The University of Kansas: Week Eight

How can this amazing experience be over so fast?! Our time at the University of Kansas has been simply incredible and Julie and I are so sad it has come to an end. All the experiences we had and friends we made will never be forgotten! Here is the wrap up of our final week with KU Dining. 

Monday and Tuesday, July 25 and 26th

On Monday and Tuesday Julie and I did a tremendous amount of work to prepare for our final dinner event at Mrs. E's! We met with various people at Mrs. E's to ensure the preparation for our project was running smoothly. We made sure our inventory was in order with Devin, checked out some of our items in Judy's stockroom, and met multiple times with Sam to help us with our final decoration details. We also worked with Adrianna in the bakery to make lots of advanced prep items such as whole wheat cinnamon rolls and whole wheat pizza dough! Though these days were long, we had a lot of fun working with everyone so closely.

Whole wheat cinnamon rolls for our final dinner! 

Julie helped create our special Peach Tart for our event!

Wednesday, July 27th

Wednesday was the big day that Julie and I had been waiting for! We cannot explain how amazing of a job the team at Mrs. E's did in helping us execute our final dinner: The Original Rules of Break Fast. It was such a surreal thing to see the concepts that Julie and I have been working on for 8 weeks come to life. Here is some background about our theme. 

The Original Rules of Break Fast was inspired by the The Original Rules of Basketball, written by James Naismith and adopted by no other than KU. The Original Rules of Basketball were recently purchased by an alumnus of KU and the new DeBruce Center was built to house them right on KU's campus. With the excitement of the rules and the strong love for jayhawk basketball at KU, we came up with a clever play on the Original Rules of Basketball and therefore created the Original Rules of Break Fast. We decided to stick with classic jawhawk decor in the dining hall and also implemented an overall basketball theme - we were even as fortunate to have a life-size James Naismith cutout serve as a selfie station during our event - donated so generously by KU Memorial Unions Marketing. For our nutrition education, we created a MyPlate "game plan" poster for the focus of our nutrition kiosk along with rosters of the 5 "starters" of MyPlate: fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins, and dairy. We also had a pop-a-shot with nutrition trivia for participants to win prizes and a chance for all event attendees to enter a raffle. As for our menu (pictured below) we stuck with a fun twist on breakfast foods that could also work at dinner foods (since our event was held during dinner). 

Everyone from Christine, to marketing, to Cheryl, to the entire staff at Mrs. E's, and all the upper management at KU Dining that came in to support our event, played a role in helping us execute such a successful event! The only "mishap" was the popularity of Julie and I's chicken and waffles. When we ran short on the pre-made waffles, Julie had to jump in the back of the house and make some with Mason, fresh of off the waffle iron! Other than that, our 12 hour day ran very well!

Our decoration committee did a fabulous job!

These Jayhawks are hand-made by Sam at Mrs. E's!

Sam also created this amazing homecoming style sign! 

Julie with our nutrition kiosk!

Playing our MyPlate trivia allowed you to try our pop-a-shot and win prizes!

Our friends supporting our event! 

Keith, The Market manger, brought his family to The Original Rules of Breakfast - how amazing!

        

Our most popular dish!

Thursday, July 28th

Julie and I had our final presentation to all of KU Dining upper management this day! As nervous as I was, I think Julie and I did a great job, especially since those we have worked with already came to support us and hear about our time during our internship and made it a very relaxed audience to speak to. Julie and I prepared a giant slide show, made a short video of our final event, and brought in our nutrition kiosk to the presentation in order to show everyone all the amazing things we accomplished during our intensive internship. After finally having the relief of being done with our internship and the entire experience going as well as it did, Julie and I had the pleasure of enjoying a reception at Mrs. E's that everyone planned for us! We had cake, drank punch, took photos, and had the chance to talk to everyone and let them know how much we appreciated them having us this summer. I will admit that it was bittersweet, but the experiences and new bonds that I have made with some many people at KU is something I will always cherish! 

   

Example slides from our final presentation and all the activities we did during our internship! 

Our special going away reception - thank you to all of KU Dining! 

Friday, July 29th

For our final day in Kansas, Julie and I will be traveling home in the afternoon after Christine gives us her final evaluations after our lunch with her. We look forward to our final moments with her and the staff at Mrs. E's. 

Those at KU Dining that have shown us tremendous support through our journey! 

So with that, NACUFS, and everybody reading, I would like express how amazing my summer has been at KU Dining. All the experiences, new skill sets, insights and personal growth that I have experienced have been truly remarkable. I believe that my time with KU Dining has been the biggest challenge that I have faced professionally and I value it so much. While I am sad to have heard about the discontinuation of this exceptional internship, I can only hope our current blogs are true exemplifications of how meaningful our experiences with the NACUFS Foodservice Management Internship really are!

Sincerely,
Briana

Final Blog!

I Don't Think We're In Kansas Anymore..

                What a week, what a summer! Starting my blog with a Wizard of Oz quote, so of course I had to end it with one as well! This has been one whirlwind of a summer with so many opportunities and experiences that have proven beneficial for the our special event, The Original Rules of Break Fast! It was a great learning experience, and looking back was a fun night! This event was the fruit of all our labor, and it was great night!

Chicken and Waffles!

                Monday Bri and I spent all day preparing for the event. By the end of the day, I had written around 6 to do lists, and we began preparing our final presentation. We spent a lot of time preparing and figuring out what things we could do, and when. We were very productive as we planned for our event.

                Tuesday was a day full of productivity as well. We made work schedules for our event, we prepared the decorations, and even ended up in the bakery helping Adrianna prepare items for our event. We helped prepare the whole wheat cinnamon rolls, rolled the whole wheat pizza crust, and while Bri helped with decorations, John, Adrianna and I all worked on preparing the peach tart. John truly helped us make sure all the advanced prep was on schedule, and going smoothly! Mason, one of the Hot Foods Cooks, truly helped us through this production. As did all the other cooks! This event truly worked because of how everyone came together and helped us get our project of the ground!

                Wednesday was the big day! I was super stressed, (as per usual) and we had prepared so much the previous days, that we had to play the waiting game to set everything up. Sam, one of the supervisors, was another person who was quintessential to the success of our night. She truly has a vision for decorations, and helped us make sure everywhere was staffed. I don't think enough thank yous will ever be enough to show how grateful I am for all of her help.

                The food was a hit, and we had over 200 guests come! We had a breakfast for dinner event, and people seemed to really like it! Some of the hits were the chicken and waffles, whole wheat pancakes, mixed berry syrup, an apple bacon breakfast pizza on whole wheat curst, and a steak and egg breakfast taco! Our prized dessert was the Peach Tart that Mary helped us create! It was so exciting to see that this recipe was added to the KU Dining recipe repertoire.  Because the food was such a hit, the waffles went like hot cakes, and with an hour left of dinner, we had one pan of waffles left, and not more to prep. We used a frozen waffle, and we had no more left to make! We had to think on our feet, and decided to make waffles with the waffle irons that are put out for breakfast. Mason made the mix, and I jumped in to make the waffles. We kept food on the line, and had enough back up pans to get us through dinner! Other than that, there were no major hiccups throughout the night.

                I can't believe in the  blink of an eye, this internship is over. Eight weeks seems like a long time, but this adventure feels like it lasted all of a week. How did it become the end of July? How did 8 weeks pass so quickly, and how did I get to learn so much in such a short time. I had a truly enriching and inspiring summer, and am excited to see what is too come!

 

Week 7 at KU

 WEEK 7 has come and gone, and I cannot believe it! We have been working hard tying up the final aspects of our Special Even Dinner, and obtain managerial experience. This week also contained barista training, which was by far one of the most fun things I have been able to do! It was so informative and ended with a tour of a tour of the factory where KU buys their coffee from!

Thanks Bri! Order Up!

                By no means am I a coffee drinker, I think I have had less than 5 coffee drinks in my life, but this informative training was so much fun! I learned how to make Freshens Smoothies, espressos, Americano drinks, iced coffee drinks, how to brew coffee in large urns, and finally how to steam milk to make cappuccinos and  lattes. I thought learning to steam milk would be difficult, but using the steam wand was much easier than anticipated. It is all about wand placement, and steaming to 140 degrees. But I will say, latte art is much more difficult then baristas make it look. When I tried, the 'leaf' ended up as more of a blob, thankfully this drink had whipped cream on it to cover up my masterpiece! 

The tour to the Roasterie, which is a Kansas City based company, is who KU buys their coffee from, and we were fortunate enough to tour the factory. This tour was super informative as well; from the roast types, how to properly brew your coffee, and proper storage. This tour made me really wonder how long the tour guide's coffee routine was in the morning, based on how he described proper brewing techniques for coffee!

                Bri and I also were able to meet with the Service employees to discuss and inform them of what is happening this coming Wednesday. It was great to be able to inform them and make sure they were all on board of what is going to be taking place. And we also experienced managerial  roles, shadowing both Travis Fell and Kory Norman. On Monday, we will be able to experience General Manager, Mark Maranell's, position.  These experiences were insightful on what it is like to be a manager, and about different manager styles. It was important to learn about others,  in order for me to learn about myself.

                Friday, Christine, Bri and I traveled to Kansas City to visit the Roasterie and Boulevard Brewing Company, and we were able to try some authentic KC BBQ!! I had a pulled chicken sandwich and let me tell you! This was absolutely delicious!! I joined the clean plate club, and I was stuffed! It was so yummy! We waited on line for roughly 40 minutes, starting outside and making our way inside, but it was so worth it! By the time we left, Joe's Kansas City BBQ, had put a cooler of water with cups outside for those waiting to get inside! We then went to the Brewing Company tour, and it was so interesting. I did have to wear a blaring tag stating I was under 21, but it was still so interesting to learn of the malting process, fermenting, bottling, and history of the company!

                This Saturday, Bri and I went the Grand Opening of the DeBruce Center, where the Original Rules of Basketball are held, and there was a celebration of the opening of the building, and to celebrate the Rules. It was a fun and festive event to celebrate KU Basketball and its heritage!

     This next week is the last week here in Kansas! I can't believe how fast time has flown, but I am anxiously waiting for our event! 

The University of Kansas: Week Seven

How can it already be week seven?! That means there is only one more week left in this exciting NACUFS journey!

Monday and Tuesday, July 18th and 19th

Monday and Tuesday were some of Julie and I's favorite days! We were baristas at The Roasterie! We were trained on everything coffee including how to make drip coffee, lattes, cappuccinos, frappes, Americanos, macchiatos, you name it! The most interesting thing was learning the differences between those drinks and how to tailor each one for all the different customers that came by The Union. In addition, we also learned how to make smoothies and chai tea lattes! After all said and done, we had a quiz with Katie, The Union Roasterie supervisor. She ensured we passed with flying colors, mostly because she was an excellent teacher! Julie and I loved working at The Roasterie! 

Barista fun!

Julie made her first latte!

Maybe one day we will be able to master latte art! 

We love making frappes!

Wednesday, July 20th

Wednesday was a special day for Julie and I. We had been working hard to prepare our final dinner packets to present to management at Mrs. E's. We were to communicate our overall dinner theme, lead responsibilities on event day, diagrams of concept set up and decoration, our recipe creation, and anything else we needed to discuss to ensure successful execution of the event! Though it was intimidating presenting to the management at Mrs. E's, the meeting went well and the help and support across KU Dining has been tremendous! In the afternoon, Julie and I shadowed Travis, brand new Executive Sous Chef at KU Dining, about his previous position as Production Manager at Mrs. E's. It was interesting to hear how his past three years working at Mrs. E's to manage the back of the house has most definitely prepared him for his new, larger role in KU Dining! 

Our 24-page final dinner packets!

One sample concept diagram

  

Thursday, July 21st

On Thursday, I had a very exciting day shadowing Kory, Mrs. E's Service Manager. We first started with an interview for the open supervisor position at The Studio! It was a three person interview, lasting about 30 minutes long. Afterwards, we all had the chance to discuss how management typically assess candidates and also records interview answers in their online system. It was so interesting to get to watch their interviewing process as I have been wanting to sit in on an interview for a while! Afterward, Kory and I attended a meeting to discuss the craziness of the first week of school and the students' tail gate and boxed lunch events. KU Dining will be serving about 3,600 students so it is vital that all of KU Dining is involved in the production and execution of the food and events! Mark, KU Dining's new Director and John, KU Dining's new Executive Chef, led the giant team of upper management in ensuring everyone knew their responsibilities to prepare for the first week of school at KU. It was a great meeting to sit in on! After all the excitement, Kory gave me the chance to ask him about his role in KU Dining and his specific management style. It was a fun day! 

Friday, July 22nd

Friday was jam packed with FUN! Christine took Julie and I to Kansas City to do some very cool things! We first went to The Roasterie, a locally started coffee shop/factory in the heart of KC. We learned how The Roasterie got it's start and how it's one of the most unique coffee shops in that they air-roast all of their coffee beans (which tastes fabulous, by the way)! We got a tour of their factory to see how they hand package their coffee and then also tasted a new coffee blend made by both a pour over method and French press method - both having totally different tastes! After the Roasterie, Christine took us to one (if not the) best places for BBQ - Joe's Kansas City BBQ. We all had the best lunch ever! Later that afternoon, we all headed to Boulevard Brewing to go on a brewery tour! We heard how the company got it's start in creating great craft beers and toured the huge brewing facility. We (not underaged Julie!) even got the chance to try a few samples! We all had so much fun spending all of Friday together!

The Roasterie in Kansas City!

Julie, myself and Christine!

Testing the new Malawi Misuku Hills coffee

The classic Z-Man Sandwich - YUM!