And One More Thing...

THANK YOU UCONN DINING SERVICES!!!

WHAT A SUCCESS!!! Thanks to all those Invloved!

What a great event!! We got nothing but compliments from all those who attended. Our Pirates of the Caribbean Luncheon turned out to be well decorated, had great food, and a wonderful staff. Thanks to the Chefs, Assistant Chefs, and Kitchen assistants that helped in preparing for this event; we put out a lunch that everyone can be very proud of. We couldn't have done any of this without our lovely advisers Eric Janssen and Carol Cronin. We would like to give a special thanks to the staff at the bakery for making us delicious rum cake, delectable cookies, and a fabulous centerpiece to top off our desert table! Also a special thanks to Donna for teaching us how to form fondant into our pirates!

We would also like to send a special thank you to all our chefs. Chef Jim Buel, Chef Bruce Haney, Chef Charlie String, Chef Scott Chapman, and Chef Beth Field; you were our A-Team. Thank you all so much for your hard work! A big thanks to Pam Bass our salad master for putting out some remarkable salads! And of course a thanks to all our staffing for that day, we never could have pulled off such an event without everyone involved.















And finally AAARRRGGGGG!!!! No body be walking the plank today, we'll be enjoying this swash buckling menu!!!! Shiver me timbers, swab the poop deck, and get'er done!

Time for the Big Event!

Our final event has come and gone and now we get to share with you all the exciting preparation that was done to make it happen. Preparation for the Confratute luncheon actually started many weeks ago with planning. We won’t go into all the planning because that would make for a long blog, but we’ll start with the day before the event. We prepared a production schedule ahead of time to have an idea of what dishes could be prepped for in advance. We spent the day cooking, chopping, and assembling many dishes including beef kabobs and rotisserie chicken. From this experience we can both conclude that having beef kabobs on a menu for 900 turned out to be very labor intensive and we would never ask another chef to prepare that many kabobs.

It was such a great experience being able to see our menu come to life and be a part of the event we have been planning for so long. Later that night (after a refreshing swim) we returned for decorating. After using almost every prop we collected from other dining halls and ordered through Louise in the Purchasing Department, we were content with our saturated dining hall.  We have many people to thank for helping us make our event look fantastic: Catering, Northwest, Galfenbein, and McMahon Dining Halls for allowing us to borrow decorations; all the student workers who made it possible to get all the decorations up that night, and Pam Blume for giving us her creative genius and speakers for Pirates of the Caribbean music.

Supreme Supremes

Rachel and I were given the task of helping to prepare for a special group visiting North West Dining Hall. for breakfast one day we helped to create a parfait display and citrus salad. to create this citrus salad we made grapefruit and orange supremes (beautiful and delicious). For those of you unsure about what it means to supreme a citrus please watch the video to master the technique and you too will be a supreme master.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjJZEA6nFcI

Final Project

We are now in the final stretch, I can't believe how the time has flown and it's suddenly week 8! Our big event is a luncheon for 900 people on Wednesday with the theme of Pirates of the Caribbean. This is our final menu:

Breads:

Jamaican Coco Bread

Mango Bread

Wok

Sautéed Callaloo

Empanada

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Sauce

Jamaican Rice

Tortuga Shrimp

Chimichurri Sauce

Avocado Crème Fraiche

Comfort/hotline

Plantain au Gratin

Butternut Squash Risotto/pilaf

Honey Lime Grouper(oven of Flat top)

Sides

Rice and Beans

Mashed Potatoes

Haitian Short Ribs

Goat Cheese Polenta

Coconut Vegetables

Cabana Pork Tenderloin

Bahaman vegetable Stew

Tropical Island Vegetables

Grill line

Guyanese Crab Cakes

Fried Plantains(tossed in Butter on line)

Coconut Shrimp

Hamburgers

Cheeseburger

Beef Kabobs

Sweet Potato Fries

Pasta Station/Dessert bar

Coconut Ice cream

Vanilla ice cream

Chocolate Ice cream

Mango sorbet

Caramelized Caribbean pineapple

Caramelized bananas

Hot fudge

Carmel sauce

Soup/Salad

Brazilian black Bean Soup

Chicken Noodle

Assorted salads*

Regular salad bar

Deli

Assorted meats and toppings

Assorted Sandwich Breads

Carving Station

Rotisserie Jerk Chicken

Pizza

Cheese Pizza

Pepperoni Pizza

Reggae Pizza(Hawaiian w/ Caribbean Seasoning)

Smoothies

Mango Mania

Strawberry Banana

Beverages

Assorted soft drinks and juices

Hot Tea and Coffee

Iced tea

Milk

Desserts

Rum Cake

Assorted Cookies

*Assorted Salads

·         Avocado Papaya

·         Jamaican Coleslaw

·         Potato Salad

·         Bean Salad

·         Macaroni Salad

·         Veggie Salad

·         Tropical Fruit Salad

Stay tuned for more on the event!!

NYC

This past weekend we had the opportunity to take a trip to New York City!! Thanks to our awesome planning skill we were able to book tickets on the Mega Bus for $33 round trip. While wondering around the city we visited Rockefeller Center, Central Park, Chelsea's Market, Dylan's Candy Bar(where part of the movie Aurthur was Filmed), Madison Square Park, Times Square, and this random street festival. After a full day of walking, tasting authentic New York style pizza and seeing all we could possibly see in a single day we were eager to get back home.
Unfortunately, as our bus was pulling away from the curb ready to take us home it started to sputter. Slowly the sputtering turned to stalling and there we were coasting to the side of the street with no back up plan for getting home. We looked out the window to find we had barely made it 1/2 a block and noticed a homeless man sleeping on the sidewalk. For two stranded interns this is the last place you would want to be stuck. We waited and wondered what would happen to us, how would we ever get home!? After waiting for several hours on a broken down bus in the heat of New York City a new fully working bus was sent to our rescue. We made it back alive. And that was our New York City adventure. ;)

Holy Cow!!

This week we got to go on more tours, yay! This is where our title holy cow comes into play, sorry about the cheesiness (haha, sorry I can't help the puns). The first day of tours we got to go learn about the Farm to Chef Program here in Connecticut. A big thank you goes out to Linda Piotrowicz with the CT Department of Agriculture for setting up the tours!! I learned that a lot of consumers in Connecticut are concerned about the environment and are asking for locally grown, sustainable programs. We toured two farms and got to see this in action.

The first farm adventure took place at Broad Brook Beef in Broad Brook, CT. Herb Holden Jr., General Manager, took us on the grand tour of the operation. We got to learn a lot about sustainability and the great care they put into raising these animals. We saw many of the cows while learning about farm practices such as use of fermented feed and cow care. We also got to see the pigs and learn cool farm facts. Did you know that you'll never be bitten by a cow because they don't have teeth on their top gums, but their sandpaper like tongues are very rough! We ended this tour with some delicious Kielbasa samples. Thanks again!!

The second farm we explored was Hastings Farms in Suffield, CT. Megan Hastings started the tour by having us walk through the calf barn and see the youngest stars of the farm. They are kept in this barn until they are about 2 months old. This was a very clean and pretty shelter. We then went on to see where they are moved until they are 6 months old. We also got to see other areas the cows are kept in including where the pregnant cows are held. We were shown the milking equipment and I learned about the process that they are planning on using to produce and bottle their own milk in the near future. I think it’s really neat that the family farm is being preserved and that people are still passionate about the hard work it takes. We ended the tour with some delicious, fresh cheese that Megan had made for us. Thanks again for sharing your expertise, passion, and delicious cheese :)

The last tour we went on this week was to Calabro Cheese Corp. in East Haven, CT. Tim Sciarrillo, Chief Operating Officer, took us through the process of cheese making. For the sake of confidentiality I will not say much, but I will say that this is a fascinating process. I loved having the connection from the farm tours earlier this week to see how fresh milk can produce a wonderful Connecticut product. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about one of my favorite foods and what it takes to create a masterpiece of creaminess. I also found out that my favorite dessert, cannoli, is made using ricotta cheese! I left this tour in a happy cheese coma. A big thank you to Calabro, especially Tim, for allowing us to come in and experience what you do best.

Catering

Rome Ballroom

Jorgensen--Garden Vegetable, Gourmet Cheese, and Sushi Display

Jorgensen--Coffee, Tea, and Dessert Display

We got to see a whole new side of university foodservice this past weekend in catering. Kyla and I catered for different events that gave us each a look into the process. Kyla catered for the Spignesi Scholarship Banquet in the Rome Ballroom. This was a hot buffet with alcohol service. I catered for the Benton Fundraiser in the Jorgensen main auditorium. This was a reception with stationary tables and passed hors d'oeuvres. Later in the evening we switched to desserts and coffee. I think that an important lesson learned in catering is how to problem solve and make things work in a short amount of time. I was blown away with the stories about having over 30 events in one day! I learned that some of the keys to successful planning are organization, keeping deadlines, communication, and having a positive attitude :)

Field Trips!!!

Green coffee beans

Coffee machinery

We had the amazing opportunity of touring two facilities and learning the behind-the-scenes. We started at Omar Coffee Company. Think coffee making is simple? Think again. The process started out with green coffee beans. They are selected from many different regions for their unique taste profiles. They are sent to hoppers where they are held until they are roasted to perfection. Greg Dadinos shared his great expertise on the entire process. He explained quality assurance procedures and took us through the rest of the process. After the roasting process the beans are cooled and saved as whole beans or ground. Kevin McDermott shared how important it is to use the right equipment and ingredients to create a consistent gourmet coffee. Things like type of coffee, minerals found in water, and brewing method all influence the final flavor and quality of the coffee. Shannon Cercone is the fair trade and organic certification specialist. She explained the difference, complications, and objectives of these certifications. We learned a lot about coffee, but also had a great example of a great vendor. Their extensive knowledge in all aspects of coffee and willingness to share this was amazing. Thanks again for allowing us to come into your facility!


Our next stop was to Foxwoods Resort Casino with Chef Mark Genereux. Being a resort, this is a huge operation! There are 38 dining options ranging from fine dining to fast food. We walked through several facilities including the butcher shop, bakery, and numerous restaurants. Unlike most facilities, Foxwoods sends out bids every few weeks. Health inspectors are on site and routinely inspect areas, holding Foxwoods to a higher standard in sanitation. We were impressed by the time saving methods they use for bulk cooking. Foxwoods owns a cook chill system that allows them to make their own sauces and soups in 124 gallon batches to be used throughout the resort. Thank you again to Chef Mark and Foxwoods for this experience!

Cook chill system

Kyla, Chef Mark, and Rachel in the MGM Premier Ballroom of Foxwoods

Weekend Trip to Boston

Taking full advantage of being on the east coast we traveled to the city of Boston. On this lovely rainy day we walked the freedom trail, experienced Boston's history and of course experienced some of the cultural cuisine of Little Italy. Now both of us are terrible with directions but Boston was prepared for us, to travel the freedom trail all we had to do was follow the red line from the state house our to the USS Constitution. Even with a line we managed to walk in circles and take a few wrong turns but we were thankful to find people are most accommodating and sent us in the right direction. Everyone in Boston is a sports fan...Even Paul Revere!
As the Boston Bruins approach the Stanley Cup Finals Bostonian fill the streets and shops supporting their team. Boston supports much more than just sports though. We happened to visit Boston during Boston Pride Celebration which filled the streets with music, art and supporters.
We also came across a memorial honoring the troops that died in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is a wall of dog tags representing those that gave their lives. Boston is full of these hidden treasures, all you have to do to find them is walk the freedom trail and its free. This is a must do for anyone visiting Boston. At the end of the trail we were faced with boarding the USS Constitution. With our Luncheon being Pirates of the Caribbean themed it seemed most appropriate to get a few Pirate pictures. To be clear, this is an old Navel ship made of wood, not a pirate ship. It's great being able to experience what it would have been like on a ship like this. If you're not on deck your in the dark where the ceilings may only be 5' high so most would have to duck. Also there's only hammocks to sleep on and a 3'x5' kitchen space. I can't imagine any wonderful food being made from that limited amount of space. Larger kitchens would be kept even farther below deck, farther in the dark. It really makes you appreciate what we have now on cruise ships and most any other kitchen.

Covered in Bees!!!

We had the amazing opportunity of going to see the UCONN beehives. We learned all about bees and saw the different kinds that all work together to produce delicious honey. Luckily it was a bright sunny day and the bees came out to play nicely and there were no casualties (stings). We got to wear the netted hats for protection, I think they are quite stylish as well :) This was a neat experience to see the process and learn more about local food.

How sweet it is...

Of the many university campuses around, an on-campus bakery is a diamond in the rough. We had the great opportunity of working at UCONN's bakery with the amazing Chef Minn and other extremely talented people like Donna. We made many delicious items including German apple strudels, cookies, apple crisp, and danishes. We also had a blast working with fondant :) Check out our amazing fondant pirates and stay tuned for more updates on our Pirates of the Caribbean luncheon extravaganza!

Hanging With a Celebrity ...No Big Deal

Testing recipes for our themed dinner requires only the best of the best. It just so happens that UCONN has a chef famous for his gluten free cook book. Chef Robert Landolphi led us through testing some very foreign recipes including: Plantain Au Gratin, Bahaman Vegetable Stew, Avocado Soup, Haitian Short ribs, Sauteed Callaloo, Pumpkin Risotto, and Guyanese Crab Cakes. The theme for our dinner is Caribbean hence the different menu offerings. Don't be intimidated by the odd names all of the recipes actually turned out to be quite tasty.
The interesting thing about recipes is that they aren't always correct. One recipe typo, tsp rather than tbsp lead to a roux to weak to thicken our sauce for the plantain au gratin. Another recipe discovery was for the bahaman vegetable stew. It only called for a total of 1 cup of water for a large pot of stew. We ended up changing each recipe a little to give it even more deliciousness.

And of course the most important part of testing the recipes is to taste what you've made. I am proud to say all of our dishes turned out delicious (except the avocado soup that was only kind of good).

This is going to be a wonderful event and a most enjoyable meal.

The Wilderness Behind the Apartment

It's amazing what you can find just outside the door of your own apartment. This is the Moss Sanctuary a beautiful nature trail leading to a quaint little pond behind our apartment (waterfall included). While exploring we came across a huge bull frog and various other creatures native to the north eastern region. After working indoors all day on a beautiful day like this it is quite refreshing to come across this gem.

Inventory Control

While helping an Inventory Control Assistant (ICA) we experienced just how important it is to know your order and be observant. Inventory control is about keeping track of what you have, what you need, and what's coming in during deliveries. We were paired up with Jason Reynolds who, with a keen eye spotted this problem. Two packages of diced tomatoes were ordered for stock and according to the label on the package these raspberries are diced tomatoes. Needless to say those raspberries were sent back to be relabeled and shipped to someone who really needed them. Great Job Jason =).

Interested in more UCONN adventures visit our blog http://nacufsinternshipuconn2011.blogspot.com/

Fabulous KAs

So for week number uno we got to do quite a bit. As you can see by our beautiful uniforms we got to help with salad prep, dishes, and customer service as KA's (kitchen assistants) in south dining hall. We jumped right in and got our hands dirty--literally. We learned all about the dish system and the secret techniques of really getting the nasty gunk off the pans (thanks Jose!) The salad ladies taught us about presentation and cutting techniques--check out the picture of the beautiful salad bar :)

Getting in the Spirit of UCONN and NACUFS

Our first week at the University of Connecticut was awesome. We're just getting into the swing of things on this gianormous campus. This week we explored the inners of campus and discovered tradition behind the painted rock. In spirit with being here at UCONN we found it most appropriate to leave our mark on this iconic boulder. YAY UCONN!!!