Altering dishes to reflect equipment

[shroomgirl]

This past Sat. I cooked a local foods wedding reception....menu read:
passed apps. tapenade and chevre
caponata
spanokopita

Dinner: baby green salad with golden and red beets
braised lamb, chunks and brats with new potatoes/green garlic
grilled chicken with honey mustard
kashi with roasted, carrots, turnips, squash, asparagus, leeks
meze with olives, peppers (not local) and tziaki
grilled flat pitas, breadsticks, breads

sweet table: sweet chevre with apricots
truffles
fruit galettes with assorted berries, black and red raspberries, black berries
wedding cake to die for, egg white sponge almond with lemon zest with ganauche bitter chocolate


Originally I was going to marinate and grill chunks of lamb....I ordered 2 whole 35-42 # lambs. Well the lamb chunks came in too small so I braised with brats, red wine , stock and tomatoes from the freezer.
How have you adapted to product or equipment when a menu was set?

[Peachcreek]

Any more I write my menu after seeing what the site has in the way of a kitchen or workspace. We had two caterings last weekend, both at the same location. On Saturday we catered passed and buffet appetizers for 80, the next night was a wedding dinner for 200. It was easier than usual since I had acsess to the hall all week long to get ready, haul tables and equipment and food during the week. The hall had a decent kitchen with 2 deck ovens, range with oven, fryers, 4' flattop, 3-hole steamtable and a 2' charbroiler. Lots of fridge space also. The only downside was no dishwasher...I wish every catering could be so easy. On Sunday we were so set up that when the bride told me that the wedding would be moved up by 1/2 an hour due to bad weather (it was rainy so they nixed the whole procession part and went right to the ceremony) we kicked it into gear and were ready to go. Then after the dinner we had to hurriedly strip and move tables since the band had to be inside instead of out on the deck and they now needed a dancefloor. We were able to keep the mayhem down to a minimum, stayed out of everyones' way and got it done in record time. Kudos to my staff- they handled it really well.

[shroomgirl]

The site defines a menu, but I got a great new cambro that has totally opened my horizons!!!!
That's some setup you had....I had nominal electricity, a slightly a/c hall and a stagging area that was loaded with boxes and miscellanious trash...we set-up in 2 hours and had it separated out pretty quickly afer the dinner....except I'm missing a couple of bus tubs and am trying to figure out how that happened.
After cooking in the street for years almost anything that seems like normal is a prize....like refrigeration or electricity and an oven is like Christmas.