There were multiple planning meetings over the summer and early fall, and the event was yesterday. Some things (like the menu) were the same. Some things were quite different. The biggest change was the assistance of a new church employee. He's the head janitor, but also a caterer with years of experience who operates out of the school kitchen. Early on Tony and I met with him and got some great ideas for simplifying the cooking process. Based on our conversation I typed up recipes, and made copies to tape to a shelf over the kitchen countertop.
Last year our kitchen crew prepared the sauerkraut and green beans. A group of volunteers grilled the sausage. The chicken, mashed potatoes, and gravy were outsourced to a restaurant. Over the course of the 2023 event there were some issues keeping the serving trays filled with outsourced dishes, so this year we cooked the mashed potatoes and gravy in house.
There was nothing gourmet or fancy about the food. The sauerkraut and green beans came from a can. The potatoes and gravy started
off dried, but each dish was enhanced with extra ingredients. We heard several compliments from diners, and no complaints.
The
final numbers won't come in for a couple of weeks, but it will be interesting
to see how many people ate.
The caterer did all the purchasing, so I don't know how many commercial sized
cans and containers we went through, but we cooked more than last
year when we used 56 cans of green beans and 27 cans of sauerkraut.
And most interestingly, one of the kitchen workers indicated he might be interested in heading up the kitchen team next year. If he commits, Tony and I will take a step back and act as consultants.
Five years ago: Come See It!
Good for you guys!
ReplyDeleteI’d be interested in the amount of people as well. That’s some crowd-sized cooking. It sounds like it all went well with all compliments and no complaints!
ReplyDeleteIt was an industrial-sized cooking job.
DeleteWow, that's a huge job and a big commitment! Glad you had extra help and input this year, and perhaps a new person to head it up next year. Sounds like the meal was a great success!
ReplyDeleteI am happy with how our portion of the event went.
Delete"one of the kitchen workers..." Fingers crossed!!!!
ReplyDeleteMe too!
DeleteThat sounds like a resounding success. Well done and congratulations on discovering a potential successor.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteSounds great...how did you prepare the green beans and sauerkraut?
ReplyDeleteWe dumped commercial-sized cans of green beans (three at a time) and sauerkraut (two at a time) into steam table pans, heated them in the oven, strained to remove the juice, then added additional seasonings and placed into aluminum pans for the serving line.
DeleteInteresting... never heard of anything like this!!
DeleteI hadn't either!
DeleteYou are awesome 😎
ReplyDeleteThank you😊
Delete"A leader is someone who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way." Insert fist bump here.
ReplyDeleteFist bump back atcha!
DeleteThis was a big undertaking but it sounds like you all accomplished this with great success. How wonderful of you all to be a Blessing to so many people.
ReplyDeleteOur team worked together well.
DeleteWhat do you do with leftovers?
ReplyDeleteThere wasn't a lot. The janitor/caterer prepares meals for Meals on Wheels. He was going to include mashed potatoes and green beans in upcoming meals and reimburse the church for the ingredients.
Delete