UW – Madison Week Eight! (July 27 – July 31st)

Monday

Kaylene and I began the first day of our last week with a tour of Cut Fresh and V. Marchese, the produce distributor UW Madison Dining buys produce from! Our tour began on the Cut Fresh side, where we watched employees process fruits and vegetables through a window looking into the factory. I was very surprised to learn they hand peel and chop fruit and some vegetables as well! We watched a highly skilled worker hand-peel an entire watermelon in a matter of seconds:

After it was peeled, it was slid into a second room where another very skilled worker chopped the watermelon into uniform slices. I was amazed not only at how quickly they can work, but also how uniform all the chunks were:

The next window looked into the main processing center of the Cut Fresh facility. We watched workers peel cucumbers by hand:

Cut Fresh produces celery for large companies such as Buffalo Wild Wings!  We watched celery travel down a conveyer belt, into a bath of Tsunami, which is an antimicrobial agent for cut fruit, and up a celery ladder of sorts into a bin, where it is bagged:

They were also producing onions, peeled and sliced potatoes, red pepper, and iceberg lettuce.

After our tour of Cut Fresh, we toured the V. Marchese side of the building, where they ship mostly whole produce and dairy products to various companies:

V. Marchese also has their own tomato ripening room, in which they ripen tomatoes with ethylene:

We also saw coolers in which they keep refrigerated produce such as spinach, and a second cooler where dairy is kept. After our tour, we went into the main office where the V. Marchese chef Tony had prepared an Italian sampler, which included crusts, sauces, and cheeses offered by V. Marchese. I was able to sample some penne pasta with a delicious alfredo sauce, cheese pizza, and veggie pizza with alfredo sauce:

Tuesday

Kaylene and I spent the morning at Carson’s, where we prepped for our theme lunch on Wednesday! We helped direct staff in the preparation of our theme meal food such as our Grilled Elvis sandwiches:

We planned out how we want our decorations to be hung, and also cleaned some fancy dishes from Carson’s Catering to plate some of our items, such as a cupcake tier, plates for a specialty salad, and containers for our specialty drink.

That afternoon, Kaylene and I reported to Gordon Dining and Events Center to present our marketing proposal for the Partnership for a Healthier America!

The first part of our marketing plan included table tents, which are foldable flyers placed on the tables of all the dining halls! We created one to introduce the Partnership, one to promote water drinking, and one highlighting the sustainability practices of Dining & Culinary Services, all of which are emphasized by the Partnership.

The second part of our marketing plan is National Month Highlights. We found different topics that are recognized nationally each month, such as National Whole Grains month, and created a promotional flyer that includes benefits of the topic, such as benefits of eating whole grains, and also where this item can be found around UW – Madison Dining! We recommended the C-Store feature a product with the item, such as oatmeal or KIND bars for National Whole Grain Month. The coffee shop could feature Grab and Go items featuring this item, such as whole grain bread sandwiches. The dining hall could also promote this item with Wellness Bundles, which are meals that meet the strict nutritional guidelines set by the Partnership.

Everyone seemed very receptive to our recommendations, and I am excited to hear what they choose to implement in the fall!

Wednesday

The day is finally here: our Rock & Roll lunch!!!!

Hosted in Carson’s, we served about 220 summer conference guests, most of which were 12-17 in age. We began the day by blowing up about 5 dozen red, black, and white music note balloons using a helium tank! We then tied them to balloon weights and set them on various tables throughout the dining hall:

We sprinkled music note confetti on various tables:

and hung up band posters:

We also decorated the serving stations with balloons, hanging music note whirls, and hanging records!

After we finished decorating, we moved to the prep station to assemble some “Strawberry Fields Forever” Strawberry Spinach Salads and set them up in the display case:

The whole meal came together when the food and line signs were ready to go! Our line signs for entrees were records, cassettes were sides, and CD covers were desserts! 

"Love Me Tender" Gluten Free Chicken Tenders

The Grilled Elvis: Peanut Butter, Bacon, and Banana Sandwich 

"Surfin' USA" Fish Tacos
(B-Side: Vegetarian Fishless Filet Tacos)

"Bad to the Bone" Grilled Drumsticks

"Slide It In" Pulled Pork Sliders

"Brown Sugar" Glazed Carrots
"Back in Black"-ened Green Beans

"Sweet Child of Mine" Sweet Potatoes

"Uncle Salty" Curly Fries

"Great Meatballs of Fire" Spicy Meatball Sub
(B-Side: Vegetarian Meatless Meatball Subs)

"California Dreamin" Gluten Free Pizza

"Tutti Frutti" Fresh Fruit Salad

Vegan Elvis Cupcake

'She's My' Cherry Pie

"Midnight Special" Dark Chocolate Pudding

"Love Potion #9" Strawberry Daiquiri Punch

The guests started pouring in, and they loved the theme! It was so rewarding to see their excited faces when they saw the dining hall all decked out! 

Our hard work and planning definitely paid off! Our Grilled Elvis (peanut butter, banana, and bacon sandwich) was a hit seller, along with the Love Me Tender Gluten Free Chicken Tenders, and the Dark Side of the Blue Moon Ice Cream. Overall, our lunch went extremely well! We received great feedback regarding the quality of the food and the decorations in the dining hall! Using all the skills we have learned in our internship, such as planning menus, forecasting, ordering, station training, and floor management, to orchestrate an entire lunch service was a great experience!

Thursday

Kaylene and I spent the morning of our first focus day with Monica, the food science professor, at a Food Safety Advisory Committee Meeting. The first topic of discussion was micro markets, which are basically small versions of convenience stores that sell snack foods and drinks. However, the checkout is a small kiosk in which you scan your items and pay for them. There is no cashier. The Food Safety Advisory Committee was discussing the possibility of changing the current license of these micro markers to a vending license so they would have a less expensive fee. The debate was over what is considered a “vending” operation, since currently it is described as coin-based transactions. The next big topic was a presentation regarding new plans from the CDC to increase hand washing in restaurants around Madison. Currently, poor personal hygiene makes up 35% of health code violations in over 9,000 health inspections around Madison. The CDC has put together an intervention strategy for health inspectors to emphasize the importance of proper hand washing during inspections using talking points and provide training materials when necessary. Overall, I found it very interesting to hear topics we’ve been learning about in our internship applied to real world situations and politics!

That afternoon, Kaylene and I went with Sue to tour UW Health with Erika Anna, an RD that works in the foodservice department. She gave us a tour of the hospital marketplace, which is very similar to the dining halls, as they have a variety of stations that serve food options such as sandwiches, Mexican, and home-style. We also got to see the massive kitchen that provides room service for over 500 beds. Erika also chatted with us for a while and answered our questions about taking a non-conventional career path in dietetics.

Friday

The morning of our last day was spent with Joie, the director of Dining & Culinary Services! We were able to tour Elizabeth Waters, the dorm and dining hall that are being remodeled for next spring with Mike, one of our internship coordinators and the unit manager at Elizabeth Waters! The dining hall area was very torn apart, but I really enjoyed seeing where the future kitchen, prep area, freezers, and marketplace will be! I hope to see pictures after it is completed next spring!  Joie also talked us through all the moving pieces of planning and executing the remodel of a dorm and dining hall. I was amazed to hear how much work it takes and the amount of planning for both long term and short term that is necessary!

After our tour and talk with Joie, we went to help with the Housing Appreciation picnic!

Kaylene and I helped set up before guests arrived, and once the picnic started, we had fun chatting with all of our coworkers from the various units we worked in this summer and saying our goodbyes to everyone! We also ate some delicious burgers!

After the cookout, Kaylene and I went down to Gordon Dining and Events Center for our final evaluations and a little goodbye party! We enjoyed some Babcock ice cream and a cake made by the Gordon Central Production bakery with Sue and Mike, along with the Gordon administrative staff!

I had an amazing time in Madison and experienced so much more than I could have hoped through our two projects and various rotations. I could not have asked for better coordinators; Sue and Mike were absolutely amazing and did a great job making sure our time at UW – Madison went smoothly. All the employees were so welcoming and willing to share their knowledge. I know will carry the skills I have learned from my Foodservice Management Internship into my future career and I am so grateful to have had this opportunity!