Weeks 5, 6, 7, & 8!

Week 5: 

This week I really focused on getting to caught up on my assignments that I have been working on during this rotation! I appreciate all of you for taking the time to answer my questions I have had over these assignments along with helping me completely my various projects along the way! 

Week 6: 

This week I participated in helping Dot with her allergy awareness booths. She had one on Tuesday and one on Thursday. The booth on Tuesday was an absolute success! We went through all of the samples and we had a lot of students and staff asking questions about food allergies! On Thursday the booth was outside, it was a little harder to attract students over to try the samples. We had some samples left over and we did attract several students who wanted to learn about food allergies and were interested in reading out poster boards. Overall it was a success though, having a good amount of students who came by. 

On Wednesday of this week I met with Lauren Royston. She and I discussed the rolls that human resources plays in helping OU housing and food services run as smoothly as it does. She was very kind to take the time to meet with me and answer all of my questions! 

Week 7: 

This week I was able to go to Crossroads! I was shown around their facility and I also got to head over to bookmark to see how that was ran. I was very impressed with how well operations ran! I had a great time getting to know everyone and I appreciate the time they took to talk and answer my questions. 

On Tuesday I worked at Wagner with Curtis and James. Both Curtis and James sat down with me and took the time to answer all of my questions which was really great! I had a great time working with Flo and getting to see how the facility accommodates to so many different needs. 

On Thursday I presented my In-service at the managers meeting! I did my in-service over food allergies and some suggested protocols and guidelines that should be followed when preparing foods that are for students with food allergies or restrictions.

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Week 8: 

MY LAST WEEK!  On Monday and Tuesday I worked with Amy and all of her employees over at Enstein's Bagel Brothers! It was great to talk to her and her staff about how things run over there! I have never worked in a frachise operation before so that was a great experience! On Tuesday they had an audit and GOT AN "A"! It was honestly really interesting to see how an audit is done.

I can’t believe this rotation is over! It went by so quickly and I am very grateful for all the people I have met and have had the opportunity to learn from! You have all been amazing! It has been extremely helpful for me to see how a program this large is able to successfully feed so many students! It was my first experience with food service and it has been a blast! I appreciate everything you all did to make this such an amazing rotation! It is a little bittersweet to leave and I wish you all the very best! 

Victoria Dahan

Week 3 & 4 + Buisness Plan

Week 3

I was originally supposed to work in Couch for a couple of days this week but Cate was opening earlier than it was supposed to so it was short staffed! I was able to head over and see how operations work over there along with helping pick up some slack! I have not had much experience in a kitchen so I was extremely happy to have had that opportunity! I worked at the fryer helping prepare french fries, corn dogs, and chicken fingers. I was a little overwhelmed at first but after a few rounds, I got the hang of it! I expect a job offer to be Cate’s full time fryer here pretty soon :).

I met with Steve during this week so he could help me review my recipe and input the ingredients and instructions into cboard! Cboard is much more complicated than I was expecting! It is so important to make sure that you are precise with what you are inputing to avoid any big differences with the final product. 

I was able to head over to Couch on friday and talk with Marcia. She was extremely kind to sit and talk with me and answer all of the questions I had on the ins and outs of how couch is run. After meeting with Marcia I was fortunate enough to sit in on a meeting between Sam, Marcia and Nathan! 

I also finished off the week by observing and helping Kevin with his safety and sanitation check! I learned a lot about how to perform an inspection which was an amazing opportunity! 

Week 4

WEEK OF MY BUSINESS PLAN!!!  

My Business plan is on thursday and I worked on organizing the set up, the food, and the handout for a couple weeks now. On Tuesday and Wednesday I was able to head over to the couch and actually help out with creating me recipes! I really appreciate all of the help and guidance I received from the kitchen staff during this week! It was a learning experience for me and I could not have been more thankful for you all providing me with your guidance and kind words or encouragement. 

The event was a success, we hit some hiccups during set up but other than that, everything ran very smoothly! The students really enjoyed their samples and learning about food allergies and intolerances.  

Weeks 1 &2 - Victoria Dahan

Hello! My Name is Victoria Dahan and I am a Dietetic Intern from OUHSC working with Dot! I am excited to get the opportunity to work in all of your facilities and learn about what happens at OU Housing and Food Services! 

Week 1:
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Chris and Doug at Dunham this week! I talked to Chris about the different roles that dietitians can have throughout their careers along with the underappreciated nature dietitians have in hospital settings. I just finished up my clinical rotation so I could not agree with this more! I received the grand tour of Duhnam. Dunham was preparing to use both kitchens to designate where foods are being served. I was able to help out during breakfast learning how the students place orders and how the staff is able to cook breakfast to order. I was then moved over to learn how the salad station was run! I learned how to make pasta bakes and I also helped create a sign for the pasta station -- Spaghetti Island!

Week 2: 

Week 2 I was able to help out with sorority recruitment move in! This was interesting to see how OU housing and food service plays a role in ensuring move in is done smoothly. I went to the University of Arkansas and it was mostly a free for all so it was a great to experience how other schools organize move in. 

This week I also helped with Dot’s booth for move in! At this booth we served breakfast foods along with some lunch samples for parents and students to try! All samples were gluten free, vegan, and top 8 allergen free. I had one parent come up with a student who was gluten free and lactose in tolerant and she was so happy that her student got to try a doughnut for the first time!!

On Friday of this week I was fortunate enough to go to couch and begin my first trial of the recipe I am developing! It is going to be a Broccoli Tabbouleh. 

Week 7 & 8
WOW! I can't even believe that my time is up here... I have always heard from dietitians that their food service management rotation was the worst out of the three, but I could't disagree more. This rotation has been amazing. I got to experience food management in away that actually applies to what I want to do. I was able to visit most sites on campus and got to experience many different management style. I tried to learn everything I could from everyone that I met here. I asked a BILLION questions and everyone was so quick to provide an answer.

Week 7 included giving my Employee In-Service presentation, which went very well. I even had people ask questions about it when I was at their location. It was over why the Vegetation Station at Couch restaurants is separate. I felt like this was an easy way to talk about some very big topics, such as: cross-contact, cross-contamination, hand-washing, and proper cooking temperatures. I also spent some time in Xceteria with Rebecca, and it was great to see the retail side of ordering and management. It is very different in many ways than running a normal restaurant. 

For the start of week 8 I was at Dunham with Chase and Doug. Chase was amazing and very thoughtful. He started the day off by sitting me down and talking to me about his experience with dietitians and giving some great advice on how to work in the clinical setting (My next rotation is at a hospital). I have loved asking everyone how they want to work with a dietitian and, in their opinion, what it would take to have a good working relationship. It is definitely something I will be using in the future as I work with food service.

I have had such a a great time learning about management and meeting everyone here at OU Housing and Food. You all have created such a welcoming environment that makes it easy to come and learn here. Thank you to everyone who I have met who, have helped me with all of my projects, shown me how you approach your job, and helping me increase my knowledge on how to run a successful food service business.

Thank you so much!!
Best,
Amber

Week 6
Good Afternoon!
I FINALLY got to go to Headington! I was so excited and made the most out of my two days! Curtis and James were so happy to answer all my questions. It was so awesome to see what OU Housing and Food does for OUr athletes. They offer all kinds of different options to keep the athletes and other residents happy and healthy.

This was also the week of my business plan. It went off without a hitch! Couch did an AMAZING job on the food! My theme was playoff time, since we are about to come up on NHL and NBA playoffs. I wanted to demonstrate that individuals with allergies or vegans can have delicious options too. We had Dot's Pepper Salsa, Buffalo Cauliflower "Wings", Vegan "Ranch", and chocolate chip cookie dough. Couch also saved the cauliflower from getting soggy by not putting the sauce on "wings". I was very fortunate to have watched two of Dot's events the last week, since my original business plan date was canceled due to the weather. This really helped in making sure my event went off well! We received many positive reviews and even had some students that were able to get assistance from Dot for their food allergies.

Week 7 is my in-service date! I am so excited to talk about the need for separation in the Vegetation Station at Couch.
Have a great week everyone!

Week 3, 4, 5

Good Morning OU Housing and Food Fam!
These past two weeks have FLOWN by! Between finishing almost all of my projects for rotations and getting ready for Dot's and I events, it has been crazy!

Week 3 was spent doing some housekeeping in the office. I worked on my recipe development and finalizing steps for my Business plan. Wednesday, February 6, I had the opportunity to help Jet Li with his Chinese New Year menu. He made everything from pickle fish to Chinese BBQ pork. It was all extremely delicious. I helped him serve and for 4 hours we had a line almost out the door. By the end of lunch, we had run out of everything except the Chinese BBQ pork. It was crazy and amazing at the same time! I also had the opportunity to try out my menu for my business plan. The Cauliflower and Vegan "Ranch" were a huge hit! The truffles ended up being changed to chocolate chip cookie dough since it wouldn't hold the ball shape

Week 4 I spent at both Cross A &C. Monday and Tuesday I was at Cross C helping open Farmer & The Kale and making pizza at Basic Knead. The rest of the week I was at Cross A. Nathan and Tim were absolutely AMAZING in answering every question, letting me hands on with the logistics of running a restaurant, and letting me work right beside them. I learned everything from scheduling to account keeping. Plus, Credo is absolutely amazing! That loaded Mac & Cheese is what dreams are made out of!

Week 5 was spent in the office finishing up my projects, like employee in service and business plan. After thinking I had found the winning idea for my performance improvement, I found out that it had already been fixed. So, after talking to Dot, we decided to write out procedures for what to do with someone who self identifies an allergy. On Thursday, we had Dot's event for allergen awareness. It went swimmingly!

Sorry for not posting! This internship has been crazy busy, but I have loved every second!
Best,
Amber

Week 2

Good Morning Everyone!

This week, I had the opportunity to spend week 2 with Sam Ford at Couch restaurants. This cafeteria is one of the only all you can eat places on the OU Norman campus. The way that couch is run s incredible and takes a lot of coordination. It is very crucial that all members communicate and work together. It was very interesting to see how dietary restrictions are handled at Couch. They have a section of the buffet line that is top 8 free and a buffet cart that is top 8 free along with gluten. It is awesome to see how Couch accommodates all members of OU.

I spent time in many places of Couch including: front dining area, Chick-fil-a, Vegetation Station, Receiving, and La Roma. All places were very busy and required communication from all members. I was in the stock room on a Thursday which is weekly inventory, but it was also monthly inventory. I followed both Ronnie and Justin to see how they manage such a daunting task. On top of inventory, they also had to put up orders and keep all walk-ins/store rooms clean. I absolutely enjoyed talking to everyone and getting to see what they do everyday.

This week was very different than what I expected, but I absolutely enjoyed every minute! Sam invited me back to help with Lunar New Year on Wednesday, which will be interesting to see how they handle a big events. I will also try out my recipes for my Business Plan and Recipe Modification.

Talk to y'all next week!
Best,
Amber

Week 1

Good Morning Everyone!
My name is Amber Rinestine and I am the newest dietetic intern at OU Housing and Food. I just finished the school portion at OUHSC and am super excited to be starting my rotations. I have heard nothing but great things about this particular management rotation and was hoping I would be chosen for it. So I am sure y'all can understand my excitement to be here! I am very interested in seeing all the inner workings of this department (having to manage that many places must take a great deal of organization) and being able to apply it in the future.

It is my first week here and I am overwhelmed with how welcoming everyone has been. It is exciting that so many people want to offer their assistance and are so open with what they do/advice. Dot's job has been very interesting to learn about. It is incredible the steps that she takes to ensure every student has a meal plan that is safe for them. This week I was tasked with a food allergy awareness booth that will be happening on Feb. 19th. I have been planning the educational handouts and the menu, since we will be handing out free top 8 allergen free, gluten free, and vegan snacks. Today, Friday January 25, I am meeting Kevin Barker (Director of Business Operations) and go with him on a sanitation, safety, and quality inspection at Crossroads at the Student Union. This will be interesting to see since I have been on the other side before. It is very important that sanitation is being maintained and safety measures are in place to make sure everyone, students and staff, are safe here on campus.

As I mentioned above, I am very excited to be here and can't wait to take in every opportunity given to me! Have an AMAZING week and I will chat with y'all next Friday!