This is a follow up post to Country Rocks Cookin’ on the Commons… Preppin Up a Storm!
Friday morning came, and it was an 8
am start. Some of the Scanway team had been there since 5:30 preparing
breakfast for the crew at the commons. It was show day and soon enough there
would be thousands of people in lots of plaid and cowboy hats rocking out to
Johnny Reid… drinking lots of beer and hungry as hell! Luckily, I didn’t have to
deal with the masses in general concessions. I had been working on the food for
the cooperate tents with NSCC Chef Instructor Peter Dewar.
The corporate sponsored area had eight tents, each tent could have 30 people, so we were preparing for only 240
people. Both nights, all of the tents were served a hot main course with four salads in a buffet style and desserts brought in from the Scanway Pastry Shop.
We cooked the hot food at the Four Points Sheraton, loaded it into hotboxes and into the
Scanway vans. We rushed the food up to the commons, for seven pm, flashing our “all
access” credentials as we pulled into a secret bat cave like entrance to the
backstage area. Servers delivered warm rolls and butter to the tents as we
plated up salads. After the salads had been served, the hot food was rushed to chafing
dishes that were hot and waiting for the main course.
On Friday, we served a Roasted Pork
Loin, with an Apple and Fruit Chutney, with Roasted Potatoes, and Veggie
Skewers. Within 15 minutes of us showing up on site, the food was served and
all we had to do was make sure the guests were tended to and the food was fresh
and full. By 8:30 most of the food had been eaten and we were packing up. We
set up for the next day, and headed back to Four Points.
It was a long day, and everyone was
happy it went well, without any major complications that couldn’t be
uncomplicated. We only had one more day to get through, and then we could
breathe a sigh of relief.
Saturday started much the same as Friday. Only, I was more confidant know what the day would bring. The meal on Saturday was true to the country theme. It was some down home cookin’; Grilled BBQ Sirloin with fried Mushrooms and Onions, and Corn on the Cobb. We were prepped and ready to go before our seven pm service time so we helped with the other functions that Scanway was doing that evening on top of the concert. We mainly concentrated on preparing the nearly 400 pieces of sushi. It really helped me improve my sushi rolling. I rolled more sushi that Saturday afternoon than I had done to date before. After the sushi had been rolled, we cooked the steaks and headed up to the venue. Yet again, careful planning and triple checking everything prevailed and the guests were pleased. After service was finished we got to enjoy the rest of the concert, which included Kevin Costners Band and Alan Jackson. I’m not as big of a country fan as I used to be, but I wasn’t surprised when I found myself cleaning up while singing “Chattachoochee” and “Gone Country”.
The busy week had finally come to an
end. Being part of such a huge production was a great learning experience for
me. Since the event, I have stayed
in contact with the Scanway team and I’ll be back working with them this
upcoming busy weekend. I’m not sure what it will be, but if you are attending a
wedding or any other major event in the city this weekend, I just may be
cooking for you! J
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