Opinions on Potluck Parties.

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We do potlucks for our rehab department about once every two months. On the plus side since I am in a rehab setting we have a stove, oven, refrig/ freezer and microwave. There are 13 of us and easy to coordinate. :)

We haul food in all the time and have Unit Potlucks. As long as we invite the therapists, we can use their kitchen:LOL:
 
We haul food in all the time and have Unit Potlucks. As long as we invite the therapists, we can use their kitchen:LOL:

hehe thats a thought, invite the unit, more food :LOL: I happen to love the nurses in the whole building, I practically grew up there. When I had been away for a few years and came back, they said "hey! theres our kid!" I'm not a kid anymore, will be turning 40 in October but started there as a rehab tech,around 17 or so, just right from high school before therapy school ! :ermm:
 
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hehe thats a thought, invite the unit, more food :LOL: I happen to love the nurses in the whole building, I practically grew up there. When I had been away for a few years and came back, they said "hey! theres our kid!" I'm not a kid anymore, will be turning 40 in October but started there as a rehab tech,around 17 or so, just right from high school before therapy school ! :ermm:

I found out that anything Chocolate attracts therapists...:LOL:
 
Potlucks are awesome. I rarely "showcase" anymore when the hubs and I entertain. It's too stressful and I don't get to enjoy my guests. It is way more laid back and fun if everyone pitches in. My friends all get involved meal planning over the phone, then everyone either brings their contribution ready to serve or we cook together as a group. I think potlucks are misunderstood as lowbrow or a way to save money and still entertain. That is silly. Food shouldn't have to be so serious.

I actually did a thanksgiving potluck for 50 once and I told everyone what I wanted them to bring and how much they needed to make. Kinda bossy I guess, but everyone came, everyone ate, and everyone had a great time.....as far as I know ;)
 
How true, it's like a moth to a flame when someone brings in dessert, diets are blown, portion control goes out the window! :LOL:

We do have some fun salad bars when the therapists are invited. There's things you would never even imagine...:rolleyes:
 
First, I disagree with the definition of "Potluck." As I understand it, potluck means if you show up for dinner, you'll get whatever I have and can rustle up for dinner. E.g. the luck of what's in the pot.

However, Dish to Pass means that everyone brings something to share. I believe that this was labeled "tacky" is because it is perhaps not the best manners to ask your guests to provide for your event. The person inviting is NOT the host, he/she is, rather, the organizer. A host provides everything for entertaining.

I realize that this has become the norm, but that does not make it right. If I invite people for dinner, I provide everything. I always thought doing this kind of thing at work or church was Ok.

On another note, years ago, after a "Dish to Pass" at work, one of our employees revealed that he had hepatitis. Everyone - 800 people - was offered gamma globulin injections, and our insurer said "no more." I don't like eating food when I don't know the health/safety habits of the cook.
 
SherryDAmore said:
First, I disagree with the definition of "Potluck." As I understand it, potluck means if you show up for dinner, you'll get whatever I have and can rustle up for dinner. E.g. the luck of what's in the pot.

However, Dish to Pass means that everyone brings something to share. I believe that this was labeled "tacky" is because it is perhaps not the best manners to ask your guests to provide for your event. The person inviting is NOT the host, he/she is, rather, the organizer. A host provides everything for entertaining.

I realize that this has become the norm, but that does not make it right. If I invite people for dinner, I provide everything. I always thought doing this kind of thing at work or church was Ok.

On another note, years ago, after a "Dish to Pass" at work, one of our employees revealed that he had hepatitis. Everyone - 800 people - was offered gamma globulin injections, and our insurer said "no more." I don't like eating food when I don't know the health/safety habits of the cook.

If I throw a dinner party, I provide everything. This means that I have personally invited people for a meal that I am going to prepare.

If our friends are coming over for a casual pot luck, then we all contribute. This can be a barbeque or maybe a movie night. These types of gatherings are usually planned as a group effort.

There are times for both, neither one, is right or wrong.
 
I don't think anyone is forced to attend a potluck if they are offended by bringing a dish.

If someone is having a pot luck dinner, they need to say so from the beginning. If someone invites people to dinner and then asks them to bring something after the invitation is accepted, then that seems a bit tacky. But just hosting a pot luck seems perfectly acceptable to me.
 
I am never offended to bring a dish to a potluck & I enjoy going to small pot luck gatherings. When the potlucks get to be to many people, 100 plus, it seems like food poisening just waiting to happen.
 
I have never been offended by bringing something for a potluck. I've brought several things to work and church potlucks. Most of the people that have contributed in the past, I have known. So, I don't have a problem with their cooking practices, and I'm not that paranoid. The bottom line is... if you have a problem with bringing something or trying something from someone, then don't do it... plain and simple. I think they are a lot of fun. Everyone's tastes are different.... one person might rave about that, and another person might think it stinks. I can't remember who said it.... it is taken way too seriously.

When my family had birthday parties or holiday get-togethers, we all brought something. My grandma or aunt would provide the main course. I love to exchange recipes, and it's a great way to get to know people and cooking-style.
 
You invite acquaintances to dine, family is invited for dinner and/or potluck. If I'm inviting folks to a potluck, it's because I think of them as family.
 
Going to large event pot lucks the food sits at room temperature for such a long time it makes a person think what food borne illness is brewing in some of those dishes.
 
You're right about when you do potluck, you usually are inviting friends who are that, friends. I sometimes "declare" a theme; most recently it was my husband's 65th birthday and I mentioned stuff with a 50s/60s theme. It was great. I think my favorite was a fellow cookbook collector who came up with meatballs using grape jelly as one of the sauce components.

I think the thing I miss most about living in Hawaii .... well, like here, most parties were potluck and the vast variety of foods that would show up was knock your socks off great. You might have, for example, lumpia and Vietnamese spring rolls; five different noodle dishes from various Asian countries, but also a vast array of European dishes. It would be a real adventure in eating.

One thing I learned when I first moved here was that people are going to bring something even if you aren't planning potluck. After ten years, I've learned to go with it. It's an odd community in that some people are quite wealthy, some not so, and the not so (includes me) like to contribute, and this is how. For us, if we had to provide everything, we probably wouldn't entertain. So it's really become a way of life for us. Whoever is hosting provides the main dish, then "assigns" the sides. As in: appetizer, salad, vegetable, starch, desert. The guests look at what your main dish is, and coordinate with each other. The first person to call in gets to pick what course, and so forth. It really works wonderfully. But, yes, I've actually had someone say that in their culture, no one would dream of having people bring food to their house. Ironically, this couple are always happy to bring food when we host a potluck.
 
First thing out of my mouth when asked to a meal at someone's home, "Do you need/want me to bring anything?" If they say "yes," no problem, if they say "no"...still no problem. Most of the time the answer is, "yes." And they already know what they want me to bring. If they say "no," I bring a non-food hostess gift.
 
You invite acquaintances to dine, family is invited for dinner and/or potluck. If I'm inviting folks to a potluck, it's because I think of them as family.

That kind of sums it up for me!

We do a lot of potlucks because we tend to only entertain people that are close friends.

Sometimes when my partner is introducing someone new to his game group, we'll invite them over for dinner and I'll cook the whole meal, it's kind of a "getting to know" this person or couple. He holds his game here in the basement den and I really don't want strangers coming into my house, so I do this to meet them one on one.
 
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