Well, it was SO busy in November and December that I completely forgot to blog!
We had lots of extra catering including to some local schools. Just before Christmas, we served turkey dinner with all the trimmings to 430 staff and students at Notre Dame and St. Marguerite Bourgeoys. Of course, most clients requesting holiday meals want turkey. We cooked a lot of turkeys. Needless to say, we were not all that interested in having turkey for our own holiday meals. I heard talk of goose...lamb...duck...anything but turkey!
So ends 2011. We've had a great start to our business and we're looking forward to a new year and what it will bring.
Happy new year everyone!
Monday, January 2, 2012
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Week 11
Things continue to go well. We are gearing up for a busy catering season as Christmas approaches. We've been lucky to get lots of business purely by word of mouth since we haven't done any formal advertising yet.
I've been having lots of fun experimenting with dessert recipes. In order to meet the Food and Beverage guidelines for the schools, baked goods need to have a minimal amount of fat and at least 2 grams of fibre. Most traditional dessert recipes do not fit the guidelines so I make substitutions to make them fit. Sometimes the substitutions work but sometimes they don't! Some of the favourites: dark chocolate dipped strawberries, apple slices with low fat caramel dip, chocolate cake, black bean brownies, butterscotch blondies, apple streusel cake, double chocolate cookies and apple crisp.
However, when it comes to catering outside of the school setting, the guidelines don't apply so I can bake whatever I want! It's such a treat to indulge in recipes that I wouldn't necessarily make at home. I get to taste test too. I sometimes add some healthier selections to the trays, to balance things out. I AM a nutritionist after all!
I've been having lots of fun experimenting with dessert recipes. In order to meet the Food and Beverage guidelines for the schools, baked goods need to have a minimal amount of fat and at least 2 grams of fibre. Most traditional dessert recipes do not fit the guidelines so I make substitutions to make them fit. Sometimes the substitutions work but sometimes they don't! Some of the favourites: dark chocolate dipped strawberries, apple slices with low fat caramel dip, chocolate cake, black bean brownies, butterscotch blondies, apple streusel cake, double chocolate cookies and apple crisp.
However, when it comes to catering outside of the school setting, the guidelines don't apply so I can bake whatever I want! It's such a treat to indulge in recipes that I wouldn't necessarily make at home. I get to taste test too. I sometimes add some healthier selections to the trays, to balance things out. I AM a nutritionist after all!
Friday, November 4, 2011
Week 9
I don't want to jinx anything, but things seem to be running better each week. This week we were able to get 25 pizzas ready for the elementary students by 10:45am, prepare for a corporate catering event for 11:30 and prepare another 10 pizzas for the highschool students and staff.
And we had fun doing it!
And we had fun doing it!
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Week 8
This week's menu highlights: lasagna- both vegetarian and meat, beef on a bun, chili and cheese biscuits, along with caesar salad with homemade dressing and croutons. Kale chips, apple chips, double chocolate cookies, date squares and banana berry smoothies rounded out the menu. The cinnamon maple muffins are a popular snack choice too.
There is a possibility of selling our desserts and baked goods to other schools that don't have kitchens but want healthy snacks to sell to their students. We sent out a sample platter to a school in Kitchener- we'll see what happens.
For Friday's 'spaghetti' fundraiser lunch, we decided to try whole wheat elbow macaroni to see if the younger students would be able to eat this easier than spaghetti. It was easier for us to portion and serve, and the kids were able to eat the pasta with a spoon rather than asking the teachers to cut the spaghetti for them.
Week 8 ended with a large school fundraising dinner. Roast beef, parisien potatoes, green beans, vegetarian lasagna and tofu chocolate mousse for 200! There was also a photo op with Chef Jed.
There is a possibility of selling our desserts and baked goods to other schools that don't have kitchens but want healthy snacks to sell to their students. We sent out a sample platter to a school in Kitchener- we'll see what happens.
For Friday's 'spaghetti' fundraiser lunch, we decided to try whole wheat elbow macaroni to see if the younger students would be able to eat this easier than spaghetti. It was easier for us to portion and serve, and the kids were able to eat the pasta with a spoon rather than asking the teachers to cut the spaghetti for them.
Week 8 ended with a large school fundraising dinner. Roast beef, parisien potatoes, green beans, vegetarian lasagna and tofu chocolate mousse for 200! There was also a photo op with Chef Jed.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Week 6
We made healthier poutine this week, using baked fries, low fat homemade gravy and lower fat mozzarella cheese. It was a success- we sold out very quickly.
We've also been experimenting with making our own pizza dough. We make a 40 pound batch at one time- that's a lot of dough. The mixer sure gets a workout! Then we weigh each piece to make 1 pound balls of dough and roll them into thin crust pizzas. We also make our own pizza sauce using local Roma tomatoes.
And so, the end of week 6...
We've also been experimenting with making our own pizza dough. We make a 40 pound batch at one time- that's a lot of dough. The mixer sure gets a workout! Then we weigh each piece to make 1 pound balls of dough and roll them into thin crust pizzas. We also make our own pizza sauce using local Roma tomatoes.
And so, the end of week 6...
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Week 5
Our big event this week was the Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings. On Friday, we served over 260 meals to the students and staff. This was considered an exemption day, meaning that we didn't need to follow the food and beverage guidelines that we normally adhere to. The meal was still quite healthy but we indulged a little with the desserts.
The traditional meal:
Roast Turkey
Mashed Potatoes
Corn
Stuffing
Gravy
Cranberry Sauce
Holiday Punch
Cranberry Slush
Pumpkin Pie and Pecan Squares
Pumpkin Cookies with Chocolate Drizzle
Double Chocolate Cookies
Cranberry Cheesecake Bars
Cranberry Coffee Cake
Mmmm....
The traditional meal:
Roast Turkey
Mashed Potatoes
Corn
Stuffing
Gravy
Cranberry Sauce
Holiday Punch
Cranberry Slush
Pumpkin Pie and Pecan Squares
Pumpkin Cookies with Chocolate Drizzle
Double Chocolate Cookies
Cranberry Cheesecake Bars
Cranberry Coffee Cake
Mmmm....
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Cooking Show Guest Host
You can view my tv debut as guest host on Simply Cooking with Jed on Rogers Cable Woodstock, channel 13. It's on again Friday October 7 at 6:30pm and Saturday October 8 at 3pm or 9pm. We're making lime ginger chicken with roasted asparagus, quesadillas with chicken, veggies and pineapple, and tofu chocolate mousse.
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