[Sca-cooks] This 'n that

[Bronwynmgn at aol.com]

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In a message dated 12/9/2002 11:13:59 PM Eastern Standard Time,
skud at infotrope.net writes:


> ... I have to say I'm amazed that any feast cook doesn't do prep
> work ahead of the feast.  How many do you normally cook for?  How many
> staff do you normally have?  How do you manage?

I usually don't do a lot of prep before a feast, for the simple reason that I
have no place to store prepped food unless it can simply be refrigerated -
and even then the space is very limited.  Basically, we have two normal, home
size refrigerators with freezer compartments, one of which is mostly full of
our own stuff and the other partially full.  Even having enough space to
store the ingredients can be a major hassle.  I have literally had to have
someone pick up meat on their way to the event because there was no place to
store it.

I have cooked for a maximum of 100 people.  I usually have, at most, 3-4
dedicated kitchen staff and a few more who pop in, and, bless him, one very
dedicated dishwasher who always has what I need clean when I need it.  I tend
to pay close attention to what cooking resources I have and work accordingly;
if I have lots of stovetop space, I do lots of things that can sit on the
back of the stove and simmer all day, for example.  I choose my menus for a
majority of relatively simple dishes and only a few that take a lot of time.
If I can work in a few things that get served cold, that's even better,
because I can make them early in the day, put them in the site fridge, and
forget about them until it's time to plate them.  I usually manage to bring
my feasts out on time, and close to budget as well.  I do tend to skimp on
presentation, because I simply don't have the time or the hands to do it.

Brangwayna Morgan