Saturday, October 6, 2012

October 6th, 2012 ~ Cooking with Purpose

Some of my favorite memories of my Dad are when we would be driving in the car together and have our own father daughter chat time. I had a catering job this week that, for me, was big. And I so desperately wanted to take a ride with him and have him tell me how I was going to pull it off and that everyone was going to love my food. I wanted to tell him my recipes and ask him if I should add more sweetened condensed milk to the banana pudding or does he think my beans will have enough spice. He was the best cook. And the best part of his cooking was just how much thought he put into the person or people he was cooking for.

The catering job I had this week was for the agency I used to work for. It was their Employee Appreciation Picnic. I knew this food was going to be for workers with genuine hearts for serving others. Workers who live in the trenches with people at the lowest moments of their lives. These workers do not make a lot of money. They don't receive grand accolades. They quietly go about doing the work of angels. So I did my best to channel my Dad and care about each and every one of these workers as I made what otherwise could be phoned in.

They asked me to make potato salad:


When you are asked to make 300 servings of anything, you have to find a way to love it. Maybe it is just loving the opportunity. But I wanted each hard worker to know there was something special about this potato salad. It was especially made for them.

They asked me to make 150 servings of Baked Beans, exact same recipe as last year please; same as last year. That is a complement!


They asked me to make 150 servings of corn on the cob:


I was most excited about this. I thought when I was wrapping it up to take to the picnic this is the most special; no one will see it coming...that white stuff is cheese!

They asked for 210 servings of Banana Pudding:


This is the single greatest dessert I have ever made. Yes, I admit I suck at making desserts. But I really spent time on this. And when my nephew said it was the best thing ever, I knew it was ready to show appreciation to the employees at the picnic.

They asked me to make 105 servings of Oreo Chocolate Pudding:


How can you go wrong!

I enjoyed every opportunity to care for the people I was cooking for when I made these dishes. I understood why my Dad loved to cook so much. When it was time to deliver the goods I could not help but take a couple pictures of my grand finale:


The puddings


And everything else.

My brother helped me deliver the food as it was too much to fit in my car. And when I said, hang on just a minute, I want to take a picture; he asked if I wanted to take all the lids off. I said no; I loved seeing the pans all tightly secured in surprise. I walked away wishing for the all the people who were about to eat my food to feel the appreciation they deserved for the work they do. I hope it tasted like they were cared for. I hope it tasted like I appreciated the opportunity I was given.  







    



   




     

No comments:

Post a Comment