Yale University: Week Four

Halfway Point

Due to the Fourth of July falling on Thursday, Nicole and I's fourth week in New Haven was a short one. During the three days that we were in the office, Nicole and I continued to make progress on entering nutritional information into Eatec, as well as attended two recipe testings. The two recipe testings were over the course of two days and the recipes that were tested are cycle menu items that needed some revamping. The recipes were altered in some form and a variety of Yale Dining employees, including ourselves, were able to taste the items and then offer our feedback.  The goal of the recipe testings were to produce more tasteful items to be served in the upcoming school year. Below are pictures of the items that we sampled (we also tried a marinated cauliflower and broccoli salad that is not pictured).

Swiss Chard with Potatoes and Tomatoes.

Chilaquiles Verdes and Vegan Paella.

Beef Barbacoa Served With Fresh Avocado, Tomato Salsa, and Tortillas.

Chicken, Sausage, and Potato Contadina. 

Persian Rice Pilaf.

Nicole and I parted ways for our four day weekend, Nicole headed home to Maine and I took the Amtrak Train to Pennsylvania. We both had the opportunity to spend the holiday weekend with family and friends and are now reenergized and ready to conquer the second half of our journey as Yale interns.

Halfway point summary...
The first four weeks have been a great opportunity for Nicole and I to see the challenges of implementing a new software system into an operation. We have been able to see the challenges and frustrations coming from those working in the central office, as well as from those managing each Yale Dining facility. The central office has had the task (for the past six months) of learning the new system, Eatec, and working to further develop it to meet the needs of Yale Dining. Once fully implemented, Eatec will be the inventory and ordering system for Yale Dining, as well as store the recipes the operation uses. The challenges the individual managers are facing is learning how to work the new system in order to properly order the items they need. The conflict between the central office and each manager is that the central office wants to eliminate unnecessary ordering on each manager's part. A way they are attempting to do this is by restricting managers from ordering items outside of Eatec. The ultimate goal is to cut back on wasteful spending, increase the menu uniformity throughout the dining halls,  and build on their initiative of sustainability. It has been interesting to see the viewpoints from both sides and how communication is crucial in running an efficient dining operation. It can be difficult to break old ways, but in the end it can turn out to be more beneficial for everyone involved.