Buying, Catering, and FOOD!-Wyoming Week 2

This week started bright and early with a 6:00am shift at the receiving dock in Washakie.  We got to watch an order of food come in and see how it's unloaded from the truck, checked for quality and safety, and stored.  It was interesting to me to see how much paperwork is involved with getting food where it needs to go.  There's paperwork for ordering, receiving, and requisitioning it from storage into production.  It's so important for it to get tracked in every stage so that people have what they need when they need it, and so much time is spent entering data into computers to make sure such tracking happens.  It was interesting talking to Doug, the purchasing manager.  He has been here long enough that he has an intuitive feel for how much food needs to be ordered at different times of the year for the Washakie dining hall.  I can barely keep track of how much food I need for myself from week to week!

            The next day, we hopped over to catering and got to help make sandwiches for some of the retail operations on campus.  Afterward, we got to try our hand at recipe development, which I found super exciting as well as intimidating.  We basically got shown the kitchen, the equipment, and where different foods are, and then we were told to have at it.  It was so fun!  I like experimenting with food, but I’ve never had such a wide variety of ingredients available to me before – they had everything from cardamom to fig vinegar!  The challenge was that we had to make a wrap or sandwich that would not only taste good, but also keep well, look attractive, and not be too expensive.  No student is going to pay $20 for a wrap with truffle oil.

            I really enjoyed talking to Michael, the catering manager, on Wednesday.  I really admire his managing style: he has to employ students to stay in business, and he treats them like his own kids.  He is more concerned with their wellbeing, academic lives, and social lives than their work lives.  Because of this, he lets the students choose their own schedules – he never assigns shifts.  He wants to make sure that when students come in, they actually want to be there.  And they do!  It’s amazing, but the shifts fill up really quickly; it can actually be a point of contention between the employees because some don’t get to work as much as they want to.  Claire and I got to go along and see a catered event that night, and I only heard positive things about Michael and catering.  (And thanks to the chef, the food we had was pretty great too! – hummus, pita chips, an amazing spinach dip, baklava…)

  

I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to take pictures at the event, so unfortunately, the only pictures I have from that night are just of the sky.  I’m in love with the Laramie sky.

            Thursday was yet another fun day: we went in early to learn how sushi is made for retail.  They have an awesome “cold stone” tabletop in the kitchen that they used to use for ice cream but now use to keep sushi chilled while it’s being rolled.  We watched the master at work, and then we got to try our hand at it! 

Master At Work - Making BBQ Eel Sushi

Claire Rolling Like A Pro

My Creation/Unique Breakfast: California Roll with Mango

I never realized how important the rice is in sushi – it has to be mixed with vinegar for both flavor and texture, and you have to avoid mashing it when you’re making the sushi.  You’re also supposed to use lemon on the board and knife when cutting sushi because this helps the rice not stick to anything.

So Much Sushi!

            That afternoon, Claire and I prepared our wrap recipes and some new sushi recipes for a taste panel.  It was great – I felt like I was on Chopped, except everyone was really nice and gave constructive feedback.  I made an “umami” roll with marinated mushrooms, avocado, edamame, and jalapeno.  (Consensus: it needed more color).  I also made a tropical chicken wrap and an Asian chicken wrap, which I think went over the best out of all my recipes.  The Asian chicken wrap had a carrot/red cabbage/jicama slaw with sriracha and lime, cilantro, and garlicky chicken.

            On Friday, Amy, the awesome dietitian/internship coordinator, joined us for a meeting with Janet, who is in charge of purchasing.  We all learned a lot!  We talked about the difference between a bid (which is used for products) and an RFP (Request for Proposal, which is used for services).  Claire and I practiced writing our own (fake) bid for a new soft serve machine for Washakie.  We learned a lot in the process…and got hungry for soft serve.

Sorry, I just can't get over the beauty here.

Just can't!

            It has been another great week!  I’m still learning a lot, and I have loved meeting and working with people this week – everyone is really friendly and helpful.  The weeks are starting to go by quickly now, and I’m excited for what’s still in store.