SUMMARY OF MY SUMMER INTERNSHIP

As my internship nears completion, I spend an excessive amount of time daydreaming about the past 8 weeks. What have I learned? How will I apply it? How will I ever get back to my “real” life in Missouri? I hope that many of you are reading this blog because you are interested in applying for a National Association of College and University Food Service Internship. I will attempt to summarize my experience for you. Feel free to read about my entire summer but the blog is kind of long!

When I arrived to my room, I was greeted with welcome basket stuffed full of snacks, a stocked fridge, and a letter from my new boss, Paul. This kind of hospitality was the standard for the entire summer. It was not uncommon for sales reps to take us out to lunch and it was obvious that everyone was genuinely concerned with how “the interns” were enjoying our stay here at Montana State University.

With that being said, knowledge and experience are the two biggest rewards of my internship experience. From day one, I felt that I was treated with respect and given the power to make important decisions for the university. I have learned the “ins and outs” of foodservice. This summer was spent doing the behind-the-scenes work that most people do not consider when they walk up to the counter and order a sandwich. My internship allowed me to gain experience in purchasing, marketing, making financial decisions, and menu design. Also, we implemented a hospitality software solution called Computrition which will drastically improve the efficiency, reduce waste, and simplify the foodservice here on campus. With this, I assisted in training all of the managers on campus and created an instructional kitchen workbook to using Computrition. Professional and management experience is invaluable. A lot of time was spent with professionals in the field; I met with everyone from manufacture reps, to the president of marketing agency. I learned to act and look professional, carry on intelligent conversations about the industry, and to negotiate prices and bill backs. Networking with these individuals may prove to be extremely helpful when I begin looking for a job. I had the opportunity to ask them questions about what they look for in an interview and a resume.

Although most of the work I did was office related, some of it was hands-on food. I spent several days catering and a chunk of time working concessions. Being exposed to the organizational components of catering has helped me to better understand that aspect of food service. Concession work was a chance to improve my public relations, sales, and even a smidge of culinary work.

Less tangibly, I gained experience in conceptualization and visualization. It is incredibly vital to be able to follow through with a project. Creativity is not enough, nor is partially completed work. I learned to ask questions and to view the whole project before beginning. I became a whiz at Microsoft Excel, making lists and spreadsheets to coincide with nearly everything. With Paul’s help, I became more confident and I began to lessen my desire for confirmation. He gave me the power to make my own decisions. He also helped me to break little habits that someday may be the tie-breaker between me and another applicant. This summer internship will be a priceless piece of my resume when I apply for a dietetic internship.

In addition, the NACUFS internship provides a $1,600 net stipend plus my own room and free food for the whole summer. I also made an additional $650 net extra for working concessions. Most importantly, the internship provides a chance to visit a new university and a different region of the country. I have learned so much from the people around me and I have fresh perspectives on life. I have had a chance to reflect on what really matters to me and what direction I want to go professionally. Also, did I mention this internship was a lot of fun?! I have been to Yellowstone 3 times now, Glacier National Park, Chico Hot Springs, Tobacco Roots Mountains, and several other amazing destinations.

If you are interested in doing this internship and you have questions, feel free to email me at cfavre1s@semo.edu. I would love to tell you more and I encourage you to take this opportunity.

DAY 40

Wow. I feel as if today should be the first, but at the same time I feel like I've been here forever. My strategy for not getting upset is just to ignore the issue, but there comes a time where I have to admit, I am leaving. Today is my last day of work here at Montana State University.

Paul let us take the morning off since we had to pack up camp at Hyalite and get Rachael's oil changed too. We have spent the rest of the day burning CD's of our pictures and DVD's of little moments we have on video. We have been packing up the office and making copies of all the projects we've spent so much time creating. Paul & Jeff have been working on Computrition all day but we took time off to eat at College St. Cafe one last time.

I don't want it to be over...

"Don't say good bye, say, 'I've changed my mind, I'm staying' "

DAY 39

We reviewed all of our projects to be sure that they were complete. Everything was taken care of successfully. Then we hit Computrition pretty hard. We reviewed the entire instructional workbook that we made for kitchen use. Unfortunately, there were gaps in what we were hoping to accomplish, which required us to call Gordon and to spend an excess amount of time figuring things out. We ate leftover pizza and worked straight through lunch.

For dinner, we had another picnic out at Hyalite Reservoir. Paul's family, along with my parents, Deb from work, and a handfull of our closest friends, enjoyed burgers, brats, and hot dogs. Right now there are Stage II fire restrictions and so we were not permitted to build a campfire or a charcoal fire. It was so much fun to be surrounded by all of the people I love! 5 of us camped out there in Hood Creek Campground. It was a perfect temperature and a perfect night all around.

DAY 38

Today was another relaxing day of work! We tore apart our resumes today and Paul gave us a lot of advice about what employers are looking for in a resume and in an interview. We were able to read over the notes from our own phone interviews for this internship. Both of us scored very well, which is why I'm lucky enough to spend the summer in Montana!

Ronda, from Western Marketing, came into town and took us out to lunch at Mackenzie River Pizza. It was absolutely delicious gormet pizza. She gave us some tips on interviewing and reconfirmed that employers generally make their decision within the first minute of meeting the potential employee. A friendly smile, self-confidence, and a firm handshake can go a long way!

We also discussed our strengths, weaknesses, and work tenets (pet peeves) with Paul. He gave us a copy of his 8 tenets. When recommends keeping a written record and giving a copy to employees (someday) because it is a straight forward way of telling people what sets you into orbit. He also recommends surrounding ourselves with people who have strengths in the areas that we are weak.

After work I met up with my parents! They just got into town and are staying in their motor home in Bear Canyon Campground. Rachael and I took them to the M for one last hike up. They seemed to enjoy the view, but not the hill! For dinner, we drove to Manhattan and ate at the Oasis. We met up with Paul, Rick, Ron, and all of their families. The Oasis is a very laid back steak house with really good meat. I think it was a good "Welcome to Montana" for my parents.

DAY 37

Rachael was sick today... It was sad not having her at the office. To be honest, it was kind of a slacking day anyway. It felt good to sit down all day! I have never missed an office quite so bad. Summer fair made me appreciate it! I spent the whole day doing little things, tying up loose ends basically.

Paul let me take off early. We took Ashley (his daughter) to Spire, the climbing gym. She's a really good climber for an 8 year old! She has so much spunk and energy. I don't think she ever got worn out. I got to climb a lot too. Paul is good at belaying with a gri gri.

DAY 36

Paul gave us the day off today! It was so nice to be able to get some rest. We met him downtown at Nova Cafe for an 11:00 breakfast. Rachael isn't feeling well so she went home afterwards. I went next door and got 12 inches of hair cut off!!! I donated it to Locks-of-Love, which is a great non-profit organization that gives wigs to underpriveledged children. This is the second time that I've done it and I will grow out my hair again to donate. Please check out their website and considering donating: http://www.locksoflove.org/. In addition, they can take hair of any length (that hasn't been on the floor) to sell and benefit their cause. (I'm going to shock my parents tomorrow when they arrive, so don't tell them about my hair cut!)

In the afternoon I met up with a friend of mine from highschool, Dan Ryan. He's lived out here for a while and works for the Montana Conservation Crew. He's on the trail a lot so I haven't gotten to spend any time with him. We drove out to Hyalite and hiked to Grotto Falls & Arch Falls. It started to thunderstorm a little bit but it felt great! It has been so hot outside lately. Also, forest fire season has begun. The mountains are covered in a hazy smoke. I almost started crying when I walked outside this morning because it looks so depressing. I hate that my parents will have to see it like this when it's been so beautiful all summer! My parents left from Freeburg, IL this morning and they will be making their way across the country in their RV to visit me and to check out this awesome place.

Tonight, we went to Columbo's Pizza for dinner. I had heard good things about it and now I see why! Then we went up to Peet's Hill to watch the sun go down over Bozeman. I will really miss this place.

WEEKEND 7

Rocky Mountain Concessions... need I say more? Double click the images to view our menu.

On Saturday I worked for 16.5 hours! I'm fairly certain that's the longest I have ever stayed standing. Granted, we do take short sit-down breaks through out the day, it still feels like a long time. We had a buffet for the 4-H buyers (lifestock sale) this morning and fed about 240 people. I got to work with some of the 4-H girls that were in highschool and a few of their little brothers. They were very sweet and gave me a little insight into the world of 4-H and the lifestock business. Concessions stayed steady and just as I thought we might be ready to close up, the fair shut down and an influx of people suddenly wanted food for their way out. The 10 p.m. rush was bigger than the dinner rush!

We went home for about 7 hours and then went back to work for another 12 hours. Sunday was a lot slower than the rest of the weekend. Paul put me in charge of the brunch buffet that we offered as a special Sunday deal. I took their money, made sure there was enough food in the chafing dishes, replaced the sternos, refilled coffee and OJ, testing the quality of the food, and basically anything else that people wanted or needed. I'm better at front of the house work than at back of the house work. I like public relations and sales. We had about 100 people go through the buffet line. The fair closed down around 5 so most of the afternoon and evening was spent breaking down the business. We donated all of the leftover bread & buns to a local food pantry.

Overall, I made an extra $650 which was definately worth the hard work! That should be sufficient funding to do some traveling and maybe even get me home in time to go back to school.

DAYS 31-35

This week is office work AND concession work! I am working for Rocky Mountain Concessions on the side to support my expensive traveling habit! The Gallatin County Fair is going on this week. We have quite a good menu with a variety of items anywhere from burgers & brats to cheese quesadillas and fruit cups. We also have a great shredded pork melt that I love. The tips have even been good! We do a delivery service for the vendors and in return they usually give us a couple bucks. I love meeting people and looking around at the fair. The picture is of our set-up. We also have 5 tables and a condiment table with red gingam table cloths. Paul made the counter that you see. He's a very skilled wood worker.

WEEKEND 6

Saturday morning I cooked a huge breakfast with some friends. We bummed around and eventually got a group together to go to the Lewis and Clark Caverns in the Tobacco Roots. 7 of us went on a guided tour through the huge caverns. It was 50 degress inside so it was a nice way to spend a 100+ day. The formations inside were pretty spectacular too.

After that, the group headed to Cardwell where Drew's dad has an old ranch house. A lot of our other friends met us out there in the Tobacco Roots. We made frozen pizzas and camped out in the yard. I am going to miss my friends so much... I don't want to leave!

Sunday was a designated swimming day. First, we had breakfast in Whitehall. Then, we went down to the Jefferson River and jumped off of big cement blocks that are left over from the old bridge. The river was kind of nasty... just mossy and not as pristine as what we're now used to. It reminded me much more of the rivers back home! Because of this, we decided to move on to the Gallatin River between 4 Corners and Big Sky. There's a spot called "The Whirlpool" about 1/2 mile upstream from a popular swimming area. We hiked down there and jumped in the river. It's literally a whirpool. The current takes shoots you out about 30 feet and then brings you back around. If you wanted, you could swim in circles all day. It was so much fun! We went out for Mexican food for dinner. Yum...

DAY 30

Paul gave us the day off work today. He's still in Seattle and we completed all of our projects. I slept in (!!!) 'til quarter to 8. I got up leisurely and packed my gear for the weekend and read for a while (David Sedaris=great author).

Rachael and I have been wanting to do Sacajawea, the tallest peak in the Bridger Mountain Range. It stands at 9,665 ft... not too tall, but still a challenge. The hike is 4 miles round trip. In order to get to the trail head at Fairy Lake, we had to take the CR-V up a treacherously rocky and rutted road. The horseflies were pretty bad today, but that was really the only negative about the whole hike. I think it may have even helped to get our minds off of the 2 miles uphill. The view from the top was spectacular! There are mountain ranges in every direction and Bozeman looks like an anthill.

Afterwards, we went to the Museum of the Rockies to escape the sweltering heat. This museum is pretty famous and is home to several T-Rex's, along with a lot of other fossils and bones. Jack Horner is the main paleontologist and was also the inspiration for the movie "Jurassic Park". I learned a lot about dinosaurs. Currently, they have a Tutankamen exhibit. I actually saw his mummified body!!! I have always been interested in the pyramids, so it was fascinating to see the real life items that were found in the pyramids. Everything was covered in gold. It almost looked fake but it wasn't.

DAY 29

Today was a full 14 hour day of office work and catering.

We went in this morning to finish up a few Computrition items and to double check our notes one more time before giving them to Beth.

At 9, we went in to catering to lend a helping hand. We prepared all of the water and lemonade to take to the 4H picnic. It was nice being outside all day at the picnic, even though our job was kind of pointless.

In the afternoon we had to sneak back to the office to call Gordon (Computrition guy). We were having some problems with processing internal vendor orders and doing post meal counts. Both were fairly easy after he told us the tricks!

For dinner, 4H was having a huge banquet for their last night at the conference. The room was decorated cute and we served a pretty good meal. It looked like a lot of fun. By the end of the night, I was tired of being on my feet. The organization and conceptualization that goes into catering a meal for that many people (close to 500) is unbelievable!

DAY 28

We miss Paul!

Today we spent the whole morning typing up more Computrition notes. Then we went through it all a 2nd and 3rd time to double check that our instructions were as detailed as possible.

At 2 p.m. we went to catering. They were catering a 4-H dinner that had an "Around the World" theme. They had cool decorations and costumes and 4 separate appetizer buffet lines, each having a separate country or regional theme.

DAY 27

Today has been a LONG day. It's actually been short time wise, but a very wearing day. Paul is in Seattle at a conference for the week so we are on our own. We made a giant list of everything we need to do but most items were little things. Except one- typing up all of our notes from Computrition training. We did the training about 3 weeks ago and therefore need to be refreshed on everything. The notes we took are pretty decent, but we still have been getting stuck a lot today. Our project is to type up fool-proof notes so that future food service managers will know how to use the system without going through an extensive training session. Rachael has been typing on Excel all day and at the same time I have been going through each step on Computrition and reciting the instructions out loud. It's semi-torturous! Not to mention the 10-12 "crack rocks" (chocolate covered espresso beans) that I ate this morning... I rarely consumed caffeine until coming to Bozeman and my body is not accustomed to such large amounts of legal stimulant. I wasn't even tired when I ate them and I have been a little (okay, a lot) jittery ever since. Apparently 3-4 is the amount that most people need for a little pick-me-up.

Here's something out of the ordinary- I ate bugs for dinner, on purpose. A group of my friends got together and we all cooked dinner. We had spinach-feta pizza rolls, garlic bread, salad, and for the main course we made a stir fry with rice noodles and meal worm pupae. It was quite delicious! Apparently they're really high in protein and chitin.

DAY 26

I am back to the office grind today! I got a lot of sleep last night so I feel rested and ready to go. Paul will be out of the office for the rest of the week so we are getting things organized. Our projects are coming along. Right now it's kind of "hurry up and wait" because there's so many people that need to get back to us before moving on to the next step. This morning I approved the new Bobcat artwork for our peppermint pinwheel.

We took another field trip to Costco to look at prices. I also had to take my car into the VW dealership to get some work done. I don't think the Bug likes mountains as much as I do!

This afternoon we did some catering for another orientation picnic. Once again, we were in charge of passing out lemonade to 500 incoming freshmen. Afterwards we got to hang out with the rest of the catering staff and eat dinner on the lawn.

Today is "M" Monday, so just like every Monday, we hiked the M Trail. Our goal was to do the "rigorous side" of the M before we leave Bozeman. After hiking in Glacier and jumping off a bridge, and other adventurous things, we decided that we were ready. We took the trail straight up and instead of hiking to the base of the M we hiked to the top of the M. We didn't stop there, we decided to take the trail all the way to the top of the ridge. It was so amazing!!! The view was stunning! On the way down we jogged the whole thing. It's a very popular spot for trail running and we fit right in.

WEEKEND 5

I thought we'd be working the gun show all weekend but Paul is insistent that we get out and see Montana! So, we did.

On Saturday, Rachael and I went white water rafting on the Yellowstone River. We signed up through the SOB barn on campus. They do a lot of neat outdoor trips and also rent out gear. It was so much fun! We did Yankee Jim's Canyon and our guide, Gabe, let me guide almost the entire section! I've never guided a raft before but he showed me a few basic strokes and talked me through the rapids. I even got to call out the commands to the rest of the group. Then, we took out near Gardiner and had lunch in the park across from the Teddy Roosevelt arch that was the original entrance to Yellowstone. We played horseshoes and relaxed a while there. Next, we got back on the river and did the Town Stretch on the Yellowstone. The weather began to get cloudy and it thundered a little bit but we were able to stay on the river and finish out the trip. It was gorgeous!

Sunday, Rachael and I took some friends to the gun show for brunch. They have delicious food; I had my first cowboy breakfast burrito. Afterwards, we drove our friend Danielle back to her house in Big Sky which is about an hour south of Bozeman. It is a resort community and she has a pretty nice little place up in the hills. We went hiking out to a waterfall and then to the "Green Bridge" which is literally a green bridge that is a very popular hang-out spot. The water is deep enough there to climb on top of the metal framed bridge and jump off into the Gallitan River! Naturally, I had to try it. I was shaky and the first time I had to hold Danielle's hand. The second time I felt a little less queasy and the three of us jumped together.

DAY 25

More catch-up work, nothing too exciting!

Also, the gun show officially started today which was pretty fun. We did a lot of food prep work and other odds 'n' ends to get ready for customers. Rachael and I took orders and worked the cash registers. I love customer service jobs. It was true Montana too~ cowboys and lots of guns. The food went over well; we designed the menu just for them. We created menu items such as the "Gunsmoke Dog" (hot dog smothered in cheese and baked beans), "Double Barrel Burger" (double bacon cheeseburger), and the "Bonanza Burger" (burger w/ half-brat and grilled onions under one bun).

DAY 24

Back to the office... today was basically a catch-up day. The work/emails piled up while I was away. I had a few bits of unfinished business from the FSA meeting.

This afternoon I worked for Rocky Mountain Concessions doing set-up for the Gallatin County Gun Show at the Fairgrounds. We took in an order from Sysco, cleaned the whole place down, and organized items to make sure we would be covered for the opening.

GLACIER TRIP

I am living the dream... I am getting paid to learn and play.

Rachael and I just returned from a five day adventure to Glacier National Park. Of course, it was amazing! This blog feels like a display of how great my life is... I'm not trying to brag but I'm having a really great summer!

We drove through Helena and Great Falls and made our way up to the East Glacier entrance. There is a famous 52 mile long road, Going-to-the-Sun Road, that bisects Glacier into North and South halves. It passes through mountains and is very narrow. The road has been closed since last Fall due to a land slide/snow and they have been working nonstop to get it open by the summer tourist season, aiming for July 1st. Currently, you can go in 14 mi in the East and about 30 in the West. The East side was gorgeous! The color of the water is unbeatable. We camped out at the Rising Sun campground on Saturday night. I made some chicken noodle soup that Paul gave us for dinner. We went to a Ranger program focused on wolves and how society views them. Very interesting!

Let's see... on Sunday morning I got up and went to a church service in the campground. It was a non-denominational Christian service led by three college guys that are working there for the summer. I was impressed. Next, we went to Sun Point. It's this incredible spot on St. Mary Lake where the water is turquois and there are mountains everywhere. We did a 6 mile hike with a few waterfalls along the way. We saw Baring Falls, St. Mary's Falls, and Virginia Falls. The last one was incredibly surreal because the sun was shining in a way that made it hard to look straight at it and it was misty so it felt as if we were in the waterfall. Since the Going-to-the-Sun road was still out of service we drove back out into the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and around the park (a 4 hour drive) to get into West Glacier. By the time we got there we were ready for some dinner so I cooked up some cheesy spaghetti and we ate it with asiago cheese crackers. (Thanks Paul!) We camped out at Avalanche and went to another ranger led talk; nocturnal animals.

Monday morning we got up and did a morning hike to Avalanche Lake. At the base there is a trail called the Trail of the Cedars that displays old-growth Cedars and the Avalanche Gorge cuts through under a bridge. The Avalanche Lake trail is extremely mystical because it follows the narrow slot gorge on the left and the right is a forrest covered in moss and huge stones. In the afternoon we went to an intern led hike to Rocky Point on Lake McDonald. The intern was an retired woman that decided she wanted to become a park ranger. It was her first guided hike and it was focused on forest fires. We walked through an area that was hit by the "Robert Fire" of 2003. She explained the role that forest fires play in the ecosystem and why we need them. We learned a lot about lodge-pole pines and larches, two of the trees that were hit the hardest by this fire. She also taught us about methods that they use to control fire, which sometimes require fires to be purposely lit! We picked fresh huckleberries along the trail- delicious! We camped out at Avalanche again tonight.

Tuesday was our most difficult hiking day. We did a 7.6 mile trail to Trout Lake and back. It was 2.3 miles uphill followed by 1.5 downhill; vice versa for the way back to the car. We were burning by the time we got to the lake but we were pleasantly surprised by a group of campers that had a fire going and offered us all the s'mores we could eat. They even filtered some more water for us for our way back! A lot of the trail was also in a burned area but often that presents us with very unique wildflowers. On Tuesday night we decided to be true "tourons" (a nickname that locals give to all of the tourist/morons that visit the parks each year). We went to Lake McDonal lodge and bought drinks and dinner and sat on the porch in rocking chairs facing the spectacular lake. It was not a bad way to relax and I can see the appeal that the lodge has for most people. We camped at Apgar.

Fourth of July was mostly a traveling day for us. We got up and hiked into Apgar village for a few postcards and souveniers. For breakfast we drove an hour to Kalispell and wandered around town in hopes of finding some good, cheap breakfast. After about an hour we came across a grocery store/restaurant that was packed full of locals. We had 5.00 omlettes and made our way out of town. For miles we drove along Flathead Lake on the Flathead Indian Reservation. It was stunning! I need to find a friend with a boat... It was a deep blue and surrounded by mountains and rolling hills. Everyone was on it for the 4th so there were sailboats, motorboats, and swimming kids galore. It looked like a lot of fun, but we kept driving. We drove through Missoula, Bozeman's rival. It was a nice town but nothing can compare to our little paradise here in Bozeman. For the 4th, Rachael and I decided to pamper ourselves. We were tired after a long trip home so we took showers (for the first time in 5 days), went out to dinner, and drove through town to see fireworks in every direction. Although the Arch makes a great background for fireworks at home in St. Louis, the mountains are pretty magnificant too!

DAY 20

We met Paul & Beth at Miller Dining Hall this morning for an early breakfast. Paul is so generous! He brought Rachael & I a cooler full of fun snacks for us to take on our trip to Glacier this weekend. (Not to mention he gave us 3 days off next week!)

We drove to Billings which is about 2 hours away. It is a big joke between all of us that I cannot stay awake in the car. I usually fall asleep before we even get out of Bozeman! I blame my parents for putting me in the car to get me to fall asleep at night as a child. (Just kidding Mom & Dad)

The FSA meeting went really well. I was a little nervous because it was with the President of the Billings branch and several other people with impressive titles. Luckily, it was "jeans day" so anyone in the company could pay $5 to wear jeans, so everyone was laid back and very welcoming. They raise a lot of money for charity by doing this once a month. The annual meeting is basically the one time of year that we all sit down and talk about changes to be made, special delivery dates, and anything that may need to be addressed before the new school year is underway. Communication is so important in a situation like this because there are no reminders in the mail. Once we give them a hand out or set a date for something, we expect that they will follow through with what needs to be done. I presented some information about the new salad dressing, beef cube steaks, whole wheat pizza crusts, pork tenderloin, peppermints, and the annual special order list. The meeting only lasted 1 1/2 or so, even though it took the entire day yesterday (and all the work we've been doing the past 4 weeks) to prepare for it. This was sort of a cumulative project for me and Rachael. By this point we have a pretty decent understanding of the business end of food service.

After the meeting, April took us on a tour of the warehouse. They stock about 7,000 items. They had whole warehouse rooms that were refrigerated! Each produce room had a different temp depending on what the particular vegetable likes best. They also had several banana gassing rooms to turn the bananas from green to yellow before sale. The organization that must go into organizing and retreiving things in a warehouse of this size is unbelievable. They have some new rules due to terrorist threat. Because they sell to the military, the food supply has to be secure. They added a barbed wire fence around the building and guests have to check in and out and wear a special tag.

DAY 19

We spent the entire day preparing for the annual Food Services of America (FSA) meeting that will be held tomorrow in Billings. They are our prime vendor at MSU. We made endless amounts of spreadsheets and pulled together the loose ends of our projects that we've been working on. Paul is letting us present a lot of the information tomorrow.

After work we did some Rocky Mountain Concession work. We finished the pricing of menu items, designed the menus, and went to Kinkos to have color copies printed and laminated.

Tonight was another BBQ at Hyalite with some friends. It gets prettier every time.

DAY 18

We came in early to break the good news to KRAFT. Their salad dressing won us over big time. We made a spreadsheet of the reasons why we chose the company that we did (flavor preference results from taste test, off-invoice billbacks, educational allowances, freebies, etc) and then we made a list of people that we needed to break the news to. Paul negotiated the billback even further before deciding and we let Kraft know before the others. MSU's Sanitarian (Toots) needs to know specific lab values to assure that their product is shelf stable. The pH must be less than 4.6 and it must have a water activity of less than .85. I have been playing the middle man between Kraft and Toots today to get all of the information necessary.

Today we also did a sausage yield test. We are thinking about switching the breakfast sausage and Italian sausage to a Montana Made brand, Redneck. Our thought was that it may have a higher yeild of protein to fat than the brands that we are currently using. We weighed out huge chunks of sausage (5-6 lbs) and then sliced them, grilled them, and heated them up to temp in the oven. We did that with 4 types and then moved them from their greasy pans onto clean pans for re-weighing. A lot of sausage is 60/40 (60% protein: 40% fat) and we were hoping that Redneck was 80/20 which may have made it a better deal, even though it is seemingly more expensive. However, the sausages that we are currently using produced a better yeild of protein.

The rest of the day we are getting things ready for the FSA meeting on Friday.

Tonight I hiked up Lower Mt. Ellis. Beautiful!

DAY 17

Paul, Beth, Rachael, and I ate at Wheat Montana this morning for breakfast. I had a 7 grain warm cereal and it was delicious! They are a local deli/bakery that is "Made in Montana". Then we drove out to the Tobacco Root Mountains to take a tour of a potato farm/manufacturing plant. It is called Bausch Potatoes. Mark, the 3rd generation owner, not only farms the potatoes and is the head mechanic, but also runs the storage and manufacturing of the potatoes once they're harvested. Vertical integration was neat to see first-hand. I never knew that to grow a potato you just have to plant a slice of potato with a spud on it ("seed potato"). The ones from the grocery store are treated so that they don't sprout, but an organic potato would probably do the trick. They produce french fries and hashbrowns, which we use at MSU. I got to see them make hashbrowns... it was really my potato heaven there.





The rest of the afternoon Rachael and I planned and set-up a salad dressing cutting between the 60 gallons of dressing that we have in the walk-in cooler. We are getting everyone's input on their preference of taste profiles. Everyone gave us some pretty good feedback so hopefully we can make a decision later tonight.

DAY 16

We started off with a meeting at a cook-chill with Bob Burrows. His cook-chill operation serves all of the surrounding Bozeman schools. For extra income to benefit the school lunch program, they offer this service to local businesses such as MSU, Moo Casa, MacKenzie River Pizza, and the Soup Shack. Essentially, a cook-chill makes large quantities of food (serves 2,300-2,500 people every day) and chills them quickly to assure food safety. They mostly make sauces, taco meats, and salad dressings and store them in plastic air tight bags in crates. It was a really interesting tour because it's just such a massive operation. I thought cooking for 50 people in my quantity foods class was a lot! I enjoyed talking to him about the local school districts because of my interest in childhood obesity. They are attempting to be the first district in the nation that are taking the USDA "Healthier US Challenge" which has specifications for the food that can be served in the cafeteria. The parents are demanding nutrition at any cost. I would love to do menu development for schools that are in that mindset.

Then, we had three salad dressing samplings. First, Unilever Best Foods came to represent Hellman's and Wishbone, then it was Kraft, and then Lighthouse. They all had completely different sales styles. Sometimes it's hard not judge a product based on the salesperson. Also, some of them were very generous in what they offered as perks and off-invoice billbacks. I don't want to say too much specifically because we still haven't made our final decision!

After work we did some catering at the freshman orientation picnic. We served lemonade to about 500 people and then had a picnic dinner ourselves. It was a beautiful day so it was nice to get out of the office.

Every Monday Rachael and I have an "M Monday", which means that we hike up to the M at the edge of town up on the mountainside. It was put there by students in 1915 and can be seen from anywhere in Bozeman.

WEEKEND 3

What a great weekend!

Me, Rachael, Keith, and Danielle loaded into Rachael's CR-V (I want one.). Drew was somewhere behind us on his motorcycle and we knew that a group of our friends were climbing somewhere in Paradise Valley. Going off of a hand written map, we miraculously found them out at Mill Creek. I didn't think to bring my gear but Tasha was nice enough to let me climb with hers. It was so much fun! I haven't been on real rock in quite a while.

Then, we went to Chico Hot Springs. It's a cute little resort/day spa that offers a pretty cheap rate to swim in their 100 degree pool. Their small "hot, hot" pool is 105! They have a saloon right inside and there was a band playing. It was very relaxing and lots of fun. We drove back out to Mill Creek to camp.

In the morning, we at brunch at a cute little place called Pine Creek Cafe. On the outside it appears to be a regular greasy spoon, but on the inside it is an adorable and artsy place to sit down and stay a while. By this time we had met up with yet another group of friends that were spending the weekend in Paradise Valley as well.

After breakfast we went out to Dailey Lake. In Montana, if you get out the "gazetteer" you can point to anywhere on the topo and find an amazing spot to spend the day; this was one of those places. We went swimming and then laid out on the dock.

From there, we went to the Petrified Forest. There are remains of petrified trees that were covered in ash by the last volcanic eruption in Yellowstone (640,000 years ago). It was an interpretive trail so we learned a lot about the geology. We went off the trail up a talus slope to get on top of the ridge line for a spectacular view.

We topped our day off at the Boiling River in Yellowstone. I never knew that a place like that could even exist; it's a nearly boiling river (one of the crazy geological features of the park) that flows into a cold river. They have a spot blocked off that feels like a natural hot tub. Everyone sits in the river with the hot water flowing down off of the rocks and you can feel both the hot and cold currents surrounding you. It's a really neat feeling... we soaked for about 2 hours.

DAY 15

We think that Paul must have drank some spoiled milk or something... he's being awfully easy on us today! First, he let us sleep in (by our definition!) and come in at 8:45 am instead of 7 or 7:30. It was amazing. Then, he's told us to go home after our Montana Made meeting this afternoon to start the weekend early!

Montana Made is a concept in which a product must be grown and manufactured within the state of Montana. It never crosses the state line. Why local? It is supposed to increase the long term sustainability of the state and increase the economy of Montana. In addition, it may help provide fresher food. MSU currently uses 10% of its total food budget on Montana Made products. Mecca, a volunteer at the university, is pushing for more Montana Made products and is currently designing a program to make ordering these products more simple. She had a cutting today of about 20 products to possibly introduced in the fall. I sampled 4 types of hamburger today, which is more hamburger than I have eaten since the days that my dad could trick me into thinking it was ground t-bone. Ha-ha. She also had several types of steak, fish, soups, lentil salads, and granola. Most of it was pretty delicious.

Tonight, I went to Shakespeare in the Parks with Rachael. Every year, a group travels around Montana and does free shows! We saw The Merry Wives of Windsor. It was a lot of fun and absolutely packed.

DAY 14

Luckily for us, today is the longest day of the year (Summer Solstice). Before the day was through, Paul, Rachael, and I had driven 450 miles through Montana and Wyoming!

First, we visited Western Marketing in Billings, the biggest food broker in the state. Today was the annual cutting of new products that may have a place at MSU. We sampled products that no one else in the state of Montana had even seen yet. Overall, we tasted 25 new products!!! As Paul said, "This is tasting, not eating." It was hard to only take one bite and then through the rest away. Ronda had a packet of POS (point of sales) information for us and we followed along as we sampled things like oven roasted turkey breast, trans fat-free french fries and pinwheel wedges, pasta salad, cheese sticks, egg rolls, wontons, salmon filets, 9 new Tyson products, and bacon. The owner of the company came down to meet & greet us. His name is Leon and he was very personable. We had a long discussion about the new trans fat-free trend and how it is affecting the market. They are currently selling many items (even margarine) that are trans fat-free but he believes that it will not become popular unless Montana moves to trans fat-free legislation. There is not much of a demand otherwise. It was really empowering to feel comfortable giving nutritional information to someone so high up in the "food chain". Western Marketing was truly hospitable and my experience was wonderful! I love food! Afterwards, April took us & Ronda out to lunch in downtown Billings at Sweet Ginger. It was a cute Asian restaurant... I was already so full though!

From Billings, we made our way to Red Lodge. Red Lodge is a small community with lots of little shops, bakeries, etc. I stopped and had a chocolate chip cookie. We wandered around and then went to Paul's condo. He has remodeled the entire condo and did all of the impressive woodworking himself. Outside, there were piles of what appeared to be snow. In reality, it was piles of cottonwood fluff that had fallen off the trees.











Then, we headed towards the Beartooth Pass. This mountain pass reaches almost 11,000 ft! It closes during the winter due to large volumes of snow. It was a series of switchbacks that led us up out of the valley and into the snow.


From the Beartooth Pass, we passed through Top of the World, Wyoming, Cook City, and other small towns leading to Yellowstone. As if our day wasn't amazing enough already, we saw 5 bears in Yellowstone!!! There is kind of an ongoing joke about how I saw 5 bears there when I went in May (1 grizz w/n the first 5 minutes and the other w/n the first hour) and Paul didn't see his first bear until working there for 4 summers! Sure enough, we're driving along and there are some cars stopped in the middle of the road (not highly uncommon in Yellowstone) and there is a bear about 30 ft from our car, walking our way! He continued walking parallel to our car and came within about 15 ft from the car. After that we were really pumped about seeing him and we didn't think that things could get any better. We drove about 20 minutes down the road and there's another black bear! We got out of the car and watched him with binoculars and took more pictures. This one was a little further away, luckily. At this point we were on Cloud 9. Things definately couldn't get better than this... until we saw a grizzly and her two cubs playing in a meadow!!! I have never seen anything so cute in my whole life! The cubs were wrestling and rolling around and the mom was eating and scratching in the dirt a little. The binoculars made it easy to see their expressions and to watch them "up close". It was absolutely amazing! We watched them for about 20 minutes or so until they started to retreat. Yellowstone is just a stunning place. We went to the Grand View of the Lower Falls which was a viewpoint that I didn't visit when I was there in May. Paul also took us around Canyon Village which is where he worked for several summers. He managed the food service operation. It was neat to hear his stories and to take a tour from someone who really knows the place.

We headed home right around dark, which is a little after 10 pm around here. I slept the whole way back to Bozeman!