accuracy up. We took a stroll through the coolers, and learned the importance of checking orders when they arrive from vendors to make sure temperature controls have been kept within the appropriate range. We finished with a question and answer session and than headed back to campus.

We've got catering this weekend, and then we're off to see more exciting places next week.

:)ly

Pasta, Coffee, and a cold Storehouse

Hi Everyone,
The girls and I went on three tours this week. Carla’s Pasta, Omar Coffee, and Sysco in that order. Touring Carla’s pasta was a nice experience. While at Carla’s, our tour guide kept stressing how they maintained a clean facility and they sure did. It was almost O.C.D. how clean the place was, in fact they had a third shift that is only designated for cleaning. It was comforting to know that they cared so much about the quality of their product. The tour was short but educational at the same time. The girls and I got to see everything from how the pasta is cooked to how it is packaged. At the end of the tour, we were introduced to Carla and I was a little happy about that. We wrapped up our tour at Carla’s Past with a little Q&A and some free samples and we know those are always good.  Omar Coffee was next and the tour was nice too, What was really interesting about Omar was how the coffee settled on everything in the factory. Some people may think it needs to be cleaned but I call it art. I didn’t know that coffee had to be handpicked, Can someone say labor intensive! Not to mention the amount of work that goes into roasting coffee to the right color, I think I have a new found appreciation for the drink. All in all, the tour was nice and once again the free sample wasn’t bad either. Sysco was an entirely different experience, the place was HUGE. With the amount of volume they stored and to have such a low error rate was impressive. We wrapped up out tour at Sysco in the test kitchen and were on our way. It was nice of Eric to introduce us to that aspect of foodservice and it was well appreciated. Bye for now.

Mahalia

Great weekend and a good start to a week.

Hi everyone,
My weekend with the girls started off at Yale University where we walked around and took pictures despite the not so pleasant weather. During the trip I decided I was starving and what better place to take care of that hunger than a local Yale café. So I went into the cafe and placed my order only to be prompted to participate in a vote which I did, being the good citizen I am. :) On my way out of course I left my umbrella on the counter (no surprise there). After we toured Yale University it was time to hit up this really cool park our friend Tom told us about called Silver Sands Park. While at the park we got a chance to walk on a strip of shells that made its way onto an island (no I am not kidding the other girls may explain this better). It was so cool I am really happy I talked the girls into risking their lives and crossing with me. Ok we really didn’t risk our lives. That experience will be a memorable one and I took lots of pictures to reminisce. When we left the park though we all had to drive home wet and full of sand opps sorry Gretchen. Oh before I forget the girls and I had lunch at the famous Frank Pepe Pizzeria by the campus. I am not sure why it is famous besides the fact that they have the best pizza every! But if you’re a health freak it is not the place for you. We got to campus just in time to make dinner but after glancing at the menu we decided to have "steak night" at this local brewing company restaurant. Man was the food good a bit pricey but your also talking to someone who thinks everything is too pricey lol.
When the weekend was over it was back to work for Mahalia. This past Monday I did a mock health inspection with the other two interns in the South Dining hall. That was fun, I was told I would make a good help inspector because I am stern, go by the book, and tough (not too sure what to make of that last one). The inspection went really well we looked in every nook and cranny of South and even got to address some actual issues. Learning about the different regulations CT enforces was a good experience.
Today I got a day off but I had to spend it doing Unitime. It’s all good though because if I stay on this path I should have this thing done by the 25th. Keep your fingers crossed for me. In addition, I also had to do a self evaluation of my time here lets just say that was interesting. Hope I kept it real. For the rest of the week we will be going on tours so we get a break from the campus not that we need one lol. I will keep you guys updated on the tours. Bye for now
Mahalia

Time to Ketchup.... Like Heinz

Hello Everyone,
Long time no blog... huh? Well now is the time to Ketchup and level the playing field. Thursday would have been one of two days at Chuck and Augie's which is a restaurant that UConn offers to the public. Unfortunately, I went back to PA for a close friend's funeral, so my Thursday consisted of a funeral an a beautiful service for a beautiful friend... Rest in Peace Tracy Garis 11/26/89- 6/4/10.
Friday I was back to the grind working at Chuck and Augie's with Manager Michelle, who is now of vacation. I had the opportunity to work front of the house with Peter, and after Peter knew that I work front of the house at my job back at school, he knew that I knew what I was doing. He showed me how to punch in orders, I use Micros at school, the only difference is a matter of finding the buttons. Front of the house went smoothly, and Peter was a great trainer. FRIDAY= PAY DAY!!!!!!
Over the weekend, the roommates and I went to visit Yale, Frank Pepe's, and Silver Sand State Park. Yale has such a beautiful campus, even though it was under construction, we were able to walk around and take pictures. Looking back at the pictures all we can do is label them building 1, 2, 3, etc because there are so many. About a mile from the college is this excellent pizzeria named Frank Pepe's, if you are EVER in New Haven, please GO it is so worth it, coming from a culinary student, it was like hot, oozy, melting slice of heaven in your mouth. The pizza is delivered on a sheet tray with parchment paper, thin crust with melted cheese sending "Eat Me" invitations to your taste buds. After we left Pepe's we headed to our next destination... Silver Sands State Park. This park offers a sand bar which allows people to walk roughly a mile from shore to an island. My roommates and I walked over to it. However, there was a method to our madness, we had to time perfectly when low tide was, so that we could have enough time to walk over and back without being sucked into the water due to the rip current. Sadly, we made it back... just kidding. Sunday, Gretchen and I found Target.... it was like Christopher Columbus discovering America for the first time, such an adventure.
Monday we had the chance to walk through with Cheryl during a health inspection in South Dining Hall. This experience gave us all a better understanding of what takes place during a real inspection. I thought it was rather interesting seeing exactly is required to be up to code and having the chance to see what establishments get penalized for was a great learning experience. During the inspection we were able to take notes, and jot down remarks we found along the way. The rest of the day was spent working on project stuff. Gretchen, Mahalia and I were able to sit down, e-mail those we needed to communicate with regarding our luncheon for Confratute.

Just for you Carol:

"The menu finalized, look at us now
We talked with Landolphi, Kuhl, and everyone to boot
We are pushing through don’t ask us how
After all team Gretchany is planning for Confratute"

Brittany

Pizza With A Side of Seashells and Vino

Another weekend gone, and more adventures to share with all of my fantastic readers. The other two interns and myself decided we were going to stay close to our home this weekend, and check out some local attractions.

We headed down to New Haven on Saturday to walk Yale's campus. First things first, what a beautiful campus. There are amazing buildings and a TON of history on this campus!!! Very picturesque, and I can understand why so many films and television shows have used the campus as their background. Now, I don't think I would ever want to attend this school, ever. It is crazy spread out. I have no idea how the students get from one side of campus to the other and still make it to classes on time. We parked on one side of campus, walked around for an hour and a half, and still didn't see the entire campus.

After our long stroll through campus, we decided it was time to eat. We had asked around before we left Storrs on suggestions for food. Every single person we spoke to said we needed to hit up Frank Pepe's for the best pizza we would ever consume. So, naturally, we took their advice. I've had a lot of pizza in my day, and I'm not saying it was the best ever, but it comes pretty darn close if it's not.

I had done some research on the internet and had found a state park that was close by so we were now off to Milford to check it out. Our final destination: Silver Sands State Park. There was one main reason this park stood out from the others....sand bar, or what I'm going to refer to from here on out as the "shell"bar. There is an island located about a mile offshore from the beach, and at low tide a "shell"bar is revealed and you can walk across to the island. The island is now a bird sanctuary. We were told that we had about an hour, once low tide started, to get across, spend time on the island, and then get back to the mainland.

When we got to the beach, we saw that some of the "shell"bar had already started to expose itself. We were money, our only problem...we didn't know what time tide had started, so we didn't know how much time we had to get across, and get back. We soon realized, that low tide was just starting. About halfway out, the tide was still working on exposing the "shell"bar, so it was almost like we were walking on water. We made it across safely, took some photos, and then started the trip back, on a now fully exposed walkway. What a way cool experience, and I think it's safe to say that visiting the state park was the highlight of our day!

Sunday started as a pretty lazy day, we all decided to sleep in. When we finally got around, Brittany and I decided we were finally going to check out one of the local wineries here in Connecticut. (For those who don't know remember my mentioning it earlier, I love wine and I had been looking forward to hitting up a vineyard since my arrival.) We decided on Priam Vineyards in Colchester. What a great vineyard to start with! We each decided to do a tasting, and each of us tried 10 of their wines and left with a balloon goblet. After our tasting, we walked the grounds, took some pictures, and then headed back to Storrs.

One side-note about our vineyard visit....Connecticut promotes visiting their 30 vineyards with their Connecticut wine trail passport. For every vineyard you visit, you get your passport stamped on the respectable page, and if you visit 16 or more vineyards you can be entered to win a 13-night trip to Spain. Brittany and I had such a fun time, we are up for the challenge. We have decided that we are going to attempt to hit up at least 15 more vineyards before our departure on July 16th. Wish us luck!

Top Chef I Am Not, but I Had Fun Trying

On Thursday, it was time to throw my next rotation into the mix. I was off to Chuck and Augie's, a restaurant located within the student union. I walked in, introduced myself to the staff, and then was taken back to meet the managers. Michelle and Michael were the managers on duty for the day. I got a quick run down from Michelle on how she opens the store and then was introduced to Derek, one of the chefs and my trainer for the day.

Derek gave me the grand tour of the storage areas, the kitchen, and the prep areas in the kitchen. Due to it being summer, and much slower than school year business, there wasn't much prep left to do for the day when I arrived. We prepped about a dozen portobello mushrooms, and then had some free time before the restaurant opened. Derek told me that during the summer months when things are slower, he gets to utilize his time to help create and develop menu items for future menu changes. He had wanted to experiment with different ingredients to put into a chicken rub. He threw all sorts of spices together to create the rub, and then we tested it by grilling the chicken up. And what better way to know how it turned out then to taste it. :) Derek decided that the rub met his standards (so much that he said I just witnessed the creation of one of their future specials), but he wanted to let the chicken get a little happier in the spices overnight and test the chicken again the next day.

Derek then presented me with the question of "Have you ever made mozzarella cheese?". I told him that I have witnessed the process of making cheese, but have never been an active part of making cheese. Well, it was my lucky day. I was going to not only see mozzarella cheese being made, but I was going to be able to actually help. Never in my life did I think I would be involved in the world of cheese making. Derek explained that they make their own fresh mozzarella for use in the restaurant, as it is a better quality and, surprisingly, more cost effective. I asked a few questions and then we got started. We went through all of the steps and then when it was time to shape the mozzarella, we made both logs and balls. Once the cheese had hardened up a bit, Derek let me taste the cheese to see the difference between fresh homemade and fresh store bought mozzarella. We also experimented with infusing flavors into the mozzarella cheese. We made a small batch of a sun-dried tomato herb mozzarella, and then one of the other cooks wanted to make a barbecue mozzarella. The sun-dried tomato herb was really good! Unfortunately, the barbecue tasted just like regular mozzarella. They decided that during the process, if they tried that flavor again that they would need to use more barbecue and less water in order to really incorporate that flavor profile.

During lunch, I helped Derek on outside expo. As orders came up, we made sure that they were correct and all parts of an order were together before the servers would run the meals to the guests. We had a nice lunch rush that day, so Derek had to hop around to the kitchen to help keep the flow going. I stood back and asked some questions and watched how everyone comes together to create the meals in a time effective manner. At the end of lunch, I helped clean up and then was free for the rest of my day.

I returned on Friday to Chuck and Augie's to see the front of house operations. I learned a little more from Michelle about some of her managerial duties, and then was introduced to Andrew who was working in the Blue Cow (an ice cream shop right next to Chuck and Augie's) that day. He gave me the quick run down on what he does to get the ice cream shop up and running for the day. I helped bring up some stock from the stockroom, and then helped pop popcorn. When my trainer for the restaurant arrived, Michelle pulled me out of the shop and introduced me to Brittany. She is one of the servers, and I was going to be her little minion for the day. I helped with some of the server prep tasks, and then we just waited for lunch to start. I followed her around and learned the ropes of what she does. I helped check on tables, run items to tables, and clear tables. At the end of Brittany's shift, I helped complete her clean up duties which consisted of sweeping the floors and making sure silverware was rolled. Before Brittany could leave, she had to close out her tickets for the day and make sure her funds she was accountable for that day proved to what the register tape said. Michelle let me stay till the end of my shift, and I got to see how she closes up for the day, including some of her paperwork she must fill out on the computer. So ends my time at Chuck and Augie's. It was a lot of fun!

:)ly

Past three days

Hi Everyone,
On Wednesday I worked in barista training for the morning. The girls and I walked around touring five of the six dining halls. When that was all done we had a chance to learn how to make coffee drinks on the UConn menu and use the steam machines. I would like to let you guys know that I am now an expert coffee maker. After training we had lunch at the student union where we enjoyed a delicious lunch. Finally, we sat down with some of the union street market staff and talked a bit. J Collins allowed us to play question and answer with him. He also talked about his job on a day to day basis. For the past two days I have been at Putnam as an assistant manager. A list of all the things I have done is below.
• Stamping Invoices and imputing them into FoodPro. By the way Carol E you are the best if you have to deal with that on a daily basis.
• Opening the dining hall, including validine
• Checking attendance
• Faxing sheets to payroll,
• FoodPro
• Unitime
• The procedure to getting things fixed that are broken
• Close Validine and do records count
• Go over health inspections
• Unite Polices
• University Policies
Until next time
Mahalia

Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Engines....We have a Menu

I've taken a slight break from my blogging world, but you can stop the addictive checking (that I know all of you have been doing) to see if I've updated yet. I'm back and better than ever. I had a quiet and relaxing weekend, crossing my t's and dotting my i's on projects and things that I needed to catch up on. On Monday, back to the bakery I went, with no complaints from me. I got to rotate through a few different projects so that I could see multiple tasks that are completed all in a day's work. I started back with Donna. We were going to make 10 dozen daisies out of fondant icing for a wedding cake the bakery was going to be making for one of the staff members. About an hour in and we had completed about 50 daisies, I got pulled to make the switcheroo with the other interns. My next stop was the cooler. I was going to help chop chocolate chip cookie dough that would eventually be shipped off to the dairy bar and put into ice cream. It was about 40 degrees in the cooler, and it felt good after being in the humid bakery. (We had to cut the dough in a controlled temperature environment so that the dough remained solid.) When my hour there was up, I found that the other project was completed so I volunteered to stay in the cooler and help finish cutting all the cookie dough. It was rather peaceful in there, and I was enjoying the whistle while you work atmosphere. After lunch, we came back and got to dabble in decorating again. All three of us were given giant cookies to decorate (similar to the cookies you see in the mall cookie shops that are decorated). I practiced making more icing roses and then put them all over my cookie. We still had time when we were finished with our cookies so we finally got to press our luck with a bakers form of modeling clay, aka fondant. I thought I would try to bust out this wicked looking troll I found in this book. Haha, not so much. My molding skills were definitely below amateur level. I decided to swallow my pride, suck it up, and work on the beginner's bird at the beginning of the book. I'm pretty proud I made the switch, my bird is wicked awesome.

Tuesday was a big day for project luncheon. Brittany and I had worked hard over the weekend to get our menu ideas figured out and give them a home on the food lines on the map of the dining hall we will be using to host our meal. Tuesday was the day the meal actually came to life and went from ideas on paper, to an actual meal concept. We spent the entire day working with Chef Rob (yes, the same celebrity I mentioned in a previous post). We tackled the project of locating recipes that were already in the Food Pro system that correlated with the menu we wanted to produce. Chef Rob tweaked a couple of recipes to make them applicable to what we were going for, he made suggestions if he thought we needed to make changes, and he helped create recipes if needed, as well. We left Chef Rob's office with a feeling of accomplishment, like a little weight had been lifted from our shoulders, as creating the menu was and is one of the biggest hurdles for us and this luncheon. I know everyone of you is anxious to hear our ideas and what's on the menu, but unfortunately I'm going to make you wait just a little bit longer. We still have two more recipes to work out and our desserts, and then I promise I will give you a menu that will definitely wet the appetite.

Today, we had our rotation and training in barista. We got a tour of five of the six coffee shops (one of the shops is closed for the summer) run by the foodservice operation here. Then our tour guide gave us some hands on training on what it takes to be a barista. We were taught what the basic drinks were, how to properly steam and foam milk, and how to brew espresso. Given my history, some of this was review for me, but it was interesting to see the differences in how I was trained in my past to what I learned today. After lunch, we sat and met with Jeff Collins, the manager of all the coffee shops on campus, and had a q&a session where he summarized what we learned on our tour and answered any questions we had.

We had a little time before our meeting with Gayle at 3 pm, so we headed over to McMahon to check in with Eric. We walked into a quiet environment, and found that we must have brought some excitement with us. Shortly after our arrival, a back flow pipe in the kitchen blew, and there was a small Niagara falls, small lake on the floor and all, happening right before my eyes. A stressful time for most, it was interesting to see how something that could turn into a catastrophe was handled pretty calmly. Everyone came together to get the water shut off, and the mess cleaned up.

Our meeting with Gayle was much less adventurous than our quick trip to McMahon. We were going to help do the run for the week that helps produce all the dining units recipes and such for the upcoming week. We all took turns behind the drivers wheel, and Gayle taught us what she does each week. She explained the importance of everything she does, and how what she does effects other areas directly. We also found out today that Gayle, a few years back, was once a NACUFS intern just like we are now. She told us stories of her experiences and we were able to ask her questions of how she took her internship experience at another university and turned it into a career with UConn. It was great to know (and see) how what we are doing now could develop into so much more in the future!