A delicious team: directors & food service staff.One aspect of camp important to everyone is the food. In fact, the success of camp and conference center programs is often intimately related to the food service program. Unfortunately, the menu is not usually printed on the brochure, so camp directors do not always recognize their role in food service. Here are a few tips for camp directors to get the most out of theft relationship with their food service staff, and to keep those customers coming back for more. Develop a relationship with your food service manager and cook(s). * Be supportive. * Be available. * Be flexible. * Visit food service daily even if it's it's 1. Contraction of it is. 2. Contraction of it has. See Usage Note at its. it's it is or it has it's be ~have just to say "hi." * Make time for your food service staff to talk with you or to voice an opinion. * Trust your food service team and be open for change. * Let them know you appreciate the hard work they do. Show you care. Saying and showing you care about food service as a whole; for the managers, cooks, and other food service staff as people; and for the facility itself, makes a difference in attitude and performance. * Know food safety. The best way to show you care is to personally obtain a Food Service Sanitation sanitation: see plumbing; sanitary science. License. Require all your cooks to have this. Do not compromise; it's not worth all you could lose. * Know what a good menu looks like. Go through the menu with your food service staff even if they have been there longer than you. If possible, have your food service manager or head cook develop the menu. * Get menus approved. There are several options: Home economists with County Extension offices can provide this service at no charge. Registered dieticians at local nursing homes or hospitals will often donate time. Some independent dieticians will provide services to nonprofits as a tax donation. Some camp vendors will review menus for their customers. There are also computer programs that will check your menus for nutritional value. Communicate with customers through your menu. * Incorporate food educational awareness and environmental issues into your programming. * Ask campers if they like the food. Notice what goes in the garbage garbage: see solid waste. can. * Ask counselors to listen to campers' comments about the meals and to monitor campers' energy level. * Ask conference guests for comments and suggestions about the convenience, temperature, and variety of their meals. Support and train your food service personnel. The food service business is constantly changing. * Encourage your managers and cooks to attend seminars, conferences, and classes. * Allow them to subscribe to Verb 1. subscribe to - receive or obtain regularly; "We take the Times every day" subscribe, take buy, purchase - obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction; "The family purchased a new car"; "The conglomerate acquired a new company"; newsletters and magazines. * Make sure short-term Short-term Any investments with a maturity of one year or less. short-term 1. Of or relating to a gain or loss on the value of an asset that has been held less than a specified period of time. summer staff are properly trained. Non-food service staff should be also be trained, especially with regard to proper food handling and storage. * Encourage cooks to network with other camp/center cooks. Lots of good recipes, menu plans, and staff hiring/training ideas can be shared. Give managers and cooks budget guidelines guidelines, n.pl a set of standards, criteria, or specifications to be used or followed in the performance of certain tasks. . Good cooks are not necessarily trained in finances. Discuss the goals and resources for food service. * Explain cost per meal and per camper guidelines. * Work as a team to cut costs by ordering bulk or through group purchasing plans. Encourage managers or cooks to prepare menus well in advance and to track supply needs to avoid last minute, costly purchases. Be visible and supportive. Eat in the dining hall. Let everyone see you eat the food prepared at your facility. Never talk down to anyone about the food. If you notice something negative about the food service, jot it down and discuss it in private with your food service manager. Get feedback first, before you make any decisions. Our lives revolve around Verb 1. revolve around - center upon; "Her entire attention centered on her children"; "Our day revolved around our work" center, center on, concentrate on, focus on, revolve about food. Three times a day, and sometimes more, we indulge in·dulge v. in·dulged, in·dulg·ing, in·dulg·es v.tr. 1. To yield to the desires and whims of, especially to an excessive degree; humor. 2. a. in one of our favorite pastimes. Your customers remember the food. If the food isn't is·n't Contraction of is not. isn't is not isn't be good, they won't won't Contraction of will not. won't will not won't will want to come back. Take the important step to support and be involved in food service at your camp or center. Cindy France has worked as the food service manager for Camp Algonquin for more than six years. She is the co-founder of Food Service Education Resource and Support Association. Members from Illinois Illinois, river, United States Illinois, river, 273 mi (439 km) long, formed by the confluence of the Des Plaines and Kankakee rivers, NE Ill., and flowing SW to the Mississippi at Grafton, Ill. It is an important commercial and recreational waterway. and Wisconsin Wisconsin, state, United States Wisconsin (wĭskŏn`sən, –sĭn), upper midwestern state of the United States. It is bounded by Lake Superior and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, from which it is divided by the Menominee share information about food safety, hiring and training good employees, and many other food service issues. |
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