[Sca-cooks] Curious - catering for large numbers

[Jim Fox-Davis]

M'Lady Kiriel,

Congrats on having the chance to run such a singular feast!  I'm sure
you'll make it one for all Lochac to remember!

I've never handled 800, but a few tips:

Have enough, nay, too many servers.  You need enough so you can get to
the last table in the hall well before the first table is done eating
that course.  Yeah, it sounds like a lot, but it's better than having
those last 200 coming after you because they're still hungry.  Dedicate
one squad jusf to drinks, if you're serving them, and make sure everyone
has enough.

Make sure of your cooking staff's skills, and/or provide -explicit-
instructions, in writing, in large print.  We've had to delete half a
course in mid-feast because the person who wanted to help didn't know
what they were doing.  Don't assume anything, even if you've cooked with
someone before.

If you're doing a lot of pre-cooking, make sure you can get it all
thawed/warmed at the same time.  The times we've had warming cabinets
available have been a real godsend.

Portion control can be a real issue.  Your dishes need to be ones that
are easily measured.  We had one feast where we'd planned a leg of lamb
for each table, and had just enough legs for each table, when the Crown
decided they wanted the landed Barons and Baroneses at the head table.
 This threw our portion control for the lamb right out the window.

Be careful with roast meats in general, making sure they're done all the
way through, but also make sure they're not too dried out -- we've had
success in the past by pouring the remaining marinade over them just
before serving.

Vegetable dishes don't go over well if they look congealed by the time
they get to table, even with vegetarians.  Be careful with a lot of
medieval sauces; they didn't have 'stabilizers' in the middle ages, so
test your recipes thoroughly, and the temperature response of the sauces.

If you can, have someone washing the serving platters, etc., as they
come back in.  You WILL need them.

Remind everyone not to fill up on the first course.  We've had far too
many cases where folks eat les than 40% of what we expected on the last
course, because they pigged out on the first.

Make sure one person is available to ride herd on your cooks, making
sure -they- eat and drink.  You don't want your staff passing out on
you.  This includes you!

Turn -off- your alarm clock and unplug the phone for the day after the
feast.  You will not awaken before noon.  Trust me on this one.

Bon chance!

Jared Blaydeaux
Altavia, Caid



Robyn.Hodgkin at affa.gov.au wrote:

>I am the event steward for Lochac's upcoming 1st Coronation. (YES we are finally becoming our own Kingdom!!)
>
>We are expecting between 5-800 people to dine on Saturday night.(and yes that is the people eating, we aren't offering an off-board option)  I am curious to find out who else on this list may have catered for this sort of number at an SCA event.  I have many friends who are chefs, but generally they are cooking in a very different way from the way an SCA event is catered, and I would love to hear tips from anyone with this sort of experience.  The largest event I have catered previously was 450.
>
>We are currently doing entrement platters being handed around during court, two courses of approximately 6 dishes each, then a dessert course of a multitude of dishes. Much of these are able to be pre-cooked, and we are using a professional spit-roast company to provide the roast meats.
>
>What did you find the most challenging part of cooking for huge quantities of people? What problems arose unexpectedly and how did you deal with them?  What was the most useful tool for you?
>
>Any suggestions are gratefully accepted.
>
>Kiriel
>