First Wedding In The Castle

Today I began work at 11:00 in the castle. I wasn’t totally sure what I was up for, having worked in the lodge the past few weeks, but I had taken a peek at the function sheets yesterday and knew there were weddings every day this week – some big, some small, some with new menu items, some with menus I had done before. Today there was a small wedding, only forty-seven guests. Therefore, the wedding dinner was held in the gallery of the castle instead of the usual marquee. It was a small, intimate wedding and the couple had rented exclusive use of the castle for the day.

This was my first time catering a wedding in the castle and not the marquee, so I wasn’t totally sure what to expect. It started out the same as usual – doing last-minute prep jobs for today and afterwards prepping for the next day’s function as well. I made the canapés and soup and such, then did prep work for the wedding dinner tonight, such as chopping parsley, cooking and plating the roasted potatoes and vegetables, baking bread rolls, etc. Then the jobs of serving the canapés and the usual plating and serving of the wedding meal. The thing was, there was no need to transport everything we prepped to the marquee; we could just keep it at the castle. We also worked at the castle all day – there was even a brand-new mini kitchen installed in the basement of the castle specifically for wedding prep. It doesn’t have much, but it has a large oven and a walk-in blast chiller. 

Here are the differences between catering a wedding in the castle, and catering a wedding in the marquee. 
1. Everyone on the wedding team works at the castle all day. We don’t split up into groups between the castle and the marquee.
2. There are minimal trips between the castle and the marquee. Of course, we did need to bring some of the dishes over from the marquee to the castle, but no food transport.
3. Everything prepped stayed put – so all our food orders and everything were all in one handy spot.
4. Everything was closer at the one venue, so if we were short on something or forgot something, we had plenty of back-up without having to run back to the castle or lodge.
5. We had more time. Because no time was spent wrapping, transporting, and unwrapping stuff, we had more time to focus on the actual work and get ahead for more upcoming functions this week.
6. It was more crowded and a bit hectic. Obviously the castle kitchen, dining room, and room we used to set-up plates were much smaller than what we were used to at the marquee, but still the same number of staff, so we were a bit short on space.
7. Less equipment. The marquee is specifically designed for functions, from the kitchen equipment to the long prep tables. The castle kitchen definitely is not. 
8. The entire process had to be altered slightly. Instead of plating mains on a long table, we had to do it on the kitchen counter where all the components were handy and could stay hot, and then the servers had to carry the plates from the kitchen to the gallery. The servers really have to know where everything is in comparison to where is it kept in the marquee.
9. Prep was done more last-minute. We couldn’t do what we usually do in the marquee and pre-plate everything, then slide the entire rack of plates in the oven. Instead, we had to cook the items separately and plate everything just before serving. This puts more last-minutes pressure on us, but does ensure everything is hot and fresh. And with smaller numbers, this isn’t too bad.

My first time trying the crème brulée dessert!

Tonight’s menu was as follows:
Canapés: Smoked Salmon & Crème Fraîche on Blinis, Mini Vegetable Spring Rolls, Filo Tartlets with Smoked Chicken, Black Olives & Pesto, Spiced Chicken Kebabs, Breaded Mozzarella Sticks, Tomato and Basil Crustini
Starter: Gateau of Fresh Crab, Avocado, Lime, Garden Leaves
Bread: Wheat bread, raisin rolls, sesame seeded rolls, white rolls, caraway rolls, red pepper rolls. 
Soup:  Cream of Celeriac and Smoked Bacon, with truffle oil.
Sorbet: Celebration Champagne
Main Course Option #1 - Meat: Seared Fillet of Irish Beef served medium, braised shallot, celeriac purée, fondant potato, brandy and Madagascar green peppercorn sauce.
Main Course Option #2 - Chicken:  Roasted Poussin with Ham, Champ, Herb Stuffing, Chasseur Sauce.
Side Dishes: Roast Baby Potatoes, and Roast carrots, onions, parsnip, and turnip.
Dessert: His – Warm Apple and Berry Crumble with Vanilla Ice Cream
Hers – Classlic Vanilla Crème Brulée with Raspberry Sorbet
Petits Fours Assortment: madeleines, cranberry white fudge, fruit jellies, flaked white chocolate truffles, Belgian dark chocolate truffles. 
Evening Buffet – Bacon Butties, Vegetable Spring Rolls, Cocktail Sausages