[Sca-cooks] Breakfasts

[Siegfried Heydrich]

    We sell breakfast at our Tavern, and it goes fairly well. A lot of it
depends on how far people have to go for breakfast; if it's a half mile walk
to the feast hall, not likely, but a smaller camp (where the smell of bacon
can waft through the air) will get a better response. Also, advertise - if
you want a good turnout for breakfast, post notices to the effect that
breakfast WILL be served! When you're starting, and when you're going to
stop serving (amazing how folks will roll by at 11:00 looking for
breakfast).
    We do your basic breakfast - scrambled eggs, meat (bacon or sausage),
potatoes & onions, toast, coffee (COFFEE!!!). This time I'm adding corned
beef hash to the menu, as well. Bear in mind that we're selling breakfast,
not giving it away. Things that are cheap and filling are spiced gruel,
bubble & squeak (add sausage or chopped bacon & ham with eggs and other
veggies for a Bauerin Frustuck) (sorry, OE5 doesn't support umlauts . . .)
People seem to like complex carbs, protein, and lots of grease for
breakfast.
And COFFEE!!!
    If you bulk out with cheap starches, overestimation isn't too costly.
What you don't run out on saturday, you can usually move on sunday morning.
BTW, if you can get access to a wholesale food vendor, they make bagged
liquid scrambled eggs that work out really well - I was surprised. If you're
doing high volume production, you just throw the bag into a pot of boiling
water, and they cook up great! You just pull the bag out, roll it around to
get it mixed OK, open it up and pour it into the serving pan. No muss. fuss,
or bother. And they're very cost effective . . .
    I also recommend getting the boxes of bacon ends & pieces from Wal-mart.
The cost is about a third of what you pay for 'nice' bacon in the 1 lb
packages. Hung over SCAdians are more concerned with just getting food into
them than presentation. I've seen people try to serve turkey ham, usually
with disasterous results - I suggest avoiding them, no matter how good the
sale looks. (that's jailhouse food . . .) Instead of doing that basic link /
patty sausage, get smoked or kielbasa sausages on sale, slice 'em up thin,
and oven fry them. Much cheaper, and it goes a lot farther as well.
    Some fruit is nice for the health conscious, and you may want to get an
assortment pack of teas for those philistines who don't drink coffee.

    Sieggy


----- Original Message -----

> I'm in the process of planning the breakfasts for a pair of upcoming
camping
> events and I wondered what experiences others on this list have with the
> same. Do people actually come and eat breakfasts? Is it smarter to
> underestimate or overestimate? What sorts of things do you usually
prepare?
> For background, I am doing an event in September and one in November, both
in
> northern Trimaris which means it could be very hot in September and not
bad
> at all in November...
>
> Comments? Suggestions? Opinions?
>
> Many thanks,
>
> Ilaria
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