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Frequently Asked Questions |
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THE EVENT:
When / Where? Guys Can Cook Too is Jun 7th, 2008 at the SRJC Shone Farm. The public hours are 4:00pm to 8:00pm. Map and Directions What is the Event for? Guys Can Cook Too is a fundraiser for The Rotary Club of Sebastopol Sunrise, which supports local service organizations and services through its Community Grants Program. For more information about the programs and activities of The Rotary Club of Sebastopol Sunrise, please visit our website: www.sebsunriserotary.org Who can participate? Although the event is nominally about "guy cooking", ALL amateur chefs are welcome regardless of gender and age. Professional chefs are encouraged to participate by helping to judge or by giving demonstrations. What are the competition categories? The basic food categories are "Openers" (appetizers, breads, rolls), "Sides" (soup, salad, vegetables), "Mains" (main dishes) and "Closers" (dessert). Prizes will be awarded for each category and for best overall dish from both popular voting and a jury of celebrity judges. There will also be special awards for Firefighters, Teen Talent, and "Best Presentation". How is the judging done? Throughout the event, the guests will vote for their favorite dishes in each food category by depositing tokens in jars at each chef's table. At the end of the evening, the jars are collected and the votes tallied. At some point during the event, several servings will be collected from each chef for the celebrity judges to evaluate. They will score each dish on presentation, originality, appearance, and taste. FOOD AND FOOD PREPARATION: Do I prepare my food at the event? No. Cooking facilities are not available at the Event. You will primarily be serving, not cooking at the Event. You may choose to cut, garnish, dip, sprinkle, assemble, etc, but we strongly recommend that you prepare as much as possible ahead of time. How much food do I need to prepare? You should prepare 500 one-ounce servings of your dish. DON'T PANIC, that's not as much as it sounds. One ounce is only one good mouthful, not a normal serving size. 500 ounces usually works out to be eight to ten "batches" of a typical baking recipe, less for big pots of soup and stew. But, DON'T GUESS. It's very important that you are close to this figure. If you run out early, you may hurt your chances at the ballot box. If you make too much, it may go to waste. It's also important to know how much of each ingredient is required before you go to the grocery store. You don't want to be stuck with a lifetime supply of shredded coconut. For accurate planning, make one normal batch of your dish just to measure and weigh it. The goal is to find out how many "one-ounce servings" your recipe makes. If the dish is primarily liquid, the process is simple. Get out the measuring cups and measure it. A one-ounce serving is equal to 2 Tablespoons or 1/8th of a cup. If your recipe makes 10 cups of stew, that's 80 one-ounce servings. The number of batches of stew required is 500/80, or a little more than 6. If your dish is baked in a pan, remember that a single tasting serving is about 2 tablespoons or about 2 cubic inches (1 x 1 x 2). Then figure out how many tasting serving squares you can cut out of that pan-full. If it's 48 squares per pan, then you need to bake 500/48 or 10 1/2 pans. You should come away from this exercise knowing exactly how many batches of your recipe are needed and exactly what a tasting serving of it looks like. Always round the number of batches required UP and the serving size DOWN. There is a natural tendency to slack off when cooking and pour it on when serving. Don't. How do I multiply my recipe? Trying to multiply 8 1/2 batches times 2/3 teaspoons will make you appreciate the metric system. If you get mired in cups and tablespoons, there are several nice recipe multipliers on-line that can help you with the calculations. Here is one example: http://www.fruitfromwashington.com/Recipes/scale/recipeconversions.php. However, in all likelihood, you will not prepare one big 9X batch of your dish. First of all, food doesn't cook the same way in a huge mass as is does in a small one. Second, you may not have large enough pots and pans. After carefully thinking about the size of your mixing bowls, oven and refrigerator, you may decide that five double batches of your recipe is easier to manage. Do I need to provide a copy of my recipe? We encourage Chefs to provide us with a copy of their recipe so that it can be included in the "Guys Can Cook Too" cookbook. Participating 2006 Chefs will appear in the 2007 cookbook. You may also consider having courtesy copies of your recipe available for guests. You never know, it might sway a vote or two! Chefs at prior events have printed postcard size recipe cards and displayed at their station. AT THE EVENT: Do I need to bring anything to serve the food? Yes and no. Don't forget to bring whatever knives, spatulas, ladles or tongs you may need to dish your dish. However, small plastic cups and napkins will be provided for the individual servings. If your dish requires something unusual for the individual serving (skewers, for example) you should provide your own. Guests will be provided with plates, glasses and eating utensils. How can I keep my food hot/warm/cold? It's best to bring your own ice chests or insulated boxes to hold the food at the desired temperature. A limited number of warming trays and propane burners are available by advanced reservation. The availability of electricity is extremely limited. What are the Heath and Safety guidelines? Please keep in mind that you will be serving food to the public. If you are not feeling well, please do not prepare or serve food. Be extra careful during preparation to keep all kitchenware and utensils clean and all the foodstuffs properly stored and free from contamination. At the event, cold food should be maintained at 40 degrees or below. Hot food should be maintained at 135 degrees or above. When serving, please use utensils or toothpicks if possible. Please wash your hands often, especially after eating, touching part of your face, coughing or sneezing, smoking or using the restroom. A bottle of sanitizer solution will be provided to each Chef. Please follow proper safety guidelines when preparing and handling food especially when dealing with meats. Enclosed is some information that we hope will help you in your preparation. How much space will I have? You will have HALF of an 8-foot table for serving. You will have another half of an 8-foot table behind you for serving preparation. Chefs serving "Closers" may have less preparation space depending on the final floor plan. Can I bring helpers? Yes. This is recommended especially if you want to step away from your table and sample some of the competition. Chefs are entitled to bring one (1) "sous-chef" admission free to help them. Sous-chefs must check in at the same time and place as the Chef. If you pre-registered by April 4th, you are entitled to two (2) free admission tickets which you'll find enclosed. Additional tickets can be purchased using the enclosed ticket order form. Because we are truly appreciative of your participation as our chef, additional tickets that you purchase in advance will be discounted to $35 each. When and where, do I show up to set up my table? Chefs may begin arriving at 3:00pm to start setting up. Chef stations must be ready to start serving at 4:00pm. Chefs and their sous-chefs must check in at "Chef Registration" at the side entrance on the right (north) side of the Veterans Building (here, a Rotarian will issue you your badges). All other guests must check in at the main entrance. When is it over? Serving will be winding down around 8:00pm at which time awards will be presented. Then it's time to clean up and strike the tent. Please be sure to check and double check for all the items you brought with you. We cannot be responsible for items left behind. What's this about decorating my table? Since presentation can be as important as the food itself, plan to decorate your table (and yourself). A special prize will be awarded to the chef voted "best dressed". Advertising and the distribution of promotional material for one's own business is not allowed. |