Miles Collins

Large scale cookery explained

I have been asked many times how I/we cook for such large numbers on a daily basis, how do you keep the food hot etc, etc. So I thought I would give an insight into cooking for functions, i.e a group of thirty plus all eating at the same time which is known as ‘banqueting’ in the trade.

I have been doing ‘banqueting’ on and off for many years, it is often looked down on by junior chefs as being easy and boring. I regularly stress to my staff the importance of treating function catering in the same way as restaurant catering. To the vast majority of hotels banqueting is the bread and butter of the business, its impact on food sales helps to pay for the more refined ingredients one might put on the restaurant menu and it is without doubt the best form of free advertising there is.

Obviously functions come in all sizes and in all venues, top end hotels will have the latest ‘re-gen’ ovens which will cook/reheat food in a matter of minutes. These ovens (Rational being the Rolls Royce of the group) will time food to perfection, regeneration systems allows the chef to put the entire main course on a plate prior to service and then reheat it to exact temperature and time requirements. For those chefs/hotels which cannot afford such luxury then function catering can be very difficult through space, equipment and staff restrictions.

Functions can be a stressful affair, for the chef timing is everything. When a wedding photographer takes half an hour longer than he said he would or guests forget/change their mind about what they have ordered as the food is being served then it is down to the chef to improvise.

It is commonplace for a guest to wait until the starter is served to announce they have a specific food allergy or they cannot eat the beef main course as they are vegetarian but eat chicken and fish, this then holds up the function leaving the other guests unaware of the situation and wondering why there is a delay.

In anticipation of delays we cook our meats and ‘hold’ them with stock to prevent them from drying out, vegetables can be problematic so we avoid serving those which easily disintegrate. Menus are written based on practicality, we need to be able to guarantee a standard whatever the circumstance, so garnishes for example are less elaborate than for a restaurant presentation.

Banqueting is all about timing and organisation, we allocate specific tasks to specific chefs, whilst one (or more) is plating the starters another is checking the main courses and vegetables and another is baking the bread. As the main courses are being served another will begin to set the plates out ready for the dessert. We know we will have time on our hands between main course and dessert so we can make more of a showcase of the presentation.

So spare a thought for the kitchen at your next wedding breakfast or summer ball, the organisers face a difficult task in choosing a menu to accomodate everyone and the caterers face the pressure of making sure the reputation of the business is upheld in front of so many people. Finally, who would want the job of the function manager when he/she has to speak to an irate guest whose suit/dress has just been ruined by the sixteen year old waiter who cannot control their first day nerves with the soup-not me!