Testing 1,2. Testing Here at KU

   This week was focused on projects, projects, projects, projects! Our main focus was testing recipes for our Special Event Dinner! I definitely did not know how much went into writing and creating a recipe! The Executive Sous Chef Travis Fell and Production Supervisor Mary Pouy were a vital role in helping Bri and I in developing recipes for our dinner. We ended up creating a nifty pizza pie, that is still a surprise for all of you reading! We tried different variations before finding just the right balance of ingredients to make a delectable dish! We also tested different variations for a special dessert!
   This was a very fun week as we kept testing recipes. There were many things that went into testing that I sure never would have thought about! The more precise a test recipe is the more precise it will be as it is scaled up to feed 500 people (or more). Everything needed to be weighed, measured, and weighed and measured again to ensure accuracy! (You can say we may have messed up a few times!) Or more than a few! Bri and I in the kitchen, watch out! It's definitely is a show! It is a fun time with a lot of laughs, and a lot of doubts if we did something right! We spent a lot of time in the bakery testing, stirring, baking, and taking things out of the oven way too early. Fun fact: Timers on the oven are not an indicator of done-ness.
  On Thursday, we spent some time on Thursday at the DeBruce Center, where the Courtside Cafe is located. We met with Cynthia Faircloth, who is the manager. We learned about how the establishment was built, as it is a new building, and how all of the eateries were chosen and created. It was really cool to see the  creativity that went into customizing the concepts to what people want to eat! We then spent Friday morning with Chris Johnston, who is the manager of the Satellite Operations. We learned of all the preparations for the Grab-n-Go items that are sold around campus. We learned of the challenges of all of the deliveries that are made daily, and the challenges the drivers face in order to get the food safely to each location. We went on a tour of all the different locations on campus, and learned of the challenges each location faces, because many of the shops are small and have limited space for storage. There are also the challenges of the amount of traffic each location receives, and the amount of sales they receive. These tours and meetings are enlightening because there is so much planning and execution for these plans to make everything run smoothly. There is so much that goes on that I never would have even begun to think about!