Here we go again... same ole, same ole. It’s Friday the 17th and preparations for Christmas are well under way, well by the social committee anyway. Maybe not in the kitchen just yet. What Christmas means to most commercial operations is either a day or two off due to high operating costs and increased wages, oh and of course the fact that many mums and dads (wait staff) will be producing semi ridged smiles and expending precious goodwill that may better be concentrated on loved ones gathered around the Christmas tree. Christmas can also mean getting up really early, grabbing a few coffees in between slicing smoked salmon, poaching eggs or rolling out pastry ready for Danishes then feeling your way through a foggy and confusing day of good wishes and warm fuzzies from colleagues, then high expectations and time critical demands from the consumers.
I’ve been placed in a rather unique position of having to cater to 73 plus expeditioners (consumers) who, on the flip side, are also the loved ones to whom I’ll stand side by side with whilst gorging on the excesses of the Christmas spirit. Either way I’ll win right? So let’s just take it easy and do the menu planning next week.......Hey the social committee needs a draft of the menu so they can get it approved and printed off... and they sorta need it now.?
Well Tony and I merged grey matter and scribbled down in chefs’ hand ( very similar to Doctors handwriting) a simplistic menu of running salads, seafood buffet, old school roasts with accompaniments, dessert table (Christmas pudding included) and a cheese board.
I’ll be able to update the blog with the exact menu after Christmas. Things can change for any reason down here.
With the first version of the menu now making it’s way around our local intranet I felt a sense of calm and even a little energy. Baking!!
I love finding time to bake extra goodies for the crew. It gives me a feeling of pride and satisfaction knowing people will soon discover tasty sweet morsels arranged on various platters dotted around the dining room. When I was a little kid I remembered coming home from school and opening the lid on our two toned brown Tupperware cookie container... looking in all I could see was darkness (this thing could act like the TARDIS sometimes). I knew the jar was empty yesterday, was it still today? I’d throw my arm up in the air, pull the sleeve up past my elbow and dive down inside. Just as a shag comes popping up from the oceans depths .......so too would my hand. Yes!! It’s loaded!! What have I scored? Fudge. Hmmmm, I’d have removed that lid at least 3 more times before my sister got home. Then I was the self-appointed guardian of the jar. I loved my mother’s baking ,who doesn’t?
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| Apricot Slice |
Well there was nothing holding me back. Armed with a 2006 edition of the Edmonds recipe book, (mini cooks bible... in N.Z anyway), memories of my childhood delicacies and a fully equipped kitchen I set about creating a pantry full of icing and coconut topped treats.
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| Ginger Crunch |
A little baking on Saturday and a lot on Sunday left most of my stock containers in need of a topping up. Ginger crunch, hedgehog (fudge), jam slice, lemon and apricot slice, coconut brownie, caramel slice , Anzac biscuits and toffee apples. I thought this would last me a week (my mother probably thought the same back then). As it turned out we had a visit from the Indians on Monday, including their construction workers, and a Chinese delegation made an appearance on Tuesday. By Wednesday my goodies were all gone.
It still felt nice making them.
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Here we go again... same ole, same ole. It’s Friday the 17th and preparations for Christmas are well under way, well by the social committee anyway. Maybe not in the kitchen just yet. What Christmas means to most commercial operations is either a day or two off due to high operating costs and increased wages, oh and of course the fact that many mums and dads (wait staff) will be producing semi ridged smiles and expending precious goodwill that may better be concentrated on loved ones gathered around the Christmas tree. Christmas can also mean getting up really early, grabbing a few coffees in between slicing smoked salmon, poaching eggs or rolling out pastry ready for Danishes then feeling your way through a foggy and confusing day of good wishes and warm fuzzies from colleagues, then high expectations and time critical demands from the consumers.
I’ve been placed in a rather unique position of having to cater to 73 plus expeditioners (consumers) who, on the flip side, are also the loved ones to whom I’ll stand side by side with whilst gorging on the excesses of the Christmas spirit. Either way I’ll win right? So let’s just take it easy and do the menu planning next week.......
Hey the social committee needs a draft of the menu so they can get it approved and printed off... and they sorta need it now.?
Well Tony and I merged grey matter and scribbled down in chefs’ hand ( very similar to Doctors handwriting) a simplistic menu of running salads, seafood buffet, old school roasts with accompaniments, dessert table (Christmas pudding included) and a cheese board.
I’ll be able to update the blog with the exact menu after Christmas. Things can change for any reason down here.
With the first version of the menu now making it’s way around our local intranet I felt a sense of calm and even a little energy. Baking!!
I love finding time to bake extra goodies for the crew. It gives me a feeling of pride and satisfaction knowing people will soon discover tasty sweet morsels arranged on various platters dotted around the dining room. When I was a little kid I remembered coming home from school and opening the lid on our two toned brown Tupperware cookie container... looking in all I could see was darkness (this thing could act like the TARDIS sometimes). I knew the jar was empty yesterday, was it still today? I’d throw my arm up in the air, pull the sleeve up past my elbow and dive down inside. Just as a shag comes popping up from the oceans depths .......so too would my hand. Yes!! It’s loaded!! What have I scored? Fudge. Hmmmm, I’d have removed that lid at least 3 more times before my sister got home. Then I was the self-appointed guardian of the jar. I loved my mother’s baking ,who doesn’t?
Well there was nothing holding me back. Armed with a 2006 edition of the Edmonds recipe book, (mini cooks bible... in N.Z anyway), memories of my childhood delicacies and a fully equipped kitchen I set about creating a pantry full of icing and coconut topped treats.
A little baking on Saturday and a lot on Sunday left most of my stock containers in need of a topping up. Ginger crunch, hedgehog (fudge), jam slice, lemon and apricot slice, coconut brownie, caramel slice , Anzac biscuits and toffee apples. I thought this would last me a week (my mother probably thought the same back then). As it turned out we had a visit from the Indians on Monday, including their construction workers, and a Chinese delegation made an appearance on Tuesday. By Wednesday my goodies were all gone.
It still felt nice making them.
Photos to follow.
A tad late .. Merry Christmas Justin!
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoyed a great day with the crew.
Love from very rainy downtown Noosaville.
Janette x (and new pooch, Pippa!)