I must say that it is always a challenge to balancemoney, selection and resourceson site. This is a feast menu I co-presented at a Kingdom Crown List. It involed a little bit of make ahead, the facilitites that you mentioned (wayyyy less staging space). We served 185ish on about $6 a head. The highlight items were simply prepared for people to taste if they wished, as long as they held out . . . like two rabbits were prepared. We had 6 dedicated staff all day, and a few drop-ins along the way. It was a much work as gutting a hog, but it was a raging success, including the whole roasted lamb carved in the hall.
Here is a link to another feast samebudget, and I worked both breakfast shifts as well, plus the Sunday night feast as a second chef . . . http://franiccolo.home.mindspring.com/kas_2002_menu.htm (budget $5.65 per head fed 180)
First Course: Table Preset
* Fresh Baked Bread with both plain and herbed Butters
* Pasties of Venison and Beef (small meat pies)
* Dried Fruit Rissoles (deep-fried fruit fritters)
Second Course:
* Spit-Roasted Lamb and Pork with Mustard and Pomegranate Sauces
* Fennel and Leeks with Saffron
* Lasagne (Handmade leavened pasta with cheeses and spices)
* Pies of Whole Pears
~ High Table Highlights and Populace tidbits:
* Small Bird without Bones (small game birds cooked whole with reduced bones)
* Marzipan Tart
Third Course:
* Stewed Capon (Chicken) with Currant Sauce
* Pumpes (Meatballs of pork and beef) with Cameline Sauce
(Vegetarian Substitute: Marinated Mushrooms)
* A Summer Compote of Pears (Cooked and Marinated root vegetables and pears served cold)
* Darioles (flathonys)
~ High Table Highlights and Populace tidbits:
* Spit Roasted Hare with Pan sauce or Dried Plum Sauce
Fourth Course:
* Marinated Fish (A white fish fillet marinated in Homemade Malt Vinegar and baked with herbs)
* A Spelt Tort (A Savory cheese pie with spelt grains)
* A Venison Frumenty
* Candied Orange peels with candied nuts and spices
~ High Table Highlights and Populace tidbits:
* Trout in Aspic
* Venison Roast
-----Original Message-----
From: rtanhil <rtanhil at fast.net>
<SNIP>
Given the following parameters, what would you consider to
be a fair feast budget?
serving 160 people (4 comps, 16 children at half-price)
royal progress or important local event (but not Kingdom
level 12th Night or Coronation)
table course, 2 meat courses, dessert
Dayboard has its own budget and volunteers and will only
need one or two burners and the staging tables until noon.
8 commercial burners (understanding that you can only really
get 4 big pots on an 8-burner stove)
2-3 commercial ovens
15-20' of prep surface
refrigerator
3 sinks with adequate wash area by one of them
3 8' tables for staging food
enough serving platters/utensils to avoid re-use during the
feast
Nick Sasso