Tamara Martinez

Skill Area: Foodservice Management 

Assignment Title: Menu Development- Production and Daily Customer Menus for Elementary School Foodservice

What I learned: I learned the methodical steps that menu production requires.  This includes purchasing, storage, portion size,yield, and a visually pleasing menu to present to customers, students, or patients.

Reflection to assignment: This assignment, although challenging, taught me how to create a menu for a school lunch program.  School lunch programs must follow specific government guidelines and I was required to meet these standards.  Some standards include a variety of nutritious foods to be offered that balance sodium, calories, fruit, vegetable, milk, juice, & water.  The assignment also required that the menu must sound, look, and taste pleasing to the students.

Relevance to the profession: A career in nutrition and food science requires skills such as foodservice and foodservice management.  Foodservice continues to grow and needs knowledgeable and skilled leaders to educate individuals who choose this profession.  I have worked in foodservice for over 20 years, starting at entry level and worked my way to  management level.  Combining my professional experience with this assignment gives me much needed insight for foodservice management.