Margaret

I was thinking about Margaret today. As much as customers can be the bane of a food service professionals life, they can also be the greatest blessing. Fortunately for me, the blessings outweigh the banes. We met Margaret the first week we were open. We were so overwhelmed by everything we didn't know about being in food service, owning a business, and the sheer number of hours that it takes to run such an enterprise, that Margaret was a dumpling of common sense in our chaos soup. She was retired, she had worked in a variety of food service jobs in WI, mostly school cafeterias. She had cared for her parents as they aged, and she was a very loyal friend to many older folks as they transitioned from being able to live independently to needing to be in some sort of care facility. She would bring them chocolate or shampoo or a book of crossword puzzles. Most importantly she would bring herself to visit. Some of these folks were estranged from family or family lived far away, and she could be a surrogate, and help keep them connected to the community. Margaret was very plain spoken, did not suffer fools gladly, loved the Chicago Cubs, and knit wonderful slippers and afghans. She actually created a little cottage industry to help her meet her expenses by selling slippers to local folks who would order a dozen pairs at a time for holiday gifts. I personally still have six or seven pairs which I keep under lock and key so that the gremlin that steals socks from the dryer will not run off with them. When we first met Margaret, she was still driving. She came in to the store and bought 2 slices of ham, "slice it thick, hon, I want to know what I'm eating," a quarter pound of seafood salad, and a loaf of bread. She spent $5.00 and you could tell from the transaction that this expenditure was her weekly treat. She would come in for coffee, she developed a passion for raspberry lattes, so we always had a bottle of sugar free raspberry syrup (she was diabetic). She would spend $2.00 for the latte (14 years ago, 2 bucks for coffee in rural central WI was a big deal), and then she could have free refills of regular coffee. She would bring her knitting and sit by our wood stove. We would talk about recipes and working in schools. She shared all of her large batch cookie recipes with me. She believed in us, enjoyed knowing us, and wasn't intimidated by the type of food we served or the customers who had lots of money. Everyone was equal in her eyes, good or bad. She would provide a commentary on the things she saw, and we would get the giggles when, in a quiet moment after the lunch rush, she would tell us the things she heard that we hadn't because we were busy. Or, even funnier, her opinions of what she saw or heard. It was that commentary that kept us grounded. It's very easy to get sucked into a world where money is the final arbiter of worth. We have customers who are so wealthy they have their own satellite, we've fed members of our congressional delegation, and television stars. It is tempting to make yourself feel more important because you have those connections. It was Margaret who called us to come pick up a hamburger casserole the day before Thanksgiving because she knew we were working long hours and wouldn't be cooking for ourselves. It was Margaret who asked us to stop for her at the market and get roasted peanuts in the shell so she could feed the squirrels who came to sit on her window ledge. As time went on, Margaret had to transition into a nursing home. It was out of town, so we didn't get to see her as often as we wanted to. We were able to send her some raspberry lattes when folks were heading in her direction, and her sister would stop in to take her some seafood salad. She couldn't get afford a phone, cell phones then were still hugely expensive, so we only got to talk to her every now & then. She passed a few years ago, and I expect she's found another comfortable place to sit and is providing a running commentary on what she sees and hears. I look forward to catching up someday, although I don't think I'll ever really get the Cubs thing.

Weddings

Weddings are usually my least favorite catering job. From the beginning of the planning process there is a constant tension between the vision and the reality. Each wedding, which should be one of the happiest days of the couple that is getting married, seems to bring with it the best and the worst of the family dynamics. We have had our share of funny situations at weddings over the years, and this past weekend was no exception. From a caterer's perspective there are a number of things which make our job of building your vision of the day easier. For one thing, it always helps if the all the parties involved are clear with one another about what the budget is for the event. More often than not we, the caterer, get stuck between what is wanted and what can be afforded. I, for one, don't understand why people feel the need to invite every person that sat next to them in any class in high school. But, if that's what you want, then don't be surprised when the estimate for the food is a big number.

Another help would be to think about what it is you're asking us to do for you. I had a woman once call to book us to do an elegant sit down wedding event for 125 people at her lake home, outside, and to serve prime rib and lobster tails. She wanted linens, crystal, table service, the whole works. She wanted it for no more than $50.00 per person. She very graciously offered us her garage as a work space/staging area. Then she was surprised that we declined the opportunity to do the food for that event. For one thing prime rib and lobster tails are on the higher end when it comes to menu choices, but recreating a fine dining restaurant in your backyard is an expensive proposition. For another, if you think about the challenges you feel when you're cooking for a large group: getting everything done at the same time; keeping hot things hot and cold things cold; making sure that the vegetarians have an option. Well, think about those challenges, and then multiply the number of people by ten or twenty and try accomplishing this task in a garage without running water, and you can see my dilemma. Of course, just about anything can be done. However, the more time it takes, the greater the degree of difficulty, the more it's going to cost. Often folks will call wanting to have a reception with "heavy hors d'oeuvres," thinking that this will be less expensive than a meal. The truth is that if your vision is cocktail meatballs and cheese and crackers it will be less, but if your vision is artfully constructed canapes it probably won't be. The more times I have to touch something the more it's going to cost. I think what amazes me about this process is that people don't seem to understand that you're not just paying me to do the food. On more than one occasion someone has asked for a verbal ballpark of what something would cost. When that information is given there have been times when the response is that they could go to Sam's Club and buy bags of shrimp and little quiches for much less. And they're right. But then they need to factor in how much time it takes to go there and back; how are they going to store it; what are they going to do with the extra because they bought too much; can they make it look pretty on a tray, and so on. Because, you're paying me for the other things I bring to the table besides food, my experience. I have done more weddings than you and everyone in your family have ever been too, and, along the way, I've learned a few things. Like to put little wood squares underneath the table legs when they're outside so when folks lean on the tables they don't sink into the ground. You're paying me to have the knowledge and the connections to solve an unforseen problem on the day of the event in a way that your guests will never know there was a problem. Like this Saturday when six hours before the event there were no table linens (the bride thought the groom told us, the groom thought the bride told us). In one hour we had white linens on the tables because our rental center person called his laundry person, and we got the problem solved. I do owe them a plate of homemade cookies. My point is that you're paying for fifteen years of building relationships with folks who can help us solve a problem. If it were as easy as plunking shrimp down on a plate, anyone can do that!

Fertile Ground

It has been an interesting ten days for me. I feel very accomplished in getting the blog and website up. I was also interviewed for a national magazine that's doing an article on healthful budget conscious recipes for the holidays. I was one of the "experts" and it was fun to realize how much information about food and it's production that I've actually tucked away in my head over the last 14 years. All of which is a long way around to talking about some resources that I've run into over the last little bit. One of the things that we're trying to do at the restaurant is to make better use of local resources and to be better about how much energy we use. Our big coolers can really rack up the kilowatts and, since we've changed how we do business, there's financial as well as ecological reasons to be more conscious. Marty had long ago switched us to CFL's in all the light fixtures where it's appropriate. I did keep regular, but long life, bulbs in the front of the house so the dimmers would work. Marty has a big garden which is supplying 75% of the produce we're using at the restaurant this summer, but this is WI and that's not going to be an option during the winter. I'm looking for other producers that we can use that are not so tied to big industrial farms. Every week at least someone comments on how good the vegetables are at the dinners, and they want to know what I'm doing to them. The truth is that they were picked the morning that they were served, and it does make a difference. It also matters that the trimmings and such go back to the compost piles in the garden, along with the coffee grounds and the eggshells. I get more and more concerned about the lack of control we have over our food supply. The most recent scare about salmonella and tomatoes should be a red flag to all of us mostly because they don't have the first clue about where the source of the contamination is. So, I found an organization called http://www.localharvest.org/ . They work to support small family farms and to connect them with folks who can buy their goods. You can search by zipcode to find the producers in your area. I found two more CSA's that are local as well as someone who raises lamb and another farm that raises pork within 20 miles of where I am!! I also purchased dried lavendar buds from a farm in Washington State--that I am anxiously awaiting--and discovered that there are an amazing number of farm folks who sell hand spun and/or commercially spun yarns from small farm raised animals in a variety of fibers. (I am a closet fiber artist, but more about that another day). Another issue for us at the restaurant is the use of disposables. I saw Cindy Crawford on a talk show recently talking about how just the bottled water she drank contributed over 2000 plastic bottles to the landfill. She switched to aluminum refillable bottles. I always felt badly about how many plastic deli containers we used when we were running that part of our business,and it's still an issue for caterings. I've discovered this cool company http://www.worldcentric.org/ that sells plates, bowls, cups, deli containers, and utensils that are biocompostable. They are made from sugar cane or corn depending on the variety, they are very affordable, and you don't have to buy a case you can buy a tube of 50. I encourage you to check it out, particularly if you like to have a stash of disposables for summer picnics, or if, like me, you keep them around for when you're too lazy to do the dishes!

George

It's easy to see how a person can become addicted to blogging. Yesterday the phone just kept ringing, and I enjoyed every conversation, but I missed sitting down and taking the time to blog. Now that I have started this process I find myself thinking about things to write about. Food is essential; being in the food business lets you participate in the lives of your customers, and you get to see the best and the worst of people. Today I was thinking about George. George was a gentlemen that we had the opportunity to get to know probably the third year that Duck Crossing was open. He was dying of lung cancer and his wife had Alzheimers and diabetes, and the two of them had moved from their home to a care facility. George was a curmudgeon...crabby and cranky and not one good word to say about anything. The staff of the facility had a dickens of a time trying to keep George from smoking while he was connected to his oxygen tank. As George's health failed, the staff arranged for us to bring a fancy dinner for he and his wife. They knew that George had loved good food and wine, and he hated the food at the facility. The staff asked us to bring the dinner on Friday night--they were pretty certain that he wasn't going to make it through the weekend. So we did, I don't remember anymore what we made. George and Marty got to talking, and he took a real shine to her. Well, come Monday morning George had the staff call, he wanted lunch, and he wanted some treats and snacks that he could keep in his room. By the end of the week we were feeding George and his wife three times a day, seven days a week, which we were not really set up to do. A couple of friends pitched in to help with deliveries. It got to the point that George would call on his own to talk to Marty. At Thanksgiving we made plates from our holiday feast, (thank goodness we had one, on more than one occasion Marty sold our turkey to someone that had forgotten to order theirs). Marty took the meal over to George and his wife. He asked for a bottle of wine and sparkling cider, and he had the staff on duty stop in his room for a toast. Something changed that day. George still growled at people, but it didn't seem to bother the staff anymore. George lived until just after New Years. We knew him for six months, but the human connection that we made with him in the process of bringing him food, is still strong after 11 years. I'm under no illusions that my cooking gave George an extra six months, but I do think that the process of connecting about food did help engage him in his life again. He taught me that simple gestures can have a profound effect, and that food is about more than the physical need to fuel your body. So next time you open a bottle of wine, or sparkling cider for that matter, raise a glass to George.

Menu Dilemmas

Tuesdays are the day I work on the menu for Saturday. Marty usually gives me an update for what's coming in from the garden,

(see what was picked last saturday morning -> )and I scan the vendor's lists for ideas. Then it's a quick hop to the internet sites like http://www.epicurious.com/ for creative inspiration. Usually the menus tend to be a combination of things I've wanted to try because it seems like they would be a good together. Often I'll find the seed of an idea at a website, or in a cookbook, and then I build the menu.

For me, I need to be aware of what's involved in finishing and plating because our kitchen wasn't really set up for dinner service, and I don't have a line of cooks working with me. Usually Marty's busy in the front of the house and we need to be able to plate efficiently so things that are meant to be served hot are hot, etc. This week I have some special challenges because one of our guests can't have wheat and another doesn't care for fish, and I have a friend coming for dinner that I know loves crabcakes.

It's hard to make crabcakes without wheat; I did consider using crushed rice cereal instead of bread crumbs but I'm afraid that it will alter the flavor just enough that they won't seem the same. So, my current thinking is I'll make a crabmeat cream cheese stuffing for a portabello mushroom, with some scallions and some rice, and for the person that doesn't care for fish I'll stuff a portabello with an italian sausage and rice. And, now that I'm thinking about it, I'll need to think about dessert because cookies, pies, and cake are out with the no wheat issue. I did try a butter cookie recipe once that was made with corn starch. Other folks liked them but the texture was hinky to me.

I'm thinking pudding. People forget how good homemade pudding is...maybe in a wine glass, I think our raspberries should be in this weekend, so vanilla pudding with fresh raspberries and toasted almonds. Yum...or chocolate pudding with raspberries...that's why the menus usually say dessert rather than what dessert is going to be. Sometimes I don't commit to what dessert is going to be until Saturday morning. If you want to see the menu it will be posted at www.duck-crossing.net

Opening Day

Today is a day for getting things done that have been in the pending folder. The website went up today www.duck-crossing.net, and I expect that this blog will be an important component of that effort. As many of our friends and family know, this is a year of change for us, we've stopped doing much of what we used to do at the restaurant. After 14 years, we were tired of never having weekends and holidays off and never being able to participate in family events. So we are just doing dinners on Saturday nights, caterings, and other dinners at the restaurant by special arrangement. You can read more about the nuts and bolts of that at the website. Of course, when you live in a small town the gossip is flying that we've gone out of business, filed for bankruptcy, all of which is not true. We've gotten several calls about buying our building, thinking we'd be glad to "unload" it, as if we were having a fire sale. Imagine their surprise when we observed that we were still using our building, and it was only for sale if the check had a fair number of zeroes behind the first digit. We simply took our lives back, and it's a good thing. We don't know for certain what the end of the process will be, for now we are really enjoying the Saturday dinners. We limit our caterings to things that allow us to stretch creatively or for customers for whom we've worked before, and new friends we've made who need some food. Food service, for those who never done so professionally, can be all consuming (pun unintended, but I'm keeping it). Think about what it takes you to put on a holiday meal and multiply by 400%. That's about what it's like to do food for a living. So, this blog is a component of what we have done for the past 14 years as well as part of my bridge to the future. Customers often call looking for food resources or have questions about a recipe or a process. I though it would be more fun to take advantage of the new technologies and make the information I discover available to more folks using this blog. And, if the occasional political observation slips in, oh well. I'm going to try to blog some every day. Please feel free to send your comments and questions my way. Sara