Hear from our interns
November 10 - Raley's Product Bakery - from Lisa
Raley’s Production Bakery has been making baked good products for Raley’s Grocery Stores for seven years at its current location in
West Sacramento
,
CA
. Some of the delightful things they make are all of the cakes, muffins, and cookies offered in the bakery department at Raley’s.
Plant Manager Linda Gruder started our tour with a brief introduction to how the plant is run. We gathered in the conference room and were treated to many samples of Raley’s baked goods as Linda told us how daily operations are run at the bakery. Joining her was our tour leader, Damon.
The bakery sprawls over 65 thousand square feet and operates 24/7, making rolls, breads, and, of course, cakes and cookies. To keep such a strenuous operation running flawlessly, Raley’s has implemented a bioterrorism program wherein lot numbers for all items coming and going through the bakery are tracked with precision. This is a government required program, but Linda tells us that it is a great program that is much needed.
Our group thanked Linda for the presentation, and followed Damon into the production area where we were allowed to witness much baking. The entire area was, to my eye, sparkling clean. I can see how their sanitation program is working very effectively. Some of the machinery was fascination, and one room in particular smelled like I had walked into heaven, for they were icing chocolate cakes here.
November 3 - Thunder Valley Casino - from Lisa
Thunder Valley Casino in
Lincoln
,
CA
is a huge operation for one man, but somehow it gets done. Executive Chef Duane Luukkonen oversees the operations of 4 restaurants in the casino.
Austin
’s Steak House,
Kio
Palace
, Thunder Cafe and The Feast Buffet. Duane led our tour and a quick pace, for he had plenty to show us on his very busy schedule.
We started our tour in the bakery kitchen where all 400 of the baked goods for the restaurants are made, went to the sushi area where Michelle, the garde manger, oversees making 4000 rolls a day, and then on to the loading dock and warehousing, employee cafeteria (where the menu changes daily) and met Joe the Butcher in one of several kitchens.
The casino must meet health code requirements of the Indian Health FDA, and conducts its own private health inspections, up to at least 18 inspections a year. From what we saw in the several kitchens, it is quite a job to ensure that all health codes are met. This is probably why Duane insists upon private heath code inspections.
The tour ended with a nice and delicious lunch on the house in the Thunder Cafe. What an interesting tour.
