During my snack shack experiences throughout the past month or so I learned how to communicate in the kitchen to get orders out quickly. I realized how important it is to be clear and concise. I learned that when talking in the kitchen you have to be direct and loud so the people on the grill know what to make. If you do not speak direct and loud it will cause confusion which will slow down the process of getting food out or cause them to make the incorrect order. Along with being direct and loud you have to listen, otherwise you’ll miss something to make.  I found that during the snack shack experience the first few games were a little hectic because we were new to working in the snack shack. We didn’t know how to correctly communicate with one another. Once the games went on we started to get the hang of things, and orders started coming out faster.

                I found the snack shack experience fun but difficult because it was like actually working in a kitchen. So much of what happens depends on the amount of customers; however even on a slow day organization Is crucial. It was fun because you got to work with your friends while cooking food and overall it’s a positive atmosphere. Improvements that I would make during my next snack shack experience would be to work faster and pay more attention with whom and what is around you.  Since last time, there were problems of people tripping over each other; if this isn’t fixed then productivity in the kitchen will be weakened. It can also be dangerous considering that there is a grill, a deep fryer and other hot appliances. In a disorganized kitchen accidents often happen but here the pace is a little different and everyone has to be constantly aware of it.

Kelly B

           Throughout the course of working at the snack shack I have gained a lot of experience toward my goal of becoming a chef. These times were the first that I have prepared food for anyone other than my family so it was partially nerve-racking. After we opened the first Snack Shack and we got into our groove it became soothing again to cook. Weather it was during a Half-Time rush or a Girls Soccer stand-still either way working brought enjoyment. The first time that I had worked in the snack shack I was put on Fat Sandwiches, which was a new experience because I had never put so much food on such a roll. This became a piece of cake after a while because you begin to become used to what you are making and it becomes muscle memory. It’s almost like an emotional bond between you and every sandwich that you put out because you feel as if you know what you just made better than you know how to tie shoes, not that they’re related. My favorite memory of the snack shack was when an eight or so year old child ordered a fat sandwich with his brother and when the sandwich was handed to him in the boat his eyes widened and all I could think of was the joy that came from that boy while he was eating that sandwich. My life goal of becoming a chef has to start somewhere and that somewhere for me was in the snack shack. I will forever remember the place where I started my foodservice career and it will be in the tight workspace that I have come to love called The Snack Shack.

Hayden S

Alexa Rose

Hoags & Nueyms

Blog

10/7/2012

 

When attending my first snack shack, everything was set up and ready to go. Although I wasn’t working a football game we did sell a decent amount. At first I thought the game would be somewhat packed but unfortunately not. But as the game was progressing, more people started to show up.  As Kelly and I were making the hot chocolate, it came across me that we did not need as much as we thought we were going to need. Therefore, by the end of the night we had sold barley any coffee and hot chocolate and we ended up throwing most of it away. Besides that, we sold a good amount of hamburgers and cheese burgers. I was on the grill flipping burgers and staying on top of the amount we had left in the hot box. If we only had a couple left I would put at least 5-6 more burgers on the grill so we wouldn’t be behind if someone wanted one.

Also, the fat sandwich station was somewhat in order but the person working the table wasn’t very mentally organized when it came down to making them. The job got done but it seemed like people were kind of all over the place when it came down to someone wanting a fat sandwich. Fries and chicken tenders definitely sold the most. Everybody from kids to elders loves fries and chicken tenders because they are so easy to make and eat. But at the end of the day it wasn’t a very busy night and we didn’t make as much money as we thought we would. Overall everyone participated and worked together to get the job done.

 

 

                For the boys soccer game last week I had many different thoughts on how the snack shack worked that night. For starters we were short on staff which made it hard to get prepared in time but the people we had there including myself managed just fine. But the only problem with being successful in the snack shack is that it’s not all up to the workers it’s also up to the buyers to come and purchase food which on this particular night there weren’t that many people coming to buy food. We had one rush that we handled well but were starting to have to rush to keep everything in supply and to make sure we didn’t run out. Also the fat sandwiches got a little behind because there were no mac and cheese bites and I had to run to the classroom to get them which left nobody on the fryer and people waiting on fat sandwiches. But after those few problems even though we had a few people missing we managed just fine and sold a fair amount of food. For a boys varsity soccer game and especially because it was soccer fest the turnout was on the low side but hopefully we will manage to sell more at the football game and make back what we lost.  

Miles D

 

My most recent experience at the snack shack (oct 19, 2012) went pretty well. It was the boys and girls soccer game. I showed up a bit late (30 min), but after that it was all smooth sailing. i worked the front again and overall i could say it was quite a little amount of people. I may only be saying that because i've only worked friday night football games up to that point, but to me it didn't seem like a lot of people. I thought i performed my task well, but i feel i could have helped move along the line some more whenever we got a rush of people. i still need to work the grill, but overall the night went well. Cleaning up was done properly and everyone did something helping move it along quickly. Enea

 

            Other than a few tiny mishaps that have been had been amended, our last Saturday server went quite well. When we were given a very difficult order, like one gentleman who demanded to have his fat sandwich redone because he thought the meat was too pink, we merely bit our tongues and whipped a new one up for him. Perhaps the meat was not cooked sufficiently, but in any event he was very picky about the whole thing.

 

            While he held up the line though, the cashiers, myself included, managed to keep the orders coming, asking those in the back of him to give us their orders. Our change giving was precise and prompt, and there was even time for some banter (Which is always when I am on duty!) to keep the attention of everyone and get a few laughs for everyone’s benefits.

 

            Now that the positives have been examined, it’s time for those mishaps: A cup of coffee was spilt on one of our workers, but there are no hard feelings from it anymore. To prevent this from now on, we all have to be careful when we are moving to get food and drinks, because the passage ways can be narrow. The other notable misdemeanor was some smack talk exchanged between a very rowdy group of customers from Notre Dame (Yes, all freshman boys, if that) and one of our servers. However, I am proud to report that we gave them what they wanted and set them on their way without much of a fuss, which would have normally been an appropriate response, considering just how crude they were. 

Sam S

 

 When I worked in the snack shack, it was my first time and it was a semi-packed day.  The whole first half of the game we had a line.  My job was to take orders and wrap the food.  I was getting people drinks, along with the boat foods (chicken fingers, mozz sticks, onion rings).  I would get that while other people would take the money.  It was a good and fun time, I am also working twice this week, so it should be a fun day.

Ryan R