SC - Bidding for Feast

[Elisabeth Borden]

Liadan wrote:

> I just submitted my first bid for a feast.  I wasn't chosen, and I was
> blown away by the menu that was submitted.  Especially the price.

In that the price was much lower than yours, or much higher?

> What happens if you underbid the costs of the feast?  Who pays the
> overage?

The group. I'd be horrified to hear that a _cook_ working to an 
approved budget would get hit for overruns in any normal 
circumstances.

> Does your group cover the cost of the non-paying feasters (you
> know Royalty and their entourage)? Or do you figure your budget on
> paying feasters, and try to feed everyone for that price? 

The latter. I think the former is not a bad idea and might recommend 
it here in future -- it simplifies feast budgeting a bit and makes it 
clear how much the group is spending on hospitality.

> Do you plan to feed the servers and kitchen help for free, or do you
> charge?

Head cook and sometimes their chief assistant eat free if they're 
expected to spend essentailly the whole feast day in the kitchen. 
There is occasionally a discount for servers, but not often -- servers 
here don't spend a large proportion of their feast actually working.

>What about meals while you're cooking feast? Bring a sack lunch?

Yes. The feast doesn't feed the crew. Cooks will sometimes provide 
beer or chocolate for their staff.

> How do you plan for price fluctuations in ingredient costs?

By budgetting sensibly. If your budget is based on paying the lowest 
conceivable price for every ingredient, it's a silly budget. If you 
budget on the "normal" prices you would pay at the suppliers you 
intend to use, then fluctuations up and down should roughly balance 
out. If budgetting conservatively, add 5% to those normal priices to 
give a buffer. (And if some ingredient unexpectedly skyrockets in 
price overnight, it's time to revise the menu...)

> Are cleaning supplies part of the cost process, or is that handled by
> someone else?

Usually part of the general event budget rather than the feast budget. 
This is the sort of issue which should be negotiated with the event 
steward.

> Is the feast expected to "make money" for the event?  (i.e. budget
> set at $5 per head, but charged $7.50 for feast) 

That varies between events.

Edward Long-hair
Southron Gaard, Caid