[Sca-cooks] large dayboard feast: need advice from those who have done this before

[Olwen the Odd]

Meat and cheese can be very expensive.  Have you checked with local
butchers?  Sometimes better prices can be found outside of restaurant supply
places.  Often we, here in Bright Hills, make our own sausages.  Keeps costs
down.  Of course, we are also blessed with having a couple of guild members
who live and breath bread so all our bread at feast and lunch is homemade,
which also reduces costs.
Adding a heartier soup or stew will certainly help with filling them up.
Offer that up first while you are putting out the other stuff, with the high
ticket items being brought out last.  Also, make sure you have servers.  If
someone is standing right there watching, it is less likely that someone
will heap half the tray onto their plate.  And never put everything out at
one time.  Use normal size platters, especially for the pricey stuff and
re-fill as needed.  Make sure you reserve some for the kitchen staff and
make sure they get time to eat it.  If needs be, send a runner to the
coronet, or whatever hat you have around, to ascertain what they might like
on their plate, which is made first.
Olwen

>    This is a plea for advice from those who have fed
>the masses at an Eastern (or for that matter, any
>Kingdom's) dayboard. The event is at the end of
>November and will be held partly indoors, partly
>outdoors. The weather last year was very cold.
>    We are in the final planning stages of the dayboard
>for the event. Troll last year was 600, and for this
>year it is estimated at 700, but obviously our mileage
>may vary depending on weather. The time frame is not
>set, but it is Northern European.
>    We are planning a clear soup (based on fighter
>needs), 2 varieties of pickles, vegetable stix/slices
>of carrots, cucumbers and celery, bread (in 29"
>French loaves), hard boiled eggs (30 dozen), cheddar
>and swiss cheeses (cubed), kielbasa sausage (diced),
>apples and/or pears, and sliced ham.
>    Our budget is $500-$700 and we have been told to
>estimate for 500 people. We would like to have cold or
>room temperature foods to minimize the
>hot-food-not-hot-enough complaints.
>    What quantities of meats/cheeses should we purchase
>to adequately feed the throngs? The veggies and eggs
>are cheap, but the sausage, ham, and cheese are the
>most expensive items at $1.79 per pound. We would like
>to minimize them without being overly skimpy. FYI,
>Chicken is being served at the feast (as well as lamb
>and barley) so those dishes are out of the running.
>Although we are purchasing from a restaurant
>wholesaler, the bill adds up quickly if we budget 2 oz
>of meat and 2 oz of cheese per person for an estimated
>500 people: that's 120 pounds of meat and cheese!
>    I have heard a person consumes about a pound of
>food to feel full. One of the strategies I am thinking
>of is making a vegetarian pea soup in addition to the
>clear soup to fill up tummies. Or should we buy
>smaller quantities of meat/cheese and be sure
>everything is eaten without leftovers (like 60 lbs of
>meat and cheese combined) and stay with clear soup
>only?
>    Bread runs $1 per loaf and will feed 8-10 people.
>    Any and all advice and dire warnings will be
>welcomed and greatfully accepted. And, BTW, I do not
>own a gun or a bow, so if hunting venison is part of
>the advice for cutting costs I'll need to run it over
>with my car.
>            --Marion


_________________________________________________________________
Unlimited Internet access -- and 2 months free!  Try MSN.
http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/2monthsfree.asp