Michigan State Week 7

Hello there, it's Dana again! I can't believe these 8 weeks are moving so fast. Here's a recap of our second to last week at MSU:

Monday, July 11th
We began the week with a tour of the laundry facility. Although seemingly unrelated to food service, Spartan Laundry is in the same family as the culinary services, as they both reside within the Residential Hospitality Services department. The dining halls depend on the laundry services tremendously, constantly sending out and receiving cleaning rags, employee uniforms, and table linens. In addition to the materials needed by other departments, Spartan Laundry cleans hundreds of pounds of laundry a day.

Industrial sized driers

Some finished laundry, ready for delivery

After our tour, Jen and I headed to Brody to help out during lunch. Rather than working in the kitchen, we worked with Amanda on processing catering orders. We were responsible for pulling the orders out of the system, observing any specific catering requests, and organizing them by day of the week. This process is critical in order to ensure the proper amount of food is produced and thus customer satisfaction is guaranteed.


Tuesday, July 12th
Another field trip!! We drove west to visit Western Michigan University. Our guide, Katie, was an MSU alumni and a former MSU dining services employee. We started the tour by visiting the university's newest dining addition, the Valley Dining Center. Although still under construction, we were able to see the facility's beautiful dining platforms and even observe some staff training in the pizza station. One particular piece of the dining center that impressed me was the presence of an "allergen pantry." This pantry contained all gluten free foods and was connected to a separate cooking station where no potential food allergens (nuts, dairy, etc.) were used.

The Valley Dining Center Entrance

One of the new venues 

Staff members watching a pizza demonstration

Following our tour, we met with campus Registered Dietitian Kelsey. She explained her role in the culinary services at Western Michigan University, and answered any general dietetics questions we had. It is always so interesting to talk with people who are succeeding in the field Jen and I care so dearly about.

We then ate lunch in one of the older dining facilities on campus, the Bernhard Center. Although the facility was very appealing and the food was delicious, I could completely understand why the staff was so excited about the construction of the Valley Dining Center. As the Assistant Dining Complex manager for the past 3 years, Katie was so excited to show us the progress they have made, and it again reminded me how rewarding a career in food service management can be.


Wednesday, July 13th
Since Green and White Days were approaching, the Food Truck needed some help. Green and White Days is a weeklong series of events in which high school seniors visit the MSU campus and learn about becoming MSU students. This is one of the biggest events of the year for the Food Truck, and they began prepping several days prior.

Jen and I began our prepping shift by shredding pork for the truck's famous pulled pork sandwich. We even were able to prepare some of the pork ourselves, seasoning it with salt and pepper before roasting it for several hours.

Jen shredding pork

Buns branded with the Spartan logo

Next, we prepared and bagged cookies in an assembly line fashion. The cookies are baked for 5 minutes, topped with crumbled oreo pieces, then baked for another 5 minutes. Although hard to resist eating them all, Jen and I were responsible for individually bagging the cookies and sealing them with a Spartan sticker. I will admit, any broken cookies were consumed immediately!

RAD cookies - Ridiculously Awesome Cookie

Thursday, July 14th
It was finally our turn to show off! The NACUFS interns from Ferris State (Anabella and Rachel) visited our campus, and it was nearly impossible to cram all the amazing things about MSU into only a day's worth of touring. First, we met with campus Registered Dietitian Gina and Corporate Chef Kurt, who discussed their roles on campus and how dietetics and culinary services function cohesively. We then met with Donnie, who showed the girls one of our Sparty's retail centers and explained how the service works at MSU. We did the same at one of our Starbuck's locations.

We spent the most time in the test kitchen, where Kurt's interns showed the girls how they contribute to recipe testing and production for the residential dining services. They let us sample some of their projects, including a surprisingly sweet beet ice-cream.

Beet ice-cream

Kurt's culinary interns showing the other NACUFS interns how they vacuum seal vegetables

We toured some other dining facilities, such as the Akers dining hall in the East neighborhood, then we headed back to Brody for lunch. I felt an overwhelming sense of pride when the other NACUFS interns raved about our dining facilities and food quality.

Since we still had some time left, we showed the girls some of our other retail dining centers in the Union as well as the Food Truck. Although there are still so many other wonderful things about MSU, I was happy we were able to cram so much into only a few hours. It was also so lovely to spend time with other NACUFS interns who are passionate as we are!

Left to right: Jen, Rachel, Anabella, Dana - Proud NACUFS interns!

After Ferris State left us, Jen and I headed to one of Kurt's cooking demonstrations. He was teaching a group of middle school children how to make various chocolate and sweet treats. He had them race to whip egg whites into a foam, and allowed them to try several different types of chocolate and hard candies. The kids were so enthusiastic and it thrilled me to see how far-reaching the culinary experiences at MSU can be.

Kurt creating a chocolate mousse

The children sampling hard candy

Friday, July 15th
For the first of the Green and White Days, Jen and I helped out on the Food Truck. We wanted to make the best impression on the potential Spartans, as a third of the attendees end up applying and coming to MSU every year. We met at Landon Dining Hall, where we helped to make some final preparations and load the truck.

We set up outside the building where the potential students attended various events. We set up several tents, tables, a POS station, and a beverage station alongside the truck. As the students and parents trickled out, several stopped to eat or at least check out what we had to offer. Our entrees were a 3-cheese grilled cheese, a pulled pork sandwich, or our award-winning smoked cheddar cheeseburger. For only a dollar more, they could add a beverage (bottled water or lemonade) and a side (cookie or chips).

Truck setup 

Some future Spartan's enjoying the truck

In particular, I helped out at the POS tent, helped toast the buns, and manned the beverage station. My absolute favorite part was my lunch break though, where I got to enjoy an amazing grilled cheese sandwich with lemonade and a cookie. If I was on the fence about attending MSU, lunch from the Food Truck easily would have persuaded me!

Overall, the day was very successful and ran smoothly. It was good practice for the even larger Green and White Days ahead!

Just some Food Truck girls being silly!