Fruit Lover’s Dream

Today was my second day in production, under Hatfield’s in the Mountainlair.  First I was sent up for breakfast (ok!) and my assignment was to analyze the layout of the cafe and write a summary on what I think of it and any improvements I recommend. A lot of the layout made sense to me, but there were a few things I would change, so I’ll be sure to mention why when I write my summary.

After a breakfast of an egg white, spinach, onion, and green pepper omelet; whole wheat bagel; and skim milk, I headed down to help with production. I helped arrange vegetable platters for the catering event tomorrow, which involved weighing each tray to make sure it was at 19 pounds– 8 pounds of the platter and 11 pounds of the vegetables.  We used cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, celery, cauliflower, green peppers, broccoli, and cucumbers for the trays. It was a very green tray…if I were to change something about it, it would have been using red, orange, or yellow peppers instead of green peppers so that there was a little more color on the tray.

After a few other tasks, I then helped arrange 6 fruit platters for the catering event on Friday. This includes washing your hands, putting gloves on, washing the fruits, cutting up the fruits in a consistent fashion, arranging them on the platters, wrapping the trays in saran wrap, and storing them in the walk-in refrigerator until they need to be served. The only fruit we didn’t put on the trays yet was the watermelon. The watermelon will be cut up and added to the trays tomorrow, as we want the fruit to stay as fresh as possible.

Check out the delicious and colorful fruit platters! Who says healthy food has to be boring or taste bad…fruit is definitely a great addition to any meal and is great as a snack.  Aim for 2-3 servings of fruit per day.

A serving of fruit is equal to:

• 1 medium piece of fruit (ie: apple, banana, pear)
• 1/2 cup fruit, raw, canned, or frozen (ie: 1/2 cup canned peaches – about the size of a billiard ball)
• 1/4 cup dried fruit (ie: 1/4 cup raisins, dried banana chips – about the size of an egg)
• 4-6 oz of 100% Juice (Note: look for “100% juice” on label)

All 6 fruit platters for 350 expected guests

Cantaloupe, honeydew, pineapple, strawberries, red grapes, an orange, and the paper towel is reserving the spot for the watermelon to be added closer to serving time.

A “blooming” orange

Red, orange, yellow, green, and purple

One of the employees made this creative “flower” shape.