Mission: Hospitality

From Wednesday through Saturday, my entire life was centered around one occupational mission. I was to feed approximately 100 people three meals, snacks, and keep them hydrated throughout the duration of a wrestling tournament. I was to host a hospitality room.

Here's the basic menu for the event:
Friday evening--deli trays for sammies, chili, two soups, veggie tray (dill dip & Hawaiian bread too), various other snacks and desserts
Saturday lunch--lasagna, mostaccoli, salad, cheesy garlic bread, fruit kabobs, various other snacks and desserts
Saturday dinner--juicy burgers (sloppy joes), Italian meatball subs, chips and dip, fruit salad, lemon cake, various other snacks and desserts

Wednesday's Schedule:
I put the finishing touches on my menu and grocery list (that I worked on for about two hours Tuesday night). My foods classes emptied my refrigerators and scrubbed every kitchen surface within my classroom. Then after school, I went grocery shopping. Six carts, one trip to school, and five hours later, the shopping (Round one) was complete.

Thursday's Schedule:
My classes browned 31 pounds of ground beef, baked 8 dozen cupcakes, baked 10 pounds of chicken, cut innumerable vegetables, assembled fruit kabobs, and completed other various preparations for the event. During my plan period I went back to the store to replace the cake mix my kids weren't supposed to use but did on accident (Round 2). I went home after school and enjoyed some down-time with my family.

Friday's Schedule:
School was out for teacher in-service. I participated until noon, but the 14 schools attending the tournament were to be fed at 4:30 (food was to be out and ready at four), so I had a few other things to attend to. I scurried into the kitchen and got busy. Fortunately, two other faculty members and three students took mercy on me and came to help. As soon as my hubby was finished at the hospital for the day, he too came to my rescue. We cooked, served, and cleaned until the show was over for the day.

Saturday's Schedule:
I went to the store to replenish beverages and get fresh lettuce for the salad (Round 3). Then I arrived at school at eight for the tail end of breakfast--the wrestling parents were in charge of breakfast. Immediately, lunch was started. We worked, and worked, and got lunch out and ready by 12:30--which was the time we were given for the lunch break. Then we found out the break was moved to 1:30. We did our best to rotate food and keep it warm. Then, we received word that supper would be moved up to 2:30. Sooooo, I learned flexibility. Dinner was served at 2:30 on the dot. This took much scurrying about, but I was thankful for the prep work done in advance. We were able to pull it off.

The following (two) pictures illustrate the proper way to set a buffet. Now, let me state: this is not a fancy affair. The lack of table cloths, real dishes, and decor is OK. Having these items would have been more than those men could stand...

Anyway, there should be, in this order:
1--napkins
2--plates
3--food
4--utensils
The reasoning for this is the napkin will go under the plate, you will load the plate with yummy, yummy goodness, then pick up your utensils at the end--to save from an embarassing fumble.

Before we go any further, you should know that I am a fan of stations in a buffet setting such as this and I label nearly everything. I like details--if only there's time for them. There were several stations around my room, they are represented below in one way or another.

Note the little signs on the meat tray. There were also signs on the other meat tray and the cheese tray. I wanted them to know what they were getting into...

This picture is the only representative from the snack and dessert table. I thought the veggie tray was pretty and colorful. AND I have a handy tip. When serving several meals and/or snacks in a row, a veggie tray early on can be a resourceful item. Later, those very veggies can be chopped and placed on a salad to add another punch of color and flavor.

The drink table held lemonade, tea, and sweet tea. Underneath are the refills for the coolers (Friday night only). There were six coolers off to the side.

My personal favorite--the cupcake bar. I had four types of cupcakes, four icings, several types and colors of sprinkles, nuts, and chocolate chips. They could use their favorites and decorate their own accordingly. I've been told this is to make the wrestling website...whatever that may be. It was a first in wrestling hospitality room history--so I hear.


These are the M&Ms from the "Candy Bar." This table lasted a lot longer than I anticipated. I expected it to disappear the first night, but it didn't.

The candy bar in it's entirety. Yum, yum. At the far end are peppermints. I thought those might be handy after this array of meals...

For my first hospitality room ever, I'd say it was a success overall. Every person was fed every meal (on time and it was still warm). It went pretty well. It is over. Hallelujah.

Lingering thought: It's a very happy Valentine's Day when I can spend it with my two best guys (the hubby & Eli). Even after helping me all weekend, the hubby still managed to get me the annual chocolate covered strawberries. He's one amazing guy.