Quartermaster of Meals

[jshupe391]

Oops.... put this on the Cub Thread. Should be here:

 

Yep.... just got the invite. QM of Meals for the upcoming Wood Badge Course. Problem is, although I have worked in many a kitchen helping prepare meals for large groups, this is my first "in-charge" attempt. In fact, I was on the kitchen crew at the last Wood Badge session here in our council. I am looking for a software program that will help me plan the menus, come up with the amounts of goods needed and a budget. I have been all over the internet looking for a free package, but none were found that would fit my needs. Probably a good one would be for a caterer. Any ideas on where to find one.

 

[jhankins]

Does your council use a wholesale food company for purchasing? We use Sysco for our food stuffs and when I call to talk to our area sales rep, he's able to quote me prices for how much to feed how many people and I build my budget from there.

 

I would ask your ASM-Physical or your Quartermaster for a list of duties and a list of meals you'll be cooking for as well. A written list. Some courses the QM cooks for staff developments. Others still only have the QM cook for the staff breakfasts and the last meal for the entire course on the last day... It's good to know what's expected ahead of time.

 

It also helps knowing your line item allowances in the budget? Have they let you play with the budget yet?

 

The tradition in my council is to have the QM bring in a caterer who works with the AQMs on the first weekend, then the QM and her staff cook the second weekend. The caterer asks what we want to cook, and he works with the Sysco rep on prices.

 

 

[John-in-KC]

The Armed Forces Recipe Service (TM 10-412) is DOD's institutional cooking manual.

 

The recipes are built on 100 person increments. That's pretty easy to scale up or down! The website below is one site where they're stored...

 

http://www.tpub.com/content/food/recipes/

 

Here is one example: Breakfast Burritos:

 

CHEESE AND EGGS BREAKFAST BURRITO

Calcium 170 mg

Sodium 499 mg

Cholesterol 167 mg

Fat 14 g

Protein 16 g

Carbohydrates 26 g

Calories 302 cal

 

Yield 100 1 Each Portion

 

Ingredients:

EGG WHITES,FROZEN,THAWED 7-1/2 lbs OR 3 qts 2 cup

EGGS,WHOLE, 7-1/2 lbs OR 3 qts 2 cup

FROZEN CHEESE,CHEDDAR,SHREDDED 2-2/3 lbs OR 2 qts 2-5/8 cup

SAUSAGE,PORK,COOKED,DICED 2 lbs

TOMATOES,FRESH,CHOPPED 2 lbs OR 1 qt 1 cup

ONIONS,FRESH,CHOPPED 1 lbs OR 2-5/8 cup

PEPPER,BLACK,GROUND 1/3 oz OR 1 tbsp

OREGANO,CRUSHED 1/2 oz OR 3 tbsp

COOKING SPRAY,NONSTICK 2 oz OR 1/4 cup 1/3 tbsp

COOKING SPRAY,NONSTICK 2 oz OR 1/4 cup 1/3 tbsp

TORTILLAS,FLOUR,8 INCH 9-1/2 lbs OR 100 each

 

Method

1. Combine egg whites and eggs. Blend thoroughly.

 

2. Combine cheese, sausage, tomatoes, onions, pepper and oregano; mix thoroughly.

 

3. Lightly spray griddle with non-stick cooking spray. Pour about 1 quart egg mixture on 325 F. lightly sprayed griddle. Cook until partially set. Add 6 ounces cheese-sausage mixture. Cook until cheese is melted and eggs are firm. CCP: Internal temperature must reach 145 F. or higher for 15 seconds.

 

4. Place tortillas on lightly sprayed griddle; heat 30 seconds on each side.

 

5. Place about 1/2 cup cooked egg mixture in center of each tortilla; fold tortilla to cover eggs and form burrito.

 

6. CCP: Hold for service at 140 F. or higher.

 

Note

In Step 2, 3-1/4 pounds (1/2 No. 10 can) of canned diced tomatoes may be used per 100 portions. Drain before using.

[SSScout]

IMHO, budgeting is important, but not the most. As the QMChef, you have to concern yourself with: Food allergies, dietary concerns (religious restrictions, moral objections, etc.), taste and quality vs quantity, cleanup (LNT? paper plates? real cutlery? recycling vs throw it out?), healthy vs comfort food, caffein (don't forget the decaf and herb tea), skim milk and lofat, soymilk for allergies?.

Communicate with your AQMs, make sure they are in the loop and are given the opportunity to help. Remind them of the commitments they make.

And ALLOW yourself the luxury of asking for help! Be specific, and call on folks.

Make a dry run (many!)out to the course site and get to know the facilities, what's available, what you might need to get. Play the "what if" game. If the previous users of the site do not leave the pots and pans that you were expecting, what then? How self contained can you be?

Make sure your CD doesn't "assume" things. Help him/her, put it down in writing.

And sing. Make sure you sing in your kitchen. But no food fights. Uh-huh. Not Scout like.

YiS

 

[ScoutBox]

Boy am I happy that I'll be a TG on next course's Staff.

[Stosh]

Quartermaster of Meals???? Sounds like a government job. Shouldn't it be Grubmaster?

 

Stosh

[SR540Beaver]

Like jhankins, we order from a wholesaler. In this case it is Ben E Keith and they deliver to camp. I served as QM with two AQM a couple of years back. We didn't have a QM of meals. As QM, I did it. Just different strokes for different folks. Our council puts on two courses per year and we have a WB committee made up of past course directors. We pretty much have things down to a science and don't reinvent the wheel each time. I was provided with menues from 3 or 4 previous courses. I imported it all into an Excel spreadshhet and began to realize that the menues were virtually indentical from one course to the next. The only difference was which day a particular meal was served on. The vegetable might change, but it was virtually identical. Boom, that made my life pretty easy. In our council, the QM staff doesn't have to cook or clean and are left to handle gear, equipment, maintenance, facilities, room set up, etc. The cooking and cleaning is handled by support staff made of previous course directors at the invitation of the course director. They pretty much stay to themselves and do their job so as not to take away from the CD and his staff. They are there to serve and take pressure off the rest of the staff so they can do their jobs and provide the best course possible. They also serve as an excellent resource to the CD since they have "been there, done that". But I digress. Our meals are for the most part pre-cooked items from the wholesaler and we practice heat it up, eat it up. No hours of cooking from scratch. The contact at the wholesaler is more than happy to discuss your menu, the number of participants to feed and tell you the quantity you need to order for each item of each meal. While it is a task, this approach makes it a lot easier than it could be.