HOW TO...STAFF CATERING ON ELECTION DAY

TIPS FOR CATERING ON ELECTION DAY

Hopefully, your constituency office won't have this problem! 

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GET ORGANISED

This post incorporates material from Surviving Desk Top Lunches & Eating Healthily While Campaigning

If there is one thing required for feeding large (-ish) groups of people it is ORGANISATION.

First, work out: 

• are you doing breakfast, lunch and/or afternoon tea, and if so, in what quantities
• are you going for hand-friendly food or a buffet with salads, cold meats, dips, crudites?  And plates?  And cutlery? 
• amount of food will depend on budget but generally for lunch involving 10-12 people: 3-4 sandwiches each of meat, fish, vegetarian, vegan, each sandwich cut in four (i.e. 48-64 pieces); 12 cooked chicken legs or sausage rolls, raw vegetable crudités, 2 batches cookies, 1 large cake, maybe a big bowl of spiced popcorn (frugal)
• See Skinnier Sandwiches on a Budget
• have you found people who can cook/bake and either will organise groups of food (i.e. sandwiches/cakes/cookies) and/or prepare food 
• who will transport the food
• what can be made a week in advance and frozen; what should be made the day before and what should be made on the day?

A WEEK IN ADVANCE


1.  Make a plan

• Make a paper copy of every single recipe you will be using

• List every single task that must be accomplished e.g. soak lettuce in water vinegar solution, dry lettuce, soak tomatoes in water-vinegar solution; crush biscuits for cheesecake etc.

• Divide the list into what can be done a week before, the day before and on the day

• Make a timeline with your task list; working backwards, list every single thing that needs to be done and at what time it should be completed.  Remember, some things will need to be ready by noon (i.e. sandwiches for lunch); other things can be completed in the afternoon for tea-time (i.e. some cakes & cookies).  Build in packing time plus coffee & food breaks.

• Make a copy of the timeline/task list, put it on a clipboard and cross off each item as it is completed.  You will soon see whether or not you can take your breaks or whether you need to speed up.  

• Have a friend - someone who is deliberately not committed to helping elsewhere - standing by to assist if necessary. 

• If using bread from a bakery, pre-order at least a week in advance and ask for the bread to be baked in square tins and sliced.  Ask if you can pick up the bread first thing in the morning (before they are open, if poss) 

• Pre-order bakery boxes (from the net) at least a week in advance - these can hold sandwiches, cakes, cookies.  They have time-saving lids; nothing needs to be individually cling-filmed or packed - the boxes can be filled, covered and wrapped twice in cling film to keep the contents fresh.  The boxes come in 5's and range from 12inches/31cm to 16inches/41cm square.  They cost £5-8 per 5 boxes, including lids, and will be worth every penny.  They will stack very nicely for transport.  OR if you are arranging food on site, take the boxes with you.  They are flat packed and easy to assemble.  The boxes can go straight into a bin bag before everyone leaves for the count - no washing up of serving plates.  Remember: most people will go straight from the office to the count then home to bed and probably   won't be back in the office for 3-4 days.  

• Obviously election day will need an early start - usually not a problem for most people, who will be a teensy bit stressed and wake up 2-3 hours earlier than normal anyway!!  You can sleep when the day is over.

2.  Things to make & freeze a week in advance

• sandwiches 
• bread
• sausage rolls
• cookies
• cakes

a)  Sandwiches

• fillings should include all four of: meat, fish, cheese & vegan/vegetarian
• lightly butter bread right to the edges
• never freeze mayo; it separates on thawing; add once defrosted  
• add salad when sandwiches are defrosted 
• no egg whites; they toughen during freezing
•  freezable fillings include: 

       - cooked meats including meatloaf, leftover burgers, chicken, roast pork, beef

       - cheddar, camembert, brie, Swiss, feta (well drained)

       - plain tinned tuna or salmon, well drained, mixed with finely chopped onion or raw peppers; spread a good layer on well buttered bread; when defrosted, add mayo & salad

       - smoked salmon

       - cooked egg yolk, not white

       - peanut butter (but not jam), chocolate-hazelnut spreads

       - grilled eggplant and zucchini

       - sunblush tomatoes (well drained)

       - carmelised onion or onion jam

       - tapenade (olive paste), mustard

       - pickles & chutney 

• sandwiches are best frozen individually but you can stack a couple  , separated by a piece of greaseproof paper
• take sandwiches out of the freezer the night before serving

b)  Breads 

• home-made 
• supermarket
• bakery

Note: whole frozen loaves take longer to defrost than sliced

c)  Sausage Rolls

Home-made freeze better than supermarket; they are also tastier, easier to portion, cheaper and include less fat and preservatives 

d)  Some cookies freeze better than others; some need to be baked and frozen; others can be frozen in dough form in a roll and sliced, or in balls ready to defrost and bake.  Here are three 67 is happy to freeze:

• Spicy Gingerbread Cookies
• Chocolate Chip Thins (dough)
• Double Chocolate Orange & Chocolate Chip Cookies (dough)

    If pre-baked, defrost the night before. 
   If cooking from frozen, allow 20 minutes for dough to come to room temp before baking.

THE DAY BEFORE:

Morning

• Bake any frozen cookie dough after resting 20 mins at room temperature; cool, pack into bakery boxes with a small square of greaseproof paper in between to stop them sticking together.  Separate different types of biscuits with serviettes or a foiled wrapped divider.  Wrap box twice, tightly, in cling film, making sure no air can get in.
• Make all sandwich fillings; refrigerate (in ziplock or sandwich bags if bowls are a problem)
• Prepare all veg, making sure the lettuce is not only clean but dry
• If you can part-prepare baked goods, do: e.g. for Oatmeal Date Bars, make the date filling & refrigerate.  Measure measure out the ingredients for the base and topping

Afternoon & evening

• If you're going the fresh bread route, your diners will love you -- there is nothing like fresh home-made bread.  Three bread recipes - two no-knead - can be prepared the day before.  Make the dough in the evening,  leave overnight in the fridge.  As soon as you get up the next day,  shape the dough, prove and bake
• They are: soft bread rolls, olive focaccia (vegan - it should be started in the morning) and yeasted spelt bread (vegan).   
• Just before you go to bed, remove any frozen sandwiches from the freezer; defrost in the bottom of the fridge

ON THE DAY:

• If baking bread, do it first thing
• When making sandwiches, work as in an assembly line.  Keep bread covered, either with cling film or placed in a deep container; don't allow the bread to dry out.  Do one filling at a time.  Butter bread first, stacking slices in a covered container.  Then place half the slices on a board, cover in separate layers of fillings one by one: i.e. lettuce on each slice of bread, then dressing (preferably in the depression formed by the lettuce so that it doesn't soak the bread), then protein (preferably covering the dressing & lettuce tightly so the bread doesn't get soggy), then any additions like grated carrot, tomatoes, cucumber etc.  Work quickly but carefully.  When the filling is complete, place the other slices of bread (which have been kept covered) on top.  Press down lightly on each sandwich and stack in an air tight container. Do the rest of the fillings using the same system, separating the different sandwich fillings  with crumbled greaseproof paper or paper towels.
• When ready, cut sandwiches into quarters and place in delivery box, using crumpled wax paper or paper towels to keep everything from sliding around.  It's best to keep vegetarian/vegan sandwiches separate from meat and fish.
• If you pack everything in bakery boxes, they can be left on the table without being transferred to a plate.  The lids will keep everything fresh.
• If you can deliver everything for lunch at once, wonderful. 
• If not, concentrate on savoury dishes to begin with; they will need to be on the table  - along with any sweets that are packed and ready -  by 11.30
• Then focus on any remaining sweets which should be delivered as soon after lunch as possible, or for teatime 

GOOD LUCK!!

Some Fast or Easy Buffet Food
     Smashed Potato Salad, frugal, less mayo, easy-peasy
    Guilt-free Apple & Cashew Nut Slaw
     3-minute Asparagus, Pea & Corn Salad creamy low-fat easy
    Avocado Salad & Sweetcorn
    Beetroot and Orange Salad
    Lettuce Salad with Green Herb Dressing
    Southern Unfried Chicken

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