Foodservice Nutrition
National Association of College & University Food Service
The summer leading up to my senior year of college I had an amazing opportunity to intern 8 weeks at the University of California Berkeley. I was honored to be selected for 1 of the 51 internship positions available by NACUFS. Being placed at UC Berkeley allowed me to gain exposure to every aspect of the operations of Cal Dining. I was paired with another intern, also a dietetics major. I worked in all aspects of campus dining including dining halls, campus restaurants, cafes and markets working with the chef, and general manager, to understand the operation of the facility. I reviewed about 100 job applications for various positions within the foodservice operation to meet specific qualifications, and selected the top five for interviews. I provided suggestions for improving the menu content for the college students and created recipes for a new smoothie station in the dining hall. I also planned the kitchen design for a new teaching kitchen, which Cal dining hopes to implement in the near future. I also worked with the registered dietician who is a professor at the university, and created local menus with healthy ingredients, mostly from California. I assisted in preparing sample recipes to use for the fall campus restaurant menu. The other intern and I collaborated on planning a special event, a 50’s diner theme dinner at one of the campus dining halls. We created the vision, planned the menu, decorations, and sourced the supplies to ensure a fun night for the 500 kids. The internship was a lot of fun working with another intern and gaining a deep understanding from managers, finance, ordering, staffing and inventory in each facility. For additional information on my summer experience click on the below link.
http://nacufsintern2015.blogspot.com/2015/07/uc-berkeley-week-4.html
Final Presentation
https://www.powtoon.com/show/eEerrC67FU9/nacufs/
http://nacufsintern2015.blogspot.com/2015/07/uc-berkeley-week-4.html
Final Presentation
https://www.powtoon.com/show/eEerrC67FU9/nacufs/
Country Picnic Catering
The Country Picnic is a full service upscale caterer, who tends to elegant weddings, backyard barbecues, and corporate lunch-ins. As a wait staff, I worked with a team of employees to prepare the formal dining areas according to specific client and team manager instructions. When arriving at the venue, the tables and chairs were assembled, arranged, and linens positioned with decorative table accents, such as flowers or party favors. Shortly after starting I was tasked to be a server responsible for passing hors d’oeuvres, arranging the main meal, and assembling a dessert table. I was constantly attentive to the guests’ needs. The job was fast paced and I had to multi-task, provide high quality customer service, pay attention to details and act in a professional manner at all times. During the week, I worked in the office and took lunch and event orders along with reconciling invoices. I utilized effective communication with the company owner, team leader, chef, and the rest of the staff to ensure every task was completed.
For more information about The Country Picnic, please visit http://www.countrypicnic.com
For more information about The Country Picnic, please visit http://www.countrypicnic.com
MySuperFoods Company
In the summer of 2014, I interned at MySuperFoods Company, a small healthy snack food startup company established by two entrepreneurial mothers in New Jersey. My projects included researching the nutritional content of seasonal fruits and vegetables. I created blogs with nutritional information on a specific in-season vegetable accompanied by healthy summer recipes for readers to try. I utilized social media to create blog posts about cooking specifically children-friendly recipes. I created instructional recipes accompanied with enticing images such as homemade organic goldfish and organic ice pops. The goal of these blogs was to reach the target audience to become interested in MySuperFoods, and to promote the company mission to “power up naturally”. I researched, and identified, current articles that people within the same demographic group would be interested in reading. I also prepared MySuperFoods product sample packages for potential customers, vendors and school districts. Lastly, I visited local grocery stores and discussed sales and any issues with the store managers. During this internship, I learned about product sales, marketing, and enhanced my creativity through social media and brainstorming team sessions regarding future product ideas.
For more information about MySuperFoods Company, please visit http://www.mysuperfoodscompany.com
For more information about MySuperFoods Company, please visit http://www.mysuperfoodscompany.com
The Chelsea Assisted Living
I worked with a dietitian who oversees eighteen assisted living facilities throughout New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. I rotated through seven of those assisted living facilities. When arriving at the facility we conducted a sanitation inspection of the kitchens based upon the department of Health and Human Services regulations from the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) standards. The four-week cycle menus were reviewed with the food service director and dietitian, and were amended as needed. An evaluation of the food quality was completed, to determine the percentage of homemade verses prepared food. I provided suggestions to improve freshness and healthier preparation techniques, such as baking instead of frying. I assisted teaching an in-service education training to the dietary and nursing staff on food temperatures and the “first in first out” technique. I attended intra-departmental meetings to address specific concerns of the dining room staff and patients’ needs. I reviewed patients’ medical charts and diet orders, calculated their ideal body weight or body mass index, reviewed the monthly and yearly weight gains, and losses and observed nutrition counseling. I taught a nutrition lesson to residents on “Calorie Countdown” which reviewed calorie needs specific to age, calories burned, and ways to reduce or increase calories as necessary. The program was well received by the residents.
For more information about the Chelsea, please visit http://www.chelseaseniorliving.com
For more information about the Chelsea, please visit http://www.chelseaseniorliving.com