Hello everyone! My name is Michelle and I am interning with the New Bedford campus with a concentration in culinary! I completed the majority of my hours with Curry College in Milton, MA. Apart from working with the fantastic staff learning different cooking techniques, I had to organize many food demos and taste panels. It took quite some time to get adjusted to the kitchen, like knowing where to find food items or equipment that I needed, and once this happened I was able to find the confidence to assert myself and the tasks I needed to get done for a successful project.
My last three events were taste panels. I decided to do a cauliflower fried rice, black bean brownie, and Greek yogurt cookies. By this time, the students were used to me being there with my setup of goodies waiting for them. I’d get a lot of the same students to try the various foods, which was nice, because I felt like I got to know the student body a little better. There were always some mixed opinions about the taste panels, but what I found is that you can disguise cauliflower as rice, college students aren’t huge fans of dark chocolate, but everyone loves cookies.
The hardest part about the taste panels was the simple fact that people eat with their eyes. I could already tell that people had their biases when they walked up to the table. Sometimes it took some convincing to get them to try the experimental version and why it might be worth making on their own. Making and having the recipe card and nutrient information handy made this really helpful. However, the best part was breaking their biases. Depending on each student, I would divulge more or less information about the different versions of the food item. I was glad that everyone really loved the cauliflower fried rice. Many students actually advocated for it to become a regular item served in their dining hall. As for the brownies, I realized that people are most accustomed to the flavor of your regular boxed brownie, so the taste of real cocoa really surprised some of the students. Most of the students couldn’t actually tell that they were made with beans instead of flour. The last panel was my pride and joy, because I received a lot of really good feedback about the cookies. During this demo, I had the most traffic come to my table and although the texture of the Greek yogurt cookie was different than the standard version, the flavor was still there. I was originally worried because these cookies do not brown the same way without butter, but many students expressed that the flavor is what matters more.
All-in-all, I really learned what it takes to organize various events. You have to have a written plan of all the materials you do need or could need, and you also need to communicate these ideas in advance to get the staff and managers prepared just in case food items need to be ordered or materials need to be gathered. I was really happy to have a vision about what I wanted, and then be able to execute it from beginning to conclusion.
My last three events were taste panels. I decided to do a cauliflower fried rice, black bean brownie, and Greek yogurt cookies. By this time, the students were used to me being there with my setup of goodies waiting for them. I’d get a lot of the same students to try the various foods, which was nice, because I felt like I got to know the student body a little better. There were always some mixed opinions about the taste panels, but what I found is that you can disguise cauliflower as rice, college students aren’t huge fans of dark chocolate, but everyone loves cookies.
The hardest part about the taste panels was the simple fact that people eat with their eyes. I could already tell that people had their biases when they walked up to the table. Sometimes it took some convincing to get them to try the experimental version and why it might be worth making on their own. Making and having the recipe card and nutrient information handy made this really helpful. However, the best part was breaking their biases. Depending on each student, I would divulge more or less information about the different versions of the food item. I was glad that everyone really loved the cauliflower fried rice. Many students actually advocated for it to become a regular item served in their dining hall. As for the brownies, I realized that people are most accustomed to the flavor of your regular boxed brownie, so the taste of real cocoa really surprised some of the students. Most of the students couldn’t actually tell that they were made with beans instead of flour. The last panel was my pride and joy, because I received a lot of really good feedback about the cookies. During this demo, I had the most traffic come to my table and although the texture of the Greek yogurt cookie was different than the standard version, the flavor was still there. I was originally worried because these cookies do not brown the same way without butter, but many students expressed that the flavor is what matters more.
All-in-all, I really learned what it takes to organize various events. You have to have a written plan of all the materials you do need or could need, and you also need to communicate these ideas in advance to get the staff and managers prepared just in case food items need to be ordered or materials need to be gathered. I was really happy to have a vision about what I wanted, and then be able to execute it from beginning to conclusion.
