Learning A Little Tai-Chi

While enjoying a much needed day off, I visited the historic Beijing Hutongs - the original homes of military and civil officers from 2 dynasties. I paid the extra money for a translated/guided tour of the neighborhood via rickshaw, and it was well worth the extra price.

Here, I am getting my first and only mini-lesson in Tai-Chi. Yes, I felt a little silly making the various poses...

While on the tour of the Hutongs, the rickshaw driver favored me with a small taste of Chinese opera...

My Visit With Claudio

During a minor emergency at IBC last night (can't elaborate more due to safety and security of Olympic Park) resulting in an evactuation of the building, I ran into a guy with flags of Brazil all over his shirt and vest and had to ask him, in Portuguese of course, if he was from Brazil... He said he was and asked if were from Brazil as well. He was impressed with my Portuguese when I told him I was from the US but lived in Brazil a couple of years. When he asked where I lived in Brazil he was excited when I said Sao Paulo. The man, Claudio, is also from Sao Paulo; in fact, he is from Ipiranga, which is the second area I lived. We spent about 20 minutes of the evacuation talking about familiar places in Sao Paulo around Ipiranga - Liberdade, Museu Ipiranga, Praca da Se, Morumbi, and others. It was a wonderful visit and could only happen at a place like Olympic Park - a truly global place...

Gearing up for 24-Hour Service

The International Broadcast Center is getting ready for 24-hour food service operations beginning this Friday. With broadcasters from more than 200 countries in China or soon to arrive, there will be some kind of activity all day and all night. Considering broadcast times around the world, NBC, for example, will probably broadcast in the middle of the night - day time in the US. Many will be hungry when they complete their shift and we will be on hand to fulfill that need...

Great News for Diabetics!!!!

Well, as you might imagine from the title of this post, I am diabetic; found out a little more than a year ago. Diabetes runs all throughout my family - older brother has it, younger sister has it, father died from it, grandmother died from it, uncles and aunt with it, and the list goes on. I was fortunate to have been diagnosed early; currently, I'm asymptomatic, meaning I present no symptoms, other than above normal blood sugar. My doctor prescribed a series of oral medications, diet, and exercise in order to control my blood sugar and thus delay the onset of symptoms and unrepairable damage. I have done a fair job up to this point, following the advice of my doctor; then I came to China.

Rice is the staple of the Chinese diet - rice for breakfast, rice for lunch, and rice for dinner. So much starch would be bad for a diabetic. But, coupled with regular exercise, many diabetics can enjoy a little more starch in their diet. I have found that to be true for me. Let me be the first to advertise this point - for many diabetics (this is, of course, not true for everyone), the more you exercise the more likely you are to reduce your meds, lower your blood sugar, and perhaps change the diagnosis...

The kitchen in the International Broadcast Center is exactly 300 meters from Staff Dining; Main Dining is another floor up and Fine Dining is another floor up from there. I have to make that hike several times per shift, resulting in more than 12 miles of regualr walking per day, sometimes at a pretty quick pace...

The amazing thing about all of this, and the good news at least for me as a diabetic is that I have enjoyed a lot more starch in my diet (I love rice and pasta) but have lowered my blood sugar to well within normal limits, even too low sometimes. I don't know what this will mean for my next visit with my doctor (I see him as soon as I get back) but I think it will be good.

HACCP and the Hygiene Bureau

There is a team of HACCP inspectors, repersenting the Beijing Hygiene Bureau, at every venue, ensuring that the food prepared at every meal is safe...

HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points. It refers to the various stages of food production, from receiving to reheating. Following HACCP standards simply requires that cold food be kept cold and hot foot be kept hot. The HACCP team is on location in the venue all day long, at every meal period, taking temperatures and samples of every dish. Their function is to ensure that no dish is tainted with chemical, physical, or biological hazards. They are an important part of the team.

"One World - One Dream" - ONE TEAM

The motto of the 29th Olympic Games is "One World - One Dream." In food service we have modified it to simply "One Team." That motto is now becoming more and more important.

We have had and continue to have challenges providing global, world-class cuisine to our customers. The biggest reason for this is the availability of product. We only receive approximately 25% - 35% of the product ordered each day. The reasons for this are too numerous to mention here... It's just a fact and the nature of business for us right now. We (the chefs at the International Broadcast Center) met together as a culinary team to ensure that we work together as one team and not as a Western group and an Eastern group. We have not had any issues in this regard, but a preemptive meeting was necessary to avoid the potential of an issue; everyone has grown increasingly frustrated at the limited availability of product... Culinary creativity and working together as one team will see us through to a successful end...

Someone Left the Lights On

The night lights at Olympic Park have been drawing crowds by the hundreds, even thousands. Roads are congested with people and cameras, getting an advance peak at the main venues on the Park - the Bird's Nest and the Aqua Cube. The Olympic Tower is pretty impressive at night as well... This isn't the best night time photography in the world, but enjoy the look at the lights...