[Sca-cooks] My first paying gig

[Kirsten Houseknecht]

never underestimate the value of *contacts*
because that will get you the jobs paying "market rate"

sounds good!
Kirsten Houseknecht
Fabric Dragon
kirsten at fabricdragon.com
www.fabricdragon.com
Philadelphia, PA     USA
Trims, Amber, Jet, Jewelry, and more...

I worry about you, wear a reflective sweater...
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Gunter" <countgunthar at hotmail.com>
To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2003 1:27 PM
Subject: [Sca-cooks] My first paying gig


> I have a friend who was a professional home chef who now has become an
> estate manager for a wealthy client so she no longer does the professional
> chefing business. One of her clients asked her to do a birthday party
buffet
> and she referred me. So I took on the job. The lady was very nice and
> wanted me to basically do some snacks for 16 for her husbands birthday.
>
> Hey, easy work and, considering I still have no nibbles on the computer
> technician front, I really could use the money. So I agreed.
>
> I had a menu drawn up and had a couple of corrections from her and finally
> started to work on the snacks. On the day before the party she called me
> in a panic. Seems like her husband wanted to have dinner waiting for him
> and his buddies when they got back from their golf game. So, instead of
> some snacks for 16, could I make dinner for 16? Gee....no problem.
> We brainstormed a few ideas back and forth and I came up with some
> additions to make the buffet more substantial.
>
> On the day of the party I went to their home and was amazed. It was the
> most glorious place I'd ever seen. This guy is the building contractor to
> very wealthy clients so he had the best of everything. The kitchen was
> every cook's dream. Professional Viking Range, Sub-Zero, warming oven,
> salamander, convection microwave, huge deep sink, etc...wow.
>
> The final menu was:
>
> Smoked Salmon mousse with smoked salmon & caviar on whole wheat crackers.
> Vegetable crudite with homemade hummus.
> Baked baby potatoes stuffed with a spicy crab dip.
> Baked Kaseri cheese drizzled with olive oil and lemon served on toasted
> pita.
>
> The main course-
> Chicken Satay
> Italian Grilled Chicken Breast
> Pork Loin with a Peach/White Wine glaze
> Mustard Crusted Sirloin
> Sourdough Bread drizzled with olive oil and grilled
> Vegetable Quesidillas
> Bernaise Sauce
> Horseradish Sauce
>
> Basically they made open faced sandwiches with the meat, bread and sauces.
>
> Dessert-
>
> Individual Cheesecakes in puff pastry cups.
> Kahula Brownies
> Double Chocolate Brownies
> Puff pastry twists filled with either strawberry, raspberry or lemon curd.
>
> It was evidently a big hit and very successful. I handed out several of my
> brand new
> catering business cards to rather wealthy potential clients. The hostess
> even called me
> the next day asking for a couple of recipes.
>
> I charged $150 for the whole thing and was actually given $200 by the
> hostess. I've
> been told by those in the know that a professional caterer would have
> charged around
> $500 for this. Well, that was all she had budgeted and it got my name out.
>
> It was a lot of fun and a lot of work. You never know, maybe I've found a
> new job.
>
> Gunthar
>
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