2007 RSF Food Committee/2007 lessons learned
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organising
- organising this is a 3-4 person job.
- know what quantity units to order in (i.e.) by weight, by volume, how to convert between the two
- oftian recipes will specify Tbs, Tsp, cups, ounces... ingredients need to be ordered by Kg, Lbs, Ounces, Liters, mls, how many cans per case, etc...
- Make list for food orders simple. Exclude info except for amounts of ingredients needed, or clearly seperate this info.
- make contact with food co-op early.
- keep records of orders/ingredients accesable for next year's committee, get hold of last years order to act as a guide for amounts of ingredients needed. (although the 2007 order was far too large, try to locate 2006 info).
- keep canned veggies seperate from fresh veggies when listing ingredients prior to order, Esp. if ordering them from different suppliers, to avoid missing them in orders.
- don't forget misc. items. (juice, bread, PB&J, etc..)
- be sure you have all the tools for the job. Brain storm what you will need. (enough pots and pans, knives, cooking utensils, serving bowls, juice jugs, etc.)
- Music in the kitchen is a good thing.
- make sure you have enough spices, and a good variety.
on site
- During workshops, there is very little help in the kitchen . We need several people who are willing to miss a workshop session to come and help for one meal. so, 6-8 people over the weekend each willing to miss just one of the sessions to help out in the kitchen a bit.
- Space in the kitchen is limited. we'd go from one or two people in the kitchen (overwhelmed with work) to too many in the kitchen as the meal time approached. we'd be better off with a 3-5 working at all times.
- Consistency helps in the kitchen. have 1-2 people coordinating for the weekend who know the plan and have enough experience to improvise and work around any problems that may arise
- the tiny cans of tomato paste are a pain in the ass... try to order tomato paste in Lg. cans.
- plan refrigeration better, space on site is limited. perhaps pull everything for a meal (lunch) as you begin prep to make room for items from the cooler off site. or make a trip after breakfast for only lunch items and another trip after lunch for dinner items. We have very little freezer space on site. It is shared with YMCA.
- Is there refrigeration/freezer space at Spencer Lodge? what are the kitchen facilities there? Could some prep occure there?
- Start conditioning people early in the weekend to wash dishes out back/ to bring back dishes clean... Have signage where dishes are picked up/dropped off, at wash station with (polite) reminders. possibly multi-lingual (english, french, spanish). have someone take responsability for changing water at wash station (John did great job of this in '06.)
- people love hummas. make lots.
- More cutting boards and more knives mean more people can help with chopping
food orders
- Dan Hilton is awsome to do buisness with, very knowledgeable when it comes to produce, but may not be avalible in '08. he supplied produce.
- 'Havaris Produce' supplied a small order of produce. very easy to deal with.
- 'Has Beans' Supplied some of our coffee (breakfast pots/ some snack pots). easy to deal with.
- Food coop order was problematic. I found that more flexibility is needed with when orders can be made. communication left much to be desired, items were very pricey, some items were not as specified, I was not impressed with produce provided (especially for the price it was provided at), order arrived early causing us to scramble for storage space that had been arranged for a later date, refusal to provide cost estimates, it was insisted that we pay for mistakes in the order that were not our mistakes. up-sold on major order item after being assured that 'it wasn't much more expensive', turned out to be 2x-3x times the price (this was felt to be very dishonest). Coop refused returns of un-open, un-used items. Many items are not local (food miles), packaging was found to be excessive, we have to question if the coop meet sustainability principles of the RSF. I personally would not do business with the coop again.
Food orders were far to large this year. this section will aim to estimate the actual amounts used of some ingredients that were over-stocked as well as recall amounts that were closer to what was needed. Try to locate 2006's orders.
- Olive oil
- 6 liters.
- Balsamic Vinigar
- 3-4 liters
- Frying/cooking oil
- 3 liters
- Romane
- 45-50 heads
- Beans (red/black)
- 12-16 (19 fl. oz./540ml) cans for 3 lg pots of chili
- 1 case of 12 for red beans and rice
- 6-12 cans for corn and bean salad
- Canned tomatoes
- 1-2 cases of 12 (796ml) cans
- TVP
- 6 pints(?) for chili
- Frozen Corn
- 2 cases (check amount per case...12 500g pkgs. I believe)
- Broccli/Cauliflower
- 10 heads each
- Carrots
- 6-10 bags
- Cucumbers
- 1-2 cases
- Zucchini
- 1-2 cases
- Tofu
- 12 lbs
- yogurt
- one case of 12 (1 liter jars) is more then enough,
- Yogurt wasen't very popular at breakfast...
- Milk
- one case of 12 liters would be more then enough
- Cream
- one case of 12 liters would be more then enough
- Rice Milk
- one case of 12 liters would be more then enough
- Soy Milk
- one case of 12 liters would be more then enough
- Potatos
- 4 lbs would have been used
- Onions
- 20-30 lg.
- Green onions
- 10-15 bunches
- Apples
- 2-3 lg bags from Cruchin's
