SC - Portion Control (was Trenchers Oh my!)

[Siegfried Heydrich]

    I, personally, ALWAYS lay out my portion control along the lines of 8
people per table, and then figure from there. I'm doing a feast in feb for
150, plus nobles. That works out to 18 tables of 8 each, or 144 on board,
along with a high table of 12 to 16, depending. Figuring portions by table
rather than person is a lot easier, I find, and sending out the food in
serving dishes that are simply set on the table makes life a lot easier for
the servers, as well. It also makes feast layout and server direction easier
to deal with, as you look at table units rather than individuals.
    Also, as a general rule, I figure what I expect an individual to eat,
and up the table portion by 25% to allow for the 'big eaters'. For <ahem>
controversial dishes (anything other than what you could get at a Holiday
Inn), I'll waive that allowance. F'rinstance, I'm doing Haas im Pfeffer; I'm
allowing one and a quarter pieces of rabbit per person (or ten pieces per
table), even though I know that rabbit is bony and the portions aren't
large. I'm also aware that at least a quarter of the populace will go
'<whimper> you mean you're going to eat a cute little bunny . . .? <swoon>',
and won't touch it, so those who DO enjoy the dish will have plenty. Of
course, I'll make sure that the picky eaters have enough, too.

    Sieggy