Well, the big public breakfast buffet went fairly well today. I would say we served between 100 and 150 guests and the vast majority were complementary (though what do you expect from a crowd of mostly friends and family?).
Class starts at 6am and the buffet didn't start until 8:30, so there was plenty of time to finish preps on our menu. We had done the vast majority of the work the day before and most of today's preparation was simply organizing everyone and the food service.
There were a few last minute things that had to be cooked, such as the Potatoes Rosti (with onion) and the bacon and sausage (which simply had to be put into the ovens). Other things simply needed to be warmed.
Brent, Joe, Nicole and I were on Rosti detail, which actually took the longest. Frying mass quantities of potatoes on a stovetop, even one with many BTUs and six twelve-inch cast iron skillets, is not a fast process. Nevertheless we were easily finished by 8am, at which time Chef Perez demoed the omelette station.
There are thirty-two people in our class, which meant that we were way overstaffed for a buffet service. Most students didn't have much to do, so there was a lot of rotation of positions. I was one of the first on the omelette station and rather enjoyed it. I need more practice, certainly, but I felt fairly confident in my production.
After making the omelettes (and a short break to talk to my mother and brother who had come to see me), I headed to the back and spent the rest of the time either washing or drying dishes. We went through more hotel pans and sheet trays than I thought possible.
Toward the very end of the service, we were given a break and allowed to have what remained of the food. Not too shabby. My Eggs Benedict was done just right and the French Toast with Strawberry Coulis was quite good. My cousin and his fiance joined me for breakfast as well.
Cleanup was fairly straight-forward and we were actually let go early. Overall, today was a reasonably easy way of being introduced to actually producing food for the public. It was also nice to see, if not meet, some of the family of my classmates.
Ernest Miller pursues research and writing on cyberlaw, intellectual property, and First Amendment issues. Mr. Miller attended the U.S. Naval Academy before attending Yale Law School, where he was president and co-founder of the Law and Technology Society, and founded the technology law and policy news site LawMeme. He is a fellow of the Information Society Project at Yale Law School.
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