Since childhood, I’ve been in love with food. As soon as I could read, I devoured recipe books. It wasn’t long before I was experimenting in the kitchen. Since then I’ve been cooking & baking, some might say, excessively.
As a teenager I worked with a lady from church catering weddings and other large scale events. In my early 20’s I thought about becoming a caterer but it seemed so daunting. I wasn’t as enterprising as I am now – staring an on-line store and publishing books.
I have helped out with events at church but yesterday had a chance to officially cater an event. It was for a neighbouring Children’s Aid Society. They rented our church to offer further training to foster parents.
With two young children and still recovering from a lengthy trip, making enough muffins and desserts for 72 adults and 16 children was no easy task. After being separate from me for a week, Raine and Athena refused to leave my side. So I put them to work.
making mini cheesecakes
They even came with me to serve coffee at the start of the training – since it was before the start of school and too early to drop Raine off at the babysitter’s. They choose some nice dresses to wear for the occasion. I must admit I wore a black dress with a bit of lace around the neck and hem along with a fancy ruffled apron.
Of course I had gluten free and vegan options for everything. There were lots of fruits and veggies. It would have been easier to just buy most items. But I’m not one to take the easy road.
There were many moments that made all the work worthwhile. Mainly I wanted to honour the foster parents. I know the food generally served at these events. I’ve been to many myself. It’s usually cheap pizza and some store bought cookies. That’s not at all what I served.
Morning Break:
handcrafted muffins (including a gluten free & vegan option), fresh fruit (apples, oranges, bananas)
Lunch:
herb roasted chicken, Spanish rice, salad
mini cheese cakes, date squares, coconut macaroons, chocolate chip cookies, fruit (blueberries, strawberries, pineapple, melon)
Afternoon Break:
movie theater style popcorn, veggies & dip
I’m quite proud of how it turned out. Judging from the responses of the social workers and foster parents, my message of honour was well received.
Wonderfully Unusual 
This is just lovely! Sounds like you gave them quite a gift with your food! I love that you called it a message of honour. What a great way to thank them for what they do!
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