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Our second week here at the University of Connecticut has been filled with a lot of technical work and the on-going education of new skills.
On Wednesday, we met with some of our superiors, Eric Janssen, Derek Carlsen, and Rob Landolphi, to finalize the theme of the event we are planning. At UConn, one of our responsibilities before the 8 weeks is up is to plan a luncheon for one of the Orientation groups coming to campus. Kelly and I have had to come up with a theme, construct a menu, and have design plans for the actual dining hall.
Our theme for this luncheon is The Hobbit. College: An Unexpected Journey (because, let's be honest, there were a ton more things that occurred in college than any of us were prepared for as freshmen). Everyone here is really excited for this theme, especially my fellow Tolkien fans.
After that, we met with Gayle Misener and her assistant to learn how to work the computerized inventory software called FoodPro. Now that our accounts are set up, we can access the entire food inventory and recipes for the dining hall we will be hosting our event in.
The next two days, we got to experience what it was like to be chefs in McMahon. Kelly and I had a lot of fun when we got to work with Beth in the omelette station during morning shift, and again with her and Bruce in the pizza station for lunch. We have such a good time joking around and learning new skills with them (like how to flip an omelette for Kelly, and how not to get covered in flour on a daily basis for me).
Beth looking very disappointed in us for using the serving tongs as castanets.
We had to work on Saturday because we had Monday off for Memorial Day. We worked with Alice Kapsch as managers in McMahon. We helped her with inventory lists and supervising the employees. Saturdays are pretty slow, so we were able to learn easily without the addition of a stressful environment.
WEEKEND ADVENTURES
This Sunday, Kelly and I hobnobbed in Norwalk, CT. We got on a catamaran and rode over to Sheffield Island. We toured the lighthouse and hung out on the island in the beautifully sunny weather before it started raining on our way back.
Sheffield Island Lighthouse
The Mystic Aquarium is where we adventured to on Monday. We got to pet sharks and sting rays and see a lot of ocean wildlife. We also walked around the town of Mystic afterwards, which was super cute and a ton of fun.
We got some ice cream at the Mystic Drawbridge Ice Cream shop!
It was delicious.
Tuesday, Kelly and I went over to the Student Union on campus to work at the Union Street Market. Kelly learned how to be a barista (which she really enjoyed - never give her more than one cup of coffee) and I learned how to make some of the school's smoothies. Terry Cook showed us around and explained the different stations, while later on, Deb taught us both about the PoS system they use.
We also were able to talk with Kim who took us to speak with some of the student managers and supervisors. They told us a lot about how students work in the dining facilities at UConn, which we really enjoyed learning about.
Yesterday we went to a farm!
Spring Valley Farms is a student run farming facility just off campus. Students take responsibility to keep up the crops that are actually used in the dining halls and restaurants on campus. Julia Cartabiano, Sienna, Tyler, and Molly showed us how to harvest and wash spinach and lettuce. We also helped plant morning glories around some of the student houses.
Nice, clean lettuce that we picked ourselves!
Later on, Jim Kupchunos came by and showed us the bees that he keeps on the farmland. We helped feed the bees with a sugar-water solution. Kelly now holds the record as the only NACUFS intern to be stung by one of the bees. Go Kelly! (She's fine.)
These hats are lovely
Playing with the bees!
Today we worked at the UConn Farmer's Market, selling the crops that we harvested yesterday. We also sold other local produce, including strawberries, corn, and honey. A lot of people came by and we had a ton of fun outside in the lovely weather. Thank you, John Smith, James, and Nicole for letting us help out!
Kelly, workin' hard.
Some of the stuff we sold at the market today!
We'll keep you posted in coming weeks for all of our other adventures!
- Hasbie and Speckel
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