NoraC
Senior Cook
Desserts are my least favorite thing to make. I have a some pretty good tricks, but they don't get my imagination going the way savory does. So I am asking the aid of the imaginations here!
I am working on the menu for the annual "big" fundraiser at my church. It is a dinner and auction gala. Passed apps, plated salads, buffet main course, family style desserts at each table is the general menu format. Passed apps keeps folks moving around the silent auction tables; family style desserts gets them back to the table for the live auction part.
The theme this year is "Under the Sea", so the bulk of the menu will lean toward seafood, with other choices modeled on famous ocean liner menus to satisfy those who hate fishy stuff. There is no geographic element to the theme (we aren't doing a luau or a clam bake or an islands thing, just under the sea). The names and descriptions of the menu dishes carry out the theme as much as the items themselves do. The food at our gala always aims to be top notch - no compromises type stuff - if we don't succeed, it won't be because we didn't try.
The cooking is done in a "more than adequate to feed 200" institutional, school kitchen. 350 meals, done well, stretches it and we always end up renting some equipment and working some magic outside. The tables are set for 10, so the space for placing the desserts is tight. At least 2 desserts of about 6 servings per table needed, with some "extras" for providing on request. Service done by "slightly trained" but well supervised teens, who clamor for the chance to be chosen each year. The budget is not unlimited, but because the labor is donated, it has always been more than adequate. We gross about $100,000.
I have a few ideas, none of which excite me. What would you do?
I am working on the menu for the annual "big" fundraiser at my church. It is a dinner and auction gala. Passed apps, plated salads, buffet main course, family style desserts at each table is the general menu format. Passed apps keeps folks moving around the silent auction tables; family style desserts gets them back to the table for the live auction part.
The theme this year is "Under the Sea", so the bulk of the menu will lean toward seafood, with other choices modeled on famous ocean liner menus to satisfy those who hate fishy stuff. There is no geographic element to the theme (we aren't doing a luau or a clam bake or an islands thing, just under the sea). The names and descriptions of the menu dishes carry out the theme as much as the items themselves do. The food at our gala always aims to be top notch - no compromises type stuff - if we don't succeed, it won't be because we didn't try.
The cooking is done in a "more than adequate to feed 200" institutional, school kitchen. 350 meals, done well, stretches it and we always end up renting some equipment and working some magic outside. The tables are set for 10, so the space for placing the desserts is tight. At least 2 desserts of about 6 servings per table needed, with some "extras" for providing on request. Service done by "slightly trained" but well supervised teens, who clamor for the chance to be chosen each year. The budget is not unlimited, but because the labor is donated, it has always been more than adequate. We gross about $100,000.
I have a few ideas, none of which excite me. What would you do?
