It has been an interesting week here at the University of Wyoming. We began this week learning more about what happens in the kitchen during production and also had a chance to cover service. On Tuesday Amy and I began our day in the kitchen helping complete the prep orders for this next day. This included gathering ingredients, cleaning and cutting, and also use of some equipment that I was not familiar with. There was a slicing unit that we used to cut peppers that made the task of cutting eleven pounds worth of produce last only about ten minutes.

After all of the items on the prep list were complete we went ahead and made the transition of preparing things out on the line for dinner service. This is when we had a chance to make some of the dishes that were served that day. I was impressed with Washakie’s dining staff and their use of their HACCP plan. Just recently the dining services here began using HACCP procedures. Although still a work in progress I believe that this shows a lot of initiative and care among the staff that they would take on this program.

On Wednesday we began our day bagging cookies for the orientation events that they were holding on campus. After completing that we went upstairs to help with lunch and dinner service. It was then that we finally had the chance to see the dining area in full swing. Up until this point service had been fairly slow, only serving around 30-70 students during each of the meal periods. On this day however there were a little over 150-200 people being served at Washake. It was a refreshing change and it was also interesting to see a few different staions that we had not been able to see in action yet.

On Thursday we had the chance to complete inventory. I have int the past done some inventory reports on a small scale, but this was an all day project. First, we had the Assistant Manager Phyllis Ricklefs help us complete a few of the items to make sure we understood the process that they used. After that Amy and I were set loose to complete the forms by ourselves. We of course had plenty of questions along the way and the staff was more than willing to help which made the process a lot less daunting. Of course the most difficult task was the freezer order where we had to wear winter coats and take regular coffee breaks because of the harshness of the cold. I grew up in Wisconsin all my life and have lived though some terrible winters with below zero temps, but nothing prepares you for doing work in a room that has a single digit temperature!

Finally on Friday we continued to learn more about the pre prep procedures and had the chance to serve for dinner. On this particular night they had a roast pork tenderloin that they carve right there for customers. Both Amy and I took turns cutting, and trust me, it is not as easy as it sounds. There is definitely quite some skill to carving and I’m glad I had my chance to try it.