Farewell to Big Rapids

I cannot believe our time at FSU has come to an end! This summer really did fly by.

Some of the highlights of this last week included doing a food safety in-service for some of the full-time food service workers, as well as a couple fun field trips! Brenda took us to an Amish cheese factory near Greenville, MI. We got a behind-the-scenes look at the extensive process required to make cheese. One of the employees was explaining to us the huge number of tests and precautions they take to ensure that the process is as natural and sanitary as possible. They had really cool flavored cheeses like bacon, horseradish, smoked cheddar (that is actually smoked over wood), and habanero (only for those brave enough to try it). They use real and natural ingredients to flavor these cheeses. Some of the most delicious cheese I've ever tasted!

One of my favorite field trips yet was Hilhof, which is a USDA-certified organic dairy farm. All of their cows are also grass-fed, which has reduced the incidence of sickness and disease among the animals to almost none. We got to try both the skim milk and chocolate milk. I had never tasted natural, unprocessed milk before so the taste was different for me! It was a lot less sweet since there was no added sugar, as there often is with store-bought milk. The owner even gave us some cream to take home to make butter with! All you have to do is let it sit out for 6-8 hours, shake it for about 5 min. in a jar, and voila!

A lovely day at the farm!

Mr. Brutus. Half dog, half cow.

They sure love cows

Margaret and I also each got to do a mock interview to practice our interviewing skills. It was a little nerve-racking being put on the spot in front of Laurie, Brenda, Mike, and Bryan, but I think we both did well!

Looking all professional for the big interview

Brenda sent us off with a lovely farewell reception with delicious treats and presents! It was sad saying goodbye to everyone that we've gotten to know so well these past 2 months, but I know that we will stay in contact with them.

Margaret, Melody, and me 

Brenda, our lovely coordinator

Farewell Big Rapids! You've treated us well.

Under The City Lights: Coast To Coast

BANQUET WEEK

On Monday we reported to the Summit to prepare for the banquet, whether it was food or decorations. There was a lot to do before Tuesday so it was great that we had student help. We assembled the street signs, cut out table numbers and frames, and started to put together the flower arrangements. The flower arrangement was the toughest part because Meghan and I both did not previously have experience with flowers. Thank goodness those full-time staff members at The Summit for helping us create a beautiful center piece. I learned a lot from the flowers such as what kinds need to be picked, there always needs to be greenery, the arrangement needs to have height, and a pop of white can go a long way. At the end of the day Meghan and I made the It's It dessert! In case you do not know what an It's It, I will explain. You take two oatmeal cookies put vanilla ice cream in the middle and dip it in chocolate!! It was a pretty messy process, but by the end we got it under control and made some beautiful It's It Ice Cream Sandwiches (I will be making these at home). 

Tuesday was the same as Monday for most of the day. We finished the flower arrangements, set tables, finished the rest of the It's It Sandwiches, made pizza for the dinner, and helped where ever we needed. I was really excited to see our larger pictures of the cities put up and the light trellis for over the buffet table. We were very happy with how it all came together and it was great to see the final picture. When you are planning and doing these steps over a time period it is sometimes hard to see it in your head, so when it all comes together it is a great feeling! We had a last minute change to the It's It Sandwiches because we did not think there were enough. The decision was to cut them in half and present the inside layer to the guest and decorate with whipped cream, which worked out really great!

Overall, the night ran pretty well. We ran into a little trouble with the amounts of certain food, but it taught me a lesson on forecasting. The positive out of that is that the guests loved the food, which is always very important!

 

Pictures of the preparation and event:

 

SIGN PREP

 

 

FLOWER VASES

 

 

VASES WITH LILLIES

 

 

THE CENTER PIECES

NOT EVEN ALL OF THEM!!

 

FINISHED TABLE

 

FINISHED ROOM

CLOSE UP ON THE CENTER PIECE

 

LIGHT POST

 

MEGHAN AND THE CHOCOLATE CHIPS

 

THE IT'S IT

OUR END PRODUCT

 

CRAB CAKE PREP

 

THE CRAB CAKES

 

THE DEEP-DISH

 

CITY PICTURES ( NYC, PHL, SEATTLE, CHICAGO, SAN FRAN)

YAYYYY PHILLY!

LINE DIAGRAM

READY FOR SERVICE

MEGHAN AND I WITH OUR CITIES

MEGHAN AND I WITH OUR END RESULT

 

 I really owe a large thanks to the staff at The Summit for helping make our vision in reality. If it was not for their dedication to help us make it work, we could not have pulled it off. They really helped with everything, from food to flowers they always helped!

 

 

Reflection:

I really cannot believe I am saying goodbye to my NACUFS internship! I am excited to get home and spend time with my friends and family, but it has been a great eight weeks. I got to learn about a whole sector of hospitality that many people overlook and I am very thankful for that. Not only have I learned about different aspects in University Food Services and how to manage the facilities, but also about myself and how I can improve. It is always a great thing to step back at the end of an experience and see what you learned or even what you learned how to do.

A BIG THANKS TO KRIS FOR PUTTING TOGETHER A GREAT EXPERIENCE! I LEARNED ABOUT ALL ASPECTS IN THIS INDUSTRY AND ENJOYED THE WHOLE PROCESS.

 

I am sad to leave Athens, but I know I will be back because it is way too cool of a town to not visit and I MUST see the Bulldogs play a football game one day!

AND I WILL END ON THIS NOTE...

 

 



Thanks to everyone at UGA for a great summer!!

It all comes together... Under The City Lights.

Under The City Lights, Coast To Coast

The Freshmen College Banquet

Colleen and I next to our Cities. Philadelphia and Chicago!

"City lights" over the buffet table.Thanks to Adam for making this for us it turned out great!

 

The flowers turned out beautifully!!

A special thanks to Mrs.Wynona, She helped us with all the flower arranging.

Her genius idea, putting flowers up the inside of the vase!

The beautiful centerpieces!

And of course the food....

 No Surprise here, the food came out great. Our guests were very pleased.

Chicago Style deep dish came out great!

 

The It's It, were very messy to make, but well worth it in the end!

The It's its were a huge it hit!

Sam's Banana Foster action station!

Everyone had a great time!

City Scenes lined both sides of the line to the buffet!

The Banquet was a success!! 

We Were very happy with the results of our banquet, and our customers had a positive experience.

Special thanks to the summit crew for helping out with our banquet so much! 

My NACUFS internship overall:

    I can't  believe it's been 8 weeks already! That time went by too fast! I could not have asked for a better experince in my NACUFS internship. I learned more than I ever thought I would. I worked with some amazing people, who I will miss very much. I learned something from everyone I worked with. Also everyone was very willing to answer all of my questions, which is a patient task. I learned a lot about different managing styles, including some insight into my own managing style. I'm so fortunate that the people I worked with got the job done while keeping things fun and lighthearted, and making me laugh a lot! 

      I will always cherish this experience, what I have learned and all the people I have met. From what I experience Southern Hospitality is a wonderful part of UGA and Athens. The people I worked with and met down here have been very inviting and kind. Which is making it harder to leave everyone. 

     I can't wait to come back to Athens someday in the future, and hopefully see this campus on a Bulldog football game day!

A BIG THANK YOU, to everyone I have had the pleasure to work with and meet while at UGA , you have made this an unforgettable experience!!

The so many great people I have met here:

Colleen of course always keeps me laughing,. It has been such a pleasure to share this summer and experience with her.

  

Mrs.Sandra, I'll miss her daily hugs, positivity and encouragement!

Orientation team, was so welcoming to us.  

Chef Paul teaching us to make grits for the first time! And
Always willing to help us out!

Katherine, I learned so much from her!
She made me feel so encouraged, about being at Purdue University and the future ahead in Dietetics

 More fun times:

Spending lots of fun times with this group. Here we are after tubing!

Pizza Flipping

Sam has always been so inspiring and worked so hard for us.

"A day without laughter is a day wasted"
I appreciate all the laughs we've shared

Your 2013 UGA NACUFS interns:

And Of course the biggest shout out and thanks, goes to Kris Ingmundson! Thank you for seeing something in me and making this all possible.