This week has been one my favorite thus far. Mostly because of the two special events we assisted with: Culinary Cup, and Chef Challenge. This is MSU's version of the show "Chopped" where different teams of two compete in a cook-off to create the best meal using unknown items. But before I get ahead of myself, let me tell about the couple days leading up to these events. The Culinary Cup consisted of 5 flights and a final round. The Chef Challenge consisted of 2 flights and a final round. Monday after helping to prepare for the RHS picnic, we went shopping for the items to go in the mystery baskets.
Tuesday Tammy and I attended the "Town Hall" meeting where the entire RHS division assembles and the head of each department gives an update on it's progress. We then enjoyed the RHS picnic on top of the Kellogg center. They had a DJ and Sparty, their mascot, even came to hang out with everyone. It was a lot of fun, and the food was delicious. After, we went to prepare the Gallery for the Culinary Cup and Chef Challenge.
Wednesday! Finally time for the Culinary Cup!
Tammy and I were excited for this day. We mostly greeted people at the door and shouted out the time left for the chefs to finish. We were also allowed to wander and watch as the chefs worked together on their creations. Here are some of the dishes that were prepared.
There was also a bake-off with different desserts to be judged. My favorite was the peanut butter ice cream sandwich.
Thursday was the Chef Challenge, where its time for the executive and sous chefs to compete! We did the same things this time, only we had a lot more freedom to observe. Here is a video of the champions in action, and their winning dishes!
Friday we helped to make a new salad for the Sparty locations; a buffalo-chicken salad. The first thought was to top the grilled chicken with a buffalo ranch, but it was decided that it probably wouldn't be appealing to buyers. So the chicken was coated with buffalo sauce instead, and buffalo ranch on the side. Lary also took us to tour the NACUFS main office.
WEEK 4
The first three days of this week we spent in the Brody dining hall. Brody has 9 different venues for individuals to choose from. Brody hall is the largest non-military dining facility in the country.
I spent the morning working with Vicki who manages morning food prep for the venues. She had me make salsa for the Cayenne venue. I used a huge blending tool made by Robot Coupe. I really enjoyed that part.
Shortly after, we attended an allergen class taught by Gina, the culinary services' dietitian. We learned about common allergens in food, how to carefully monitor them, and how to keep eaters aware of what foods contain allergy substances. We also learned how to assist a person having an allergic reaction.
After lunch, I worked on the line in the Cayenne venue before helping prep for dinner grilling chicken.
Tuesday I worked all day in the back of the house again with Vicki. I mostly chopped cucumbers, carrots, and celery. I had to do a lot, so it took a while. I didn't mind though, because I was able to get to know a lot of the staff working back there. We also got to attend an ice cream taste-testing. My favorite was their natural strawberry. I hope they release that one at MSU! I finished the day working with Raquel. I prepared noodles for the Boiling Point venue, and ground beef for Cayenne using steam jacketed kettles.
Wednesday we shadowed the Brody management team. Karen told us about her morning duties as well as gave us a tour of the dish room expounding on how the recycling works with the uneaten food.
First the food-waste and trash is dumped from the trays.
It flows through this water...
Into what they call a "pulper".
This machinery then carries the waste away from the kitchen to the basement where it is picked up and taken to the Student Organic Farms to be used in fertilizer, which is very cool. Karen told us that at one point they were able to make it through a day with just one large, black bag of trash leaving the kitchen, and this is the goal they are trying to meet everyday.
After, we met with Anise who does the ordering for Brody. Andy takes care of payroll and also helps to direct traffic of Brody during lunch, and John handles the booking of the conference rooms. Chef Joe then took us on a tour of the Bailey Hoop House. It was so awesome to finally get an up-close look at the plants grown there, as well as meeting the students who make it possible.
They also keep honey bees!
Our last meeting of the day was with Jennifer who does HR.
Thursday was MSU Bakery day! I worked the entire time with the wonderful Rita. She was so much fun to work with. We made lemon meringue pie, chocolate pie, no-bake cookies, then sliced and bagged their home-made bread.
Friday I got to see Acres and Holmes. I directed traffic in Holmes, which was interesting because just deciding where to have people stand in line made such a difference in how the food was distributed, and the flow of things; the middle line had to stay about half as short as the others just so things could run smoothly.
I finished the day talking with Jen, She swipes the cards in Acres. She showed me how things work on the computer. Natan was also so great and also takes good care of us.
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