[Sca-cooks] Feast

[Jaime Declet]

All the cooking will be done off site brought in chaffing dishes and kept in the Kitchen of the meeting room till it is served.  Dinner for a 150 people by no means is a simple task when you are doing it in a regular kitchen.  Believe me I have prepared meals for over 300 people and half that amount when you have a 4 burner stove and one oven is no easy task, even more so when it has to be trucked across town.  I work with teens on a daily basis, and as I said they can be fickle to the things that are not familiar so since I am going to put myself to the task of cooking this meal serve it with people that have never done it in their lives it is going to be a task, therefore I want the food to be enjoyed by the kids.  It is not dramatics teens are teens, I do not necessarily consider myself a picky eater but I would not have touched some of the period dishes with a 10 foot pole when I was a teen neither would have any of my friends.  As brave as we ever got was the local Chinese
 restaurant and we always stuck to the recognizable stuff.  I was given a budget of 150.00 to do this but I was only expecting 75 teens to qualify for the feast and usually about half show up.  But this year the enrolment of teen in our summer reading club almost tripled at the main library and doubled at some of the branches.  I have received donations from some of the chain grocers therefore making this possible, (I think it is interesting that the local family owned grocery store refused to help in any way shape or form).  No amount of smart shopping would have stretched 150.00 to feed 150 people, when you are serving as much as we are.  The parents have been given a tentative menu because I did not have a final count till tonight therefore tomorrow I will print copies of the menu to post at all locations.  I think that with donations I might be up to 300.00.  I will give you more details after Saturday if I survive the event.  I am quite disappointed because I wanted dance after
 eating but because the increase in participants I will not have space to do it.  I had planned on sitting guests on the outside of a u made with 16 8” tables but they will have to be seated in and out, I did not wanted any guest with their backs to each other but it will have to happen.  I appreciate all of the advice received.

 
Jaime
 

Johnna Holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu> wrote:
Maybe I am somewhat cynical about this because
I am the mother of an American teenager. I do a lot of PTO helping out
with foods for school activities. I helping cater a luncheon
for the freshman football team next week. I know their likes and dislikes.
I know how many are vegetarians these days, how many have food
allergies, how many object to certain foods being served.
I also am a former County Library director with several decades
of experience in programing. I find dinner for 140 coming out
of a library kitchen to be rather anything but simple. Budgeting
hasn't been discussed for this event. Does all the food have to be prepared
onsite due to health and safety regs in that county?
I really want to hear a full report on how this goes. I am curious
to see how the food goes over and what the attendance is.
(I did not by the way suggest roast beef.)
Perhaps teenagers in New Zealand are different.

Johnnae




“Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger.” 
		
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