Food and beverage service

4th week in food and beverage services

this week was a tough week as we had to do conference setups and prepare all the equipment for the conferences .we had 3 conferences this week and this was a bit tiring bit the effort was well worth it as all the
conferences was a success .we really learned a lot in this week on how to set up for conferences and what equipment is needed as weel as how to prepare the tables and place everything in correct place etc like

PRE-SERVICE SETUP

• how to set up the tables 
• how to place the linen and to pin it ont the table 
• how the cutlery must be placed on the tables in correct order 
• what needed to be placed first on the table 
• where the glasses mus come 
• what table setup to use etc

during the conferences we also had to change the plates after the guest had eaten and bring out new cups and saucers  ,new knives and forks ,new plates and side plates etc
also fill up their refreshments while they were on their tea break and clean up the inside before the break is over ..conferences is a lot of hard work and you really run up and down the whole time to prepare and keep everything going in the correct way .also learns you a lot .and improves your skills while working at the same time

Food and beverage service

First 3 weeks of Food and beverage service

during our first few days at fnB we were just like followers .following the staff and third year students to see how things work in this part of the establishment and what the rules are .
as well as how all the equipment works like ;

• the coffee machine 
• dishwasher

also other equipment used to make milkshake , cocktails or any other drinks .
The staff then called us and showed us how to make coffees all the different coffees like

• cafe latte 
• cappucino
• hot chocolate 
• Milo
• .decaff coffee
• filter coffee etc 

also had to start to clean the restaurant and wash glasses and tidy up the place this is a basic health and safety
management rule/skill you need to apply in the workplace area ..when cleaning you need to place all the danger boards signs out so that the guest and other staff can see that there are people working there and for example like the caution board - slippery when wet sign board .
the first 2 weeks was just the start of the course as i was doing a certificate course for 9 weeks .and in the first 3 weeks we just learned the basics and learned how to waiter and do all the things that was mentioned above

Spesies care last 2 weeks

last 2 weeks of species care 23/06/2011 - 9/07/2011

the last 2 weeks of species care was also the most amazing week at he course as we kept on learning new things
as we got to slaughter a few animals for meat for the animals .we also did night shift through the whole course
which was a great experience as you learn new things like what to look for and to do your checks and see if all the animals are still fine and safe .
we also did stock take again but only on meat and we had to pack out all the carcasses and cleaned the freezers and count all the meat and them packed it back neatly ,
in the last two weeks we also cleaned the avery where the owls are and we raked it and threw new seeds so that we can grow grass and make the place like it was in the beginning also moved chaos the marsh owl inti another cage that i prepared for him by putting in new plats and giving him cover ton hide in ....
also cleaned the whole inside of the wild life center and re arranging it neatly by  moving the prep tables into the correct places where it is easily usable and not in the way .
we also had to  clean and maintain the outside of the wild life center by moving all poles and bricks and sticks etc that was laying around  into place or by throwing it into the trailer where it has them been taken away ..we cleaned all around Lefty's (serval) cage .
got a new animal in at the wild life center a baby Duiker (antelope )
Species care was my favorite course and i really learned a lot that i didn't know and will always remember it   .it was great working so up close and personal with all the animals and to get to know how to work with them and to handle them correctly..I also learned  very much from OOM SIEG  the manager of the wild life center ! as he taught us a lot about animals as well and stuff like what must be in an enclosure of the animals ,so that we don't put the wrong plants and flowers in the cage and also to make the enclosure as close as possible to the animals natural home /habitat .
IT was a really great course learned very much while i was there ..

Spesies care week 2

19/06/2011 - 23/06/2011

Feeding - went to feed all the animals (fruit) and also the new Hedgehog (buddy) which was a very fun animal to see in that time of age ..as it is still very small and you can handle him very good and look in detail at him and see how he rolls himself into a ball and look at the quils.

cleaned the dishes that was left there after we had done the spot checks in all the animals cages
when washing dishes the sink must have one side filled with hot water and detergent and the other side just normal cold water for rinsing ..
at the end of the day we had the chance to go and sit at the lions and interact more with them and get to know them better and can learn their personalities better .. was very exiting and fun to be with the lions

20/6/2011
 
did meat preparation for all the animals except for the lions and trigger (the cheetah) as they are being skipped this morning and will be fed again in the afternoon .we do this so that the animals doesn't over eat or become sick and to balance out the metabolism of the animals .went to feed the animals an had to feed Lucy and Fur (servals) which is also a bit of struggling you have to keep them apart as well otherwise they will also fight over one bowl .
after lunch we were busy cleaning the boma's  where the captured nyalas was held  and we had to clear all the old grass and disinfect the whole boma for encase we got any new animals in that we need to keep there ..

21/06/2011

this morning i went to do spot checks in the cages to go and see if all the cages are still in good condition and that all  the animals water bowls are still full and that the water is fresh .i also raked up the grass in the cages neatly into heaps sp that the animals can lay in it to keep them warm in the cold  .
this afternoon we had to do stock take of everything in the wild life center like ; all the animals ,all the food sorts, all the maintenance equipment etc it was good to learn of how to keep stock and how to count stock in such place.and it helps to see what has been used and what food products or equipment etc you still have and what you need to replace ..

22/06/2011

had to do food preparation as this was an assessment and they needed to see if i can do it correctly 
then after wards i was learned how to prepare the milk and what supplements we add and how much you add according to the milk quantity in the bottles . there are supplements like ;

• Denkavit calf 
• Denkavit foal 
• esbilac (carnivore milk replacement )
• Biorem
• protexin 

for meat the following supplements are used ;

• Iams 
• predator powder 

it is really great to see this and it is not something you would forget easily
Today we also made a new enclosure for Dobby (the bushbaby) as we had to build him a bigger cage with more space to jump around in and have more fun ! we also had to build him a few toys like a ladder and new climbing places it was AMAZING to see how quickly he adapts in the new cage and how he enjoyed it .

23/06/2011

Today i had the chance to go and do a lion shoot with some guest this is where we go in with the lions and  control the lions and just keep our eyes on them so that they do not do anything wrong like bite or claw the guest .it was another opportunity top interact with them and t learn more about their behavior
Today also gave m yet another great opportunity  to go and capture animals again with oom Sieg
we learned on how to track the animal with a radar after you have darted him also how to follow the radars coordinates ..also learn more about the animal as you are working with them..

wild life center day 2

11 June 2011

This morning we started to prepare the food for the animals that eats in the morning .it is the first  time that we are doing it and it is interesting ,we had to cut meat from bones and had to cut meat  into different size pieces .
because not animals eat the same sizes of meat like ;

• LIONS - eats bigger pieces than the other animals 
• servals - eats the meat cutted up into medium size pieces
• carecols - eats big pieces ,some times half a  chicken
• Cheetah - eats the smallest meat pieces mixed with Iams (concentrated cat pellets ).
• owls - eats different sizes of meat depends on the size of Owl

Some of the other students prepared the fruit and veggies for the animals that eats only fruit and vegetables
.animals like :

• Vervit monkeys - eats fruit like : apples ,oranges,bananas, grapes etc
• squirrel - eats seeds and raisins with yogurt on top 
• rabbits - apples ,grapes and rabbit pellets 

After the feeding of all the animals we had to go and clean all the cages by raking all the grass together cleaning the water bowls taking out old food bowls etc also cleaning the poo of the animals ..

12/06/2011

this morning i prepared the fruit sorts for all the different animals and went to feed the animals that i prepared food for .
after feeding the animals i went to wash the dishes like ; all the dirty bowls,buckets ,knives etc
and cleaning all the used and dirty equipment

 we got in new stock that we had to load off and put in the store room like ; boskos ;mielies and bird seed etc

today we also had class and after that we had a fire meeting where we went to go and check if all fire equipment are still working and what must be replaced etc

13/06/2011

Prepared food for the animals (meat) also went with one of the second years to go and feed the animals .
this morning is going to be the first time that i will be feeding the lions and i am very exiting and i can feel the adrenaline pumping through my body .
when going to feed the lions and they see you coming they start to make a growling type of noise but not an aggressive noise .only making the sound because it is feeding time and they know it because it is kept in a routine ...
when feeding the LIONS you have to do the following -

• 2 persons must go to feed them then ,one locks the lions to the side while the other one quickly go in then right after the one enter the other one enter 
• then when inside the cage do not give the wrong food to the wrong lion ( MAX - gets  bigger pieces than LEX because he eats quicker than she does )
• lock the lion away from each other by calling their names ,one to the right and one to the left (LEX - left and MAX - right ) 
• give the food at the same time other wise they will fight over the food or one bowl
• when they are done take the bowls away other wise they will bite and play with them..

cleaning inside and outside the clinic
we swept and mopped the inside of the clinic also took the old blankets out of the owls cages and placed new ones in the cages ( Dolf the Barn owl )
we also raked and swept outside the clinic to tidy up around the clinic a bit and keep the place neat ..

14/06/2011

This ,morning i prepared the milk for all the different animal that drinks milk like

• giraffes (Peanut and Matilda )
• nyala ( Lilly and Clover )
• blesbuck (Donnie and Clyde )
• also the small servals 

i went to feed the giraffes and all the other animals and it is a really great experience feeding a giraffe milk and seeing how far he bends down just to drink also how long his tung  is and how quickly they can drink 4 liters of milk ..also really seeing how beautiful this animal is up close

toady was one of the most exiting days at the wild life center .. we are going to do animal capturing
and this is another great chance to really learn a lot especially from the people you work with
we went to go and capture ZEBRA ,BLUE WILDEBEEST ..we were doing chemical game capture ( darting) .it was interesting to see how long it takes the chemical to start working on the animals
when the animal stop running and was down we had to place it on a stretcher and keep its head up straight .we also had to Carrie the animals and place it on the transporting vehicle..it was really interesting and i really learned  a lot by doing this animal capture method and i am grateful for the opportunity..WHAT A FUN DAY /.................

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WILD LIFE CENTER

10 June 2011


Today is the first day of our animal care course and i am really exited about this course .because it is the course that i am most interested in and where i really want to learn a lot .
nature is one of the passions in my life .and i really love working with animals.

in my first day at animal caring we went on a short tour around the wild life center .
one of the second years showed us around and told us a bit more of where everything is and what we need to do where and how .

the first day was just the basics of the wild life center like the hygiene for e.g. washing the dirty bowls and boards etc.the basic knives we use for the different food sorts like .:

• blue and red knives - for fruit and veggies 
• black and yellow knives - meat sorts and chicken.

also how the scale works and how to weigh the different food items for the animals ,and different boards we use to cut on  like :

• Red board - meat 
• blue board - fish 
• green - veggies and fruit 
• white - veggies and fruit 
• yellow - chicken

during the first day at the wild life center we mainly observed the work on what the second years do and how we are going to do it ..and what we are going to do everyday like ;

• Cleaning the animals cages 
• feeding the different animals 
• checking the water sources etc 
• cleaning inside the center and outside the center
• doing maintenance in the wild life center and much more

In the afternoon Lauren   came to give us our animal behavior lesson of all the animals and that was very interesting and learned a lot about it .

LIONS - she told us to be careful and not to taunt them at the start and at all . she told us a few things to look out for in a lions behavior like :

1. look at how the eyes change when they are stalking you 
2. they pull back their ears when about to charge at you 
3. not to bent down directly in front of them as we will be seen as prey .
4. when stalking they will be very quiet and will try to take advantage if you do not concentrate and keep your eyes on them 

Carecol (rooikat) -

1. do not bend in front of them 
2. they will hiss at you when they are uncomfortable
3. do not corner them or they will attack

Serval (tierbos kat) -

1. will hiss and strike with the paw if feeling threatened 
2. do not corner give space to move freely 

Owls -

1. will  make a clapping sound  when threatened 
2. will puff up ,make them self appear larger 

and there was still a lot more  as we went to every animal in the wild life center and was told on how they behave and what to look for in a animal like ; if the animal is sick ,or injured , or is acting strangely .and any other unusual behavior .

Today was a very interesting day .i really learned a lot and it was only the first day i have been there i am really looking forward to all the coming days i will be working here ..