[Sca-cooks] Dayboard aftermath

[Robin Carroll-Mann]

The short version:

There was enough food.
People liked the food.
My feet were killing me for the rest of the day


The longer version:

I left too many tasks for the last minute.  Cutting up the cubed cheese took longer
than I thought, even though I had multiple volunteers and only 30 pounds of cheese.
At noon, when people were lined up, we had the basics ready, but the hot foods took
15-30 minutes longer to get out.

People appreciated having some hot food.

I should have had half the amount of celery and twice the amount of carrots.

Two cases of apples was a case too many, but two cases of oranges was just about
right.

Although I posted a menu, I should have labelled individual dishes.  Many people
mistook the walnut-garlic sauce for hummus.  There was one minor incident with an
allergic reaction (the person got hives).  Since the ingredient was on the menu, I don't
feel responsible.  Most people with health issues asked -- for instance, one lady who
had problems with apples asked if there was any apple juice in the pomegranate
drink.  Someone else wanted to know if the cookies contained nuts (one did, the
other didn't).

I made a small amount of the fava beans with onions and figs, and still had leftovers.
That's okay.  It was mostly meant as something extra for the vegetarians.

The pomegranate drink was *wildly* popular.  A few people (mostly children) thought
it tasted strange, but most of those who tried it loved it.

The meatballs, sausage, and STC were all very popular.

One of my night-before aditions to the menu was pickled red cabbage.  I used
Anahita's redaction from Ein Buch von Guter Spise.  Most of it was eaten, and one
lady asked for the recipe.
http://witch.drak.net/lilinah/2001Relishes.html

I had planned to bake 100 pounds of bread, and made just under 90 pounds of bread,
which was more than enough.  There were maybe two dozen loaves left at the end,
which I gave out to volunteers and friends.

One large cannister of lemonade mix was not quite enough.  Next time I would get a
small can in addition.

EVERYTHING took longer than expected.

I was $60 under budget.  If I could go back and change things, I would have spent
that on some more cheese and chicken.

I was a little worried when some items (cubed cheese, cold chicken) disappeared
after the first hour and a half.  I mentioned this to one of the autocrats, and she
shrugged and said, "It's lunch.  There's enough food here for what it's supposed to
be."  Point to remember: dayboard is not synonymous with all-you-can-eat buffet.

I got a lot of compliments on the food, and all in all, I think it was a success.

Brighid (still Brighid, and still residing in the East)


Brighid ni Chiarain *** mka Robin Carroll-Mann
Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom
rcmann4 at earthlink.net