Week 8

Hey y'all,

I can't believe it is already time for me to say goodbye. My internship here with Housing and Foods has come to an end. I have had such a good time here learning about food management. Everyone I have worked with was awesome and taught me something different that I can take moving forward in my career. I was able to participate in so many different activities and operations while I was here, but I know that there will still be more for me to learn in my career. I tried to soak up as much knowledge as I could from everyone here. This includes continuing to do new things all the way up until I left.

I was very excited this week that I got to sit in on one of Dot's famous food allergy awareness training classes. All new food services employees are required to attend a food allergy awareness training to help educate them on the proper procedures for helping customers with food allergies and specialty diets. This training covers not only proper procedures but educates employees on the signs and symptoms of food allergies, the seriousness of food allergies, and the proper responses to food allergies. This training also includes specialty diets students on campus may follow for religious or other medical conditions.

I also got the opportunity to spend some time at Wagner this week. Wagner dining hall is located inside the "athletic" dorms, Headington Hall. Forty-nine percent of the students living in Headington Hall are athletes. Because of the high volume of athletes dining at this operation the sports dietitian plays an integral part in menu planning. Unlike other dining facilities on campus the menu options in Wagner are served with a red, yellow, green light system to help athletes maintain proper nutrition for their sports and provide education on how to make a healthy plate. For example vegetables are a green light food meaning they are an important part of a healthy balanced diet, while bacon is a red light food meaning it should be consumed less often, 1-2 times a week.  Along with the stoplight system many food items offered at Wagner offer healthy swaps to increase nutritional value at each meal such as baked chicken rather than fried chicken.

Finally, I went to the Union Market. There is a lot going on at Union Market. They offer a salad bar, soup bar, hot bar, grab and go retail items, and have a made to order grill station. Despite the large variety of food options available at the Union Market their kitchen space is not very big. Communication is key to this operation running smoothly and accident free. The staff was always talking to each other whether to communicate order specifications, walking around a corner, or walking with a knife or sharp object everyone knew what was going on. 

Between visiting different operations on campus this week I was able to help with ingredient ID cards and finish talking with housing and food employees to finish up my internship assignments. 

I have had so much fun learning about management here and working with the food service department. Everyone I have worked with during my time here has been so informative and a pleasure to work with. Thank you to everyone I worked with over the past two months for answering my millions of questions, showing me your jobs and helping me to increase my management knowledge.

Week 7

It's OU/Texas week in Norman!

I started my week at the residential colleges. These twin buildings share a single kitchen that produces food for each college's dining hall. The college's were designed to house upperclassmen and the kitchen works very hard to make sure the food produced in each hall is of equal quality.

Monday I filled in at the salad station for lunch service. While the salad station was recently converted to self serve I had to make sure to keep all the salad items stocked and was responsible for making sandwiches and wraps when ordered. While my sandwich skills are decent, my wrap making skills could still use some practice. Luckily all the students were patient and I was able to hold down the salad station! Tuesday morning I got to help prep stir fry station and then during lunch I even got to try my hand hat preparing a stir fry order. It is funny how much different it is to cook for people other than yourself. I also spent some time learning about the grill and pizza stations. Residential colleges is the only place on campus where you can get freshly made pizza crust!

Next, I got to hang out with the food service dietitian. We worked on calculating calories that will be added to menu boards throughout campus, the Fitter Foods options in Couch Restaurants, and nutrition education. Look out for my blog post about gluten-free food and celiac disease on Fran's student nutrition education blog! We also got in the spirit of OU/Texas and helped serve longhorn ribs at the Bevo BBQ on Thursday.

BOOMER SOONER, GO OU!

Week 6

Heyo,

It happened guys...Monday was the opening of Credo to the public. Despite the fact that there are still some procedures that need to be ironed out and that it was all of the students first day working at Credo, things went very well. Students living in the building seemed happy to finally have a food option in their building and a few said they would be back for dinner. Monday was also the first day anyone got to really play with the POS system and the students working the register seemed to pick up on the procedures pretty quickly. It was fun seeing all the preparation and planning come together and being able to serve the public. Rumor has it that Glow will be opening the first week in October and I can not wait!!!

After seeing Credo up and running it was time for me to get ready for the food sustainability fair. This event helps educate students on the marketing labels used on food packaging. What does Organic really mean? Is it important if the word Natural is on the label? Is No Hormones Added milk worth spending extra on? It is illegal to add hormones to milk, thus making all milk free of added hormones. As always we had some delicious free samples to give away during this event.

Mexican Hummus 

Chocolate Cobbler

Mexican Quinoa

Savory Cake & Guacamole

This week I also had the opportunity to learn about the department of Talent and Organizational Development (TOD).  This department is responsible for the recruiting, on-boarding, development, and off-boarding of staff for Housing and Food Services. They help provide many development opportunities for employees such as classes, training, and seminars. They also run the applaud program used to help recognize people for their hard work and going above an beyond in the work place.

I ended my week learning more about the ordering products at Couch Express. This brought back a lot of information from class. It was interesting to learn how the ordering process changes every year with new groups of students to reflect the current student populations preferences and needs. 

Week 5

Hey Hey!

It's week 5 and still so much more to learn. I got to spend this week at Cross A. This is going to be the first retail operation to open on the Cross complex. Cross A is home to Credo, Glow (Top 8 allergen & gluten free), and Milkflower. It was an amazing opportunity to learn about what goes into making and preparing a business for operation. The week was spent preparing to open all while construction was still finishing up in the area. Due to some delays, Credo will be the first operation to open.






























To start the week I learned about all the tasks and paperwork a general manager has to do to get an operation started and running. I learned a lot about scheduling and the intricacies of making schedules around college life. Next I spent time with the kitchen manager. His job was very different from the general manager. He makes sure the food is ordered and being prepared uniformly in the kitchen. He also has to make sure that the food is being made with quality and following the health code in the restaurant. Teaching employees how to plate meals and use different equipment.

To prepare for opening, a couple of soft openings were conducted this week. This was a vital part of getting ready to open and provided lots of insight about being prepared for all things. In preparation for this, it was discovered that some of the equipment was not working as expected. This is where I learned the importance of having heat sensors and thermometers on a flat top and that all hood vents do not work equally. I learned that if you want to have a certain look to your kitchen, it is best to consult a kitchen consultant for equipment and design ideas but alas the show must go on. As a manager I learned the importance of being flexible, problem solving, and good communication.

In addition to my time at Cross A this week I also presented my In-service at this weeks managers meeting. As an advocate for people with celiac disease and food allergies I was excited to be able to present on cross-contact and food preparation.

Next week Credo is finally opening. I am looking forward to seeing Credo in business and learn new management skills. Hopefully Glow will be open soon too!

Week 4

Hey guys,

I can't believe this is already the end of my forth week here (half-way through my stay here). It was a busy week with lots of fun activities. Dot and I each led an Allergy Awareness booth this week. On Tuesday we set-up at the Rock Garden. Luckily for us we had nice weather for being outside. During the event we had lots of samples for students to try: Mushroom Bulgogi Tacos (pictured below), Asian Hummus Platter, Chewy Double Chocolate Cookies (pictured below), and Green Tea Lemonade. The event not only helped spread awareness about food allergies and the services Dot provides to students on campus with special dietary needs, but we even had some students stop by to try mushrooms! We had lots of positive reviews on the food. I really took this time to learn as much as I could for my event on Thursday.

Wednesday was spent preparing for my event on Thursday. As this is my first event and my business plan project for this internship I spent a lot of time going over my packing list, checking my handouts, and trying to make sure I was prepared for all possible scenarios. Dot has done many of these events and is able to make it look very simple.

Thursday, it was time to see all my hard work and preparation in action. We finished some last minute printing (the printer was being fixed yesterday afternoon) and packing in the morning. Then it was time to head to Couch to pick up my food order and take inventory that everything was their. Everything looked great (thanks to the kitchen staff!) so we packed all of the event equipment onto a catering truck to transport it to the Union. Lucky we were inside because it was starting to mist outside. We got their ahead of schedule giving me plenty of time to set up (pictures below). I had fun spending the day in the Union talking with students. We got a lot of positive feedback on the food: Vegan 3 Layer Dip and Puppy Chow. I was pleased with how well the Puppy Chow went over as that was part of my recipe development/modification project. Some of the students had never had Puppy Chow before since it is traditionally made with peanut butter, butter, and milk chocolate (each a top 8 allergen). Over half of the recipe cards were picked up and by the end of the event only 1 serving of Puppy Chow and 5 servings of dip remained. Even more importantly, we had many students who came and talked to us about their food allergies and where able to learn about the services Dot provides on campus. Additionally, we also saw lots of other students reading the posters!

Next week I am off to check out what is going on at Cross. Hopefully Glow (top 8 allergen free/gluten free) will be able to open soon!

Week 3

Hello again,

This week started with a holiday (Labor Day) which means it was a short week. Still there was lots to get done. I started my week working on projects for the Food Allergy Fair coming up next Thursday. There is a lot of planning and organization that goes into and event like this: making signs, creating handouts, ordering food, ect.

Additionally, this week I had the opportunity to go to Cate. Even though Cate food services has shut down Housing & Food services is still using the kitchen. This is where  all of the premade meals you see around campus for Cow on the Fly are prepared.  I had fun working with the staff and helping to prepare some of the items for the days deliveries. Located just north of Cate is the freight farm.

Freight Farm

I had the privilege of getting a private tour and learn about the freight farm first hand! This freight farm was installed two years ago and was the first one of its kind in Oklahoma. Right now the freight farm is used mostly to produce green leafy vegetables and herbs. The freight farm was designed for sustainability and is able to recycle water used to irrigate the plants.
Look for these leafy greens at the Cross salad bar coming soon!

I ended the week learning how Freshens, Couch Express and Xcetera are manged and the different needs they meet on campus. I was excited to see that all the smoothies at Freshens are gluten free (even the chocolate chip cookie dough). In addition, different blenders are used for smoothies containing peanut butter (peanut butter is is also kept away from the rest of the ingredients) to avoid cross-contact for people with peanut allergies. Couch Express is a very popular place for grilling cheese sandwiches and fresh cookies on the south side of campus. I even had the opportunity to learn how to make these popular grilled cheese sandwiches! Xcetera, a convenience store located on the first floor of Walker Tower has a diverse selection of convenience foods and household necessities. I was excited to see an assortment of gluten free options from snacks, bread, and frozen meals alon with shelves of Made in Oklahoma products (see pictures below). Xcetera strives to have food available to meet the needs of all students. While here I learned a lot about putting out fires and behind the scenes work that goes into managing these establishments (budgeting, scheduling, maintenance, training, and other paperwork).

 



I am excited to apply the knowledge I have learned thus far to the allergy Free booths we will be presenting around campus next week!

Week 2

Hey!

This week I was had the opportunity to spend half of my week learning how
Couch Restaurants is run. Couch Restaurants is a very impressive operation
and an integral part of the student meal plan here on campus. Couch
Restaurants is home to 14 different restaurants all offering all you can eat meals.
As this is an important part of the student meal plan, I was most excited to learn
about the ways in which food allergies and other dietary restrictions were handled
within such a large operation. Within the main dining area there is a top 8 allergen
and gluten free buffet section and dessert cart. In addition to safe options at most
restaurants. For an in depth look at foods that may meet your dietary needs you
can check out  http://www.ou.edu/housingandfood/dining/fitter-foods.

One of my favorite gluten free meals of the week from Couch Restaurants was a ham sandwich from Dot’s Deli.

In addition to learning about the food preparation, I spent time in the stockroom
learning about ordering, receiving, and inventory. I also spent some time in the
kitchen cooking and improving my knife skills. I really enjoyed getting to talk to
many different members of the staff and learn about their different jobs.

Additionally, we participated in SWEEP on the Walker Adams Mall. This was a
great opportunity to inform students about the resources available for students
with food allergies, intolerances, and other special dietary needs. In addition,
we were also able to educate students about the freight farm on campus and
provide students with arugula that had been harvested from the freight farm.  
It was fun being out and talking with the students for the afternoon.

Finally, this week I had some time to work on my business plan. I was able to
test my recipe in the kitchen at Couch Restaurants and put together some of
the handouts for the event. My business plan is really helping me learn how
much goes into all the fun events you see walking around campus.

This week went by incredibly fast. I feel like I have already learned so much.