Yale University: Week Seven

Week seven was filled with a variety of experiences and interactions including meetings, baking, farming, and of course a little Eatec work. Here's the highlights of our week...

Yale Bake Shop

On Wednesday, our work day started off earlier than usual in order for us to begin our 6:30am shift at the bake shop. We were part of the last shift of bakers to arrive, some employees clocking into work at 2:00am. The first sweet treat Nicole and I assisted in preparing was a custard filling. While Nicole monitored the boiling milk, I had the messy task of cracking and separating egg yolks from the egg whites. After taste testing the deliciously rich, creamy custard, we helped fill the pre-baked, homemade pie crust with a homemade chocolate creme filling. While we let the pies cool before adding the whipped cream topping, Nicole and I scooped cupcake batter into 80+ cupcake pans. As you can tell by the pictures below, dishing up cupcake batter can be a messing task. By the time we were complete with the cupcakes, the chocolate pies were cooled and ready to be decorated. After being given a brief lesson on how to work a piping bag (it is way harder than you would think!), we were entrusted with the task of topping the pies with homemade whipped cream and chocolate topping. I wouldn't go as far to say we were pie decorating pros by the end, but with a generous amount of chocolate sprinkled over the top, our less than perfect topping designs looked presentable. The bake shop was a very fun environment to work in and the delicious smell of fresh baked goods contributed to the experience as well. The staff was really easy-going and were not afraid to tease us about our novice baking skills. 

Meetings

Because the Executive Director of Yale Dining, Rafi Taherian, will be out of town during our final week at Yale (next week), we had opportunity to speak with him one last time to summarize our experiences and provide him with our feedback. We reviewed with him the nutrition information we had inputted into the software system Eatec and expressed some of our concerns we had about the upkeep and inputting of the nutritional information in the future. We also talked with him about the knowledge we gained regardingYale Dining's efforts in sustainable purchasing. He was very receptive to our feedback and concerns and very apologetic about the fact that he is unable to bid us farewell next week.   

Another meeting we had this week was with the Finance Director, Howard Bobb. Our meeting was cut a little short with him, however he was able to give us a brief overview of how Yale Dining expenses are broken down. We also attended another meeting with Howard, along with the Marketing and Branding Director, Bill Wilson, and our supervisor, the Culinary Operations Manager, Veronica Arcoraci, regarding the new recipe cards that are going to be rolling out in the fall and displayed above each menu item being served. We all met with designers at Yale Printing and Publishing about the new design and what they could do to accommodate to Yale Dining's new need. 

In December of this year, Yale Dining will be opening a central commissary where their catering and baking operations will relocate to and where bulk food production for the dining halls will take place. Since this facility is located a few block from campus, Dan Flynn, the Dining Asset Renewal Manger, took the time to give us a tour. Although there is not construction currently underway, we were able to see the space that the new commissary is going to fill since it will be constructed within a existing building. After showing us the blueprints for the space, Dan took us to Yale's West Campus, located several miles away, and gave us a tour of the dining facility being operated there. West Campus consists of 20 buildings, 7 acres, and 1.6 million square feet of space that is going to be utilized for Yale's scientific research and other academic programs. There are currently less than 200 employees that work within this vast campus, however within the next 10 years or so the space is expected to fill and the dining operation there is capable of expansion to accommodate the growing needs. 

Yale Farm

This week we spent a day working on the Yale Farm, which is a component of Yale's Sustainable Food Project. The farm is a place for Yale students to experience agriculture, food, and sustainability. During our workday, Nicole and I started the day by picking edamame, kale, leeks, and green peppers that were going to be sold at the weekend farmer's market in New Haven. We got our hands dirty by weeding and preparing some ground for planting and finished the day by clipping tomato plants. Also located on the farm is a pavilion with a brick pizza oven, where for lunch we made homemade pizzas topped with the fresh vegetables from the garden. We also had fresh cut salads with homemade vinaigrette dressings.

Myself and Nicole after a long, rainy day at the farm.

Yale Farm occupies 1 acre of land.

Summary

The reality that this was our second-to-last week as Yale NACUFS interns really sank in after our final discussion with the executive director this week. It is weird to think that we will be wrapping up our lives here in New Haven in the upcoming week and reflecting on our entire 8 weeks very soon.