This article was written in January, 1980 and contains dated information particularly on prices. The specific prices should not be used as a current standard for estimates.

Large Event Planning
I. Cost Analysis for Feasts

Janet of Arden

10. FIGURING FOOD QUANTITIES FOR PURCHASING

At this point, knowing exactly how many multiples of each dish you intend to make, take out your ingredient sheets for each recipe and complete the right-hand column, the TOTAL quantity of food you will need to purchase to make that dish. An example is shown in this article (Fig. 4) with that column already completed. With this, it is time to set up a master table as follows for food purchasing:

Notebook: Master food purchasing table, 1980 Adiantum Twelfth Night:
QUANTITIES TO FEED APPROX. 240 PEOPLE (BOLD FACED QUANTITIES HAVE ALREADY BEEN PURCHASED)
RECIPE ITEMRecipe
No. 1
Ren. Salad		Recipe
No. 2
Carrots		Recipe
No. 3
Cucumbers		Recipe
No. 4
Bread		Recipe
No. 5
Manchets		..etc..
DRY GOODS:
Flour, unbleached
14 lb.22-1/4 lb.
Salt1 tsp.1/3 cup
3/4 cup1 cup
Yeast (bakers)
33 pkgs.30 pkgs.
Sugar, white4 Tbsp.
6-1/2 lb.
Sugar, brown
Sugar, confectioners
Honey
3-1/2 lb.
Rolled oats, non-instant
4 lb. 2oz.
LIQUIDS:
Cider vinegar1 cup8-1/2 cups40 cups
Lemon juice, frozen1 cup
Oil - Wesson salad5 cups8-1/2 cups
1/2 cup
Wine, dry white Chablis2/3 bottle8-1/2 cups
. . . etc. . . .

Fig. 8. Part of the Master Table for Food Purchasing, 1980 Adiantum Twelfth Night (page from my notebook)

Remember, to convert cups to gallons, etc., check the Equivalency tables in "The Joy of Cooking".

11. PURCHASING

Now you buy at the CHEAPEST groceries, consumer warehouses, food cooperatives, etc. you can find. This is where you can save quite a bit of money (in a way difficult to plan for in advance, because of the possibility of food price fluctuations on bargain items.) Non-perishables can be bought ahead of time; some perishable items, like margarine, can be bought ahead of time and frozen. (Check the section on freezing in any good cookbook to find out what items freeze well.) Watch the papers for specials. 10¢ per lb. discount is a lot if you are buying 30 or 40 pounds.

Food buying should be coordinated with the head chef's Schedule of advance food cooking, which indicates which dish or part of a dish is to be cooked when. The 1980 Adiantum Twelfth Night schedule looks something like this:

Fig. 9. Part of the Advance Cooking Schedule, 1980 Adiantum Twelfth, Night (page from my notebook)
Cooking Schedule, 1980 Adiantum Twelfth Night
Sat., Sun. Dec. 8 & 9, 1979 - 2 cooks make 55 loaves honey-oatmeal bread plus 260-odd Manchets (bread-rolls) and freeze them in Bill's 18-cubic foot freezer.
Sat. Dec., 22 - 2 cooks make the 500 or so cookies and freeze them in Bill's freezer.
Sat. Dec. 29 - 2 cooks pre-bake 27 pie-crusts for the Cheese n' Vege Pie and freeze the pre-baked crusts in Barbara's freezer.
Plus make up pie-bottoms and tops for 27 Galantine pies and freeze them unbaked in Bill's freezer.
Sun.Dec. 30 - 2 cooks make all the carrot salad and cucumber pickles and store them in a cold place. (In fact, it being winter, they are in the back of my car under my apartment as I write this article.)
Tues. Jan. 1 - 1 cook makes up all the 500-odd meatballs and cooks them (saute then bake), and freeze them in Bill's freezer.
.....etc.....

As items for each recipe are purchased, they are marked out on the purchasing table with one of those yellow or pink wide-tipped marking pens you can read through. This is especially important for certain perishable items such as milk or fresh fruit which may need to be purchased at several different times depending on how how far in advance each of the dishes that calls for them are to to be cooked. When buying, remember to keep all receipts and hand them over to the exchequer (he or she who looks after the group's finances.) She will need them for record-keeping purposes, and for figuring out exactly what the final expenses were.

The rest of the work and planning, not being concerned primarily with finances, falls outside the scope of this article.

Janet of Arden, Adiantum

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Many thanks go to Lady Daphne of the House of Cruzan. for her considerable expertise and enthusiasm in getting me started on feasts; to the people of Adiantum for cooking them; and to Lord Úlfhéðinn inn vegfarandi and Lady Chimene des CinqTours for their help in preparing this article.

© 1980 Janet Naylor

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