University of Northern Iowa Week 2

Monday, June 10, 2013
Day 4

Today I worked at Rialto, one of the main dining centers on campus. Within Rialto, there are several different stations including Formaggio (pizzas and breadsticks), Colby's (sandwiches and soup), Pasta Cucina (pasta and salad bar), S'more (desserts), Sparks (grilled items), and Emiliano's and Cornucopia (taco bar, home-style entrees). I worked in these different areas for the lunch and dinner shifts. Making the pizzas was definitely my favorite part! Between meals I helped prepare some of the food that was going to be served. I had a great time working with all the different student employees, and I really learned a lot about each of the different stations at Rialto.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Day 5

Today I was back at Rialto. While I worked a little at the different stations, I mostly helped gather ingredients and prepare test recipes for the recipe book that UNI is creating. A few of the items I made were turkey tetrazinni and a pasta salad with tomatoes and feta cheese. UNI focuses a lot on recipe development and testing over the summer, when they have a little more free time to do so. The staff often comes down after lunch and tests the various items that were prepared through out the day. Today I also followed Mike, a manager at Rialto, while he took inventory. This was a very long process and I can't imagine having to do it all the time.

 Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Day 6

Today was an early day for me! I was at Rialto at 6:00 AM in order to receive an inventory shipment. I worked with another student to check in the items that were delivered and put them away. It was actually fun minus having to go in the freezing cooler. After the inventory was put away, I shadowed Susan, who showed me precosting and foreshadowing in the Food Pro system. This really helped me understand a lot of what goes on behind the scenes that helps make a food service operation run smoothly. I then shadowed Deb, who is a clerk at UNI and in charge of inputting invoices into Food Pro, paying bills, and various other tasks. 

Friday, June 14, 2013Day 7

Today I worked at the Commons, where most of the university's catering is based out of. I helped assemble the ingredients for the recipes that were to be prepared the next day. I helped put together some coffee packs (creamer, sugar, stirrers, etc) for the month and also gathered utensils and other various items for catering's to go meals. I then helped assemble sandwiches with one of the cooks for the arts festival that was taking place on campus. Today was pretty laid back, but I got a pretty good idea of the different aspects that take place in the catering kitchen. 

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Day 8

 Today I got to see what happens at an actual catered event. The event was a wedding that took place in one of the rooms at the Commons. I got to work with student staff to set up and prep food for the wedding, watch a restock the appetizer, buffet, and dessert tables, and tear everything down at the end. I really realized how important organization and good management is at catering events like this, especially because everything had to be done by a specific time and if it wasn't, the whole schedule of the wedding could be thrown off.