Blog du Wren

Breakfast for 60

Cooking for 60 people is a slightly different experience than cooking for a few friends, or even for a reasonably sized dinner party. Cooking for 60 people requires planning, huge pots and pans, a knowledge of your eaters, and having a little help in the "kitchen" doesn't hurt. The role I've fallen into on this tour is that of breakfast buckstop. That means that I am responsible for making sure there is breakfast every morning. That doesn't mean I necessarily have to do it, but I gotta make sure it gets done. So far, it means that I've been up before anyone else getting the water boiling for coffee, cracking eggs, and delegating to my helpers*.

What makes the experience that much more exiting is the facilities. For the past 3 mornings, we've been camped out on Gabriola Island with an outdoor kitchen consisting of 2 propane fueled burnings, a picnic table for prep, pots and pans in totes, and food strewn about in boxes and coolers everywhere. That didn't stop us from making a kick ass sausage, potato, etc. scramble one morning, and some delicious oatmeal another. At our last stop, Lasqueti, we had a nice at the community center which facilitated delicious berry pancakes among other deliciousness. Who knows what Salt Spring Island will hold breakfast-wise.

The combination of cooking for a large group of people with whoever happens to be around helping out is really an inspiring experience (as long as there isn't too much griping, which there hasn't been at all). And knowing that I have the easiest meal of the day*, I have that much more respect for those putting together the other meals. Then there's the guy who plans and shops for the food we should have on hand, the people who organize the finances of it all, the people who move it and sort it, and the people who help clean up after it all*—feeding a traveling circus of 60 people ain't a small job. But like with everything here on Chautauqua, it can be a fun job.

Thursday July 23 2009

File under: chautauqua

Toggle Comments (5)

comment?

on Thu 23rd Jul, 2009 09:23 pm PDT Mom said:
Mighty charming circus-y kitchen getup--ruffles, hat & all.
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on Fri 24th Jul, 2009 12:51 am PDT Saxtor said:
Sounds like a blast!
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on Fri 24th Jul, 2009 05:19 am PDT steve said:
is that a sarong you have on?
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on Fri 24th Jul, 2009 04:12 pm PDT Jer said:
Good thing Saltspring turned out to be a pretty good kitchen eh
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on Fri 24th Jul, 2009 04:20 pm PDT Wren said:
Salt Spring does have an amazing kitchen, so much so that I signed on for making dinner for tomorrow night, just because I want to bask in the industrial kitcheniness of it all.
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