[Sca-cooks] regional variation (was Re: Feast stewart at the crossroads)

[Jeff.Gedney at Dictaphone.com]

> My lord, I never intended to question her reputation or skills.  I was
ques=
> tioning that $10/head is "normal" for a feast and that anything less will
c=
> reate a "mediocre meal"/"scaled back snack".  You have perhaps been
blessed=
>  with diners willing to pay $10/head but that isn't the case everywhere.

People, lets not forget that food does _not_ cost the same everywhere.

Selene and her husbans, as I recall said that they were from Caid, which is
the LA area.
I have just returned from a business trip out there, and I can verify for
you that the only region I know of that is more expensive than LA to eat
out is Manhattan.

I expect that people there are used to paying more, and that ingredients,
especially ones that are more available elsewhere, are likely more
expensive as well...

I will offer one bit of advice to selene though, you should do very well at
the Sams CLub ( I know that there is one just off the I10 corridor.)

As a feast Dook I tend to avoid "box" lunches like the plague. People dont
eat what they dont want, and so you have to over pack the dang things, and
half of it gets tossed in the can. A dayboard is probably the most
exconomical way to go. If you have disposal/portability issues put paper
plates or the boxes at the end of the table and just have em make their
own.

Just my thoughts, though.

And Selene, you _can_ tell the autocrat that you are deeply offended that
the kitchen budget was decided without your input and then alter halves
without prior discussion or even notification, which was extremely RUDE of
them to do.
You can tell them that no competent chef would stand up to having
management set his menu and budget without their input, and that you dont
have to do this, this is your hobby, not your job, and if they dont like it
they can just try to find a cook would sit for being taken for granted like
that.
You dont have to be taken advantage of, or treated like you are not a
critical part of the process.
Tell them that if they dont want to consider the cook's input they can just
give everybody 10 dollar gift vouchers to MacDonalds.
Or they can deal with you like the competent chef du cuisine and VOLUNTEER
that you are.

Don't stand for this.

Brandu