By Casey Brown, former VRG Intern<\/p>\n
As a Dietetics Student at the University of Maryland, College Park, we
\nare required to take Foodservice Operations. One of our projects for
\nthis class was to work in groups of three and design a theme meal to
\nserve 55 people. This meal had to meet certain requirements for
\nnutritional standards and budgeting.<\/p>\n
As a vegan, I was hoping that our meal could be 100% plant-based. I
\nmet with my friends who were my group members (both of them were
\nnon-vegetarians), and they were both eager to design a vegan menu. We
\nall knew it would be a unique meal plan. It would likely be lower cost
\nsince we did not have to purchase meats, it would be lower in fat, and
\nit would show everyone that vegan food can be nutritious and delicious!<\/p>\n
After forming our groups, the first step was to design our menu. We had
\nto pick a theme for our meal and then decide on our recipes. Our menu
\nhad to consist of a bread, an appetizer, an entree, a starch, a
\nvegetable, and a dessert. As a group, we made a huge list of potential
\nvegan recipes that we could use and then used those options to select
\nour theme. We originally planned to do a Southwestern Vegan menu, but
\nultimately decided to do a Plant-based Picnic theme. Our professor was
\nhesitant about our menu since meat is the main component of the meal in
\nher culture. She was skeptical about us serving tofu, but she let us
\ncontinue on as we planned. Our menu underwent many changes as we
\ncontinuously planned the meal and tried new recipes. The final menu
\nconsisted of herb drop biscuits, an autumn fruit salad, tofu strips with
\nketchup, grilled zucchini, a couscous salad, and key lime pies. While
\nplanning the menu seemed like hard work, there was a lot left to do. We
\nhad to quantify all of the recipes to serve 55 people, determine the
\nnutritional content of each item, determine the overall cost of the
\nmeal, schedule each of the student employees for the day, and more. It
\nwas time consuming but rewarding work, which paid off in the end.<\/p>\n
On the day of the theme meal, we decorated the room with picnic
\ntablecloths, mason jars with flowers and greenery, and upbeat music.
\nWhile the dining room appeared peaceful, the kitchen was fairly hectic.
\nWe had eight people to cook enough food for 55 people in three and a
\nhalf hours, and it was our first day in the kitchen. Even though all of
\nthe dishes piled up, the seven of the recipes were prepared and ready to
\nserve by lunch time. We had about 30 reservations for our meal and
\nadditional to-go orders. In total we served about 45 people, including
\nour professor, who was very impressed with the meal. We received decent
\nreviews on almost every item, although not everyone seemed to like the
\ncouscous salad (this was most likely due to a lack of seasoning). We
\nreceived comments that the meal was \u201cso yummy,\u201d \u201cperfectly cooked,\u201d and
\na \u201cdelicious, filling, and healthy meal.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was such an exciting event being able to prepare and serve vegan
\nrecipes to such a large crowd! These individuals often come to our theme
\nmeals, which are usually not vegan. It was a great opportunity to expose
\npeople to these recipes and show them that vegan meals taste great and
\nare healthy!<\/p>\n
To see the recipes we prepared, visit: For foodservice information, see: http:\/\/www.vrg.org\/fsupdate\/index.htm<\/a><\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.vrg.org\/fsupdate\/CaseyQuantityThemeMealRecipes.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n