A Night of Southern Elegance

I'm no cook. Seriously. I live off the microwave. I'm an expert in preparing dishes of Ramen and Easy Mac and the occasional frozen pizza- with adult supervision, of course, I'm not allowed to use the oven by myself anymore. Or the washer and dryer. Or light candles. I have no domestic skills whatsoever. I know what your thinking. How have I gone two decades without these skills? How will I continue with the next half a decade without them? Who on earth in their right mind would marry me? Who knows? Who cares?

Regardless of these facts, I am in a Food & Beverage course. It is required, I assure you. I'm halfway through and I still have my hair and all my extremities. Although I shouldn't speak so soon. I'm trying really hard. And learning a lot. I mean when you know nothing, you have a lot to gain. I'm pretty sure my group, "Folks in the Back," thinks I'm an idiot. Just to give you a brief idea of things I have openly, with a reddened face, come to learn recently- you are supposed to have salt for boiling water, a leek is not a mispronunciation of the word "leak," there are many types of ovens, knives, and even stove tops. My group has certainly had some laughs.

We have had several opportunities to get involved in the community in regards to food and beverage. I've had work every time (thank God) until last night. Last night was A Night of Southern Elegance: an Evening of Surprises. There were certainly a few surprises. Such as, there are no beverage napkins, not enough croutons or squash or strawberries, the ice is nowhere to be found, and dear God we have no bread and the menu shows bread. I showed up as a plate up volunteer to assist in making plates for the dinner of which 350 were expected to attend. My idea of plating up was placing pre-cut something on a plate. Ha! I know that I wrote that last sentence that you knew things wouldn't go that way, but in real life when you are living through the unexpected, it doesn't seem like it could wrong. Somehow, someway we always assume things will go accordingly, even though they rarely do. Funny.

I showed up and donned an extra large chef coat- essentially a chef coat dress if I were ever to decide to be a skanky cook, ha! When I was given the "itinerary" of preparing things and when they should be out I freaked. There were almost no details, only times and the other folks on my team. I was up first with salads. Salad doesn't sound difficult, I know, but you have to understand- we were FIRST! Being first is like going out on stage at a Miss America Pageant (okay I don't have ANY experience with that, but go with it), trying to impress everyone and do everything right. You have to make sure you're dressed appropriate (funny salad dressing reference!) and the best. Being first also means you have to evaluate the audience, especially the numbers in this case. 350 was the allowance for the event. 325 tickets were told. We would have no idea how many people were there until it came time for the first show, salad.

Figuring out the best way to lay out 350 on just four long tables was tricky and we ended up using trays, only to have the wait staff tell us to reduce the number of plates we had on a tray to eight, fitting each table accordingly. Soon thereafter Dr. Silkes told us we only need 325 and to get her to prepare the dressing. She was MIA when we got to 6:30, plates were supposed to be out at 7:10. Stressed. It was a frantic five minute long search before she showed up to help with the salad, mixed in a blue cube cooler with a bag inside. As she mixed we divided the lettuce among 325 plates as quickly as possible with other folks joining in to add a couple croutons (of which we ran out of after about 75% of the plates) and Parmesan. When we finished I quickly cleaned up the area, try to do as much as possible without hassling Chef. Five minutes after I threw out the bag, she asked if I could make some extra in case any came back. Crap. We used a bowl inside the cooler instead and were ready when they needed another 5 plates pushing our count to 330. Wait, 2 came back, 328.

Give me 30 seconds. Just 30 seconds to chill! After that we rearranged the back to get ready for entrees and dessert. Cleaning up and eating some really great hors d'oeuvres - I rewarded my stressed self with at least 5 chocolate covered strawberries. We chatted for a bit while our guests wined and dined. I spent the rest of my night simply trying to get plugged in. "Chef what can I do?" "Do you need this?" "Won't they be coming back for that?"

We focused on entrees next, of which I was put at scooping rice into mounds. I expected an ice cream scoop or something, nope just a spoon. By the time it was all said and done, it was like a rice bomb had blown up all over me. I felt like I was the only one making a mess, but who knows, I am seriously self conscious in the kitchen. Through the process, there was random hold ups. At first just myself in failed attempts to make a clean perfect mound on the plate. Next, we were all told to stop and we were working too quickly to get the plates out. That happened several times and then we ran out of squash. Gasp. Not that anyone likes squash anyway. Bluh. And maintaining the food's heat was the toughest, especially with the holding. All in all though, it went well. Plus the dessert team was finished and ready to go out after we finished.

Clean-up was intense, although we weren't left to do too much, but I had a great time getting to know some fellow majors and adults that simply wanted to help in their community to raise money for Fayette Cares. The organization itself sounds incredible, dealing with any troubles that could possibly come ones way in Fayette County. For more information on it, click here. It really felt great to spend a Saturday night having a great time and learning A LOT. I loved the fast pace. It has really made me consider event planning as an option for the future.

I couldn't believe how many people told me they were thankful for our time, especially since there was so much else we could be doing on a Saturday night. Actually, I don't have much. But I guess if you feel someone is a busy college student then volunteer work probably goes at the bottom. But, in my past few volunteer experiences (the farmer's market, Major Day, St. Jude) I have had some of the greatest times in Memphis. It has made me realize how much this city has to offer. I love feeling involved and in the loop. Any every experience has been something new. I have learned more about the community, an area of life I'm not familiar with, and even myself - for example, learning that I really like learning new things and doing something new. That I definitely prefer fast paced pressure in a work environment. I tend to take the lead in managing people, even if it is back of the house cooking and I have no skills.

Maybe I do it just to keep from spending time by myself. But ultimately I think I feel guilty for spending a day unproductive. I think sometimes I get too busy and don't give enough time to friends and family that they all deserve. I depend on them so much to keep my life sane. I run so much my house, my car, and my errands just fall by the wayside. I have no idea what I would do without them. I guess no matter how independent I try to be, I will still depend on my friends and family.

All in all, a wonderful weekend so far. Now off to finish my workday and then to see Wicked!