Through her practicum experiences at Columbine West Health and Rehab and Colorado State University's Bake Shop, the student gained hands-on experience in various aspects of food service operations such as food preparation, production, purchasing, storage, service, scheduling and safety. She saw firsthand how complicated it is to move an item from receiving to service, and appreciated the level of precision, responsibility and documentation required. Taking this practicum along with her food service systems class allowed her to apply classroom knowledge to real-world practice. Overall, she feels she has gained both the knowledge and appreciation needed to be competent in food service management.

1. Anya Guy
FSHN 386
Self Evaluation
Fall 2014
Through the experience of FSHN 386 Practicum in Food Service Management, I now
have a new appreciation for the food service industry. Seeing everything that one item has to go
through from receiving to service is very complicated. All the forms and documentation that is
involved requires preciseness and responsibility. I enjoyed my experience at Columbine West
Health and Rehab and at Colorado State University’s Bake Shop. I learned and accomplished
many of the course objectives through the two sites I worked at. From food preparation and
production, purchasing, storage, service, scheduling and safety I experienced, hands on,
everything that happens behind the scenes in food service operations. I do not think I would
have been able to learn and realize the components of managing food service without this
practicum.
Even working at Columbine West for almost a year, this practicum drove me to
question how our dietary department managed all the factors of food service. My manager, the
dietary director, walked me through everything. She showed me how we purchased online, took
inventory, and stored the items. I was exposed to the limited budget our department has to work
with to provide meals to the residents. It was a good experience for me to see the controls she
had over every item that entered and was served out of our kitchen.
I am glad that I took this practicum in conjunction with RRM 310 (food service systems
and operations) because I was able to apply my knowledge from the classroom to when I was
working and asking questions to the food service managers. The chapters on production,
service, menus, ordering/purchasing, sanitation, and management were beneficial to real life
practice. I felt that the managers that I worked with were competent and knowledgeable on the
information needed to properly order and purchase for their operation. All in all, not only did I

2. Anya Guy
FSHN 386
Self Evaluation
Fall 2014
gain the knowledge to be competent in food service management, I gained an appreciation for
the industry.