We did an "Italian Bistro" night at our church this past weekend. We served
plated dinners on china, by individual guest ticket order, using a
waitstaff. The Youth Group is going to a National Youth Convention in
Florida, and this event was to raise money, and capture matching funds.

Here is the menu we offered:

Angel Hair Pasta w/choice of:
Marinara Sauce
2 large meatballs & marainara sauce
Poached chicken breast & mushrooms with an Alfredo sauce

Lasagna

Also -

A garnish of red pepper flakes
A garnish of freshly-grated peccorino-romano cheese

Warm italian bread w/garlic-infused extra-virgin olive oil
Warm sourdough bread w/butter

Tossed salad (Romaine hearts, red cabbage, matchstick carrots, leeks,
cucumbers, grape tomatoes)
w/choice of dressings:
(Peppermill Italian, House Bleu Cheese, Ranch)

Choice of Dessert:
(Classic Spumoni w/ waffle-sticks, or American Chocolate Cake, garnished
with an Andes mint on a plate striped with chocolate sauce, or Presentation
White Cake, garnished with fresh raspeberries on a plate striped with
raspberry jam.)

Choice of Beverage:
(Ice Tea, Punch, Milk, Hot Tea)

Choice of Coffees:
(Regular Brewed; Decaf Brewed)

There were no "tickets" sold for this event. We seated from 5:00pm to
8:00pm. It was a very nice evening. Some of the kids played in a string
quartet, which had violins, a viola & a cello. There was a pianist, and
flute as well. The guests were encouraged to leave a freewill offering as
they departed. We served over 150 covers, and received almost $1400.00 in
donations. We were eligible for matching funds of up to $1300.00. This means
we captured nearly $2700.00 from this event. Almost all of the guests were
from our church, and their friends and relatives. We only placed items in
the newsletter, and did not publicly advertise the event. We even did a
12-top that night! Our cost for this event, due to donations of food and
labor, came to less than $700.00. However, our committee is donating that
investment from our yearly budget to the cause, which allows them to get
more matching funds.

The miracle of this whole thing is that we served most of it out of a 16 x
16 kitchen with a 40" x 40" island in the middle. Two 4 burner electric
stoves, a standard 2-sided household sink, and a single fridge. To be fair,
I have another fridge and a freezer in a separate room. Also, I had a large
room just for salad and dessert service, and a special room just for
silverware & table reset, bread & beverages, and assembly of trays for the
waitstaff. Only the hot plated entrees were done in the kitchen, and we
worked from standard restaurant tickets. It went like clockwork. Of course,
a good friend of mine who is a chef made a lot of it possible, and we
precooked as much as we could. It worked very well.

--
Tank

This Space To Let.