Future Registered Dietitians in the Kitchen at Riderwood

With the holidays quickly approaching, there is one thing that will be on everyone's mind, and that's food! I know that I have been thinking about all of the delicious food I will eat over the holiday season, and looking at recipes is becoming a hobby of mine. I also have been looking at traditional English recipes for our theme meal "English Grub in the Pub." Since starting our rotation at Riderwood, my partner, Colleen, and I have had the opportunity to work in the kitchen at Riderwood's Seasons restaurant. There is so much to learn about how the meals make it to the plate and then to the residents. We assist in the production of dinner for that evening and the preparation for the days following. I never imagined I would be learning so much about cooking! 

Colleen and I working in Season's Kitchen 

In order to prepare for our theme meal, we have been doing various tasks throughout the kitchen to get familiar with the facility so we are able to cook our meal successfully the week prior to the big day. I have learned how to trim a beef tenderloin, how to quickly chop many fruits and vegetables, how to get the nice grill marks on yellow squash, and so much more! We also have been working with Chef Victor and Chef Evroy to learn about the various roles they play in food service. We were able to practice ordering food and costing out our recipes to understand how much our own meal will cost per plate. 

Our Theme Meal Handouts

In the beginning of this rotation, I read over the projects to be completed over our six weeks at Riderwood. I began to feel incredibly overwhelmed, and did not know how we will be able to get everything done on time. With great time management and help from awesome employees at Riderwood, everything is coming together so well. It is crazy how fast the time goes when there is so much to do and fun people to work with! It's not all work and no play, of course! We had a great time with residents serving appetizers and hot apple cider during Winterfest.

Serving appetizers and hot cider to residents at Riderwood for Winterfest!

It is definitely going to be a lot of work, but there is so much to learn in the weeks leading to our theme meal. All of the hard work will pay off when we are serving our food to people who attend our meal. Food service is not just cooking food and doing dishes, there are many people who are essential in making a restaurant successful and wear a variety of hats. We have a great opportunity to work with all of them at Riderwood!