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Externship Journal

Professional

Documentation

Weekly

summaries

Evaluations

Journal

entries

Preface

Additional Info

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Your Externship Journal begins with a preface. Think of it as the

introduction about you and about your experience as an extern. Here are

some basics…

- A title page with a picture of something significant from your externship.

Include:

o Your name

o The starting and ending dates of your externship

o A creative title

- A one-page summary of your

externship.

o Summarize your culinary

knowledge level before

you started

o Overall experiences you

learned from during your

externship

o How has the externship

experience impacted your education/career?

o What are some of the skills you learned during your externship?

o Explain three (3) “take-aways” from your externship. For instance,

what were three (3) major ideas or realizations you had when

looking back over your externship.

Maintain your basics – Spelling and Grammar count

Did you meet the requirements of the assignment?

Make sure you touch on all of the major points listed above

The Preface

So how is it

graded?

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This section is for all of the “official stuff”…

Résumé

ServSafe® Food Protection Manager

Certification

Signed Externship Agreement

Also consider including the following (if

applicable)

Letters of Recommendation

Articles you may have published

Other Certifications or licenses you may hold

o (No need to include your driver’s license or birth certificate)

Letters of Commendation

Newspaper or Magazine articles that reference you

Awards received

College degrees

Membership documents for professional organizations (where you are a member)

Documents for honors you may have received

o i.e., Phj Theta Kappa

Community/Volunteer Work

o Service Organizations

o Photographs featuring your volunteer work

Have your résumé, copy of your ServSafe®, and your

original signed Externship Agreement

Make sure the section is organized and clean – it

represents YOU!!

Professional Documentation

So how is it

graded?

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You are required to submit Weekly Summary Sheets each week. You’ll be

submitting this paper every Sunday Night. Use this section of your book to

file the originals.

Just a few tips…

Fill out

everything that applies to you –

especially your name, the

dates and times you

worked

Goals for This

Week –

What are you wanting

to learn this week?

Accomplishments –

Did you meet your

goals? Did you get to

do something you had

not done before?

Challenges – Did you

have a more difficult

time than expected in a

certain area?

My Goals for Next

Week – What do you

plan to do next week?

Weekly summaries

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–

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Let’s fill out a Weekly Sheet!

Complete all of the FROM information & indicate

which WEEK of your externship you are in…

All of the information regarding who you need

to send the info to is already filled out!

Month, Day and Year – very important! Keiser weeks start on MON & end on SUN.

Record when

you clock in

for the day

and when you

clock out ---

Don’t forget to

TOTAL your daily hours!!!

TOTAL your weekly hours!!!

attention

Round hours

to the nearest

quarter hour –

.00

.25

.50

.75

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–

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–

DETAILS….

It needs to be completely filled out with completed

thoughts – don’t just write single words

Be thorough, professional & legible

Have your chef sign it/email it (eFORM only)

Get it in on time

So how is it

graded?

Check the

stations that

you worked

during the week.

Be sure to

specify where

indicated.

SUPER IMPORTANT!! Be sure to COMPLETE each area.

A good portion of your grade

depends on it!

Fail to plan and you plan to fail!!

Write Legibly & Professionally

There is additional

room on the second

page if needed.

Also there is an

eFORM available if you

would like to type

everything in.!

No signature

= Zero Grade

Unless you use

the eFORM REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT!!

Must be submitted by 11:59pm each Sunday

– NOT Mon, Tues, Wed…

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During your externship your

chef will complete four (4)

Performance Appraisals which

they will review with you. Once

completed, send a copy to the

Externship Coordinator via email,

fax or hard copy. Keep the

original in your book.

Always remember: REMIND

your chef when the evaluation is

coming due. They are busy with

running the kitchen. Since they

are helping you with your

externship, you just want to give

them a ‘gentle reminder’ when

things are due

evaluations

After your externship you will

get the chance to evaluate the

externship site. The evaluation is

between you and the school so

it is kept private. Keep the

original in your book…

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What’s my TOPIC ?

Why did I choose

to write about it?

This is where you can get really creative! Journal entries are short,

reflective papers on a specific topic you have found interest in at your site.

For instance, you worked a station (let’s say Garde Manger) and you

prepared a new dish that you had never prepared before. Ask yourself a

few questions…

In the case of a food, name the item that

you are referring to. If you are stuck, there’s a

list of subjects at the end of this section to get you started…

What is the background of one of the main ingredients? Where did it come

from? Is it seasonal? Does it have any strange properties?

Are the ingredients difficult to source?

Is there something you liked or did not like about

it? Is there something you would do with the

dish that is different?

How does the dish fit into the menu of the restaurant? Who’s decision was

it to menu it?

If you are writing about a recipe, was there a specific technique you were

required to learn?

Journal Entries

What were the challenges I experienced? (In relation to the topic)

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“I did that!!”

If you are writing about preparing a dish, was there a process you had to

overcome, i.e., need to increase speed of production, need to increase quality,

etc.

What new skills did you learn in preparing the dish?

Do some of the ingredients have specific preparations that are out of the

ordinary?

Did other stations have a hand in helping prepare the final

plate?

What were some of the key points that made you step

back and say – “I did that!”

In essence, you are writing a brief article. Make it interesting. Pretend the reader

has no clue about your topic, you or the restaurant. “DRAW” them a picture in

words – but then give them something to look at too. Take a photograph of the

finished plate or whatever your topic is. Have fun with it but be professional about

it!

500 word minimum, typed according to specs

Visual component

Turned in on time

Spelling & Grammar are good

It’s descriptive

Relates to YOU personally

Demonstrates you actually thought about the topic that you are writing

about!

Any referenced materials are properly cited

What were MY Accomplishments related to the topic?

So how is it

graded?

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SAMPLE Topics…

o Sanitation

Keeping a foodservice establishment clean is of the utmost importance. Reference your ServSafe®

materials in addition to any other research you conduct.

o Guest Service

Service in the front of the house is crucial. Research topics can include current trends as well as

basic standards of service

o Purchasing & Inventory

How is an inventory maintained? Why do we establish par levels? How do we identify what we

need to purchase for an operation? What is a make-or-buy decision?

o Organization & Time Management

Describe the organization and time management techniques you are incorporating into your work at

your externship site. Research these techniques and reference other techniques that you may like

to try.

o Chef Professionalism

Describe ten attributes that contribute to chef professionalism?

o Garde Manger

Describe the history of Garde Manger and how it has evolved into the current kitchen. How is

the baking and pastry function tied to this station?

o Ergonomics in the Kitchen

Is it necessary to be quick in the kitchen? Have you found techniques or tools to assist your

efficiency as well as reducing physical stress? How has your speed in the kitchen changed since

the beginning of your externship? Do you have any advice to share on improving speed in the

kitchen?

o Nutrition

What role does nutrition play in foodservice today? What are some of the important tenets of

nutritional cooking? Does nutritional food have to be bland?

o Custard

Describe the history of custards and how they has evolved into your current kitchen.

o European Influences

How have the traditional m influenced today’s menus? Can some of popular dishes find a basis is

French cuisine?

o Planning a Menu

What are key concepts in drafting a menu for a catering or special event? What financial

considerations are reviewed when planning a menu? How is food marketed on a menu?

o Butter Flour Sugar Eggs

How do you use these items in your externship site? How are the costs monitored? How are

they ordered?

o Alternative Diets & Allergies

Does your site produce any items that market to a special need – whether it be organic, dietary

(i.e., vegan, reduced-fat, etc.) or allergen based? How was this need in the market determined?

Does the price on these products vary from their traditional counterparts?

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Some technical specs to get you started…

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Journal Entry Checklist

Choose a TOPIC

Explain WHY you chose the topic

ACCOMPLISHMENTS related to the topic

CHALLENGES related to the topic

VISUAL COMPONENT

500 word minimum

1.5 line spacing

1-inch margins

Full-Justification

References

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…Or get creative with the layout…..

just keep it professional!

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If you are including a recipe, remember the basics…

(1) Title of the Recipe

The name of the item as it appears on the

menu

(2) Author of the Recipe

I.e., your chef, a magazine, etc.

(3) Picture of the Recipe in its final state

A picture of the dish prepared by you – no

corporate photos

(4) Date you prepared the dish

Keeping a daily log of your prep lists will help you

to meet these criteria

(5) Ingredients and Amounts

(6) Step-by-Step Directions

Write the procedure as if someone with very little knowledge had to

prepare the recipe

(7) Something you learned from preparing the recipe

Method used or new technique, etc.

(8) Something interesting about the recipe

i.e., you loved/hated preparing it

Optional items to include are:

a) Nutritional Information/Analysis

b) The time of day the dish was served (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, etc.)

c) Variations of the recipe

Recipes are excellent topics for journals…

You learn all about a food you are preparing

You document the recipe for future use

You have photographic evidence of the wonderful chef you are becoming!!

Why did you choose

to write about this

recipe? What is your

personal connection?

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Italian Meringue Icing

by Susan Turner, Food Glorious Food

prepared January 1, 2005

4 each egg whites

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Bring egg whites to a soft peak with the whip attachment of an electric mixer. Turn off

machine.

Combine sugar and water in a saucepan over medium high heat. Make sure that there are no

stray crystals on the sides of the pan. Melt evenly and bring to the thread stage. (Or

when the syrup dripping from the spoon forms a delicate thread.)

Turn on machine to the medium high setting and slowly drip the syrup into the whites.

Once all of syrup has been added, turn the mixer to high to ensure syrup has been fully

incorporated.

Once icing is stable, turn down the power to medium high and let whites continue to whip

until they have cooled.

Per Serving: 138 Calories; 0g Fat (0.0% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 34g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 0mg

Cholesterol; 19mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Lean Meat; 2 Other Carbohydrates.

Variations

The vanilla extract can be substituted for one-third the amount of lemon extract when icing

a yellow cake with lemon curd filling.

When icing an orange sponge cake, a few drops of orange extract can be added to give

the icing a “creamsicle” flavor.

This recipe was a lot of fun to make! I really enjoyed the challenge of getting the syrup to

just the right temperature and getting the eggs to the perfect stage of soft peaks. The

first few times I tried making this icing, the egg whites would start to crawl up the side of

the bowl only to deflate and shrink back down. They didn’t taste bad, but the consistency

(and volume) of the icing wouldn’t hold and slid right off the cake after about an hour!

But when all is said and done, I really liked the flavor and texture of this icing so I will

definitely be making it again!

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This section is for you to include additional information such as…

… Actual clock-in and clock-out receipts

… Samples of menus

… Additional photos of your externship experience

… Recipes

… Daily journals that document the work you accomplished; these are

notes that can help you to build your weekly journal entries

… Notes about new techniques that you have learned

… Contact information for other culinary professionals that you have

met or networked with

… Your Externship Calendar

Additional Info is not mandatory, but it is recommended.

Addt’l Info

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This chart explains exactly how your Weekly Sheets are graded:

Weekly Sheets are worth

Of your total grade

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This chart explains exactly how your weekly Journal Entries are graded:

Journals are worth

Of your total grade

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This chart explains exactly how your Documents are graded:

Documents are worth

Of your total grade

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Use this chart to determine the grade on your Performance Evaluation