Bringing Puerto Rico to my Foodservice Rotation

During my foodservice rotation I created a theme meal for the employees and visitors at the hospital. A theme meal is an event where I have total control on what theme I want my event to have, plus creating a menu that fits the theme. In simpler terms, creating an event for 400 people! I have hosted parties in the past that I thought had large number of guests, but I never planned something this big. What makes this project more challenging is that I have to order, prepare, and cook the food myself (and with the help of the kitchen staff, of course).

The theme I selected for my theme meal was "An Afternoon in Paradise: Puerto Rican Cuisine". My mother's side of the family is from Puerto Rico. Growing up I was always surrounded by Puerto Rican culture and especially eating the delicious food. Not only did I create the theme based off of my roots, but also Puerto Rico is a beautiful country that has amazing scenery. I wanted the ambiance of the event to feel tropical.

I decided to make some of the most popular Puerto Rican dishes for my theme meal. My menu consisted of pernil (roasted pork), arroz con gandules (rice and pigeon peas), mofongo con chicharron (fried and smashed plantains with pork rind), habichuelas guisadas (red beans), and flan (caramel custard). When I finalized my menu I had to take every single ingredient in each recipe and find the purchasing price for each item. I had to contact the catering company who delivers food to Larkin Community Hospital and ask if they have all of the items. Luckily most of the ingredients I needed were sold by the catering company. There were only a few ingredients that had to be made in-house, which called for a few more recipes and more items to be priced.

If you think conversions are a thing of the past, think again! I had to calculate the amounts needed for each ingredient in each recipe to yield 400 servings. When I found that I needed 250 green plantains, for example, I thought I did my conversions all wrong. Come to find that 250 green plantains was the right amount, and maybe we needed even more! Once I had a list of quantities needed for each ingredient, I had to communicate with the head chef to place the food order.

The day before the event I posted flyers around the hospital and sent emails to administration advertising the big day. The flan had to be prepared the day before so it could have time to set in the fridge. Also, I created a survey for the guests so they can provide feedback of the event. Slowly but surely everything was falling into place and I began to feel excited.

The day of the event was hectic. After the breakfast rush I had to decorate the cafeteria and help the cooks in the kitchen prepare each menu item. One thing I learned is that when working in the kitchen things will always go unexpected. It is important to remember that when things do not go as planned, always remain calm, think fast, and start moving on your next course of action as soon as possible. With the help of the kitchen staff and another intern, I was able to execute the event successfully. The results of my survey showed that everyone loved the decorations and the food, especially the mofongo. It was such a popular dish that the director of the food and nutrition services department is deciding to have mofongo as a meal item for the cafeteria more regularly. I am thrilled that everyone enjoyed the event and came to celebrate an afternoon in paradise!