Churrasco: Brazilian Barbeque Victoria Roberts HMD 432 Final Event April 28, 2010 Planned for 100, Served 60

Gordon College Dining Services Gordon College Dining Services serves approximately 1200 students on the board plan. The main kitchen is the only production area on campus and provides for all the needs of the cafeteria, catering service, The Pendragon (staff café) and Gillie’s Café. Gillie’s Café was the venue for this event. It is in the basement of the main cafeteria and serves specialty, higher priced items that are not on the main menu in the cafeteria in addition to deli items. It typically serves between students during lunch, depending on the day. The theme for the menu for this event was “Brazilian Barbeque.”

Menu With Forecasted Amounts Churrasquiho (Brazilian Kabobs): 100 kabobs, 50 pounds of meat Grilled skewers of marinated beef with thick cut bacon White rice: 2, 24x12x2 inch pans Black beans: 2, 24x12x2 inch pans Salpicao de Galinha: 2, 24x12x2 inch pans (using 30 pounds of chicken) Brazilian chicken salad with potatoes, apples, raisins and carrots *Note: The original forecast was for 200, based off of historical data of usual customer flow through Gillie’s Café. The forecast was changed to 100 the week of the event chapel was canceled that day. The main rush usually occurs as the students are let out of chapel. Without that rush, the customer base is reduced by as much as 50%.

Service Service was cafeteria style. One server was stationed behind the hot line and plated all menu items as requested. Service equipment utilized Steam table 24x12x2 inch serving pans Slotted and solid spoons tongs

Production: Pre-Preparation Items prepared the day before the event Chicken breasts baked and cooled Chicken baked on trays in combi oven I prepped the chicken breasts, baked them to the appropriate internal temperature and stored them properly for cooling and holding until the following day Beef cubed and marinated I prepared all the beef, made the marinade and stored it properly for holding until the following day I ensured all items needed for the event were in house and ready for the following day.

Production Schedule: Pre- Preparation EmployeeMenu ItemQuantity to Prepare Comments VictoriaChicken breasts 30 lbsCook off the day before event, cool to appropriate temperature and hold in walk-in refrigerator VictoriaFlat meat50 lbsCut into cubes, place in marinade and hold in walk-in refrigerator

Production: Day of Event Items prepared the day of event Churrasquiho (Brazilian Kabobs) Skewers grilled briefly on gas grill to sear, then finished in the pizza oven White rice Steamed in steamer Black beans Heated on gas range Salpicao de Galinha Chicken ground in Hobart food chopper Potatoes baked in combi oven

Production Schedule: Day of Event EmployeeMenu Item Time to Prepare Quantity to Prepare Comments Victoria, student employee Churrasco (Beef/bacon skewers) 9:00100 skewersLoad skewers, wait to cook 10 minutes before putting on the line, batch cook on grill, put 50 servings on the line at a time VictoriaSalpicao de Ghalina (Chicken Salad) 10:00100 servings (2, 2” pans) Use grinder to shred chicken VictoriaRice10:30100 servings (2, 2” pans) Use steamer VictoriaBlack Beans10:45100 servings (2, 2” pans) Use canned beans, heat on stove

Production Schedule: Day of Event There was a large catering event at an offsite location that required the presence of several of the kitchen staff that I had planned into the original production schedule, including the chef that usually oversees me. They left just before my event started and returned in the last half hour of my event. There were two chefs that were busy preparing the meal for the main cafeteria that were available if I had any questions, but all production was completed by me. The only exception was that I had a student employee for 1.5 hours who helped me skewer all the meat. It felt a little bit like trial-by-fire, but I appreciate their trust in me to handle it by myself and the event came out great.

Salpicao de Ghalina Churrasquiho Black Beans White Rice

Service Evaluation StrengthsWeaknesses Planning-service staff were given adequate instructions to set up (utensils needed, etc) -see comment below regarding menu pricing Execution- there was good communication between the service staff and the kitchen to keep items replenished on the line - I didn’t realize until the event started that the menu that had been sent out to the students listed and priced the chicken salad as an entrée. I had planned for it to be served as a side. This resulted in some initial confusion when the service started but was quickly resolved between myself and the service staff. After Event- the service staff cleared off the line and communicated with me clearly regarding what to do with leftovers - feedback from staff and students that ate the meal was very positive

Production Evaluation StrengthsWeaknesses Planning- a clear plan was set out for what tasks needed to be completed the leading up to and the day of the event - there was clear communication between the kitchen and catering staff during the event planning process - not enough black beans were ordered (it’s a standing order item and was not replenished before the event) Execution- the schedule was followed closely and left enough time for each task - batch cooking the skewers for the line proved to be very useful as there were significant periods of lulls and rushes - we ran out of canned black beans (not enough ordered), and substituted white beans After Event- leftover items were properly stored and had a clear plan for reuse in the cafeteria hot and salad lines - we had a lot of leftover chicken salad (due to confusion about pricing, see note on below)

Event Summary I gained great confidence in my abilities to oversee and execute production for an event of this size. I appreciated experiencing the whole event process from planning to production as well as participating in the day-to-day events of the food service. I learned that things don’t always go as planned in a foodservice operation of this size, but also how to quickly and effectively handle situations that arise.