Announcing the food

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JunieBJones (JBJ)

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Do you announce the food when you present it to guests (for those who do not have a menu or choice offered to guests) ?
I do whenever I have something on offer that is not readily identified. Today for example, I placed the plates down and mentioned this was my version of eggs benedict, that is a hollandaise sauce and the eggs are thoroughly cooked. (I know many people won't eat eggs bennie with the eggs not hard).
Kind of funny was the female in the party acted like I was making an excuse for "my version" and did a head nod and some comment about it being acceptable. Honestly, I was not making an excuse, I put together a beautiful meal!
Certain guests - you just don't know how to take them. He talks and she basically stares at me. So when I am telling them about a certain sight of interest today she just looks at me with zero interaction. Makes you uncomfortable. Maybe I am just too easy going. I would be saying "Wow, thanks so much for the information! I appreciate it."
 
We always told our guests what it was we were serving when the plates were put before them. We kind of gave a little synopsis of each..ingredients etc.
You can't win with everyone as we all know SO WELL
wink_smile.gif
Just do your thing and move on.
 
I do tell folks what is on the table. The muffins this morning are....., the juices are OJ and ....., the fruit compote is ____, and _____ (unless it is obvious), the coffee is from (country of origin), and the entree is_____.
 
I try to tell them as I am putting down the fruit course what the two following courses will be and then tell them if any of it sounds like too much there is cereal and fruit on the sideboard they can help themselves too. Usually on the first day of the stay I get no laughs, but by the second day they laugh when I mention the cereal and say stuff like "we can have cereal at home." Sometimes I can't squeeze the description in with the fruit because other conversations are going on so I announce the second and third courses when I put down the second course.
I feel it is important to give them the heads up so those who are counting calories or whatever can decide if they want to eat all the second course or if they are holding out for the final course. When announcing I also point out that we size the portions large so not to feel bad about not eating everything. That too often gets laughter on the second day and jokes from the men about how they will make it fit.
 
I do that sometimes too: "This is completely fat free." Wink and walk away..
Right, I use that line when I put the almond butter cake in front of them (it's practically 50% butter, 50% sugar) or I joke about vacation calories not counting.
 
I always tell people what I'm serving, as I'm serving it.
With the fruit course: "We're starting you off this morning with fresh ______ drizzled with a light vanilla bean syrup (or whatever)."
"The baked goods this morning are fresh-from-the-oven raspberry bran muffins."
"Your breakfast this morning is__________" and I go into enough detail so they know what the omelet filling is or if there's a glaze on the ham or what kind of meat/apple are the homemade sausage patties.
Same thing when I serve dinners and dessert.
I've had a number of repeat guests comment on how much they like that. It makes the meal feel special, makes them feel special.
 
I try to tell them as I am putting down the fruit course what the two following courses will be and then tell them if any of it sounds like too much there is cereal and fruit on the sideboard they can help themselves too. Usually on the first day of the stay I get no laughs, but by the second day they laugh when I mention the cereal and say stuff like "we can have cereal at home." Sometimes I can't squeeze the description in with the fruit because other conversations are going on so I announce the second and third courses when I put down the second course.
I feel it is important to give them the heads up so those who are counting calories or whatever can decide if they want to eat all the second course or if they are holding out for the final course. When announcing I also point out that we size the portions large so not to feel bad about not eating everything. That too often gets laughter on the second day and jokes from the men about how they will make it fit..
When announcing I also point out that we size the portions large so not to feel bad about not eating everything.
I tell them we serve family-style so the big eaters can have as much as they want and the light eaters can take as little as they want without anyone feeling uncomfortable.
 
YES!
I annoy dh, who wants to snatch up the food as soon as it's ready to go, run out to the dining room, and throw it on the table. I say, STOP! We proceed. Calmly. Relaxed. We present the food. We tell them what it is (even if it's obvious), and/or tell them how long until the next course will be out of the oven. We try to make them feel special, not like they're making us run around like crazy chickens.
(You can guess which one of us has the high blood pressure. It makes him nuts because no matter how much salt I eat my BP is always good. He gets his undies in a bunch too easily. I'm always telling him, "BREATHE!!!")
=)
Kk.
 
No. I used to, but because I ask if they want sausage, I have already said what is coming with the sausage. If someone gets pancakes without blueberries, I will mention that the other person's pancakes DO have blueberries.
 
YES!
I annoy dh, who wants to snatch up the food as soon as it's ready to go, run out to the dining room, and throw it on the table. I say, STOP! We proceed. Calmly. Relaxed. We present the food. We tell them what it is (even if it's obvious), and/or tell them how long until the next course will be out of the oven. We try to make them feel special, not like they're making us run around like crazy chickens.
(You can guess which one of us has the high blood pressure. It makes him nuts because no matter how much salt I eat my BP is always good. He gets his undies in a bunch too easily. I'm always telling him, "BREATHE!!!")
=)
Kk..
Haha! My dh is like that too...I don't know why he's in such a rush but at least he's getting better! Now, he knows that there has to be some kind of garnish on each & every plate before it leaves the kitchen
wink_smile.gif
He and I have a disagreement about telling folks about each course. He seems to think it's pretentious but I've found that people appreciate it & as I disappear back into the kitchen they're not scratching their heads trying to figure out what that second fruit flavor is in the fruit crisp. I do sometimes announce that I've got to get back in the kitchen & peek at their fresh blueberry waffles or their veggie and cheese frittata. A couple of times, I've mentioned our version of eggs benedict and one person at the table has asked for the hollandaise to be left off, so that's another bonus. I used to post the menus but people either didn't care or never bothered to come and read it so I just don't bother anymore.
Re: the serving size...If they say, "Wow, that's a lot of food!" I just say, "Don't worry about cleaning your plate, I'm not your Mom". tee hee...
regular_smile.gif

 
YES!
I annoy dh, who wants to snatch up the food as soon as it's ready to go, run out to the dining room, and throw it on the table. I say, STOP! We proceed. Calmly. Relaxed. We present the food. We tell them what it is (even if it's obvious), and/or tell them how long until the next course will be out of the oven. We try to make them feel special, not like they're making us run around like crazy chickens.
(You can guess which one of us has the high blood pressure. It makes him nuts because no matter how much salt I eat my BP is always good. He gets his undies in a bunch too easily. I'm always telling him, "BREATHE!!!")
=)
Kk..
Haha! My dh is like that too...I don't know why he's in such a rush but at least he's getting better! Now, he knows that there has to be some kind of garnish on each & every plate before it leaves the kitchen
wink_smile.gif
He and I have a disagreement about telling folks about each course. He seems to think it's pretentious but I've found that people appreciate it & as I disappear back into the kitchen they're not scratching their heads trying to figure out what that second fruit flavor is in the fruit crisp. I do sometimes announce that I've got to get back in the kitchen & peek at their fresh blueberry waffles or their veggie and cheese frittata. A couple of times, I've mentioned our version of eggs benedict and one person at the table has asked for the hollandaise to be left off, so that's another bonus. I used to post the menus but people either didn't care or never bothered to come and read it so I just don't bother anymore.
Re: the serving size...If they say, "Wow, that's a lot of food!" I just say, "Don't worry about cleaning your plate, I'm not your Mom". tee hee...
regular_smile.gif

.
Samster said:
Re: the serving size...If they say, "Wow, that's a lot of food!" I just say, "Don't worry about cleaning your plate, I'm not your Mom". tee hee...
regular_smile.gif
I tell them that hub's dad was a lumberjack and that's who he cooks for.
 
I always tell people what I'm serving, as I'm serving it.
With the fruit course: "We're starting you off this morning with fresh ______ drizzled with a light vanilla bean syrup (or whatever)."
"The baked goods this morning are fresh-from-the-oven raspberry bran muffins."
"Your breakfast this morning is__________" and I go into enough detail so they know what the omelet filling is or if there's a glaze on the ham or what kind of meat/apple are the homemade sausage patties.
Same thing when I serve dinners and dessert.
I've had a number of repeat guests comment on how much they like that. It makes the meal feel special, makes them feel special..
I like the way you do that. I think I will do that too. I have been telling them when I don't think they can see it. Like ham and cheese is in the egg dish. I put dill in several egg dishes but if I tell them ahead I am afraid they will have the pre notion they won't like it. I have people ask what is the taste in the eggs (they love it) and when I tell them dill they smile in suprise
teeth_smile.gif
.
Looking at it from a guest perspective, I think I would love it if I was told what it was.
I always try to look at everything from a guest perspecitve. It really helps in many ways.
sandynn
Is there spell check on here? I can't seem to locate it.
 
I always tell people what I'm serving, as I'm serving it.
With the fruit course: "We're starting you off this morning with fresh ______ drizzled with a light vanilla bean syrup (or whatever)."
"The baked goods this morning are fresh-from-the-oven raspberry bran muffins."
"Your breakfast this morning is__________" and I go into enough detail so they know what the omelet filling is or if there's a glaze on the ham or what kind of meat/apple are the homemade sausage patties.
Same thing when I serve dinners and dessert.
I've had a number of repeat guests comment on how much they like that. It makes the meal feel special, makes them feel special..
I like the way you do that. I think I will do that too. I have been telling them when I don't think they can see it. Like ham and cheese is in the egg dish. I put dill in several egg dishes but if I tell them ahead I am afraid they will have the pre notion they won't like it. I have people ask what is the taste in the eggs (they love it) and when I tell them dill they smile in suprise
teeth_smile.gif
.
Looking at it from a guest perspective, I think I would love it if I was told what it was.
I always try to look at everything from a guest perspecitve. It really helps in many ways.
sandynn
Is there spell check on here? I can't seem to locate it.
.
Sorry, no spell checker unless you use the one built into Firefox or the Google toolbar.
 
No. I used to, but because I ask if they want sausage, I have already said what is coming with the sausage. If someone gets pancakes without blueberries, I will mention that the other person's pancakes DO have blueberries..
happy jacks: "We're starting you off this morning with fresh ______ drizzled with a light vanilla bean syrup."
me: "how do ya want your eggs? scrambled or fried?"
wink_smile.gif
i'm not exactly slinging hash, but what a difference!
 
No. I used to, but because I ask if they want sausage, I have already said what is coming with the sausage. If someone gets pancakes without blueberries, I will mention that the other person's pancakes DO have blueberries..
happy jacks: "We're starting you off this morning with fresh ______ drizzled with a light vanilla bean syrup."
me: "how do ya want your eggs? scrambled or fried?"
wink_smile.gif
i'm not exactly slinging hash, but what a difference!
.
SS - Your just makin them feel at home.
wink_smile.gif

 
We too announce the egg dish and the pan dulce of the day. When they are seated at the table, we bring out the fruit plate, do not tell them as the fruits are self explanatory, except if we put something exotic like guanabana, tell them the juice and yogurt flavours, and then the what the egg dish is and that will be followed by muffin or scone or ? of the day.
Actually we sometimes ask them about the egg dish the night before. We really only have the 4 rooms, which is 8 guests as the most. If they are all in one party we ask them the night before. But honestly I don't think they remember or hear. They polish off the fruit plate like they have never seen fresh fruit before and then when we say we will bring out the egg dish they are shocked ... I thought this was breakfast. People don't listen, even if we repeat in the morning ... fruit plate, yogurt, egg dish, pan dulce. They seem to have forgotten by the time the next course arrives.
 
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