SC - histrenact list

[Tim Allison]

Back in the back of beyond, the last time I actually ran a feast (12-15
yrs, easy) (in An Tir), we operated on the principles of:

a.  you have a general idea of how many will/may attend, based on the
nature of the event.
a2. you have a general idea of how much similar events are charging

b.  you know what the site limitations (how many you can seat to feed,
what kitchen facilities are available) and site costs are going to be.
c.  you know about what other expenses for the event will be (because
the autocrat is being smart and letting people know what's going on).
d.  you know whether the event is supposed to be a money-raiser or not.

e.  you know what resources you have in the way of help (how many and
how skilled) and storage facilities (for, like, pre-cooking and freezing
breads, pieshells, etc.)

f.  given all of the above, you start developing a menu, testing recipes
(TASTE-testing, on volunteers, to make sure you're edible), and COSTING
THEM OUT!  so you know how much a serving of a given dish is going to
be.  so you can get a general cost per head for your proposed menu.

Then you balance your proposed cost-per-head (f.) against ALL the other
factors (a.-e.) to see whether you need to change dishes or ingredients
to reduce costs, or to decide how MUCH money you want to make, or to
decide if you have the leeway to let all the stops out and still make a
bundle...

And as I recall, in those days, we ALWAYS made money, and our event
costs were never out of line with the prevailing rates.  It may sound
daunting to consider all those variables, but I had an ace-- a friend
who had developed (and published) a process for the costing... once you
do it this way a couple of times, it's not that much work anymore, and
amazingly accurate and reassuring!

(Sorry I can't remember what any of those $$ amounts were... will see if
I can dig up some examples.)

Oh, this system absolutely runs on paid reservations.  And the
calculations include the money for what you're going to feed all the
various freebies (hats, slaveys, servers, etc.).  And, since you have
solid costs for all your dishes, you can expand at the last minute (like
if  50 extra reservation requests arrive in the mail by your deadline,
and there's room in the hall), if you have the staff and facilities...

The concepts of being given a flat amount per head and working from
there to your menu; or of cooking for an unknown number,  certainly
comes from another part of the forest, by MY experience.  8-)

Chimene

patricia.r.dunham at ci.eugene.or.us
http://members.aol.com/gerekr/medieval.html (home)
 ----------
| >>      In the two Meridian groups I've cooked for, the standard is
about
| >>      $5-$6 a head.  Of course, there are some variations depending
on the
| >>      event.
| >
| >$5-$6 a head!!!!! That is an unheard of extravagance! The most I've
ever been
| >allowed was $3 and I thought I was Bill Gates!
| >
...
|
| I've been steward for three events.  For two of them, the feast budget
was
| $4 per head.  For the third, the feast budget was $4.50 per head, plus
| $1/head (estimated total attendance) for the lunch board, which was
open to all.
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