[Sca-cooks] OT: how NOT to run a feast

[Olwen the Odd]

>Kirsten Houseknecht wrote:
<<<really giant snip>>>
> > 10.  lack of communication
> >
> > this pretty much covers EVERYTHING i said above.
> > if food has to be changed. tell people....... if there is a problem with
>the
> > stove, and food will be delayed.. tell people......most folks are a LOT
>more
> > understanding if they know what is going on....
>
>Amen, sister!  I probably bore my help with redundancy but that's better
>than
>their not knowing stuff.  I also print out menus, order of /c/o/m/b/a/t/
>service, recipes and everything else.  These get posted in several places,
>in
>the event that I get hit by a flying meatball and have to retire from the
>/b/a/t/t/l/e/z/o/n/e/ kitchen.

Our guild has gotten professional enough that for a couplefew years now we
have 3 ring binders (one for the head cook, one for the staff, one at troll
for gentles to look at, and usually another near the door of the kitchen in
case they missed it at troll) with the menu, each dish recipe in order of
service and in the kitchen versions, the suggested or planned plating
vessel, with each page placed in one of those plastic protective sleeves.
When someone gets assigned to work on a recipe, they pop it out of the
kitchen staff book and set about the task, then return it to the book marked
done when it is done.  The head cook can make notes, etc. in their book and
use it as a reference.  They also get to keep their copy.

We have a couple of folks who are really really good at doing the
shopping/budget spreadsheet and it is broken down, including all the spices,
by cost or whether we have it in stock.  We also have a complete list of
what "hardware" the guild owns, what the Barony owns and most of us know who
has "fancy" ware for special plating.

As for aprons, I completely agree.  Our guild decided a couple years back to
have some really spiff ones embroydered with the (registered) Guild device,
name of the guild, our motto on the pocket and our names (first names only
we decided).  We have one that says Guildmaster, one that says Head Cook,
and several that do not have names that are loaned to folks who come in to
help in the kichen.  It does make quite a nice touch, and practical too!  In
one or two cases where the named head cook could not make it to the event
the Head Cook apron got passed from one person to the next for spells of 15
minutes to a half hour and still everything went well and the feast served
on time and properly, of course it drove the Master of the Hall nuts a
couple of times.  That is a well oiled machine!
Olwen
>
>My other dictum:  BE PREPARED!
>DO bring a BBQ lighter [in case you need to light a pilot light in a
>strange
>kitchen], tool box [in case you need to actually FIX the stove or
>something],
>first aid kit [emphasis on cut and burn wounds].  Pot holders and oven
>mitts,
>lots of'em.  Aprons for all the kitchen staff, preferably matching.  Keeps
>goo
>off the garb, disguises mundane work clothes, and a uniform look makes
>people
>feel like a team.  My apron pockets contain:  instant-read meat
>thermometer, a
>clean tasting spoon, measuring spoons, Swiss Army knife, mini-flashlight,
>as
>well as the aforementioned printed out lists.
>
>Selene Colfox


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