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Callyn Marvell

1837 East West Road

Honolulu, HI 96822

(210)505-1070

FSHN 492

Sodexo (Hale Aloha Cafe)

Donna Ojiri

2573 Dole St

Honolulu, HI 96822

donna.ojiri@sodexo.com

(808)956-9777
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#2: Introduction of future plans:

My future plans are to complete my masters and the dietetic internship, pass the

registered dietitian exam and then become a registered dietitian. Once I become a

registered dietitian, I am thinking about pursuing either the food service management,

eating disorder, or sports nutrition routes. This semester I had the privilege of working

for Sodexo in the University of Hawaii dining hall. In this experience, I learned more

about food service management and how to run a food service location. This was very

important to me because of my interest in food service management as a registered

dietitian.

#3: Description of establishment:

Sodexo’s philosophy is to create a better quality of life for whoever they serve. In

the dining halls, this would be providing students with nutritional meals. Hale Aloha Cafe

serves 300 to up to 2,000 students and faculty a day in each dining service. In the Hale

Aloha Cafe, there is a pizza station that contains cheese, pepperoni, and a specialty

pizza; the grill which contains hamburgers, grilled cheese, french fries, and a specialty

item; simple servings which is the allergen free station which contains a hot vegetable,

rice, and an animal protein; the fresh forward section which is the vegan station which

will have a vegan dish and brown rice; and the chef’s table has a more popular entre,

rice, and a hot vegetable. The main source of income for the Hale Aloha Cafe would be

coming from the meal plans bought by the students, and whoever is paying to come to

eat at the Hale Aloha Cafe. The dining hall uses the income from bought meals to buy

their inventory. The Hale Aloha Cafe has a full industrial kitchen, three pizza ovens, two

dish rooms, six refrigerators/freezers, warmers in each station, and a drink station.
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#4: Description of personnel

My direct supervisor is Donna Ojiri; she is a registered dietitian and has her

masters in business administration. Donna oversees the dining halls on campus and the

requirements for her position are to be a registered dietitian and have managerial

experience in a food service location. Donna oversees the managers and supervisors at

each dining location on campus. In Hale Aloha Cafe (where I work), there are three

supervisors and one manager. The manager is in charge of the scheduling, paychecks

and stepping in when the dining hall is short staffed. The supervisor roles are to make

sure each section of the dining hall is being taken care of. Each supervisor has their

own tasks and responsibilities that can switch depending on the day and shift. The

supervisors can also help train new employees. Supervisors can also stand in when the

dining hall is short staffed to make the wait times shorter and to help run the dining hall

more smoothly. One of my supervisors, Lily, worked as a food service worker, and was

recently promoted to supervisor. This promotion was due to Lily’s hard work and her

going above and beyond in her first position.

#5: Review of learning plan:

My learning objectives for my field experience were to be efficient in setting up

my station ten minutes before the dinner service starts. Learning how to explain to

someone what my job description is and what my responsibilities are during a dinner

shift. My last objective is to obtain information about the responsibilities of a food

service worker and where resources are located in the dining location that would be

needed during my shift. A few things that I did during my field experience that have

helped me accomplish my learning objectives were showing up to work early so I could

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learn where resources were that I would potentially need and to also have more time to

set up my station. After learning how to describe my job description, I practiced this skill

by telling my friends what my position entailed when they would ask me what I do at

work. I would also ask my supervisor about my specific responsibilities for the shift I was

about to work on before doing anything and ask clarifying questions.

After going through this field experience, I now have time to set up my station at

least fifteen minutes before dinner service starts. `This was important to me because I

now have time to bring a cup of water to my station so I have it during my shift. I also

have time to rest a little bit before the service starts which helps me mentally prepare for

a busy dinner rush. When evaluating this completed objective, I would say it has been

completed by one hundred percent because I now can finish fifteen minutes before the

dinner service starts which is five minutes faster than I predicted I could do. My next

objective was to be able to explain my position to anyone who asked. I am one hundred

percent capable of explaining what I do in my job to anyone who asks me about my job.

My last objective was to obtain information about the responsibilities of a food service

worker and where all of the resources are located. I think this objective has been ninety

percent completed. There are a couple of things that I still have to ask where they are

because I only use the item a few times.

I think that this experience helped me gain basic knowledge on how a food

service location is run. During my time at my field experience location, I have learned a

lot about what it takes to work at a food service location and how it could be run better.

As I was working and gaining more experience, I completed my objectives that I set for

myself. A rewarding experience that I have had while working for Sodexo was when I
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cut a pizza perfectly for the first time. This was pretty difficult because the pizza cutters

were not the best quality and were pretty dull. This experience made me excited to work

at the pizza station more often. I grew to love working at the pizza station because I

became relatively familiar with the process. A frustrating experience that I encountered

during my field experience was when one of my coworkers would take a fifteen minute

break every hour of our four hour shift. This would happen every Thursday which is

when we would serve a little more than one thousand people. I would be left by myself

during peak rush times and would have to keep up with the large crowd of people that

were in line for my station. During this frustration, I would remind myself that they see

only me at this station and I was working very hard to get food to them as fast as I

could. After the first time that this happened, everyone in line told me thank you and that

made me feel a little bit better. Due to the first incident, one of my supervisors now helps

my coworker and me at that station so I am not left by myself. I do wish that the

management would have a talk with my coworker on taking breaks because we are only

permitted to take one fifteen minute break for the entire shift.

The goals that I set for myself were manageable because I completed two out of

three one hundred percent and the third one about ninety percent since the first day of

working at my field site. My objectives were realistic because I learned how to do each

one of my goals and I am still learning where everything is. My goal of learning where

my resources were was a bit challenging because I would have to learn where things

were for each of the stations I would be working at. I know where three out of the four

stations have their resources and I also know where more than half of the other

resources are. This is still challenging because there are so many resources and food
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items that go in different places that it can be difficult to remember where everything is

without practice. The last month or so I have only been placed in two stations so I know

where all of the resources are for those two stations. I am still learning for the others but

if I’m not stationed there I do not practice where things are. I think that my goals were

challenging because I had never worked in food service before, and my goals were

challenging for me due to my need to learn information on the job to be able to also

understand the application of knowledge that I learned in class as well as what I learned

from my supervisors. I believe that my goals were realistic because these goals were

things I wanted to accomplish while working in a food service location. I wanted to make

sure my goals were attainable because this would help me apply topics that I learned in

the food service management classes and also help me gain experience for the future if

I decide to become a dietitian and manage a food service location.

A couple of unanticipated things that I learned were how to audit for safety in the

food service location and how they plan menus. I was given the same tasks to learn as

the ISPP students throughout my time at Sodexo so I think I learned even more than

what I was supposed to. The menu planning was very interesting because they can pick

and choose items for each station like soups and what hot protein and vegetables would

be served for each day. This was very interesting because I now understand the

limitations of their menus and can explain this to my friends who eat at the dining hall.

#6: Discuss the personal value of the field experience:

One of my interests is food service management and when I found out that

Sodexo was hiring I applied right away. I found out a few things that frustrated me about

working in food service and some things that I may want to implement like checking on
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food service workers and how to talk about breaks and when the proper times to take

breaks would be. My strengths in this process would be putting my all into whatever I

am doing and also I am flexible about which station I am working. I try to be as

organized as I can so I can be as efficient as possible when I am serving students. I

also tell my supervisor that she can place me anywhere that she needs me and I am

able to do each position as best as I can. One of my weaknesses is that I get

overwhelmed when there is a rush and this affects the job I am doing. During a rush, I

tend to look at the crowd of people instead of focussing on the task that I should be

doing. This affects my mindset instead of pushing through the amount of food I need to

prepare. My outlook during a rush has improved since my first day working until now

because I have gotten more used to how this process feels and how to prepare my

mind for the rush. With my experience, I can see myself not getting as overwhelmed

during rushes which will improve my capabilities in the food service worker position and

as a future dietitian in the food service industry.

My expectations for a supervisor in this field would be to give each food service

worker a proper training that goes over food safety and where resources are needed for

each shift. In my experience, my supervisor didn’t set up a training period until after my

first day working. During my training I only went over paperwork and didn’t do a walk

through of the facility. In the future I hope that a preceptor will go over all necessary

paperwork and also go through the facility so a food service worker can get an

understanding of where things are in the facility. In the future, as a future dietitian, I

would like to encourage interns to work in the food service industry, so the interns can

receive more information on how a food service location runs and operates.
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#7 Evaluate the department curriculum that pertains to the type of work you were doing

during your field experience:

In Food Service Management or FSHN 311 and 312, I learned about menu

planning and how food service facilities work in whole. I was taught about food safety

procedures that are followed in each facility and the proper cleaning procedures. I

integrated the topics taught to me in class in my field site by knowing the proper

temperatures food should be cooked, how to wash produce, and proper hand washing

and glove procedures. I showed that I knew these techniques the first day that I worked

at the field site because I took temperatures of the food and then asked where to write

down the temperatures. My supervisor asked if I learned about taking temperatures in

class and I told her yes. I think that because of COVID, labs were online and we

couldn’t go through these in person but we learned this in class but were not allowed

into the labs to actually practice them. I hope that these things are still introduced in

class and in the labs so people can practice the proper way to take temperatures and

also how to wash their hands.

#8 Would this work experience be valuable to other students in this department?

I knew two other classmates who chose this field site for their field experience as well. I

do think this is a great work site for students who live on campus because it is on campus. I

don’t have a car and rely on the bus to get around on the island and learned from classmates

who took this class in the fall that they had to rely on the bus to get to their work site and

oftentimes were close to being late because of the bus. I have learned a lot during this field

experience, especially more about food service management. I think that people who are

interested in food service management should also do this because I have learned many

techniques that are important for food service management. I think that this work site also helps
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students solidify food safety knowledge and topics because there are opportunities to cook and

have to do different parts of food safety like organizing the walk in refrigerators.

#9 Conclusion:

This was my first job in food service and I learned a lot about customer service as well

as other skills that pertain to my major. This job has taught me how to ask important questions

to my supervisor about my position and where to find things in the facility. I feel like I have

gotten a better understanding of why we learn about food service management because this

provided basic knowledge of working in a food service location and also provides time for

students to learn the food protocol that is used in the real world. I do think others should

consider working for a Sodexo location because it gives a lot of cohesiveness to the topics that

are taught in classes throughout the coursework for Food Science students as well as Dietetic

students.