first comp. questions

Two easy options on 'tubs'.

Go to Sams or any restaurant supply house and get THREE (wash, rinse, sanitize) bus boy tubs. They are 5 gallon tubs, but only fill them about half way, thus half a cap of bleach.

Or, go to your local Target or Bed Bath & Beyond and get THREE (wash, rinse, santize) STORAGE units that are about the size of bus boy tubs and use those. You can even buy the tops that snap onto them and after you are done washing up wash the tubs, rinse them, dry them real good and then use them to store your equipment (one for cooking utensils, one for clean towels and boxes of trash bags, sanitary gloves etc, and one for dirty dishrags and towels that you can open up and wash when you get home). Multi-taskers!

grey plastic tubs from sams .perfect for comps 1 extra cooker is better then under cooked meat you can always use one too hold meat in. if you havenot done a practice run for a full contest i would keep track of your times and temp.

I used plastic cat litter boxes for the wash stations (unused of course !!)

MilitantSquatter said:

I used plastic cat litter boxes for the wash stations (unused of course !!)

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Wouldn't be so sure of that... did you keep your eye on Phil the WHOLE time?

If you can get your hands on a propane fired pot (Coleman makes one) or a burner to heat some water. That will go a long way when washing greasy utensils and gear. Your hands will appreciate it too!
I like the team name, good luck!

MattCom said:

If you can get your hands on a propane fired pot (Coleman makes one) or a burner to heat some water. That will go a long way when washing greasy utensils and gear. Your hands will appreciate it too!
I like the team name, good luck!

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Dude...I love your avatar.

I use the bus tubs. We had tried double using the ones with the lids and it worked fine until we needed to wash something and had to find a place for all the stuff we stored in them.

Hot water is going to be your friend. I would pick up a turkey fryer for this.

I also agree that you need to try a full practice comp., outside, using the equipment and tables you plan on bringing. You may find that the tables are going to be to low. Better to discover this now than when you're at the comp. The tables can have PVC extensions for the legs to bring them to a more comfortable height.

Good Luck!!!

tidbit... for the wash bins ... get the size that your largest cutting board will fit into (at least one side). makes cleanup that much easier.

As far as hot water, we use a 30 cup coffee pot (@ Ocean State Job Lot for 19.99)
It takes a little while (approx. 20-30 minutes) to heat up though.
Next on my own list is the Coleman Hot Water thingy, but right now, the coffee pot works swell... as mentioned above, turkey fryers work very well too.

I agree with whoever said an 'extra' cooker is better than under-done meat. Definately do a practice run, from start to finish, including turn-in windows and turn-in boxes, so you can manage your time better if something does happen.
The best thing you can do is practice. That way you are more comfortable with everything, and less nerves means a better cook all around.
Also, the more you can do ahead of time, the better off you are.
No seasoning, but you can trim all meats ahead of time...

BTW, LOVE your team name...

Best of luck at Mann Orchards, I have heard only good things about their event, and be sure to let us all know how it goes!

*OMP must mean Orchard Made Products....
SO, if you have questions (about anything) or something you need clarified ASK THEM!

I used turkey fryer for a long time to heat up dish water. It only takes a couple of minutes. I say you need a UDS/pit for each category. I've never heard of this contest or rules of OMP, so I can't help there. Good Luck with your first contest. You're gonna love it.

The team next to us in North Little Rock was using a set of 3 black masonry mixing tubs for dishes. They were huge! Unlike bus tubs, you could easily fit full sheet pans and large cutting boards in these things. I think she said she bought them at Lowe's - they were designed for brickmasons to mix mortar in. Obviously not NSF approved however.

For dish water we started out using one o the large urns you see at church functions to hold tea and coffee in . It worked great and was really inexpensive to pick up a used one. Now we use a coleman hot water on demand unit.