[shroomgirl]

I just sat through an interesting client metting where they would like a brunch for 25-30 adults...a birthday party that starts at 11:30 am...They want me to cook at their home...menu is
omelet station, beef tenderloin with a couple of sauces, biscuits, muffins, rolls, bacon, sausage, 2 green salads, 2 apps, fruit platter ...the 2 cakes and individual fruit tarts....coffee juices etc...I plan on prepping 5am the day of and possible doing the majority of the work prior to showing up....this is an interesting hitch. Normally I have the prep included in the food cost. Labor is what happens at the party...Well now my kitchen has moved to their kitchen adn I am hauling more in and out and working in a foreign space. The contract went out, but I am inclined to increase the labor because of the extra time at their house actually cooking.
SOOOO buffet with mid-40 year olds....how much bacon and beef tenderloin would you have? pre cut but on a buffet not served.

 

[peachcreek]

I would figure 6-8 ounces per person of all your proteins, tenderloin, bacon and sausage. My feeling is @ 4 ounces per person on the tenderloin. With everything you are serving that seems about right. What portion size did you price for?

 

[shroomgirl]

3 oztenderloin ...6 slices of bacon per person...2.5-3 sausages...I talked to a friend today that gets 10 servings per tender trimmed down to 4# each....so 3tenderloins is generous for 30 and 2 is skating....with Adkins rampant I just don't wanna be running out of meats.
Since I don't have a restaurant the tenderloin is my profit and I don't wanna eat my profit that way. Maybe Mad cow will put some of them off....hmmmm.....nope would not wanna run short.

 

[ritafajita]

I don't know if this will help, or if it's too late, but I had to do beef tenderloin for a Christmas dinner for 15 big eaters. There were 2 other meats (ham and turkey breast). I was really worried because I bought a 6.5 # tenderloin - untrimmed. It was way too expensive. I was afraid it would run out. After it was trimmed, it probably weighed around 4 pounds. More worry happened. In the end, there were sooo many leftovers of all the meats, even with all the discussion among the guests about Adkins. I wouldn't worry about your 3 ounce portion size. Just put the bacon and sausage first on the buffet line. Seems to me it should be fine that way.

I've never been able to totally get rid of that running out of food worry, though.

RF

 

[shroomgirl]

Final count is due on the 6th so that will determine the filet count. Running out is tabou... Prepping in their home is another issue.... how much should be happening in their space and how much brought in....I would normally cook the meats and reheat, all rolls, muffins done elsewhere, biscuits at the last minute...tenderloin reheated , sauces made and omelet stand ready to go....Fruit too....hmmmm kinda jams the gears to rethink the timing and logistics of doing things out of sync.

 

[dano1]

you are carving the tender i assume . Doing that you can eyeball as you carve. Also in my area it's possible to pick up tender butts or bullheads-that way you don't have to purchase the whole tender if your worried about running out(would be cheaper too). Some folks will also leave the chain on the tender to extend perceived portions-i don't.
Looking at time of day and clientele i would go with 2 tenders at carving station towards end of line.

hth, danny

 

[shroomgirl]

Thanks Danny, but it will not be at a carving station it will be on a buffet already cut....

 

[dano1]

hmm...i wouldn't recommend chafing tenderloin but if i did i would go tender butts split lenthwise, tied, seared and roasted. Ya still need to slice into the chafer. This will save you in food cost and still give you a fairly thick medallion that will hold for a while-not overcook and dry out- but cuts will oxidize.
I would rather not cut into medallions, then sear or grill and finish. A lot of little peices of meat to work with while marking. Appearance wise though it will look more appealing this way if sitting for any length of time.
BTW what are you charging per head? Are you planning for 1 peice of filet per person? Kind of how i understood it when you said you were waiting for final count on the function.

hth, danny

 

[suechef]

I do this type of brunch frequently and here is what I would recommend. Two beef tenders are more than enough; I cook them on site to 140; let sit 15-20 minutes and slice about 20 -3/4" thick pieces per tender onto a platter..meat is room temp as guests go through the line; the only alternative is to carve at the buffet, as putting the slices into a chafer will not only turn them an unappetizing color of grey, but render them well done by the time the guests go through the line.
6 pcs of bacon..way too many. I would say 4pc bacon/2 sausage..remember not all people will take everything esp "fatty" breakfast meats. Remember you also have the protein of the egg omelet for all the atkins foodies. I would go for min 4oz total meat pp, to be on the safe side, 6oz.

Other than making omelets to order, what is the reason these clients want you to cook at their home? Will they be sitting around watching you cook? I have done "demo" dinners in the past, where the guests are seated in the kitchen watching me do last minute prep and cook (at which point I charge $110 per hour for the theatrics of the whole thing) Could they mean just making the omelets? Perhaps they really don't understand the logistics of what they are asking? I have a great recipe for pull apart pecan sticky buns that I sometimes do at the client's home as it fills the house with the most wonderful smells, but other than that, everything else in prepped at facility.

Hope this helps.

 

[shroomgirl]

These are first timers for me so apparently they have had large metal containers come in and the foil come off and reheating happening at past events....
They just want freshness. Since this is $50 aguest I am totally generous as to tenderloin....no chafer but they will be roasted whole then slaiced. sauces on the side....it is only 30 people at most....so time is really not an issue for the buffet.
My maple bacon is trully adicitive...no brag mam just fact....cook off thick bacon , drain the fat out of the pan, heat maple syrup till bubbly, drop the bacon back in the syrup and cook for a minute or two until coated....oh man. It's the big guy thing....mid forty year old s can put away tenderloin.....15 guys eating 8-10 oz each......oh man.... I KNOW it is not reality, just fear based.

 

[shroomgirl]

The party was last Sunday, there was some menu changes...the apps went, the beef went turkey was substituted...price came down to $35 pp for 32 guests. The bread /pastry baskets were loaded...I made the pastries there so the hot freshness made up for the bacon I cooked in the industrial kitchen that AM. So, one of the things I did not work through ....and I would like to know how you guys deal with it for it has come up in various ways recently....They did not rent the glass ware. There were over 100 crystal glasses to hand wash. The plates, silver and glasses were a major pain. I had one woman pull out the antique coffe cups some of them extremely old and precious (I could never find a replacement ) The extra time is paid for of course but man it is a major pain to wash this shtuff....and it is just labor intensive. Do you upcharge and ask from the getgo? If so what do you charge.

 

[ritafajita]

Wow, did you know her already? I can't imagine my Granny pulling out the expensive stuff for the caterers to handle. Even when I did Christmas for her and she's 87 and half blind, she was reluctant to let me touch the "good stuff".

If it were me, and I was just doing everyday catering for someone other than immediate family, I would refuse to deal with their precious things.


I would think it strange for someone to expect otherwise.

RF

 

[shroomgirl]

I've had Waterford crystal stems for 18 with 5 glsses each, I've had those precious antique cups ....there are just some times when you get very exspensive breakables to use....waterford is replacable...it may take forever if it is not a common pattern but you can get it...you may not be able to replace an antique hand painted cup....I have insurence but jeez this is not fun ...definatly different that dealing with rentals.

 

[tigerwoman]

One way to help with the problem you mentioned about the glass ware is to make sure you do a thorough site inspection and have a check list and ask to see what equipment of their own they will be using, as well as what kind of kitchen equipment they do have and how it works. Like what if the oven was funky but they don't tell you until you ask or cooking on electric vs. gas or do they have a large enough pot for your pasta. I find this helpful in many respects for house parties as well as for commercial kitchens at event spaces.

At the most recent event on the site inspection I asked to see the tableclothes they were planning on using - partly to make sure they had appropriate ones and also to see what type of platters and decor I wanted to coordinate with the room and tablecloth. As it turns out I had some ribbon that matched exactly to the floral pattern of the table cloth and I wrapped it around a flat of wheatgrass and made a simple but awesome display with different colored orchids (delridium I think) coming out of the wheat grass. They were amazed (as was I) on how the ribbon matched. It was just a weird coincidence but the moment I saw the tablecloth I knew I had the ribbon (tho I did bring along a neutral plain one just in case too). But you should ask to see their silverware, china and glassware and get an estimated count. Sometimes what they think is enough might not work for the type of menu you are presenting and you as the caterer can steer them towards another direction. As for the hand washing were you at this party by yourself or did you have staff? Maybe you could something in your contract that you are not responsible for breakage. I don't but don't usually use their platters, etc. I'll try to ask some other catering friends who do high end small gigs in the Hamptons how they handle that issue.
Also if you make the handwashing so expensive, maybe they would go for rentals or have them hire a "cleaning person" Actually I did have one client who had a housekeeper (live in) who would be responsible for the dishwashing when we used their glassware, linens, etc. When we went to Oxford to cater their housewarming I had them hire someone specifically to wash up because we were too busy with the food end of it.
I assume that when you said $50 per head that was on food only, not including labor and "equipment rentals" and or service charges? ???

 

[shroomgirl]

yes food only....I do not charge a service charge, I do charge $25ph per staff...rentals are always over and above that.I have had the housekeepers wash in certain situations...this fancy shtuff has come up so much recently and it just stresses me to have to deal with non-replaceables....and I'm a pretty laid back person normally.