Creating a buffet for a large group of people takes precision planning, a tight timetable, a balanced budget, and a competent crew who can handle the high-pressure job of prepping, cooking, and serving all the food. At Secret Garden, the admin, chef, and serving crew is just me. I work alone to feed large groups of people who come to enjoy good company, great food, and spectacular desserts.
Every so often, I produce a buffet with a theme. The first theme this year was India. There were ten spicy and flavorful dishes from all over India on the table and a rich chocolate fudge cake for dessert. Fifteen people attended and three people ordered food to go. It was a roaring success. It was so popular, that I decided to do it again, this time with Asian food (yes, I am aware that Indian food is technically Asian food, but there is a flavor/spice difference that separates them slightly.) I started with what the menu might look like.
Once I had the menu whittled down to eight main dishes and two desserts, the next step was the ingredients list; exactly what I needed and how much of it. The budget kicks in here, deciding how much I could spend on supplies. Because the Indian buffet was such a success, I had a little more to invest and decided to calculate for twenty covers, plus a little extra for takeout orders. Shopping took place over three days, starting on Thursday. First, I picked up everything I would need for Friday prepping. Then I made a list of the prepping order for each day so that things would run smoothly.
On Friday morning, I started on sauces. To start, I’d need garlic-ginger paste. After that, I needed homemade hoisin sauce for the Chow Mein, peanut sauce for the Satay, red curry paste, sweet and sour sauce, miso garlic sauce, wasabi and soy dip for the sushi, tamarind sauce for spring rolls, chocolate ganache for the fudge cake, and coconut sauce for the sticky rice. I also made the spring roll filling. As each item was checked off the list, I put more pots on the stove. The blender ran all morning. I was up and down the stairs picking fresh herbs from the garden as I needed them.
While all the sauces were cooling on the bench, I nipped out to pick up the first vegetable order, including the mushrooms and bok choy I’d ordered from Isauro. This was mostly stuff I already knew Gonzalo wouldn’t have on his Saturday truck. I also got blocks of ice for the coolers where I would store stuff overnight. In the afternoon, I soaked the sushi rice and the sticky rice, and washed the fried rice and left it out to dry. I made the chocolate fudge cake, let it cool down, and left it covered in the oven overnight. The wooden satay sticks were left in water, this ensures they don’t burn during cooking. A chopped-up pineapple went into the freezer for cocktails. Chopped vegetables went into marked containers indicating which dish they were to go in the following day.
First thing Saturday morning, I made the spring roll wrappers from scratch while the fried rice, sushi rice, and coconut rice were all cooked and then cooled. All the finished spring rolls went into the oven to wait for cooking time. This is where a cold room comes into play in a restaurant but, with no cold room, the oven kept them out of the way. The cake was evicted from the oven, then frosted, and put in the cooler after I raced out to pick up the ice for both coolers. Rolling Stones blasted from the speakers. I danced my way around the kitchen, prepping, cooking, and cleaning up as I went. Next up were satay sticks, zucchini and eggplant with onions and peppers. They joined the spring rolls in the oven, waiting until go-time. Gonzalo turned up in the middle of everything and helped me carry my huge veggie order upstairs into a chaotic kitchen.
Sushi was next. Grilled ripe plantain banana replaced fish. The rolls were wrapped tightly in cling film and joined the cake in the cooler. Fried rice came next, nicely dried, nicely flavored, it turned out exquisitely, each grain separated and perfectly cooked. After that, more prep for the four stir-fries and then sticky rice and mango assembly in steamed banana leaves. I’d picked the leaves the day before, then stripped them, cut them, cleaned them, and steamed them. I turned each banana leaf square into a cone, filled it with sweet coconut rice, fresh mango, and coconut sauce, then secured them with a strip of steamed banana leaf stem and put them in the second cooler to wait for service.
At some point during Saturday, I stopped for five minutes to eat some of the still-simmering Thai curry and a scoop of fried rice. It was the only time I stopped until 6:00 pm. Two twelve-hour days were about to culminate into a busy night, starting from the 6:30 pm opening. I used the half-hour in between to shower, change, run a broom over the floor, switch on the lights, and finally open the gate. As people arrived, drinks were served first. Then, I invited everyone to start filling their plates. Some of the food was on the table, more would come out as the night progressed. I pulled the first batches of spring rolls and satay sticks out of the oven and put the second batches in. As the Chow Mein vanished, I replaced it with Sweet and Sour. People kept coming, and then coming back for more. A few takeout orders came in and I quickly despatched them to waiting clients.
Normally, I would take the time when clients are eating to clean up a little, but there was no time for that. Just when I thought it was all over, two more walked in late. The buffet table was already empty. Immediately, I made them each a plate of food, chopping veggies and soaking noodles for a quick stir-fry. The chocolate cake vanished. Some dessert lovers came back for more. The Sticky Rice and Mango was also popular. By the time the last guests straggled out at 10.30 pm, washing the dishes was the last thing I cared about. I piled them up neatly to be washed in the morning and crawled into bed.
A total of twenty-five people came through the doors that night, counting the takeouts, to enjoy fresh Asian food from six countries. I worked a total of thirty-four hours to make this event happen, from planning, shopping, prepping, cooking, serving, and cleaning up. Add one more hour to wander around the village and sell the last five sticky rice and mango cones. It was worth every second. Obviously, I couldn’t work this intensively every day, but once a month might work, at least during surf season. Even though this tourist season is much quieter than usual, there are a few around interested in international vegan menus. I’m thinking Mediterranean next time around, a bit of Greek moussaka, some Italian cannolis, a hint of French provencal and Spanish patates bravos, a little Turkish charred eggplant sauce… If I can get at least ten people to commit, all the work is totally worth it.