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pandastyle00
1
Oct 20, 2017
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What is the easiest way to cook food or a large amount of food? And any cooking tips for undergraduates and recent graduates?
Oct 20, 2017
BelialApollyon
43
Oct 21, 2017
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pandastyle00I’ve done large scale event catering for many years. The only thing I can tell you that makes it easier is to get ahead of yourself. Anything that can be done ahead of time that doesn’t compromise quality should be done. Plan everything out well. Decide what is the most efficient order in which to do things. The longer something take, the earlier you should start. Also, learn proper quantities to prepare. Nothing is worse than having hundreds of pounds of food leftover. A standard 2” hotel pan generally feeds 30 people for most items. The greater the variety, the less quantity you will need. It will certainly take experience but, these are a few good pointers.
Oct 21, 2017
215grace
6
Oct 21, 2017
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pandastyle00Large amounts as in catering or just for a party? The old fashioned crockpot cooks a good size portion of anything with minimal effort for a crowd. Also, the new instapot madness, which has a slow cooker function. On a tight budget, you can get away with cheaper meat cuts if you have a way to slow cook them & use lots of seasonings.
Oct 21, 2017
AngryAccountant
277
Oct 23, 2017
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pandastyle00Really big pots. If you can access a restaurant supply store you can get very large things for bulk cooking. As for techniques beyond that, Crockpots are your friend, Sous Vide is your friend, large scale smokers are good, etc.
Oct 23, 2017
Rgconner
67
Oct 23, 2017
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pandastyle00A good book for this is The Professional Chef.
Most of the recipes are for 10 servings, making it very very easy to scale up and down.
However, you will need a scale, because most recipes are given by weight, not volume. More consistent, and allows for better scaling.
It is a very broad ranging book, and covers all aspects of a kitchen, on how to buy, store and prep food, equipment, techniques, etc.
Oct 23, 2017
jkiemele
222
Oct 23, 2017
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pandastyle00My two go to methods for large format cooking is sous vide and pressure cooking. While slow cooking (like a crock pot) kind of accomplishes the same thing, I think sous vide and pressure cooking do it better by providing better texture (sous vide), better flavor (both), and quicker cooking (pressure cooking). I've made food for 50+ people many times and love how these two devices help me out. Oh, and a good food processor and blender is helpful if your tasks are appropriate for them.
Oct 23, 2017
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