[Sca-cooks] professional cooks-- reality check wanted

[Olwen the Odd]

THLady Olwen the Odd
Clan of Odds
House Blackstar
Bright Hills Cooks Guild
Order of the Pearl
Barony of Bright Hills
Kingdom of Atlantia!


>Also sprach Olwen the Odd:
>>>Hi Guys... can i get some feedback on how much staff and prep time a 
>>>'cold
>>>buffet for 800' would require for a professional? I'm talking fruit,
>>>cheese, meat (or meat pasties), pickles, bread/pastry, etc. nothing 
>>>fancy.
>>>
>>>-- Pani Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, Knowledge Pika   jenne at fiedlerfamily.net
>>
>>In reality a professional caterer would buy presliced or cubed cheese, 
>>pre-prepped (peeled, cubed) fresh fruit, bread, individual butters or 
>>jellies, pasteries and frozen meat pies and a tub of pickles or olives.  
>>If they didn't have to haul and set up their own tables then set up would 
>>take the amount of cook time for the pasties plus about an hour or less 
>>for table decoration (cloth, napkin, plastic ware, etc.) and opening bags 
>>and containers. Probably two to three hours tops, inclusive.
>>Olwen
>
>I'm sure there are professional caterers who do that, but I've never 
>actually seen one myself. I suppose it comes down to how else they spend 
>their time when not working on that particular job, and whether the extra 
>money laid out for the more expensive pre-prepped items equalled the 
>savings in staff salaries.
>
>I remember seeing an interesting cheese-cubing machine for sale on eBay a 
>year or so ago, and thinking Eisental would be a good home for it...
>
>Adamantius

I know several small one or two person catering operators who routinely do 
business like this.  They generally cater to office meetings, small social 
gatherings, conferences, occasionally weddings.  Usually under 500 people.
Olwen

_________________________________________________________________
MSN 8 helps eliminate e-mail viruses. Get 2 months FREE*.  
http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus