The University of Kansas: Week Six

The excitement and challenge at the University of Kansas does not stop at week six! Julie and I had one of our busiest and longest weeks yet - but the experience and fun have been all worth the while!

Monday, July 11th

Julie and I had the pleasure of working a long 10 hour shift this day! My day started at 5:30am (whew!) with Hugh, the back of the house supervisor at Mrs. E's. We had a crazy morning that day as we spent a majority of it cooking breakfast to help out in hot foods. Afterwards, Hugh taught me how to schedule the staff in the daily work assignments, and also talked to me about his specific role at E's. The day with Hugh was fun and educational, but afterwards, I do admit I needed a nap!  

Tuesday, July 12th 

On Tuesday, Julie and I got to meet with Keith, The Market manager! We had met Keith a couple times prior to our official meeting and he was always so nice so Julie and I were really excited for our time with him. During our meeting we talked about how The Market, which is located in the Kansas Union, serves a very diverse population so that is always taken into consideration when planning menus and concepts. We took a tour of The Market to take a closer look at Keith's menus and all the changes he has made throughout the years. After our meeting with Keith, Julie and I headed back to Mrs. E's to ensure our themed dinner event continues to run smoothly, as it's coming up so quick! We spoke various chefs and managers and Mrs. E's to gain some insight and help on our recipes, layout diagrams, and marketing requests - everyone has been so helpful! 

Wednesday, July 13th

Wednesday was an exciting day! Julie and I and a huge group of Mrs. E's staff and Sysco representatives ventured to Rich Hill, Missouri to Vernon County Produce! Vernon County Produce is a family owned and operated business and is very unique in that they use horse power and other alternative methods to run their facilitates. The Mennonite group that took us on the tour were very welcoming and friendly, they even made us lunch and invited us into their house to eat when a huge storm hit around noon that day! It was amazing to see their way of earning a living and all the hard work they put into their business. This day was one I would not forget! 

Their peppers were picture perfect! 

Delicious Heirloom tomatoes!

 

Kale!

Now that's a hayride! 

Thursday, July 14th

Thursday involved another 10 hour day, but this time in the front of the house at Mrs. E's with Jason! We did various assessments and lots of problem solving that day! He taught me how to perform a sanitation check and how to schedule staff for the front of the house. He also taught me how crucial good communication and delegation of tasks was among his employees. It was fun getting to know about Jason and work with the entire Mrs. E's crew!  

Friday, July 15th

 

Friday was a very early day as well, which started at 6:30am at North College Cafe (NCC), a dining hall on north side of campus. As soon as we arrived at NCC, we were immediately in the action! We helped the NCC staff serve breakfast to a 20-person group of students visiting KU from the University of Costa Rica! As we worked to prepared the food and prep for later that day, we talked with Dave, NCC manager, about his career path and journey in KU Dining. Afterwards, Dave invited us to lunch at The Market! Then later that day, Julie and I had a very important meeting with marketing as they showed us their final designs from our mock ups for our Original Rules of Breakfast themed dinner! Marketing did a great job on our materials and we can't wait to start promoting our event! 

Social media marketing! 

Julie and I's imitation of the Original Rules of Basketball! 

Weekend Fun

 This weekend, Julie and I had some experience working with management at Mrs. E's on both Saturday and Sunday! We shadowed more supervisors in the front of the house and in the back of the house. The day was filled with lots of assessments and great teamwork. It's so fun to get to see how well management at Mrs. E's works together to feed KU's students!