'Sailing The Chesapeake' - A Theme Meal

By: Angela A. Farris, MA

As a University of Maryland Dietetic Intern I was able to spend my 6 week food service rotation at Riderwood, an Erickson Living Community in Silver Spring, MD. My internship Partner Joyce and I's main mission was to create, plan, and execute a theme meal fit for Riderwood residents. We chose the theme 'Sailing the Chesapeake' - a traditional, classic menu with flavors of the Bay.

Here I am prepping for our theme meal day

As interns we spent most of our time researching recipes, analyzing recipe costs, performing kitchen sanitation audits, meeting with various Riderwood staff and prepping for theme meal day.

The week of our event we were found mostly in the kitchen, prepping all of our recipes so that on theme meal day we’d have little to worry about. The chefs and cooks at Riderwood were so very helpful in answering all of our questions. Jumping right in the kitchen and not being hesitant to get dirty or try new techniques worked in our benefit. I’d like to think that we gained the staff’s respect for actively participating in every step of our theme meal’s preparation and execution.

Did everything turn out exactly how we planned? No (Re: our 'Tangier Sound' strawberry rhubarb cobbler). Did we serve residents a tasty, authentic meal? Yes! Mission accomplished. It was a GREAT food service experience!!

For more information and documents on our theme meal, check out my ePortfolio site!