Week 6: Epic Work and Fun in the U.P.

The conclusion of week six brings mixed feelings; I am happy my assignments are coming together, but I am sad that I only have a few weeks left in this beautiful place with people that are caring and fun. This week, I've made great headway with my picnic and am pleased with the organization of the allergen program.

Monday was a great day for organizing and setting up the remaining weeks because the office was quite calm. Robin and I are now at the point where we're comfortable enough to explain how we plan to execute the allergen program and so far, we've had positive feedback. Fingers crossed that we get the Chef's approval too!

Things are looking bright and getting completed!

It was an "epic" moment on Tuesday when we decided on a name for the NMU Dining summer picnic. Keeping in mind the travel/adventure theme, we decided to call it "Around the World in Tasty Ways." [cute right?] I am ecstatic that the designs for the invitations and food labels are completed! We are decorating the food tables with suitcases to elevate dishes, making the tables look like old brown paper packages, and mapping out where the food dish influence is. We reserved Tourist Park (perfect park name too!) and purchased a map of lake superior for everyone to sign too. The food list is complete and I can't wait to purchase them and cook for my "around the world burger bar."

Check out the picnic invitation! Things really are moving along great this week on the marketing side of my projects. We also purchased mason jars and decorated them with twine and a neat paper on the lid!

Front and back of the travel theme invitation!

Mason jars for the strawberry punch!

My other projects are moving forward too. Next week, I will start using InDesign to take the information laid out in the training manual and form a booklet for employee training. We found solutions to displaying the allergen tags and menu items, posters to remind employees in the front-of-house and back-of-house the appropriate practices to carry out in order to prevent cross-contamination, and bring the NMU Dining together as a team.

Saturday I served a wedding to see how the catering business of NMU runs. I'll admit, it's been quite a few months since I've served a wedding, but I had fun getting to know the employees and serving the food. I found that practices such as serving from the left and clearing from the right are used across states, but inconsistencies are prominent. Like any location, communication often tapers as the night goes on, making it difficult to get information to everyone. I'm happy I was able to troubleshoot and serve a gluten-free guest that wasn't accounted for. It was ironic that I had a gluten-free guest because I am developing the allergen program to serve all that have food allergies!

I had a great weekend with my boss and her family. After the wedding, I drove to Big Bay and saw "Fire on the Bay" (fireworks) with them. My Sunday started with a leisure kayak ride on Lake Superior and then a boat ride and tubing that followed. I am truly grateful to know these people. If anything, I've learned that it's a balance between work and other activities. It doesn't always have to be work and it can't always be fun (for me at least), but there's always an opportunity to do both. I will continue to hop in the kayak and paddle when I have the chance.

Fire on the bay!

Loving the adventure.

Cassandra