SC - The High Cost of Feasts/Events

[Anne-Marie Rousseau]

Hi all from ANne-Marie
here in Madrone, when I am helping a new kitchen head figure a food budget
I tell them the following...
- --we can do bread, soup or stew, fruit and cheese for about $3 a head
- --the most expensive banquet we've ever done was $9 a head for food

Lately $5-$6 a head seems to do a very nice feast with a couple "fancy"
things. Now, this is Seattle, where we pay relatively high prices for
everything, but its also Seattle, where we can get amazingly fresh produce
and other stuff for pretty good prices.

Where we get into trouble is the fact that halls are so expensive and in
short supply. They average about $500 for an evening, and if you need it
during the day to cook in, its even more. So, say you figure 50 people for
sure are coming, you gotta charge 'em $10 a head JUST for the site fee, not
including food. So, you go optimistic and keep your fingers crossed and
hope you get 100 people, which means that you still gotta charge 'em $5 for
the hall, plus your $5 or so for food, which means $10 total.

We've gotten around this by being creative with the smaller events, serving
dinner outside, using the Baron and Baroness' house (removing all the
furniture and turning their living room into a Great Hall), and finding a
few small, funky halls that for some reason arent charging as much (we
found one for $10 an hour recently. Woo hoo!)

I find that where autocrates and kitchen heads go astray is when they dont
plan things out. Budget high and buy low. Go to your local QFC equivalent
(our local yuppie grocery store) and budget there. If you're over budget,
which you likely will be, play with the menu until it fits. Now, when you
do your shopping at Costco, etc, you'll be set even if you need to add in a
bunch of stuff at the last minute. Its the impulse shopping that will kill
you ("oo! those edible flowers would be so lovely on the ruzzige cake!").

I hope this helps some...its hard to please everyone. I guess too that
different people go to feasts for different reasons. If you're going only
to be fed, then I can see where $10 would make you wince. Me, I'm going for
the food and company. If I was to go to a restaurant, it would cost me at
least $10.

hope this helps some,
- --Anne-Marie
Madrone/An Tir
Seattle/WA
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