University of Kansas: Week One

A Not So Brief Introduction

It has been quite the whirlwind of a week here in Kansas and I am very happy to say I am settling into my role as a NACUFS intern very nicely and am also thoroughly enjoying the city of Lawrence. Before I get into the details regarding my hectic week I would first like to take the time to introduce myself as one of the two voices you'll be hearing from this summer hailing from the University of Kansas.

My name is Mallory Crim and I recently graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics from the university of North Florida. So as a nutrition student, what is it that compelled me to pursue an internship with a foodservice management emphasis? Well, my passion for food began at a very early age in the kitchen, and was ignited by my own mother's passion for cooking. Since the age of 6 I have been creating in the kitchen and my curiosity surrounding food has since expanded to almost every facet of the topic. I got my first foodservice job at 16 and have been working in the industry ever since (almost 9 years!). I have worked in a myriad of restaurants, from large corporate chains to small mom and pop establishments to hip new dining concepts. I enjoy the faced paced work, and ever changing environment and have treated every job as a new learning experience. Most recently I have developed a strong interest in the cultivation of food, and more specifically, sustainable practices to do so. With a curiosity and initial interest in sustainable farming I sought out a volunteering opportunity at a local aquaponics farm, Gyo Greens, in February 2014 and in August began working as a part time employee. There I have had the opportunity to developed a strong understanding of aquaponic gardening, facilitate nutrition education at multiple wellness workshops, and also assist with garden education for children. 

Gyo Greens

The Bridge Garden Class

I also spent the last year volunteering with The Bridge . An organization dedicated to the success and education of at risk youth. I spent my time working in the garden with middle school age children, working towards developing gardening skills and facilitating nutrition knowledge. 


These combined experiences have shaped my career goals, interests, and passions. I decided to pursue the foodservice management internship with the University of Kansas because I have a strong interest in gaining a better understanding of the university food system and I was very impressed with their personal commitment to and support of sustainable practices. 
Enough about me though, lets get the nitty gritty of this summer internship.

Getting My Feet Wet: (who am I kidding?!?)

Diving in Head First: 

The view from my dorm room isn't too shabby

Day 1: A Warm Jayhawk Welcome

Rock Chalk Jayhawk Gear

Our first taste of the internship began at Mrs.E's dining commons where we met our internship coordinator, Dave Weakly, and the assistant director of KU dining services, Sheryl Kidwell, for breakfast. During our meeting we were introduced to the expectations and components of our summer internship and also enjoyed the first of many residential dining meals. After a very satiating breakfast Dave took us on a tour of the campus, in which we visited each residential dining hall and also some of the retail locations we would be working in during our time at KU. Following a complete explanation of what our internship would entail we returned to Mrs. E's for lunch where we met the rest of the residential dining team. The staff was very warm and welcoming and each member  of the team imparted personal advice and words of wisdom for Talia (my intern counterpart) and I. Not only were we given sage advice but we also received handwritten welcome notes and some Jayhawk gear to help us settle in. 

Lattes and $1 Records 

Talia and I took to exploring downtown Lawrence during our free time and enjoyed some tasty lattes and I also found some thrifty records. 

To conclude our first day, Dave took us on a tour of town and we finished discussing the project portion of our internship. Day 1 was a wonderful introduction to the internship program, the KU staff, and the town of Lawrence. I went to bed very excited about what my summer in Lawrence has in store. 

Day 2: A Day in the Shoes of a Baker

6 am came quickly and I was more than excited for my shift in the bakery. Having worked in a bakery in the past and given my short stint of pastry school dreams I was looking forward to being covered in flour once again. I spent the day working alongside Mrs. E's full time baker, Adriana. We prepared cookie trays for catering events, baked biscuits, dill bread from scratch, dessert pumpkin bars from scratch, and vegan chocolate chip cookies. 

Day 3: Line Service and Display Cooking

Wok Master

Serving and cooking were the tasks for the day, and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed these shifts. I began the day working in the Global Cuisine section of Mrs.E's where the menu for the day consisted of Chicken and Tofu Pad Thai. Fasted paced and very hot I got to see what lunch service looked like from behind the woks. I wish I could have taken a picture of the line that formed in front of my station during the lunch rush, but I was far too busy serving the customers to take a picture of them. I swear I must have served nearly 150 students that day. 

Pad Thai Ingredients Bar

Pad Thai In Action

 For the second portion of my shift I worked in the KYou Zone, a serving station dedicated to providing allergen free foods as well as vegan options for students. There I rolled about 200 meatballs and assisted with serving customers. At this station I learned about the importance of safety handling, processing, serving and storing allergen free foods.. Also, not to gloat or anything but I do believe I mastered the art of meatball rolling (It's a legitimate art people) 

Beautiful, aren't they?

Day 4: Chillin' in Chill Foods

Freshly Chopped Basil

On day 4 I was back to the behind the scenes portion of the kitchen working in the chill foods preparation station. Here I learned about and assisted with the preparation of chilled foods. This included cutting and preparing toppings for the salad bar and a baked potato bar for the following day, making dressings and aioli, and chopping lots and lots of basil. I think my favorite part of the shift was using the immersion blender, a kitchen appliance used to blend or puree food in the container in which it is being prepared. Not that I haven't used an immersion blender before, but this one just happened to be particularly large (basically the size of me). 

Immersion Blender Fun

Day 5: Cashiering and Ware Washing

It was the final shift of the week and I was scheduled to work as the cashier and in the dish room. During the lunch shift I learned all about the cashier station and my role as the initial face of the dining facility. It was a busy shift and I swiped in a whopping 235 guests. Since it is summer and many students have gone home for the summer session Mrs.E's is not nearly as busy as during the spring or falls semesters, during which they average about 1000 guests per meal. I was happy to be on the slower side of service because boy was my arm tired after swiping a measly 235 cards. 

Cost Deducted from my Paycheck (joke)

During the dinner shift I was assigned to work in the dish room. During this shift I learned the importance of proper sanitation and safe handling of dishwater. I learned the latter the hard way. I may or may not have broken some dishes....

Day 6: Four 10 Hour Shifts Behind Me, It's the Weekend : )

Talia and I decided to take full advantage of our time off and do some exploring. We decided a day trip to Kansas City, Missouri was in order and we set our sights on the historic City Market. We hit the road and it we didn't go 3 miles before we were distracted by some alluring signs (well, alluring in my humble opinion anyways). Inherently we had to stop and explore for ourselves. 

Talia and I in the Garden

I fell in love again and again with each backyard we explored. The garden tour is an annual fundraiser put on the Master Gardener Extension Program and highlights several gardens of Master Gardeners in the area. Each unique in it's own right, I found each garden enchanting and felt extremely inspired by the experience. Unfortunately we were pressed for time and only got to visit 3 of the 7 residences, but given the event lasted two days I took the time earlier this afternoon to finish the tour on my own. 

When we got to Kansas City Talia and I wasted no time exploring the City Market. We enjoyed the wide selection of fresh produce from local farms and the abundance of herbs and spices. 

Great Selection of Herbs and Spices

Talia and the Spices

All in all I had a great first week here at the University of Kansas and I look forward to continued learning and exploration in the weeks to come. In our free time Talia and I aren't all fun an games, we are making great progress on our special event planning and I am very excited to begin testing our recipes tomorrow. Plenty more to come, so stay tuned!

Until next time.