Ok how weird is this?

I've got a wedding for 200 offsite at a really cool museum, the "only problem" is that the staging room is that....a room with tables and a few outlets.

The menu is a bear! 2 hours to haul in and set up.

Grilled cheese station (can you say 40 kids?) cojack, then a couple more adult verisons....but the gig is that it's kid friendly and they'll have food automatically at 6:30....the dinner buffet is at 7:30.

Passed hodos....4...

Then, even after two tastings the couple decided on HOT salmon instead of cold, carved leg of lamb instead of stew (even though they preferred the stew), chicken fingers ....gonna have to have a server on that.

mashed potatoes, rice, veg, salad.....Arrrgh.

So, I've got it now where staff sets up goes back to the kitchen and cooks off the salmon and lamb bringing it back in cambros.....
Okey dokey...so now on to the chicken fingers....why oh why did I agree to them? Must have been the 40 kid thing and the choice of Salmon or Lamb...So instead of having 2-3 table top friers going I'm thinking of having a
place in the area fry a mess of them and my staff picks um up right before service. thoughts? Less stress/hassle for my crew....

Thanks Gina....I was contemplating using cornflakes or something with more crunch in the breading.

As of this moment though I'ma thinkn' of looking for a fried chicken place down near the site. OR a slow restaurant with big hunkin' friers.

Reminds me of the stupid fried turkeys I cooked at a Christmas Eve party....swore never more.

REMEMBER GUYS.....no kitchen.....just a room with tables and electrical outlets.

Thanks all!

Chicken fingers may have been put on the buffet for the knee nippers but bet there are an awful lot of young 20ish guests that would go for them over/combined with salmon or lamb.

A friend of mine is exec chef over a massive Marriott downtown and will fry the delivered chicken....it's 8 blks from the party....I've got electric griddles for grilled cheese will put them to use if I need to....just cut down buffet time to 1 hour!!!! the bride wanted to start 1/2 hour later. Works for me, the small children will be STARVING by 7pm though.

nope, not done anything at the Science Center.....

Even Stephen, one of my good friends has been saying the same thing....I'm with you. I'd rather buy a product that's got a chafer life that's longer......
Thank goodness the bride wants to start the buffet 1/2 hour later so aps at 7pm, buffet8-9.....only 1 hour instead of 1.5! That last 1/2 hour was pushing the fingers.

Got any commercial brands you'd recommend?

Thanks Even, I appreciate the details....the bride has had 2 tastings and I'm staying plain jane....Really gearring up for the grilled cheese I figure if it's the only thing out for the first 1/2 hour, it's next to the bar....we will be slammed.

Bride wants garlic herb mashed....I've asked around to find out what the heck herbs go into mashed....figured scallions and parsley.....will probably just do scallions/garlic. I'm pretty purest with mashed.

As to shrooms.....I'm cooking for my head waitstaff tonight, her 50th was last week. So I pulled out dried morels, hens and have rehydrated will saute shallots, add sliced button, then a hit of good sherry or bourbon, then add the rehydrating liquid cook down add some cream, throw in the shrooms serve on pappradelle with alittle green onion tops. Big loaded salad...baby greens, sugar snaps, asparagus, hearts of palm, haricot verte, dried cranberries, avacado and some affore mentioned green onion tops.....pomagranite/merlot viniagrette. Then some parsnips and carrots peeled into ribbons with a dillweed pesto.

choc cupcakes and vanilla ice cream for dessert. Some shrooms dry very well, as a matter of fact I perfer the more intense flavor that comes from dry in some cases (morels)....I add fresh for texture. Some do not dry well...chanterelles.....I saute and freeze when they are plentiful.
porcinis, black trumpets, hens, chickens, morels all dry well in my book.

I find chanterelles (bunches), oysters, sometimes black trumpets, puff balls, hens, chicks and wood ears. There are all kinds of edibles around here but only a handful that I'll eat.

City Museum charged the bride $2000ish + I pay 10% of food, service, bar....yippy....right off the top. AND it's crappy space too.....aw well.
I'm still making a good profit, and that's what makes it work.

Chicken fingers from Sams, Tyson Homestyle $14 for 3# (30 fingers) stayed crisp throughout the event. Thank you Even Stephen.

know that large guests will eat them also....depending on if your service is buffet or plated.

I lucked out and had a friend at a major restaurant 8 blks away fry them off so we could pick them up right before the buffet service.....thus I didn't have the fryer issue....what a mess!! They just take alot of energy to get on the buffet. UNLESS you have a kitchen on site with a large fryer.

Factor in the PIA amount.

The wedding I catered had kids 5-under for 25%, 5-10years 35% of adult costs. Since there was a high number of children under ten coming I gearred a portion of the menu to their comfort zone which actually worked for the young adults too. Grilled cheese stations....work well for mixed groups. As the mom of 3 adult sons I cannot fathum anyone not putting out child friendly food until 8pm....whiny children are not my idea of a good time. They are already dressed in uncomfortable clothes, sat through a boring ceremony, for goodness sakes feed um something they enjoy and feed um as much as they want.

The Wedding was 4/1/6.....went fine. Chicken fingers stayed crisp for 4 days.

it's way scary....4 days?!!!!!