Week Four at Montana State aka Halfway Done! eeekkk

It's hard to believe we're in our fourth week already!  Each week has been an experience of its own - so excited to share challenges and accomplishments I encountered this week. 

CHANGE OF PLANS

rescheduled just about every mtg planned for this week, couldn't have been more hectic! but all worked out at the end

met with more food brokers, still working on finalizing our orders for fall

did some pho tasting downtown (Callie and Rose's first time having it)

met with sales reps for kitchen equipment and sanitation products

toured a cook-chill facility (Bozeman School District)

toured a ranch (Pioneer Meats in Big Timber, MT)

*they produce between 500-1800 lbs of sausage a week

*no MSG usage

*some popular and unique flavors: mozzarella, jalapeno cheese, Hawaiian, green onion and cheddar, green onion and wildrice, blue cheese

*slaughtering, processing and packing all happen in Montana - MT Made product

did some cutting and sampling (more fries, some ravioli, ground dark chix meat)

prep'd for R&D new sandwich, pho noodles, cole slaw, lemonade, sauerkraut, and apple cider reduction recipes to test during upcoming weeks

Personal Note:

• went horseback riding and zip lining by Gallatin River last weekend; first time zip lining and I already want to go back!!!

Callie and Ranger

Gallatin River

Blizzard and I

• going camping at Hyalite Reservoir this weekend!

Next Week:

• another tour of ranch (Meat Montana)
• SO fortunate to have the opportunity to sit in on an interview
• MSU Bozeman is hiring a new head baker for the lovely Fat Cat Bakery
• Callie and I are officially part of the search committee and will be participating in the entire interview process Monday!

Week 3 as a Bobcat!

Three weeks in and already learned so much!

We've had meetings back to back this entire week - phew!

Importance of flexibility has been reinforced as nothing ever goes according to plan. However, we accomplished all we wanted to this week - YAY!

We met with more brokers and did more food samling - getting ready for fall.

chorizo patty, chicken sausage brat, italian parm chicken sausage, and crab cakes!

Intermountain Brokers

Callie and I have also been lucky enough to head meetings with food brokers on our own. Paul gives great direction and has taught us how to prep before the mtg, take notes during, and follow up after.

Time management has been KEY! Scheduling mtgs in the mornings has proven effective - makes it easier fit in last minute things as they, undoubtedly, come up. 

Learned more about Computrition software - creating new recipes and inputing data. Very detail oriented project. 

We've also learned a lot about procurement and production. And built great relationships with the Food Service staff at MSU :)

best part - more food samples! ;)

chocolate silk and chocolate sunshine cakes from Fat Cat Bakery (Montana State's bakeru)

Personal challenge: quit playing with hair - can be distracting! eeekkk wish me luck!

Forecast for next week - more meetings. tour of ranch and meat processing facility. more sampling. R&D new recipes. and whatever else may come our way.

STAY TUNED! xx

Already Time for Taste Testing?!

Oh, what a week it's been!

Monday:

• Paul assigned Callie and I are projects
• We'll be working to schedule meetings with food brokers and, of course, prep for each mtg accordingly
• Time management, tasks' priority and communication are key as we start each project!

Tuesday

• Callie and I received training in some of the different softwares we'll be using throughout the summer (Computrition, etc)
• We also started working on our projects; some projects will be carried our independently while others are more of a collaborative effort

Wednesday

• Continued working on projects; set up quite a few meetings for this week and next week
• After lunch, Paul gave us the rest of the day off!
• It was GORGEOUS out - Callie and I went hiking up Beartooth Canyon, it was so quaint and serene

Beartooth Canyon

• We had some interesting encounters with some strange people, DEER aaaand BIG FOOT

Bambiiiiii



BIG FOOT IS REAL!!!!!

Thursday

• Our first sampling! Lamb Weston Potatoes - nommmmz :) fries, fries, and more fries!
• Callie was the lead on this project

(LtoR) "Q", Duane, Callie, Mike

Friday

• Callie and I went on a lovely morning hike, then out for breakfast at this cute cafe! AMAZING food and service :)

• We came in to work a little later than usual as we're helping out with a catering event tonight

Catering- we learned to carry THREE plates at a time! :)

• MY first project with a food broker coming to life :) We met with Kameron from Brakebush Brothers Inc., sampled some sriracha chicken bites! more sampling next week.

Stay Tuned! xx

Mountains and Minds

Today, Callie and I, officially, became Bob Cats! check out our Cat Cards :)

Tomorrow we start bright and early with a breakfast meeting at 7! 
More orientation.

In the afternoon, we head to Yellowstone Park - first time going, super excited!

It's POURING in Bozeman at the moment, p.s.

Wish us luck! 

Welcome to Big Sky Country!

First weekend in Bozeman, MT! so many lovely things to say already :)

the people are by far the kindest.
the scenery is indescribably GREEN! 

NO sales tax :)
delicious, local, sustainable food!

I'm excited to start work in a couple of days. Looking forward to all the wonderful opportunities and learning experiences MSU has to offer. 

Stay tuned.

- Qundeel Kh.
B.S. Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Science