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Serving a crowd

Discussion in 'Other Discussions' started by donnA, Jan 17, 2010.

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  1. donnA

    donnA Active Member

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    I was asked to be in charge of the meal for the valentines dinner theatre at church. I plan the menu, buy the food and manage the kitchen of helpers to get the food prepared.
    I need someone with expereince feeding a crowd. We're having herb roast pork loin. I need to know about how many can I serve per pork loin, and about how many pork loins I'll need for 150 people. How many people have you served from one whole pork loin before?
    This is not buffet style, it will be plated in the kitchen and served at the tables. So we in the kitchen set the serving sizees. I am thinking about 3/4' slices, does that sound good, seems a nice sizeable slice, more then I would eat I tknow.
    no guesses please, just someone with expereince please.
     
    #1 donnA, Jan 17, 2010
  2. abcgrad94

    abcgrad94 Active Member

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    Donna, it would depend on the weight of the loin. I'm thinking a 3/4" slice would be about 4 oz, so you'd need a pound of meat for every 4 people. That would work out to 37.5 pounds of meat.

    It's been a while since I served that many people, but that's how I would figure it. Hope this helps.
     
    #2 abcgrad94, Jan 17, 2010
  3. donnA

    donnA Active Member

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    it does help, thanks, when I was discussing it wiht my son, who has cooked in resturants and served pork loin, although theirs was buffet, we came up with I think similar numbers, I wanted to try and make sure from people who may have cooked for church before. I'll keep this in mind when I shop. Thanks
     
    #3 donnA, Jan 17, 2010
  4. Gina B

    Gina B Active Member

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    I had some experience doing this as part of the prison ministry. The difference is that you know exactly how many people will be there...with a church, there may be unexpected extras and you can't forget that the kitchen workers and people on staff may not be on the count, but may be on the "I need food!" list! Leave room for error...pieces may be lost falling to the floor, being burned, or because they simply don't add up when being cut by hand. Perhaps end pieces won't look good being served. Extras may go to a shelter the church supports, so always try to err on the side of extra.

    The grocery store appreciated the business and gave discounts for buying in bulk. Don't be afraid to ask. Simple say "I'm looking to buy x amount for x amount of people. What is the discount for buying in bulk, and will you custom slice it for free?" (If you want it sliced first) They will also be very good with giving suggestions for when to start cooking it.

    Another idea for if you want to cook it whole and then slice it is to do the slicing before it is thoroughly done. That leaves less of a chance of it falling apart while being sliced. It's simple enough to take it out, get it all sliced while it is still easy to do, then pour your melted butter/herb mix over the slices and finish it off. It has the added benefit of allowing you to not stick it back in the oven until you know you have just enough time to get it finished off and served while still nice and toasty warm.

    Others may have better ideas...I'm simply listed the type of stuff that made things easier for myself. Everyone has their own style.

    Bless you for your efforts! I have a tendency to kick people out of the kitchen, no matter how much work there is. I would NOT be able to be in a kitchen with a whole crew of people unless they were absolutely bent on listening and obeying without question or comment.
     
    #4 Gina B, Jan 18, 2010
  5. donnA

    donnA Active Member

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    There won't be any extras Gina, they sell tickets to pay for the meal, no tickets at the door.
    Everyone is counted for the meal, tickets, thjose in the play, servers and kitchen crew. The 150 per night is all of us.
    I'm buying the pork loin at sam's club because it'sa very good price and rarely do we see it cheaper on sale anywhere.
    I did plan on tkaing it out of the oven about 10 degrees short of done, because we have aheat table for serving, it will finish cooking slowly, less likely to fall apart, and slice easier.
    I am in chrage of the food and kitchen on this one, I really hope to be able to assigna task to people and have that task completed on time, I will be managing that to make sure. I never like to interfer with what I've assigned people to do unless I have too. I usually like being the only cook in a kitchen too, but this si a big job, that I know I can not handle on my own.
    Thanks for the advice.
     
    #5 donnA, Jan 18, 2010
  6. donnA

    donnA Active Member

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    Day 1 is over, and it worked out mostly alright, need to replenish a few supplies. The food was awesome, I was so worried I couldn't do good food for a crowd.
    Now, 1 more day to go. At least tomorrow I know how to make it go more smoothly.
    edit, I ended up using 6 whole pork loins, and had very little leftover.
     
    #6 donnA, Feb 12, 2010
  7. Gina B

    Gina B Active Member

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    Well hurray then! I'm glad it worked out nicely and you were able to be a blessing to the church in this way. :thumbs:
     
    #7 Gina B, Feb 13, 2010
  8. abcgrad94

    abcgrad94 Active Member

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    Good for you, Donna! I hope it goes well for you again for day #2.
     
    #8 abcgrad94, Feb 13, 2010
  9. donnA

    donnA Active Member

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    It was really good, bettet then yesterday. Each day at least oen person asked me if I owned a resturant. A man told my husband this was resturant quality food, and he didn't kow if you could even buy a meal like that ina resturant here. I thought wow, thats about one of the best things thats happened to me.
     
    #9 donnA, Feb 13, 2010
  10. Steven2006

    Steven2006 New Member

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    That awesome! Congratulations it sounds like you did a fantastic job. Making me hungry to. :laugh:
     
    #10 Steven2006, Feb 13, 2010
  11. menageriekeeper

    menageriekeeper Active Member

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    Good job!!

    I'm glad it all went superior for you.
     
    #11 menageriekeeper, Feb 14, 2010
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