And For My 2nd Catering Event....

That was quick. The Parents 50th dinner inspired me to go further with it. So I offered my services to cater the next monthly safety bbq at work. The Foreman who is a good Buddy loves my cooking and jumped at the idea. I told Him I'd like to do bbq beef sammies with potato salad and beans. (He said the beans would have to have bacon grease in 'em ). There are about 22 People on the crew. Not too many heavy eaters.

I figured I'd smoke the appropriate amount of brisket unless Someone can tell me a better cut for bbq beef sammies. Also what should I clear money wise after cost.

I'll be going to Cash and Carry this weekend and will price the chuck. I love chuck and didn't think of that. Thanks for the words of wisdom.

I'm pretty sure they have the whole thing at C&C.

Well I got the go-ahead from The Plant Manager. They'll pay $7.00 per person @ 22 People= $154.00. They have 20-24lb chuck rolls a C&C for $179.00/lb. I'll be making potato salad and baked beans. I should be able to get every thing for around $80.00. I also have a killer recipe for cole slaw. May throw that in too. Should be fun.

Mattzilla said:

Seems like a lot of work for $74 profit.

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I know. I'm just starting out on this. I don't mind doing a few trial runs to see if it's something I want to go farther with. And besides, it's either that or the usual chinese or Blimpy's. :icon_frow

Bbq Bubba said:

Just a thought, but maybe go with Pulled Pork, a lil cheaper, make Keri C's beans and but the salad and doctor it up.
You'll have 18 hrs alone in the Chuck cook.

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Well I picked up a chuck roll this morning and pork is a problem. A lot of the People I work with don't eat pork for religious reasons (and Some don't eat at all). Did You mean buy potato salad and doctor it up?

MrsMista said:

Is it $179/lb or $1.79/lb or $179 for the whole thing?

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$1.79/lb.

Thought I'd give a report. We had BBQ beef sandwiches, potato salad, beans, and ceasar salad. I learned a few things. I made way too much food. There were 23 people and they ate less than half the 21 lb. (before cooking) chuck roll I brought. Then they all started grabbing plate fulls to take home and feed their whole families before I could get it out to my car. (It's customary at our safety dinners to let the Employees take home the leftovers.) Next time I'll make way less.

I learned that I suck at smoking a 21 lb roast. I let it smoke for 19 hours but it was still raw inside. I put it in the electric roaster and cranked it up to 400 for a couple of hours. I think for one thing it's hard to get good results with a pellet smoker in cold weather. I'll be looking for advice on this soon. Feel free to post Your thoughts.

I learned not to say what I'll cook before I know what they'll pay. Actually the potato salad didn't cost much and I had everything I needed to make beans but it was still money out of my pocket one way or another. I found out after saying what I would bring that they only pay $7.00 per person. I was under the impression that I would give them my price. This was mostly my fault. It was a miss-understanding that I'll be sure to avoid next time. Since I know what they are willing to pay I can decide what I'm willing to make and I'll submit a menu for approval before agreeing to do it.

When it comes to business I'm a novice but I learn fast. I think next time I'd do something like, for instance some chicken and rice dish with green salad. I think I have the potential to make $100.00 a pop for 2 or 3 hours of work. I'd like to continue doing this because it's a great way to learn. Also a lot of the prep work I do is done on company time. So I'm getting paid pretty good actually. Not trying to rip the company off. It just works out that way. They say if You want to be happy with what You do, do something You'd be happy to do for free. I love feeding people.