Week 7 & 8

The end has come… the end of an era, if you will.  These last two weeks have been dedicated to finishing up projects and tying up loose ends. So basically a lot of looking at my computer screen.  I did get to spend some time in Union Market and Starbucks, to get a look into the retail side of our food service operations.  I got to do a real coffee tasting, which as a coffee fiend like myself, was the most exciting way to spend my last day. 

My coffee cupping selection

I just want to take a second to thank each and every person that has shown me such kindness and patience over the last 8 weeks.  I have truly had such a wonderful experience and met some of the nicest people.  From my first time in the kitchen, up until this very last day, I have been met with the very best  OU Housing and Food Services has to offer.  I was so blessed to be placed here for my food service management rotation, I really couldn’t have asked for anything better.  Y’all are making it really hard to leave, but you’ll have a new intern again soon.  

Week 6

Another big project week over here; this time getting ready for my employee in-service presentation.  Sometimes public speaking makes me uneasy, but I love any opportunity I get to do it because it means more practice.  Having good communication skills is so important in the nutrition profession since we are constantly educating all kinds of people on all different platforms.  In order to actually be effective, you have to know your audience, as well as your material.  And you know what they say, practice makes perfect.  Luckily, this presentation went really well and everyone was courteous, paid attention, and hopefully learned something, which makes my job a little easier.  There’s nothing worse than giving a presentation when no one cares or pays attention.  

Some other highlights of the week include spending some time over in Wagner dining and checking out the freight farm.  Wagner dining was a great experience for me since it was the athletic dining area and sports nutrition is my ultimate goal.  It provided me with a different view into what could be my future career, so I’m very thankful I got to learn more about it and some of the challenges they face.  The freight farm was another super cool experience because I had heard so much about it, but never actually seen it.  Well it really lived up to its name, since its actually in a freight container! It’s interesting to see how urban farming has grown and evolved over the years.  Having growth up living on a boat with a mother who loves to garden, I look out for unique ways to grow food, and this one was definitely unique. 

All the lettuce growing and thriving

The pink grow lights used, looks like a lettuce dance party

One of the growth columns, notice how the plants grow vertically, so cool!

Week 5

It’s the big week y’all. The. Big. Week. More specifically Staff Week, which means time to put my business plan and recipe development into action.  The whole week was spent preparing for the Staff Health Fair on Thursday, where we had our free food, allergy awareness information, and game wheel to win a pedometer.  Time management was definitely the key phrase of the week, as we had food to prepare, carts to pack, emails to send, and posters to make.  It was also a week to just roll with the punches, which is a trait/skill I’m constantly trying to work on.  Nothing is ever going to go the way you think it’s going to, so it’s best to just work on what you can control and focus on the end product. 

The game/information side of the booth

Besides some small hiccups along the way, I thought the fair and our booth went well.  People were eager to try some vegan, gluten free, bean tacos and, as the kitchen calls them, my “spicy cookies” a.k.a. Mexican Hot Chocolate cookies.  The only thing we had left over were beans, which made clean up pretty easy.  All 25 copies of the recipes we brought were taken, so that’s got to mean it was a success!  Since Sam and I made all the food ourselves, it felt like a pretty big win for this cooking newbie. The highlight has got to be Sam giving her stamp of approval on the taco beans, being the ultimate picky eater that she is.  It was definitely a learning experience, but it was also a lot of fun getting to interact with everyone at the booth and hopefully teach them something new about food allergies and that having a food restriction does mean you have to sacrifice good food or flavor. 

The "Spicy" Cookies

Our beautiful rainbow of taco toppings

The final taco product, served on a brown rice tortilla 

The lovely Sam enjoying some of the taco beans

As a treat for making it through the week, I got to help hand out turkey legs at the staff picnic on Friday.  When I say treat, I do mean treat.  We could not have asked for nicer weather and I definitely remembered to wear sunscreen this time.  It’s good to see how interactive this department is with not only the students, but also the staff and showing our appreciation for everything they do.  They do not skimp on good food either; these turkey legs were gigantic and practically flying out of the pans!