SC - First Feast

[THL Caitlin Ruadh]

>         I am doing my first feast with-in a month. The hall will hold 100,
> but my shire advisers said to plan for 48. I am making meat pies and
> dumplings ahead and freezing them. But my real concern is what do I do if
> the morning of the event 50 more people decide to stay for feast. Do I run
> to the store and buy all the food over again and make every thing again.
> This point is making me real nervous. I will welcome any of your
> suggestions
> or horror stories (only if they have HAPPY ENDINGS)

Hi Anna -

Which event in Sunder Oak are you cooking for?  Fighter's Collegium this
weekend or Queen's Rapier in May?  That makes a big difference!  Queen's
Rapier will be an RP, and we usually get upwards of 30-35 entrants.  Which
means that, plus consorts, plus royals and their entourage, plus people who
just didn't feel like bothering to drive to any of the other events that
weekend further away, plus the poor, starving, overworked kingdom MOL
(*cough*,*snort*, ok, I'm teasing, I'm teasing :-) (for those of you who
don't know, that would be me), you're talking about 90-100 people on site.
You could end up feeding quite a few more then 50.

To be safe, I always try to plan my menu so that I can serve 10-25% more
people on my budget then the money I spend.  What I mean is that if I get
$5/head and am expecting 48 people ( tables), I will plan on feeding 56
people (20% more) on that $240 (48*$5).  That gives me an extra table if I
need it.

Another way to deal with it is look at the prereg list.  add on for royals
who may be coming, some percentage for their entourage, then a percentage
for people at the door.

Also, you can advertise to get your registrations up, if people (like me)
are being lame.  Post to kingdom mailing lists and try to get a better
count.

I have in the past planned at least a few dishes (often close to all of
them) that could be added to easily, or which could be stretched and then
add another on the fly dish if my feast grew.  (Pies are pretty hard to do
much about, but say you plan 2 dumplings/person - you can stretch the feast
by serving 1 dumpling/person and adding some other dish that you can do
easily on site at the last minute I the demand is that high!)

Finally, as said here before, there is nothing wrong with saying to the
autocrat that "you guys said to cook for 48, so I did.  That's all we can
feed.  *PERIOD*" - yes, the group loses a bit of money, but you keep your
sanity and your reputation!  If you just can't stretch with the menu you
planned, then you just can't.  Just make sure the estimate makes sense and
pay a lot of attention to the pre-reg's.

Anyway, if I can help in any way before hand let me know.  The day of, I'll
be off running the tourney (but poke a head out and say Hi if you get a
chance).  (For those not in AEthelmearc, this is an equal MOL time kingdom -
I personally run all crowns and queen's rapier champions tournaments, to
drill that concept into people's heads - fencing is NOT a second class
sport!  Of course, it means I don't get to enter the tourney, but I'd just
get my butt kicked anyway, so.....)

Hope this helped a little!
Ruadh
(THL Caitlin Ruadh, AEthelmearc Kingdom Minster of Lists)

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