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

6. COST OF THE FOOD

  1. Figure out a menu that is both attractive and within your means. Details on how to do this will be discussed in another article.

  2. Quantities to cook for the number of people you expect. To calculate this, figure out, for a feast with the approximate number of dishes that you will be serving, how many people one recipe-quantity of each dish feeds.

    Remember, at a feast consisting of a dozen dishes people will eat less from each dish than they would at a meal where only two or three dishes are served. Ignore what many recipe books say about number of servings in a recipe; the amounts they quote are usually for a meal at which only one main dish, with a vegetable side dish, and perhaps a soup and dessert, are served; NOT for a banquet with 12 or 15 dishes. Their dessert quantities are more accurate than other kinds of recipe however; even at complex feasts we rarely serve 5 or 6 desserts.

    The table following (Table I.) is compiled partly from recipes given in "The Joy of Cooking", partly from Lady Daphne from the House of Cruzan (a feast-mistress who used to reside in Adiantum), and partly from my own experience in putting on feasts over the last four years. It lists serving portions for a number of dishes, with adjustments for menus where various numbers of main dishes are served.

    In addition, especially with dishes that do not fit any of these categories, test the dishes at potlucks held earlier in the year, and find out how many people did your Renaissance salad feed at a potluck to which 20 people brought 12 dishes, for instance. A dish that feeds 10 at a 12-dish potluck will feed 5 at a 6-dish meal, or 20 at a 24-dish meal; so the figures obtained at such a potluck can easily be modified to suit the menu you are planning.

    Table I. Serving quantities.
    Serving quantities - for a main dish or dishes served with aide vegetable(s) and/or bread If it is the only meat. (or vegetarian equivalent) dish If served with one other main-course dish If served with two other main-course dishes *
    Game-birds, chicken, turkey1 lb. per person3/4 lb.1/3 lb.
    Fish1/2 lb. per person1/4 lb.1/6 lb.
    Roast beef, meet loaf1/4 lb. per person1/8 lb.1/10 lb.
    Stews, Sukiyaki, etc.***1/3 to 1/2 lb. of finished product per person1/6 to 1/4 lb.1/9 to 1/6 lb.
    Steaks3/4 lb. per person1/4 lb.1/6 lb.
    Quiches, cheese pies - 9-inch deep-dish pie1/4 pie1/6 pie1/10 pie
    Meat pies - 9-inch deep-dish pie1/4 pie1/6 pie1/10 pie
    Vegetables3-inch length large carrot (approx. 3 ounces) per person, plus 1/4 large potato; or equivalent

    Rice - 3/4 to 1 cup cooked rice per person, depending on whether it is served with a main dish plus vegetable dish or with a main dish alone ***

    Dessert pie, 9-inch deep-dish1/6 pie
    Whipped cream for dessert pies2 heaped Tablespoons
    Whipped cream syllabub (flavored whipped cream)**1/5 pint per person (before whipping)
    Bread - as s major component2 large slices (standard commercial loaf size), or 2 small rolls (2-1/2 inch diameter) or 1 large roll (4 inch diameter) per person
    Bread - as a minor side dish1 large slice, or 1 small roll per person
    * With more than two other main-course dishes, even less will be used. Note that all the dishes do not reduce the same -amount; if chicken, a braised beef and a fish dish are served together, people tend to take more of the chicken (if it is pan-fried or roasted), and less of the other two meats.

    ** This item is not medieval (they did not whip cream), however it is included in this table for general usage.

    ***These figures do not apply to one-dish meals (in fact, none of this table does. For that, use the number of servings quoted by the recipe under consideration. Such figures are not useful here, since feasts never consist of one dish alone.)

    Every dish that will be served at Adiantum's January 1980 An Tir Twelfth Night was tested in this fashion at one of three events held earlier in the year.

    Next, figure out how many multiplications of one recipe-quantity you will need to feed all the feasters you anticipate at your event.

    For instance, if one recipe quantity feeds 11, then 17 recipe quantities will feed 11 x 17 = 187; this will be plenty if you are catering for 175 people, whereas 16 quantities, which will feed 166, may leave you a little short.

    For stews, rice, meatballs, etc., this is easy. However, if you are serving by tables, and are having pies, it looks cheap to have 7/8 of a pie served to each table, so go back to your floor-plan, count the number of tables, figure out what size of pie will best feed the number of people you are seating at each table, and whether you will need more than one pie per table (or bread loaves, whole roast chickens, etc.). Then multiply the number of tables by the number of pies per table and add a couple of tables' worth of spares. Note: it is always wise to cook fore a few more people than you actually seat at table - a safety margin.

    Cautionary note: some recipes do not multiply up for cooking in large quantities without some altering of ingredient proportions. (This will be discussed in a later article.)

  3. Prices. Make a list in a small notebook of every ingredient in all of the recipes in your menu, and go to a local large-chain supermarket (NOT the cheapest one!) to get the price per pound, ounce, pint, etc. of every item on the list. Fig. 3 is a sample of prices from my notebook.


    Fig. 3. Some ingredient prices (page from my notebook).
    Notebook: Safeway Supermarket prices September 1979:
    Vegetables
    Spinach33¢/lb.
    Red cabbage49¢/cabbage (approx. 2-l/2 cups)
    Cucumbers2 for 39¢
    Carrots33¢/lb.
    Onions, yellow49¢/lb.
    Onions, green29¢/bunch
    Celery39¢/small heart
    SUMMER PRICES!
    DOUBLE THEM FOR WINTER!
    Diary
    Milk$1.77/gallon
    Eggs, large75¢/dozen
    Cheese, med. sharp cheddar$2.29/lb.
    Butter$1.65/lb.
    Margarine (Nucoa brand)79¢/lb.

    Note: if you are going to need only a small quantity of an item, do NOT write down the bulk rate; if you need another item in bulk, write down the bulk price for that item.

    Do NOT go to the cheapest place in town; use an average priced market. Later when you BUY the stuff at the cheaper place, the dollars you save will provide a safety margin. Our initial price-estimates were done at a medium-priced supermarket; they are both more predictable price-wise than discount warehouses and local food cooperatives, and less likely to bent out of stock when we get around to buying. When you are working with a total food budget of $700 to $1000, a small but unanticipated price-rise in a major food item between planning and buying time can do quite a bit of damage to your carefully-planned budget. You cannot be too careful. Use a set of food prices you know you can still count on after several weeks or several months, when it is finally time to buy the food. In addition, please observe the following two factors:

    1. Seasonal price-changes in fresh produce: Caution! When taking fresh fruit and vegetable prices in summer for a winter event, double every price to get a fairly good average reflection of what winter prices will bent in the winter when you will be buying them. Not all fresh produce exactly doubles in price; but this is a good working average.

    2. Availability of seasonal food-items: Check that those ingredients only available during part of the year will be available at the time of your event. Fresh produce and some seafoods may only be available for a few months out of the year. (Note: salmon CAN be bought ahead and frozen; we have done it.)

  4. Cost per head of each recipe . To work out this, you will need a good set of conversion tables; ounces to pounds, liquid ounces to pints, weight of 1 cup of sugar in ounces, etc. etc. "The Joy of Cooking" has several pages of Equivalency Tables for different foods. For wine, vinegar, milk, and other liquids of similar consistency to water, use the standard liquid conversions at the beginning of those tables. For other foods, especially solids, look up each food under its own section in the tables; a cup of butter and a cup of brown sugar do not weigh the same. If a food item is not listed, find one in the tables that is similar in consistency. (For instance,I use the raw apple figure for carrots and potatoes, neither of which are mentioned in my edition.) If an item is not listed, nor anything remotely like it, measure some yourself and find out. For instance, my edition of "The Joy of Cooking" leaves out honey, so I pencilled it in:
    1-1/2 cups honey weighs 1 lb. (approximately.)
    An example of how to use the table is: If 1 lb. of butter costs $1.49 and my recipe uses 1-1/2 teaspoons, how much does that cost? There are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon, 6 tablespoons in a cup; and one cup of butter weighs 1/2 pound. There are thus 2 cups = 16 X 2 tablespoons in a pound of butter = 32 tablespoons. 1 pound = 32 tablespoons costs $1.49, therefore 1 Tablespoon costs $1.49/32. Since 3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon, 1-1/2 teaspoons = 1/2 tablespoon. Therefore 1-1/2 teaspoons costs $1.49/32 X 1/2 = $0.023 = 2¢. Be kind to yourself; buy a $10.00 pocket calculator.

    Then for each individual recipe, make up a table, as follows (Fig. 4), working out the cost of each ingredient, adding them to get the cost of the recipe, figuring out how many the recipe will feed, and dividing cost by the number of people to get the cost per head of the recipe:

    Notebook: CIRCLETES (Cookies) "Fabulous Feasts" p.162
    Ingredients1 recipe (feeds 16)1 recipe costs ($)Recipe x 16 feeds 16 x 16 = 256 people
    Butter *
    Brown sugar
    Egg, beaten
    Flour (unbleached)
    Lemon peel, grated
    Cardamom, crushed
    Almonds, ground
    Currants
    Butter to grease cookie sheets *
    1 cup - 1/2 lb.
    2/3 cup
    1 egg
    2-1/2 cups
    1/2 tsp.
    3/4 tsp.
    1/2 cup
    1 cup
    1/2 tsp.
    .83
    .16
    .06
    .12
    .23
    .10
    .95
    1.00
    .03
    ________
    $3.48
    8 lb.
    4-3/4 lb.
    16 eggs
    10-1/2 lb.
    8 lemons
    1/4 cup
    2 lb. 10 oz.
    5 lb. 14 oz.
    1/4 lb.
    This section
    is blank at
    this point,
    since no. of
    people is
    still uncer-
    tain; it is
    filled in
    later.
    1 recipe makes approx. 48 cookies (balls 1 inch in diameter). At 3 cookies per person, 1 recipe feeds 16 people and therefore 16 recipes feed 256 people. 1 recipe costs $3.48 to make, therefore cost per head is $3.48 divided by 16 (no. of people) = 22¢ per head.
    If you plan 48 cookies per batch, it is easy to cut the batch in half, then in quarters, eighths, sixteenths, and then cut those in thirds to get 48 cookies. If you plan to make 50, you can halve the recipe, but it is difficult to cut even fifths. (50 = 2 X 5 X 5). Some multiples are easier to work with than others. To make the cutting easy, we placed the cookie mix evenly in a flat tray, chilled it as the recipe requires, then cut it with a knife into 48 equal chunks. This way we get the right number of cookies each time.
    * We will probably substitute margarine for the butter; we have tested this recipe using both, and cannot tell the difference. (Note, later:- we did use the margarine - Janet of Arden.).

    Fig. 4. Recipe ingredients and costs (Circletes), using September 1979 supermarket prices (page from my notebook)

  5. preliminary cost table. Next, draw up a table that lists all the recipes, with amount per head, number of people fed by each recipe quantity, and dollar price per head. At the bottom, include the following:
    1. costs of any serving utensils you know you have to buy (so far Adiantum has always been able to borrow all we need).

    2. miscellaneous kitchen needs - soap, pot-scrubbers, hot-pot holders - all that you cannot borrow.

    Notebook: January 1980 12th Night: - Cost analysis (preliminary) (Safeway Supermarket Sept. 1979 prices)
    RecipeAmount to serve per headNo. people per recipe amountCost of 1 recipe amountCost per head
    (1)Compound sallet1 scoop 1/3 - 1/2 cup24$6.11$.25
    (2)A carrot salad3 inches71.15.16
    (3)Pickled cucumbers3 1/4 inch slices61.08.18
    (4)Honey-oatmeal bread2 small loaves per table (5 people per small loaf) (5-loaf recipe)251.40.06
    (5)Manchets1 small manchet/person16.44.03
    (6)Galantine pie (in closed crust)1 9-in. deep-dish pie per table of 9 or 10 people9 or 103.57.40
    (7)Meatballs in almond milk on rice2 meatballs145.72.41
    (8)Lamb n' Lentils (Mawmenye)1 9-inch pie plate full per table of 9 or 10 (3 cups)18 to 206.94.39
    (9)Cheese n' Vege Pie1 9-inch deep-dish pie per table of 9 or 109 to 101.77.20
    (10)Pears in confection1 pear half123.92.33
    (11)Circletes (cookies)3 each (1 in. diameter)163.48.22
    (12)Cheddar cheese (med. sharp)1/36 lb.362.29.06
    (13)Plum conserve (served in stale small French bread loaves)1 pint per table of 9 or 10 (recipe makes 2 to 2-1/2 quarts)36 to 403.45.10
    (14)Margarine1/2 lb. (2 pats) per table of 9 or 1018 to 20.69.03
    (15)Salt for tables1/3 lb. per table of 9 or 1027 to 30.39.01
    (16)Water served in Los Hermanos vine jugs (have handle and pouring spout)1 jug per table of 9 or 10 (each jug holds 3-3/4 pints water)9 to 10.15
    (for jug)
    .02
    SUBTOTAL COST PER HEAD
    OF ABOVE MENU
    $2.85
    per head
    ADDITIONAL "FOOD" COSTS:
    17. Serving items that we could not borrow: 5 aluminum pie-plates per table for serving, at 87¢ for 5 plates, = 87¢/9 per head.09
    18. Kitchen miscellaneous items: 10¢ per head for soap, pot scrubbers, hotpot holders, etc. - all that we could not borrow.10
    19. Cooks' petty cash: 10¢ per head for all the food and kitchen items forgotten about until the last minute.10
    TOTAL COST OF SERVING
    ABOVE MENU
    $3.14
    per head
    Fig. 5. Cost analysis (preliminary) (Page from my notebook)

    1. Cook's petty--cash fund, for last-minute items that were forgotten.

      I usually budget 20¢ per head for items (ii) and (iii) combined, 10¢ per head for each item. This works out to $20 per 100 paying people, $10 for kitchen items, and $10 for the cook on the day. (See section 7.)

      The table on the previous page is our 1980 Twelfth Night preliminary Cost Analysis table, showing our first estimate of total food and kitchen costs per head. Although this figure will be modified, it gives a first approximation which can bent used in your initial calculations. Note: food costs from $2.75 to $3.50 per head are reasonable amounts for feast meals in late 1979 to early 1980 (time of writing this article.)

7. MISCELLANEOUS EXPENSES AND PETTY CASH FUNDS

Two people need money in their pockets for the last few days before the feast, so that they can spend money on last-minute items, and not have to take the time to justify it until afterwards. These two are the head cook and the autocrat.

The head cook needs petty cash for last-minute emergency kitchen needs. Something is always forgotten! One year went forgot pot-mitts (luckily someone provided some old towels, as we provided no petty cash that year), another year it was soap and pot-scrubbers. Salt for the tables is another easy item to forget until 1/2 hour before the feast.

The autocrat also should have some dollars, although in our experience at Adiantum they have not been needed so far.

For Adiantum events, I compute them as follows:

8. NUMBER OF FREE TICKETS YOU WILL HAVE TO GIVE OUT (IF ANY)

This may include the autocrat, doorkeeper, the head chef and several cooks, several major entertainers, and the outgoing and incoming princes and princesses if it is a Coronation event. Kitchen help is usually bribed with free or half-free tickets. Adiantum generally allows about 10 or 12 for every 100 paid tickets, but this will vary with the type of event being put on.

In addition, at the really big events (200 or more people), no matter how efficient your door-keeper is, and regardless of the fact that the SCA supposedly runs on the honor system, you will have gate-crashers, some of whom will be SCA members in costume. For instance: at the 1977 An Tir Twelfth Night at Adiantum, we sold approximately 205 tickets and gave out 35 free tickets; but 270 people sat down to dinner. Which means that 30 people got free meals they weren't entitled to, and nearly all of them were in costume. We did have a very impressive doorkeeper that year; but some ticket smuggling (in spite of tickets having individual names on them) may have gone on. Sorry folks, but it does happen, even in the SCA. Adiantum has not had problems with this at our smaller paid-ticket events, however. (To be safe, allow for about 3 per 100 paid tickets, with good door security.)

Go to Part 4, or Part 5

© 1980 Janet Naylor


Return to Introduction, Part 2.

Last updated 12/19/97.

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