In the Swing of Things

Over this week, I feel like I finally got the hang of controlling my own schedule and accomplishing my goals for the week.  It was a very long week to say the lease.  Not because the work I did was boring (on the contrary I had a blast), but because I worked 52 hours throughout the week!  I even worked a 15 hour day on Wednesday.

On Monday, I finally implemented my Mac and Cheese bar concept.  I guided the cooks and servers on how I wanted it to run. Also, I asked the students for feedback for it.  Now, we will go back and evaluate how we did and make some changes for when it goes on the menu in the fall!

On Tuesday, we met with some food vendors who presented their new line of gourmet breads.  They had some funky flavors like cracked black pepper, tomato basil, and sauerkraut!  The cooks were looking for bread to use for a panini bar, and I think they found them!  Afterword, I worked with a kitchen manager on his inventory analysis. Basically, we went through the whole inventory on the computer to see if it was accurate.  Next, I watched a webinar on feeding America's next generation, more specifically the school lunch reform.  It was put on by the Guiding Star's program, which UND implements in its dining halls.  Finally, I worked with the catering department to serve a catered meal to the university president, his wife, and another couple,  I met president Bob Kelley and his wife.  They were so nice and welcoming!

Wednesday was my 15 hour day.  I started at 6:45 AM in UND's dining central warehouse.  I worked with the manager to receive a delivery, pull a delivery, and make an order.  Next, I met with some of the staff about the summer picnic we have planned.  We basically went through the menu to check if we can get all of the food in time, which we should be able to!  Lastly, I worked a another catered event.  This time, it was a reception for a conference the Environmental Energy Research Center put on.  It was a lot of fun to work with some other students and interact with the guests of the reception.  I did not end up going home until 9:45 PM that night!

Thursday was somewhat a slow day, but an exciting one.  I did a lot of planning and training on this day.  However, I did get a chance to tour the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center.  It is right on UND's campus.  Here, they bring in scientists from all disciplines and all over the world to work on many different research projects.  The center's main focus is obesity and they do human and animal studies to find out more about it.  They are also building a human behavioral lab in the center.  Later that day, I got a chance to sit in on an interview.  It was interesting to experience one from the outside rather than being a part of it.

On Friday, I worked at the warehouse again.  This time, we made deliveries around campus.  It was nice to discover some parts of campus that I hadn't seen yet.  I also worked on a presentation for the staff that I will be presenting in a couple of weeks.  It will be a prezi talking about healthier alternatives to using salt in cooking.  I am really excited about it!