We are half way there!! Only 4 weeks to go!!
Monday
On Monday we got to work with Chef Bruce Haney at South
Commons preparing breakfast and lunch items for the following day. We got to
lay out bacon, count eggs, and mix up some delicious potatoes. Sarah and I
are both avid breakfast lovers so making some great breakfast dishes was a lot
of fun! After we were done with the breakfast prep, we moved onto preparing
dishes for lunch the following day. At South, they work together and get as much
prep work done the day before so that all of the Chefs work is a bit easier. We
got to chop up a large variety of vegetables for stir fry dishes and lay out a lot (about
10lbs) of chicken for the following day. By the end of the mornin,g we were done with all of our work and Bruce was happy to let us leave for the day and head to our next adventure!
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| Sarah making Lyonnasie Potatoes |
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| Sarah and Chef Bruce making Potatoes! |
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| Nicole, Chef Bruce Haney, & Sarah |
After our morning at South, things goat a little bit crazy
heading to Beltane Goat Farm. We went on a tour of the goat farm and learned about
all 82 goats that are used to milk and produce delicious cheeses, yogurts, and milks. We
got to sample fresh chevre, feta, and aged cheeses all made right on the farm.
As someone who loves cheese, but has never had goat cheese, it was a
spectacular experience. The cutest part of the day was when we got to play with
the baby goats and hold them, which was
great until they began to chew on our pants, our shirts, our scarves, and one even nibbled
on my chin.
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| Assistant Manager Andy Iverson, "I got a goat!" |
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| The Beauty of Beltane |
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| Nicole & a baby goat (nibbling on her chin) |
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| Sarah & the baby goats! |
We began our day in the Student Union with Assistant Manager, Amy Cobb. Amy gave us an in depth tour of the FOH, BOH and storage areas of the Student Union Market, the Union Street Market. It’s huge! After this, we worked with Manager Jeff Collins. Jeff introduced Nicole and I to the world of staffing. During the year, Jeff has about 185 students working for him. That is a lot of people to keep track of! Next, Union Street Market was hitting a rush for lunch, so Nicole and I hopped on a line to help ease the rush that lasted about an hour. After the lunch rush, Ethan Haggerty, the Manager of coffee shops on campus, asked Nicole and I to secret shop in a new part of dining services, The Beanery. We went to The Beanery and looked at the decor and food/drink selections of the coffee shop to give valuable information to Ethan to make improvements for the future.
Wednesday
Wednesday was an early morning! Nicole and I traveled to the student run farm, Spring Valley Student Farm. We harvested spinach, spicy mustard lettuce and kale with the student farmers/students and Farmer Julia Cartabiano. We then cleaned the vegetables and weighed and bagged them to be sold at the on campus Farmer’s Market the following day. Every Thursday in the summer, UConn has a Farmer’s Market for faculty to enjoy. How wonderful!
Thursday
Thursday marked another day in the Student Union, but we worked with Convenient Store Manager, John Smith. We helped John set up for the Farmer’s Market that would be held in the center of campus, and then worked the Farmer’s Market. Nicole and I took care of the register and aided customers with answering questions the best we could. We also got to give out free samples of fresh sun dried tomato foccacia bread and a cinnamon brioche bread (we sampled a lot ourselves too)! The faculty seemed to love the Farmer’s Market, which was really awesome to see! I loved seeing the entire process of the Farmer’s Market, beginning with harvesting on the student farm, all the way to selling the bags of lettuce and produce.
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| Nicole setting out baked goods. |
The end of week four started with a road trip as we headed
to Omar Roasting Facility in Newington, CT. Omar has been in Connecticut since
1937 roasting coffee for local companies and for UConn. We got a tour of the
whole process from receiving beans from Rainforest Alliance farms in South
America and Africa, to the final product that goes out to local companies. We also learned about their partnership with Maxwell House and that they help to send coffee oversees to Afghanistan and Iraq for our American troops that are stationed there. There are two roasters in the facility, one of which dates back to when Omar Coffee opened their doors! This piece of equipment has moved with them through all the years.
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| Bags of Coffee for our US Troops |
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| Original equipment from 1925 |
The Weekend!!:
Once again, Sarah and I split up for the weekend to explore New England!
Sarah:
On Friday afternoon, I left to visit my best friend since I was a tiny lil sprout! I had a great time catching up with one of my oldest and dearest friends. Vermont is beautiful and I now see why she loves her VT lifestyle!
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| The sunset in Burlington, VT. |
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| My maple latte made with love! |
Nicole:
For my weekend in New England I decided to visit the beaches in Watch Hill, RI. The weather was flawless and I was able to enjoy a weekend of sunny skies and sandy beaches!
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| The Path to the Beach |
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