How was your Weekend?

[Peachcreek]

We were open for Brunch on Sunday. The Obligatory Sunday Brunch. This year was our busiest and most organized we have had in a while. With three people doing prep all day Saturday and then four of us starting @6:00 am Sunday, everything was ready to go when we opened our doors at 9:00. My baked goods turned out perfect, not a single pan got over-done, didn't burn the bacon, either...
We did a pretty straightforward breakfast:
Fresh fruit with Grand Marnier dipping sauce.
Lemon Danish
Raspberry danish
Blueberry coffeecake
Red pepper ans pecan coffeecake
Cheese and herb scones
Cinnamon rolls
biscuits
Country gravy
ham and bacon
roasted potatoes
cream cheese stuffed French (not freedom) toast
baked polenta with eggs and cheese
Me murdering eggs and omelets out in the dining room.

Nothing real high-tech. The food was very good. I got home by 2:00 pm, the best part of brunch.. We had a local television crew come by and do a piece on restaurants being busy on Easter but I fell asleep before the news came on last night. I guess I'll hear about it today..

[shroomgirl]

I worked. I subbed in for a restaurant I cater out of.....oh man...buffet for 60 at 10am with ala carte opening at 10:30am-5pm

The menu was set and NO ONE in the kitchen had ever worked Sunday brunch......Eggs Sardou, omelets with ratatouille, eggs benedict, pate, cheese and fruit, quiche, lamb, chicken with risotto, bacon, sausage, hash browns.....etc....So, we didn't know what went with anything and faked it....got a system down of shoving the plates in the oven with hash browns on them and any meats then heated the prepoached eggs and whipped out alot of benedicts. The buffet was overseen by someone used to ala carte and he underestimated the scrambled eggs significantly.
One of the new waitresses brought back a Sardou and said she needed a benedict and that she thought they were the same thing!!!!middle of rush....I looked at her and asked her to read the menu. (came off harsh aw well).
Got out at 2 when it was dead and had dinner of
Ham
potatoes au gratin
green beans
baby brussel sprouts
beets
salad with asparagus
strawberry shortcake
with all my brother's children loving the brussel sprouts! Go figure.

[W.DeBord]

I did a sweet table for 500 at a country club. 2 seatings, 10:30 to 12:30 and 2:30 to when ever.

The kitchen was SOOOOOO hot, very hard to handle pastries in.

I Did:

6 carrot cakes in log shape
6 black forest cakes in log shape
9 banana cream pies
9 key lime pies
4 praline tortes
4 lemon coconut tortes
11.5 lbs toffee
180 peanut clusters
104 coconut nests
53 choc. dipped pretzels
160 M&M cookies
120 decorated egg sugar cookies
1 sheet pan of brownies
1 sheet pan on pecan bars
1 sheet pan of mississippi mud bars
140 elcairs
90 mini cheesecakes
104 paris brests
129 cream puffs
90 mini fruit tarts
30 mini lemon curd tarts
90 large suckers
1 giant panorama sugar egg

but then, who's counting!

I didn't have time to finish a 3d bunny cake I had planned on. The count was 350 when I was booked and scheduled the hours I needed. Then jumped to 500 through the week. I really needed an extra day or 2 to handle the increase. I'm a bit nervous about the o.t. I put in- over the budgeted time, hope the owner won't bulk about it.


Anyway, I got hit hard imediately! People were hording pastries on their salad plates before I was really ready. They didn't own enough platters to do back-ups.........I ran and ran and ran. Then asked for help, sous told me he wouldn't help watch buffet while I refilled platters, " to tell you the truth, I don't consider pastries as part of my job" (really pissed me off!) and he walked away. Asked head chef for help, told him the owner just wanted me to make the pastries and go home not to attend to the buffet. Asked if he could have the guys watching the hot buffet attend the sweet table. He said "work until the second buffet was set up, then go" which didn't address my plea for help now. Finally went to manager pleading for an extra hand..........and got it. Very frustrating.........the deal I made with the owner wasn't honored by the kitchen. Some issues were addressed others weren't. So I'm confused about where the break down in comunication happened........if owner didn't tell chef everything.....? Re-comfirmed to me I made the right move when I quit working for them full time.

This left me with some issues I need to think about when selling myself as freelance pastry chef. Learned I really need to put everything in writing and completely out line the deal to the head chef ahead of time. I did with the owner who booked me. But now I know I can't trust that the owners comunicate to the chefs. Trust that no one will do anything to help so every little detail MUST be accounted for. Next time I'll even bring my own cheap plastic trays and baskets for back up.

All and all it was a still a good experience, most of the staff was so welcoming and the clients appreciated the buffet.

[shroomgirl]

Signed black and white is hard to argue with, by both owner and chef. I'd have it in the contract that both sign.
Also, as with catering there is a garanteed date then any additions will be an extra charge on top....ie...if 7 days prior to an event someone says we'll have 200 guests @$20 (I'll cook for 200) then if less show they still pay for 200 if more come or are added on after the cut off then I charge 25% additional for each new one $25.

It's ok to be paid for 150 more folks, shoot they pay for the food you should be paid for your additional time. My two cents.

[thebighat]

I got up early, made blueberry pancakes, coffee, sausage, oj, then leisurely read the paper, got my stuff and went out back to finish the roof over the brick oven and had a most frustrating day due to lack of manual dexterity from being so tired from running my butt off on th, fr and sa. We almost equaled our christmas sales at the earthy crunchy grocery store, so it was busy. Wendy's post almost made me nostalgic for the country club, almost.

[Isa]

You spend hours filling eggs with chocolate mousse, covering the egg shaped marshmallows with chocolate, making sure the egg shaped almond brownies are perfect, the nut toffee crunchy enough under the dark chocolate cover.

All this for what?

You put all those sweets on a big platter, making sure each piece is looking its best. You put it on the table and they disappear. Hours of works and there are only a few crumbs left.

It was all too ephemeral. Good but ephemeral.


I read Wendy’s description thinking she must have put days if not weeks planning and baking those wonderful pastries and confections, setting up her sweet table so each dessert would look its best. Do any customers looking at the sweet table see the work it involves? The talent of the pastry chef?

[Pete]

Easter Sunday and Mother's Day are the 2 biggest days at the club (not counting special golf outings and charity events, just members only) so we do a big buffet.

-Omelet Station
-Carving Station with Ham and Lamb (with mint jelly-yuck!!! but its what the members like!)
-Eggs Benedict
-Orange Scented French Toast with Almond Butter
-Roast Pork with Apricot-Brandy Demi
-Baked Salmon with Red Pepper Sauce and Corn Relish
-Bacon & Sausage
-Mashed Potatoes (a million pounds I swear!!)
-Assorted Salads
-Fruit and Cheese Displays
-Hot and Cold Smoked Salmon
-Assorted Danishes
-Many different desserts

Its nothing trendy or earth-shattering but it is what the members like. Listening to all you pastry people make me long for a pastry chef (or even a pastry cook for that matter). We are a small club, and as such they will not spring for the extra hands to do pastries, and I work the line about 1/2 the shifts as it is, so unfortunately, all my pastries come from Sysco. So far, I haven't even found a good local pastry person.

[kuan]

I had a small and simple brunch at home with some friends. I made a pork loin ham, roasted a lamb roulade, biscuits, eggs mousseline, caesar salad, a pineapple tart and cashew nut tart, fish veracruz.

Hey Peach, you know how I was mad that the snail flan broke that day you came to brunch? It was because Heidi was pregnant. I just didn't know it then.

Kuan

[Greg]

We did 646 for brunch; I had to work the carving station. Not normally a bad thing, but the GM decided it would be set up on our counter dining with the rest of the buffet. In other words, it was too high. I still have a sore elbow, hip and back from working an ergonomically awkward station.

[Isa]

Cashew nut tart Kuan??? Sounds fabulous, would you mind sharing please?

[cape chef]

Had a very large brunch,almost 400 people came. However I was not there because of a passing in the family.

What I love about Spring time is it softens the "Blows"

[Mezzaluna]

Cape Chef, I hope your relative rests in peace. That is sad news.

[kuan]

My condolences CC. I can't think of a worse way to celebrate Easter and Passover. My best wishes to you and your family.

Isa, the cashew nut tart is basic tart crust with a filling like a pecan pie... the difference being the filling is honey, eggs, cashews, vanilla, butter, and a little white sugar. This instead of brown sugar and dark corn syrup in a pecan pie.

Kuan

[Isa]

I made my own version for a dinner a few days ago. Caramel and lightly salted nuts. Everyone went for second from that I concluded it worked out great.