So this weekend was amazing- partially because it was conference weekend and I love sitting and listening to our general authorities. But this week I only got to watch the Sunday sessions. Why? Because I was in Salt Lake City as a volunteer during the Saturday sessions! But I'll start on Friday since that's when this grand adventure began :)
So this field trip has been in a state of planning since January. My Food Service Management professor gave our class the option of going to either Boise or Salt Lake the last weekend of March to tour different facilities and see how they worked from behind the scenes. The good thing about having an odd number of people is that there can't be a tie, the bad thing about being the quietest one in your class is that you're left to be the deal breaker... And so we went to Salt Lake! We've spent the last few months deciding places in the area that we'd be interested in touring so that our professor could contact them and try and set up times for us to come through. And since we picked Salt Lake we all decided to move our trip to the weekend before finals so that we could help prepare for conference. Best. Decision. Ever.
We left bright and early Friday morning (actually we left at 7:45 which is when our class normally meets) in one of the school vans- large BYU-Idaho stickers on the doors to prove it and we got a lot of funny looks when we got up into Utah because of it :) It was a mini van so we were very strongly encouraged to pack lightly, which thankfully everyone managed (sometimes girls have a hard time packing light- I can say that because I am one of them!) No one wanted to sit up front next to our teacher for some reason- so I did, which I was hoping for anyways since I couldn't find my SeaBands which help with carsickness. I probably should mention at some point that my Food Service Management class has a grand total of 5 students in it which is how we fit into a minivan and then only 3 hotel rooms. The other 4 were asleep almost instantly and slept most of the ride, I on the other hand had had the sun right in my face the whole time since we were driving into the sunrise (and then we drove into the sunset on the way back... no sleeping for me.) But Utah is gorgeous! So many mountains, and much greener than Idaho- but it still has nothing on Oregon. We also discovered that BYU-I puts some type of guard on their speedometers... The speed limit going up into Utah is 80mph, but if we hit 80mph the car let of this horrid beeping noise- everyone was awake after that!
Our first stop was a place called Beehive Cheese in Uintah, Utah. Jade's GPS got us thoroughly lost trying to get there because it sent us down the wrong end of the road, and then it was (jokingly) my fault because I was supposed to be the navigator. I did warn them though that if I was the navigator they should prepare to get lost since they've all spent time in Salt Lake and I'm not exactly sure that I've ever been there. Maybe once for my mom's mission reunion? But I'm not sure it was in Salt Lake.
Anyways! We did make it there and got a wonderful tour from a guy named Pat. Him and his brother-in-law noticed a few years back that it was the right time to invest in a cheese making business so they quit their jobs (one was in software and the other sold houses) and learned to make cheese- their wives thought they were crazy but now they ship cheese across the U.S. and internationally! He taught us a lot about the process of cheese making and answered all of our questions and fed us samples- no complaints there! They also gave us a bag of leftovers from cutting down the cheese to the right weights- it was smoked apple walnut and it was wonderful. At the end of the tour we all bought some cheese- I got one that is made with sea salt and honey- I'm quite enjoying it though my roommate did question why I was walking around with a block of cheese...
Our next stop was to an AMAZING gelato place in Salt Lake. The guy that runs it is from Italy. He actually studied gelato making in some university in Italy and to say he's good at it is an understatement. He doesn't speak very much english so our professor (who served his mission in Italy) translated for him. Apparently his son generally translates for him but he wasn't there that day, I didn't catch why. He started off by feeding us gelato (surprise, surprise) that sounded like it was imported. He spent a long time repeating how Americans are flat out incapable of making gelato that's worth eating (sorry if any of you are trying to make gelato...) because Americans try and do everything in the simplest way possible, don't have the machinery for it, and don't use ingredients of high enough quality- he let us try the cream he uses and it was like nothing I have ever tasted before. And he has a special freezer that is used to freeze things quickly (I think he said he keeps it at like -30*C.) We learned a lot about the molecular structure and how it is changed by how it is frozen. Ice Cream has to have a lot of flavorings and such added to it because it isn't lowered instantly to a freezing temperature and so the little cell like structures with the natural flavors burst. Gelato on the other hand, when done correctly, has all those little cell structures still intact, so when it suddenly warms up in your mouth it just bursts with flavor as all those little walls rupture. You can tell if gelato is worth eating by putting it in a container and holding it upside down (it won't fall out) and by making sure it isn't shiny- if it's shiny than it's melted and then been refrozen or it wasn't made with the best ingredients. At one point he pulled out one gelato while talking about how cacao is very bitter and we were all a bit worried because it was obviously VERY dark chocolate. then he spooned a little cherry sauce on it and that was probably one of the best things I've eaten in a long time. It was like nothing I have ever tasted before (and at the end he offered us more and no one turned him down!) We asked about how he sells it- because it didn't look like a place where you could walk in and buy some and he said that he currently only sells to stores- mainly specialty stores.
We went to an Oriental Market for lunch (man my tastebuds have never been so happy- if you need to eat well, go with a culinary class because I can guarantee that you will only eat amazing food.) I got a phenomenal greek salad that my mother would have loved- when they brought it out everyone in my class seemed disappointed that they didn't get it too.
The next 2 stops we made were to restaurant supply stores. I know, I know. I sounds boring- but you would have thought that we'd died and gone to heaven with how excited we all were. So much cool equipment! And the bakery aisles. It was so hard not to spend any money. So much stuff I want but don't really need. Actually in the car, our professor said that those stores were a test of your will to see how little you can buy before you can get out- I think I won that test because I was the only one who didn't spend any money there because I recognized that I was going to have to try and pack it home in a week and that sounds like a pain. We went to an Asian market and browsed through the aisles- I don't think any of the other students bought anything, though it was sorely tempting. I was going to but they wanted a minimum payment of $10 if you were going to use a debit card and that wasn't happening.
We checked into our hotel (Double Tree Suites. Stay there if you can!) so that we could all get dressed up to go to dinner- I told you, culinary students eat well! The beds were so inviting though. Jade and I both laid on them and didn't want to get back up. We did though and then went and knocked on the other door to let the others know we were ready (the three girls were in one room, the two guys were in a room, and then our teacher was in the room between ours- which made since when we realized that our room had a adjoining door inside and BYU-I is strict about guys in girls rooms and vice versa.) We all walked down and took the train down to temple square- I didn't know that it's actually gated in, but it was gorgeous. They decided that the one thing I really needed to see with our limited time was the statue of Christ. That was such a cool experience. You walk up this ramp and the walls and the ceiling are painted to look like galaxies. I just sat there pondering for a long time and then some sister missionaries came up with a group so I listened in on what they were saying about the statue. They then played a recording of Christ speaking from the Book of Mormon. The recording ends with the phrase, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." and the one thought that crossed my mind as it ended was, "Yea Lord, I will." I love being in places where the spirit is just so strong and you can just sit peacefully and look inside yourself.
We had to leave shortly after that and so we went up to the Joseph Smith memorial building. I think our teacher saw my jaw drop when we walked inside because he just smiled and said, "go take a moment to look around." Which I gladly did! The detail work in every inch of that building is beyond impressive. So many carvings and chandeliers and beautiful rugs and statues. It was gorgeous. We didn't stay there long- we took the elevator up to the top floor which is where our dinner reservation was. It's called The Roof Restaurant. It was just as impressive. It is beautiful and clean and impressive within. But it also has these huge windows that overlook Salt Lake, but are also even with the top of the Salt Lake Temple, so we watched the sunset behind the temple. http://templesquarehospitality.com/restaurants/roof.php (if you go to this website and scroll down there's an option to take a virtual tour. It doesn't do it justice, but it's still beautiful) It's also an all you can eat buffet... man was I full! While we waited for our check at the end, our professor was telling us about an experience he had. He got to meet the first one of Joseph Smith's descendants to receive the priesthood. So he knows some of this guy's story and he recounted it to us, it was really neat and I don't think I can do his story justice if I try to tell it again.
Back at the hotel it didn't take us very long to get to bed- though Jade and I went looking for ice and then took a walk around the floor just to move for a little bit. Those beds, they were SO comfortable- especially the pillows (and I don't always sleep with a pillow because they hold my head to high off the mattress) It was so hard to get out of bed in the morning. But we did, only Cynthia slept well (at least between the girls- I don't know about the others) I just kept waking up thinking it was time to go eat and Jade kept having nightmares that we didn't get up so the guys left without us. Due to this, we were the first ones down to breakfast. It was alright, but definitely not the best meal of our trip- granted it was provided by a hotel and so it was pretty good considering.
We laughed at the pointless signs that protestors were holding, they made absolutely no sense, and eventually ended up on the very bottom floor of a parking garage (5 levels underground.) It was cool though! We saw a bunch of general authorities with their wives being driven on their carts to the conference center, but we kept walking until we reached the catering center- I have no idea what building it was in even though people keep asking. Two members of our group were sent to work in other areas and the other four of us stayed to help in the kitchen. Our teacher, James, Cynthia, and I ended up working on the line- so we dished up the plates of food for people. Cynthia and I had one lady come up and asked us if we could fill a couple of trays for the first presidency and if we could make them look nice. I was so shocked- all I could respond was that they would be beautiful! I still can't believe that I helped prepare food for them. Before we cleaned up they let all the volunteers go eat lunch, which was wonderful. I don't know what they stuffed the chicken with, but it was some kind of apple, cranberry, and cream cheese mixture. To rich for my stomach, but the following stomach ache was worth it. After cleaning up we promptly started preparing for dinner- slightly simpler since it was a build your own sandwich buffet. Each meal there was 3 waves of people. The first two were security, policemen, temple square workers, and such. And the third rush was general authorities and their families (the quorum of the twelve and the first presidency don't eat with the public for obvious reasons, so we prepared to go boxes that were taken up to them.) It was one of the most amazing experiences. I love being in the background and helping with events, and that's exactly what we were doing, and we were in the background serving those who were also in the background making the event possible. I love conference, but it's recorded so I can watch it later and I wouldn't trade that experience for anything in the world.
