Crunch Time

Crunch time or as I like to call it, the two minute drill before an event, when your adrenalin is rushing...

This time I not only got to help prep for a wedding but I actually got to go to the wedding and help out. First, I made seven aluminum half pans of Spinach Dip; four to freeze and three for two different weddings. I cut up and arranged vegetables in a large serving basket and skewered almost 300 pieces of chicken. But my pride and joy was cutting and artistically arranging the different types of cheeses for two different trays to be served as appetizers at the weddings.

 

When my daughter asked me to help out at the off-site wedding that she was catering, I jumped at the chance. Usually, I only help to prep the food, and watch the other chefs prepare it and cook it but I never get to see the final result of the food being displayed and served at the wedding.

 

I arrived at the catering kitchen, close to 1:30. I watched the two chefs finishing and hurrying through their last minute tasks: pulling out potatoes and vegetables and wrapping them and placing them in the hot boxes. I watched one chef pull out the chicken zinfandel and the beef, wrap the trays and place them in the hot boxes. One chef finished making the gravies, as the servers took out the hot boxes and loaded them into the catering van. They took out all the rest of the food, appetizers, salads and whatever else was needed.

 

My daughter ran over her check list, making sure everything was in the van. Everyone had their shirts, and aprons and their assignments for the wedding. When we were all ready, the lights turned off and door locked, we got into three different vehicles and followed each other like a mini caravan for the 40 minute drive to the offsite wedding.

 

I was impressed with how those few minutes ran before we got into our cars. The pleasant aroma of the food cooking was wonderful, everyone did their jobs and the adrenalin rush was there. The food at the wedding was delicious, as was the praise from the guests. That crunch time before everything begins is really intense. It gets the caterer and severs in the zone, and in the end it really all comes together!