We have been up to a lot the past week! We have been through some training, touring, and traveling. We began our week chef training with Bruce Haney and Angel Soto. They are great chefs and so much fun to work with. We got some great experience with kitchen prep as well as plating.
Abby - "I spent my morning with Chris Vagell, a chef in McMahon, making some tasty bruschetta and prepped some balsamic vinaigrette for lunch. She and I worked side by side as she helped me learn my way through the kitchen and the pantry. This was great because I knew where all the ingredients were for the recipes. However, I still needed considerable help making the recipes. Once I was finished learning from Chris I went out to Angel's station where I helped him plate meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans for the lunch rush. He made it look easy! He could plate five plates in the time it took me to do two. I aspire to plate as fast as Angel by July."
Mariel - "I spent the majority of the day with Bruce. We made an Herb Turkey soup, which I was proud of and simply had to try later that day (it tasted pretty good!). Then, after probably seeing me struggle with the 30 lbs of squash we were working with, Bruce showed me a neat knife technique, which helped me cut faster and more efficiently. I also got to work with raw, bloody meat - a first for me! To finish off the work day, I helped out during the lunch rush on Monday with plating and cutting pizzas and pizzas. It was really busy!"
In the middle of our chef training we got to tour Putnam, the dining hall currently being renovated. We got to suit up in our safety gear and head into the active construction site. The location looks great through all the tools and dust so we are sure that it will look even better without all that. We thought it was really neat that the dining hall will have two floors that food will be served on. It will definitely be a unique, new look for the dining hall. Huge thanks to Steve Sharkis and Matt Sroka for the exclusive behind the scenes tour.
We also did a few days of kitchen assistant (KA) training. We worked with Cindy Dancosse, Thuy, and Deb, kitchen assistants at McMahon. We cut up various fruits and vegetables from watermelon to broccoli. On the first day, we deboned smokehouse chicken, which we mixed with green bell pepper. We had to leave for another activity before we were able to complete our smokehouse chicken salad, but we're sure that the ingredients were used in an equally delicious recipe, as they were gone the next day when we looked for them. Throughout our KA training, we made a kale and chicken salad, tuna mac salad, broccoli and fruit salad, and a chickpea avocado salad. Sadly, we didn't get a chance to try our salads, but we know diners at McMahon wiped them clean!
We also had the chance to meet with Joe Ferris to go over some forecasting. He is extremely enthusiastic about what he does and is very knowledgeable. He showed us all the factors that go into forecasting a meal in a dining hall, like service records, food cost and patron count. Forecasting a meal is a group effort that requires action from the chefs all the way to the managers. Joe works with FoodPro to ensure that the numbers are correct and the ordering is sufficient. We really enjoyed working with Joe and we applaud his amazing mental math.
This week we also had the opportunity to test some Salad Shaker recipes with Ron Swiller and Peter Stetson (Production Chef). This was an extremely unique experience that we both learned a lot from. Ron gave us numerous ingredients to choose from such as kale, farro, quinoa, and various meats. The objective was to create four new recipes for the Salad Shakers that would be used in the coffee shops around campus. We realized just how much work testing a recipe can be. We had to measure out every ingredient that we used on a small scale and record the exact order that everything was placed into the shaker cup. It was a long process but by the end we had many salad recipes to choose from. The most popular recipes included a Pineapple Kale Salad and a Farro Pepperoni Salad. Ron was a tremendous teacher and taught us many cutting techniques and tricks around the kitchen. Hopefully we will be able to share this knowledge with others in the future!
We were also able to participate in a mock health inspection of McMahon with Environmental Health and Safety Inspector, Cheryl Lebeau. We learned about Cheryl's role in the dining services and about logistical information, like the temperatures required for certain foods and low- and high-level violations. Cheryl has a sharp eye and pointed out possible things to look for during our walk-through of McMahon's facilities. She is very knowledgeable, not only sharing what questions to ask during an inspection but also answering our many questions about the work she does.
On Thursday we were able to meet with the Nutrition Coordinator on campus, Amy Dunham MA, RD, CSSD. She was very informative when telling us about her role on campus. She is involved in clinical work on campus, as well as partnering with the dining halls to create a healthy and accommodating atmosphere for students here at UConn. She also discussed a little bit about dealing with eating disorders on campus, along with her current projects. The project discussed in the most detail was dietary analysis, which we hope to help her with in the near future. It was very interesting learning about the dietitian's role in a university food service setting.
On Friday we got to spend the entire day at the Union Street Market (USM). We began our time with a tour from Kimberly Burns, Assistant Manager. She showed us all the key spots in USM including all the different restaurants, storage rooms, and most importantly where we can get coffee. We spent time with Joe Murphy, Location Supervisor of One Plate, Two Plates. He showed us how they make gluten-free food items, as well as many vegan and vegetarian options. It is definitely a very uncommon restaurant but extremely tasty! After our time with Joe we met with Jeff Collins, Area Manager at USM. He discussed Netview with us and how it works in tangent with FoodPro. It was neat to see how things are run differently at USM than at a standard dining hall. We also enjoyed getting to know Jeff and his family. We also met with the Production Chefs at USM, Kelly and Allen. They shed some light on exactly what a Production Chef does. We never knew just how much they were responsible for, especially all the menu planning. After some great lunch discussion with Jeff and Ethan Haggerty (Area Manager for Uniquely Caffeinated Cafes and the UConn Dairy Bar), we moved on to more FoodPro knowledge with Carol at USM. She takes care of all the orders that come in and out. She even let us enter the orders for the day. Carol kept apologizing because she thought she was boring us but we really appreciated her taking the time to teach us. Overall, we had a great day at USM!
On Saturday we took a trip out to Mystic to experience the Taste of Mystic festival. It was a lot of fun even though we got caught in the rain.
Abby - "I experienced lobster for the first time! However, it was in my mac'n'cheese. I am counting it as a seafood experience though. I also tried an amazing s'mores tart that was great for a rainy day. I also splurged on some garlic truffle fries. Overall, I have to say that Mystic has some great food!"
Mariel - "I tried a duck roll, seafood stuffing, and a s'mores tart! The duck roll was so tasty, and I'm even still craving for it right now. Abby and I shared some garlic truffle fries too. By the end, I was stuffed from all of the delicious food. I now know what restaurants to go to next time I'm in Mystic."
Once we were done at the festival we went to downtown Mystic and experienced the seaport. We had a great time shopping around and seeing the sights of the town. We even had the opportunity to visit Carol Cronin, our internship coordinator, and her husband Rob out on their boat. Before we left for Storrs we stopped by the Voodoo grille for some New Orleans cuisine. It was more great food from Mystic!
On Sunday we took the advice of Mario Dabrowski, Gelfenbien Assistant Manager, and Steve Popovich, South Assistant Manager, and took the Point Judith ferry over to Block Island. We rented bikes and rode them to the Southeast Lighthouse, which is mostly uphill. We felt accomplished after getting up there so we rewarded ourselves with a few hours of beach time when we got back to the bottom of the hill. We didn't swim in the ocean because it is bone-chillingly cold but we did get sunburned on the beach. We enjoyed seeing the island and all of its shops before catching the 5 pm ferry back to Point Judith.
Until next week,
Mariel and Abby
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