[Graduation Party for 100]

Hi Kathy

Welcome to the Cooking forum. I cook for 100 people regularly, usually a hot dinner.

If you know the crowd well, you will have an understanding of how many are meat eaters and whether or not shrimp would be a good choice. If there are any people who are following Kosher or Halal food habits, then shrimp and ham would be avoided.

Since your event is mid-day, and not at a typical meal-time, you may be able to get away with much less protein than a dinner-event. I would estimate 4 oz per person, or around 25-30 lbs total; especially if the meats are sliced thinly (which is easier to eat, anyways).

In terms of quantities of each item "as part of a buffet", I generally estimate for 50-60 servings of each item. Some people will want to taste everything, and others will only eat the pasta You can google-search "growlies for groups" for some other quantity-cooking at home suggestions.

The rest of my suggestions are more around presentation than about quantity. Please consider that this is only one person's opinion, and that the ambient temperature in your region may affect how anything or everything is plated.

* It's easier to keep the food at safe serving temperatures if you divide into smaller platters. Put out one at a time, keeping the others in the fridge. Ditto for bowls of salad. Using smaller platters/bowls will also help to mitigate the issues of kids picking through the platters...

* With the salads, a plastic zipper bag takes much less room in the fridge, rather than storing in the serving bowl.

* If you keep the cranberry and mayo separate, there is "something" for people who don't eat mayo.

* a small plastic bowl, half-filled with water & frozen, can serve as an ice-block/cooler in the bottom of a salad bowl.

Do you entertain for large groups often? You may want to consider hiring one or two helpers to keep platters refreshed, and other things generally tidy.

Have fun!

Karen

[Safe Tea Sandwiches]

Thank you all for your ideas and tips!

...

Yes, Karen, I sang as well!

Congrats! I just KNEW you would go a great job!

as for the cream cheese... make some 6" cheesecakes & freeze them.

[Vancouver/Western Canada Ingredient Sources Topic]

Gourmet Warehouse, Galloways, Bosa

[Cooking for 50 Senior Citizens]

In April. I'm cooking at another program 4x starting next Wednesday.  Its a small group( about 15).  I'm making potroast next week, Ham and scalloped the following week, and honey garlic sausage the week after that.  I have one more meal to plan for them.

Will you be able to combine purchasing or prep with your other contract in order to take advantage of economies of scale?

Best to you w/ your interview. It'll be nice for you to work with some folks who actually express their appreciation of your cooking & work.

[Safe Tea Sandwiches]

Hummus is definitely on my short list, but I'll need an alternative to pita -- whole wheat, rye???  I could add paper-thin carrot slices and/or a little romaine for color and crunch.

It would be easier to plate at the church; I'll have to talk to our choir director to see if I will have time to assemble the platters on site (or TELL him I need the time and possibly extra hands!) 

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Any dense whole wheat would be fine for the hummus; not too grainy if you are making the night before... they tend to fall apart.

Just TELL, don't ask. Are you singing? Maybe there could be a few extra hands...

[Safe Tea Sandwiches]

Hummus will be ok for overnight, as long as the bread is on the denser side. And that filling would provide something for non-dairy people.

Would a baguette sandwich, cut into 1" slices, be dainty enough? These will need picks, though.

Do you need to plate all of these before 9am, or just have in containers & ready to ship?

If you are in transporting in containers, consider putting bags of ice between the containers, and wrapping in a towel or blanket inside of your insulated bag.

I'd suggest avoiding anything with mayonnaise, egg, fish, or poultry, especially if the weather is expected to be sunny. (even at freezing temps, an hour in a sunny window = bad news)

For big groups, I usually make & trim all the sandwiches the night before, and pack into the carry-boxes. Dress/lettuce line/etc. & chill the trays in the fridge overnight, too. Then in the morning, pack the whole works into the cooler bags. Plating at the venue is pretty much a breeze. Remember to take some gloves, picks, plastic wrap, a cutting board and your knife!

Egg salad with capers and/or chives

Hummos with roasted red peppers, alfalfa sprouts, and some red onion

Goat cheese (cut with cream cheese for spreadability) and duxelle (mushrooms, shallots, herbs)

Are you going to assemble the sandwiches right before you serve them or earlier in the morning? I'd be worried the bread might go stale (or soggy from the fillings) if you make them too far in advance.

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Hummus sounds delicious, as does goat cheese!

Unfortunately, I will have to finish them by 9 AM. That's why I'm trying to think of sturdy breads and relatively dry fillings.

Radishes are another good idea. I figure this will be a more 'conservative' audience than I usually serve.

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[Gratuity Included]

When I worked in restaurants, we would auto-grat on parties of 8+. Occasionally the host wouldn't read the bill correctly, and added an additional 20% on top. If contacted by the host, our restaurant would issue a credit, on the credit card used to pay the original bill. If the bill had been paid in cash, the mgmt would verify w/ the server, then issue a gift card.

[Absurdly, stupidly basic cooking questions (Part 2)]

what would be the best way to reheat roast turkey... 50 lbs of it? i.e., I am roasting 9, x 13 lb, turkeys, then carving & chilling, to be served the day after. The sliced meat will be in 4 hotel pans, because that's all the space I have in the oven.

Recommendations, please?

[Vancouver venue for large/rowdy dinner?]

have you considered booking the party room at one of your condos, and having catering?

[Waiters Who Don't Write Down the Orders]

I'm telling you, handheld POS is the solution to this problem and all order-accuracy problems. In New York City, Ryuichi Munekata, who owns Yakitori Totto and several other Japanese restaurants, has been using handheld POS since 2004. The servers have Palm Pilots that seem very capable, and I doubt they make many mistakes. These are by no means tacky chain restaurants. They're more like the restaurants of the future.

I wonder whether mandatory use of a handheld device would be considered Ageism? At barely 50, I find it difficult to make quick notes using my Palm Pilot qwerty keypad & styus. Really, I can hardly imagine using a similar device to effectively take multiple orders. Especially in the low light of many dining rooms. Yes, I DO use multi-focal contact lenses!

[Catering 100 ppl buffet]

Other than "needs more food", what sort of feedback did you have from last year regarding the menu? That may guide you in selections for this time around.

The lack of hot prep space, and also the directive to avoid tray pass... will make some of the choices obvious.

You might be able to incorporate the vertical space above stations. Try repurposing a small bookcase or plant stand. I've used tiered plant stands for: cutlery/napkins, cookies, sturdy hors d'ouvres. A tapered corner bookshelf was great for stacking glasses. For your large crowd, make sure to anchor the stands somehow.

[Catering 100 ppl buffet]

If there's room, set up a couple of different stations.

Cheese (but nothing overly exotic) and fruit

Hot snacks (mini yorkshire/tenderloins, crab or fish cakes, inside-out shepherd's pie)

Cold - ceviche in endive cups, poached shrimp

and, depending on the time of the gig... maybe some 2-bite sandwiches

whatever

But, with 100+ ppl, and only one hour to feed them... ya, I'd set up several places for them to eat.

And at least 2 beverages stations.

You're going to charge for at least 125, right?

Get lots of napkins, and you won't have to bother w/ plates.

[Catering pick up no show]

The basic MO

Scammer makes an unusual, but not completely ridiculous, request. Offers to pay via credit card.

Seller takes payment, via card, or sometimes via (bogus) money order.

Scammer calls again to cancel said order, and request refund; asks for cash.

Seller makes cash refund. Original payment is rejected by credit card co.

Seller is out the "refund", and Scammer takes the cake.

... as I understand it...

Mr. Delicious - I got a similar phone call yesterday at my kitchen in Clifton, NJ - caller was using internet voice relay through an operator, no identifying information, wanted to order food for 100 for this coming Saturday, items that aren't on our menu (BBQ pork & chicken), to be picked up by a delivery service.  I told the operator that I couldn't take an order in this manner, caller would need to contact me directly.  Caller then disconnected.

Caterers, beware - this is some kind of scam.

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I'm having trouble seeing how they intend to get away with something here. Are they just trying to be a nuisance? Maybe have you run through a card to see if it's good or how high a charge is available on it? Because to get the item somebody has to come get it, and by then the gig could be up and there could be a cop waiting. You'd need a series of dead drops and delivery men to pull it off. Weird.

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[Are You a Knife Cook or a Pot Cook?]

Definitely knives. I take them with me to work in almost anyone else's kitchen. So, in the event of a devastating fire, after which I surely will need to get a(nother) job in order to replace things... the knives will come in handy. And the whole kit (3 blades) is a lot lighter than a "kit" of pots. So, trudging with them down 26 flights of stairs, 'cos the elevator is dangerous in a fire, will be "easier".

[Cooking for 50 Senior Citizens]

So, what are homemade ones supposed to taste like?  I tasted the ready made ones and it was ok, nothing I'd go out of my way to purchase for myself though.

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Eggy, buttery, yummy goodness? Mine usually have a waffle-like flavour (not the sweet kind), and crisp outside, soft inside. On a good day. Or else, they are a bit doughy inside.

[Candied Citrus, What Can Be Done with the Syrup?]

Cocktails, lots of cocktails, or freeze it to use for punch in the summer (I cater).

Also, to season vinagrettes.

I've never tried using the syrup to candy more peels... maybe for poaching?

[Cooking Fish While Preserving Skin Color]

There was one Iron Chef episode, many moons ago, wherein Morimoto cooked a side fish by pouring hot oil over it.

Perhaps if the fish was planked, skin side down, and the oil was poured over the flesh side?

Peter, you have time to check this out, right?

[Frozen meals in a bag]

I got the idea to freeze everything separately like that from Top Chef and meals in a bag.... I saw a couple of threads about frozen dinners, but nothing about making meals in a bag.

Could you please explain what the major difference, to you, is between the two?

We quite often freeze cooked proteins (chicken, roast meats) in single portions. I use bags for those.

I also freeze single portions of pasta (ravioli, tortellini, fresh egg noodles), various sauces, and pesto.

Cleaned and prepped vegetables can be blanched and shocked, then frozen on a tray before bagging, so that you can just break off as much as you need.

[Cooking for 50 Senior Citizens]

nice score on the pork shoulder, Randi!

Are you expecting a lot of shrinkage from cooking, or will you be putting some of that meat away?

20 lbs should make at least 60 servings; although, what portion size do you use?

Please report back on how the recipe works out for the large quantity. I might like to try it for our community meal. We don't serve pork very often, because I'm then obligated to offer a non-pork alternative for people whose faith traditions do not allow pork products. :-)

[Using trays to carry stuff]

There does not exist, in my kitchen, a handy place to stash a tray. So, using one would entail walking through the dining area... might as well carry something at the same time :-)

But when eating outside... I use a tray about half of the time.

[Cookbook for Making Jams and Preserves]

I'm just beginning to explore The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving bu Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard; Firefly Books.

The "small batch" part really appeals to me, as I live in a small-ish urban apartment with limited cool storage space. The book contains recipes and techniques for canning, freezing, and drying.

[Need Recipe for LARGE Quantity of Alfredo Sauce]

Sounds much like what I served last week, right down to the bechamel and 100 servings :-)

Your proportions sound find, although you may want to have a quart or two of heavy cream "just in case". The shape of your pans will influence the final amount of sauce needed. Make the sauce a little thinner than usual, too, since you're planning to "hold" the finished dishes.

A sprinkle of seasoned crumbs over the top can help to (a) extend the "good" cheese you buy and (b) hide the dry edges which may come from holding.

Eggs in the bechamel will give the sauce a little more body, and boost the protein quotient.

You ARE going to cook the pasta the day before or way early on the day of, right?

[Convection Ovens]

I love my convection oven (electric).

As for rotating pans during baking: yes, if your oven has a single fan; probably not necessary if you have dual fans (I think Wolf has dual). I was accustomed to rotating pans in a non-convection/conventional oven anyways, and so have developed the habit of setting a timer for the rotation time. :-) Adaptive measures.

Usually I lower the temp by 10-15 degrees, but not always. The timing is usually shorter, and so keep an eye on your food for the first little while, or the first time you make a recipe.

I've noticed that the texture of yorkshire pud/popovers is better without convection. Anyone else able to comment on this?

[Battle of the refrigerator-freezer designs]

The side-by-sides have disadvantages too - like the narrow shelves in the freezer.  But - overall - they seem to have more "useable" space in the average 36" wide model.  But be really careful when looking at any refrigerator in terms of drawers - shelves - etc.    For example - one Kitchenaid side-by-side model I saw on the floor had 3 freezer bins - one of which wrapped around a freezer light smack in the middle of the freezer compartment.  Pretty nice use of space.  But - upon checking - the current version of that model had 2 freezer bins - and a shallow shelf with perhaps a 2" "lip" on the back which backed up to the freezer light.  That shelf would hold almost nothing - things would tumble off the back of it - and it wasted a whole lot of space compared to the previous bin.  Seems that the manufacturers are trying save a buck here and a buck there and they don't care very much about the resulting utility of their products.

The biggest challenge I have w/ my new KA stainless fridge is that it is NOT magnetic! So much for attaching recipes/lists/poetry. I am disappointed w/ the fridge and dishwasher, but the rest of the apartment is wonderful.

I AM liking the bottom drawer freezer. The ice-maker is in the top basket of the freezer, and so really handy. Other, longer-storage items can go in the bottom basket, which should theoretically stay colder (cold descends, heat rises).

When I work in other people's kitchens, I am frustrated beyond belief at the lack of space in a regular side-by-side. The shelves are much too narrow, for even the smallest of my platters. But the Fisher and Paykel French door fridge rocks!

[One ingredient, two tastes, three dollars]

Nobody has mentioned eggs. Twelve for $2.50. What could possibly be more versatile and affordable than a chicken's egg?

In my neighborhood, eggs are between $4.50 and $5.75 a dozen Add another $1 for organic.

What? No way -- downtown Vancouver?

Sad to say, yes. Price is about the same at the Farmers' Markets, too. Direct from the farm (in Richmond, 18-20 km away), $5. But that DOES make at least 2 meals for 2 people :-)