It’s not all hard work. There's lots of fun to be had and I, ‘The Boss’ (and others) have recorded a few of the funnier and lovely moments to share with you.
Twenty seven days on the road – 2018 Maadi Cup catering
This is what 100 kgs of chicken looks like in roasting dishes.
After eight days of constantly moving location, it was a pleasure to arrive at our rented house in Twizel. It had been a long hot drive from Lawrence with long stops for lunch and coffee at Roxborough and Tarras. Read on to learn what is involved when catering for a rowing regatta.
Success food for school rowing
Thank you cake and letter to Nikki & Co. - makes it all so worthwhile.
Rowing menus are prepared in consultation with many successful rowing coaches including those from Hamilton Boys, Auckland Grammar and St Margot’s.
The food is high in carbohydrate and low in fat. It is also low in sugar and where possible natural fruit sugars are used to do the sweetening. Whole grain flours are generally used in favour of white flour as their energy is released over a longer time.
So, this means no cream for dessert, no bacon with the eggs for breakfast, whole meal rolls instead of white rolls and so on.
This does not always win us prizes with individuals but proof in our strategy is that Lovely Grub fuelled 4 of the 8 rowing eights in the 2018 Maadi Cup final for Boys. We also catered for St Margot’s who made the girls final as well.
There are times when doing extremely long hours, taking special care to look after special food requirements while catering for several hundreds of guests, you wonder if anyone actually cares.
Some Nelson rowing girls asked to borrow some oil and a few other ingredients. They were baking a cake! Not a problem as there are often birthdays happening and the request is quite common. After dinner, that night, our staff were presented with a vegan gluten-free cake and a lovely letter of thanks.
Living proof they care!
Twenty Seven Days on the Road - 2018 Great NZ Trek catering
Positioning the white truck at Matangi Station was tricky as the lay of the ground offered only one spot after the recent heavy rain. And we were to get only get one shot at it. Once in position, trek staff begin erecting the marquee for 330 guests
15,739 meals, eighteen 4.30 am starts, nine staff - these guys really rock, and four trucks, just for two jobs.
Working half in darkness and sleeping in lots of different places makes 27 days is a long time to be away from home, friends and family. There is no supermarket at the end of the street either, so all supplies must be right on hand in our kitchen fleet. Full credit goes to the staff at Bidfood Dunedin and Timaru for the time and patience spent in packing and delivering our precious supplies - eight times! - to some of central Otago’s more remote backcountry stations.
Read on about our first part: the 2018 The Great New Zealand Trek.
