Feedback Please Outdoor bbq wedding! New to mass cooking!!

jesica.chryst · #1 06-08-2009, 09:28 PM

Alright, so I am VERY new to this mass cooking thing, SO I NEED SOME HELP!

I am hosting an outdoor wedding at the end of the summer for approx 150 people. Does anyone have any ideas of:

Where I can get bulk food (including the meat, veggies, etc)

How/when I need to cook it

What to keep it in

Stuff like that. ANYYYYY tips will help me!! Thank you so much!

ED BUCHANAN · #2 06-09-2009, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jesica.chryst

Alright, so I am VERY new to this mass cooking thing, SO I NEED SOME HELP!

I am hosting an outdoor wedding at the end of the summer for approx 150 people. Does anyone have any ideas of:

Where I can get bulk food (including the meat, veggies, etc)

How/when I need to cook it

What to keep it in

Stuff like that. ANYYYYY tips will help me!! Thank you so much!

I think you bit off more then you can chew. If I were in your shoes, I would hire a chef to do all this for you . You can hire on a daily or hourly basis. Wedding planning and the back of the house are two seperate matters. The questions you ask, and for this amount of guest requires experience, as well as timeing. Dont practice on this party for your own reputation sake.

shroomgirl · #3 06-09-2009, 07:17 AM

Jesica

150 guests.....

Tell us about the reception. Is it casual? Is anyone helping you? Is this your wedding or did someone hire or ask you to cater it?
Where is it being held?

From you post it reads like you are very much over your head......ie, not knowing where to purchase bulk food, nor how to store it, nor how long it takes to cook it.

I'm with Ed.
(1) have a BBQ company drop off if you have staff

(2) hire a consultant chef in your area to work through logistics and possibly cook

(3) hire a caterer to do it. * this seems like the best move.

If you don't have experience cooking for 150....actually it reads like you don't have experience cooking for groups period, I'd not put someones wedding to the litmus test.

HappyFood · #4 06-09-2009, 07:25 AM

This sounds like a food borne illness outbreak just waiting to happen.

Hire a professional to manage the food service aspect of your event!
Do not risk your reputation and the health of every guest.

shroomgirl · #5 06-09-2009, 07:33 AM

food handler's certificate?

jesica.chryst · #6 06-09-2009, 08:19 AM

Alright, answering questions now:

1.) It is my sister's wedding, and it is VERY casual and small. If you think "family reunion" then you've got it.

2.) There will be plenty of help... the whole family is pitching in for help/food.

3.) I am an event planner, not a chef, so I don't know much about the cooking side... but basically all we plan on doing is pulled pork sandwiches, veggies, potato salad, etc.

4.) This is such a LOW BUDGET wedding, we can't afford to hire a chef (hence asking you all).

5.) 150 guests is our worst case scenario. We are actually trying to get it down to under 100.

6.) This is at a park, and we are able to handle our own food, so we don't need a license. Trust me, I would rather have her hire a professional, but they just can't afford it...

I already know about renting equipment (food warmers, coolers, etc). I guess I just need tips on timing, etc.

Thanks for your input!

shroomgirl · #7 06-09-2009, 08:59 AM

Got it, thanks for clarifying.

Either make your own pulled pork. 8oz pp or buy pre-made from a BBQ place or Sams or Restaurant Depot if you have a license. Can be made a few days in advance and reheated @ site if you have a way to do that....if not have someone heat it as close to service as possible then transport in coolers or cambros.....or rent/bring a huge grill and heat in pans on the grill.

1.25- sandwiches pp should be enough

Veg platters. prep the day before/bag and make sure to keep refrigerated....
Either plate just prior to the event or if you have refrigeration space platter the veg the morning of the event and triple wrap in saran.

Potato Salad....can be made a couple of days in advance, refresh morning of....be careful with mayonaisse base salad. Consider a vinegar based slaw instead. Or chips....easier and no chance of illness.

I'm unclear about your timing question. When we do an event, we typically plan to be on site 2 hours prior to start time.....1 person setup beverages, ice down beers/wine, get paper products and glasses where they are needed.

Buffet Tables go up fairly quickly....

Surely you are not cooking pulled pork the morning of the reception......unless that is all you are planning on doing....I'm assuming there is a wedding happening prior to the reception.

When we do pulled pork, I've butchered a pig and have the whole shoulder and sometimes the ham of a 300# pig roasting for 10ish hours....then it cools and we pull the meat.

A few of the other caterers do extensive BBQing...BBally, BBQ's for thousands...they may be able to give you their input.

jesica.chryst · #8 06-09-2009, 09:33 AM

You have been SOOOO helpful! Thank you!

You answered the timing question just fine, too. Basically when to prepare/set up was what I was going for!

Again, thanks!

RSteve · #9 06-09-2009, 02:19 PM

Don't forget to bring the:

RSteve · #10 06-09-2009, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jesica.chryst

1.) It is my sister's wedding, and it is VERY casual and small. If you think "family reunion" then you've got it.

Jesica, you've got to make up your mind; either this is to be handled as a family reunion or a wedding reception. If it's a wedding reception, treat it as such. Don't make it incidental to the gathering. It's the bride's day. Make it special. "Pulled pork sandwiches?" If, indeed, you are a professional party planner, certainly you can come up with a menu for your sister's wedding that's a tad more elegant than Porky on a Bun.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jesica.chryst

2.) There will be plenty of help... the whole family is pitching in for help/food.

That's far from being a plus; it's a recipe for disaster. It's almost impossible to control sanitation issues with so many hands in the food. Yes, yes...Aunt Betty's making the cole slaw...Uncle Jack, his fabulous German potato salad...and on and on. What are you going to do when someone shows up with a potluck dish that needs immediate refrigeration and you didn't know they were bringing it and have no room for it? Set a menu...give all the preparers a timeline and quantity and get from each, a list of ingredients, before they make their respective contributions. Tell everyone, quite explicitly not to bring any unassigned food to the reception.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jesica.chryst

3.) I am an event planner, not a chef, so I don't know much about the cooking side... but basically all we plan on doing is pulled pork sandwiches, veggies, potato salad, etc.

If you plan on become a very successful event planner, you'd better learn plenty about the cooking side!

Quote:

Originally Posted by jesica.chryst

4.) This is such a LOW BUDGET wedding, we can't afford to hire a chef (hence asking you all).

You're going to have to learn to distinguish low budget from cheap. By all means, stay within a modest budget, but don't turn this into a byob picnic that just happens to follow your sister's nuptials. It sounds like you're trying to budget food costs at less than $3.00 a guest. Be realistic.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jesica.chryst

5.) 150 guests is our worst case scenario. We are actually trying to get it down to under 100.

I don't understand this. You want less people to share in the joy of this wedding party. Why?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jesica.chryst

6.) Trust me, I would rather have her hire a professional, but they just can't afford it...

Any chance that you and/or some friends and relatives can throw a few dollars into a kitty to elegant-up this shindig?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jesica.chryst

Thanks for your input!

You are welcome.

shroomgirl · #11 06-09-2009, 05:26 PM

RSTEVE, everyone has their own perception about how they'd like to celebrate.....I'm sure jesica is well aware of food borne poisoning, if not it's amazing that she's lived to be an adult.

jesica.chryst · #12 06-09-2009, 09:01 PM

Exactly.

Plus, just because they want a bbq wedding, doesn't make them any less "elegant." Weddings are often perceived as something you are obligated to spend tens of thousands of dollars on (if not more). And people that want small ceremonies are looked down upon. Not everyone is traditional.

I actually applaud my sister for not giving in to tradition.

foodie5951 · #13 06-10-2009, 06:33 AM

Shroomgirl,

I applaud YOU; as you are always there to give your help and advice to anyone who asks in a very constructive and polite manner.

ED BUCHANAN · #14 06-10-2009, 07:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jesica.chryst

You have been SOOOO helpful! Thank you!

You answered the timing question just fine, too. Basically when to prepare/set up was what I was going for!

Again, thanks!

Sysco food service sells pulled pork meat in 5 pound tubs, you make sauce. They also sell 30 lb tubs of potatoo salad,mac salad and cole slaw. Possibly if a friend of yours owns a food place they can order for you. They also have all paper goods etc. It is the best way.

jesica.chryst · #15 06-10-2009, 08:35 AM

Thank you, Ed!

Luckily, I do know of someone that might be able to help in that dept.

Thanks for all of your help, everyone. It's definitely making things a lot easier to put together!