Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Feeding Your Tribe Now,and During A SHTF Event

One of the things that people often do not consider important is feeding your tribe,group,clan,team ,etc. as a group.
Cooking for large groups of people is not like having a backyard BBQ,or a holiday meal at your aunt Millie’s house.
There’s procedures you have to follow-just like anything else,there’s a right way and a wrong way to do things.
Do things the wrong way,and everyone you just fed will be grabbing the TP and running to the nearest toilet-or to the woods for the next 24-48hours.
I spent over 20 years as a professional chef,I was the executive chef at private country clubs and first class hotels.
I also cooked for an outfitter on backcountry elk hunts,cooking for the hunters, the guides,and the rest of the staff way back in the mountains,it was usually a 2 day horseback ride to get to camp.
I spent a couple years working fishing boats out of Wanchese N.C. and working for the fish companies on the docks unloading boats and cutting fish.
I am offering a series of 3 classes on cooking for large groups of people,both under “normal” conditions,and in SHTF events with no power,and no natural gas to operate stoves and ovens.

I’ve taught cooking classes in the past-my boss at the time volunteered me to teach the class,at the request of the hotel’s general manager.
I’ m going to use the same methods I used back then,except rather than a 3 day series of classes,I’m going to condense the three days of classes into a one day class.
I will do a series of three classes,each one building on the previous class material,so the classes have to be taken in order,you have to have completed the first class to be able to take the second class an so on.
If there is interest in more advanced classes-I will offer those as well.
Here’s the description of what I will cover in the first class…
Cooking For Large Groups
Class #1-The Basics
This class will be required before taking subsequent classes.

This class will be required before taking subsequent classes.
As of now,I have 3 classes that I plan to offer,with each building on the previous class.
The classes will be one day classes that are the condensed version of 3 day course.
Students will receive quite a large amount of info via e-mail,which includes a series of videos that will be sent to each student as an e-mail attachment. There will also be some additional videos online.
*I’m not satisfied with the quality of the videos I’ve made so far,working on getting a better tripod for the camera,and better lighting for the room I’m using to make the videos. If I can not get the video quality to where I’m satisfied with it,I’ll over that material via e-mails to those taking the classes.
There will also be printed materials distributed to each student on the day of the class that will include material that we will not have the time to cover during class,but that I feel is important for people to know.
There will be a number of recipes included that are my own personal recipes from my years of running kitchens.
I will cover cooking under “normal”conditions,as well as under grid down conditions,to include how to set up a field kitchen.
There will be a “hands on” part of the class,and students will cook our lunch and dinner for the day.
The food is included in class price,as are all the online,e-mail,and printed materials,and a thermometer for each student,as cooking,holding and serving temperatures are critical to insuring a safe meal.
I will provide beverages-coffee,tea,sodas.
Class sizes will be limited to 16 people,any more than that,and the kitchen I have the use of is simply not big enough.
Cost for the class is $125.00.

I just can not make it any lower,and that is a more than fair price for the amount of material,and instruction I will provide. I’ll have 60+ hours into putting together the material for the class,not counting the videos-so this first class is getting a great deal!
A deposit on class fees must be paid no later than 2 weeks prior to class,unless you have worked out a barter deal with me.(see below)
Deposit is $75.00,the remainder is due no later than 3 days before the class,so I know how much food to buy for the class.
I am also willing to barter-I’ll accept silver bars or coins at the Kitco spot silver price day of class,muzzleloding stuff I’l accept in trade-unopened plastic bottles of Triple7 powder,either FFG or FFFG, 240 grain Hornady XTP bullets in .44 or .45 caliber,230 grain Hornady lead roundnosed bullets in .45 caliber-(I’vegot more than enough sabots),quality hunting or tactical kives,fishing gear,20”crossbow bolts,31” aluminun arrow shafts suitable for a 55-70# draw compound bow with a mild cam, NAP 125 grain broadheads.
I can’t accept barter items from everyone taking the class,so if you want to barter-contact me ASAP.
Contact me via e-mail-(gamegetterII@yahoo.com)-and we can most likely work something out.
Anyone planning on taking all 3 classes can also contact me via e-mail,and I’ll knock something off of the total cost for you.
I spent a bit over 20 years as the executive chef, running the kitchens in mostly hotels and private country clubs in Ohio,with some additional experience cooking for an outfitter on backcountry elk hunts in Montana and Colorado,and on fishing boats based out of Wanchese N.C. There may be another guy with similar experience assisiting me in teaching the class-he will be there if he can,depends on what’s going on that day at the restaurant he works at.
If there is enough interest,I can offer more advanced classes after the first three.
As of now,I plan to offer the classes in order,then start over and do the same again.
Material to be covered in Class #1-The Basics
The following is a rough outline of what I will teach in Class #1
Hand washing and the right soaps to use.
Proper sanitation/disinfecting of pots,pans,utensils,kitchen equipment and surfaces.
Proper pot,pan,utensil wash/rinse/sanitization.
Knife sharpening and the correct way to use a chef’s or cooks knife,and other kitchen knives.
The various cooking methods-broil, bake,braise,saute,etc.
Common kitchen weights and measures,use of each.
Basic food prep of vegetables used in cooking.
Intro to the various stocks,soups and sauces.
 Basic food prep of vegetables used in cooking.
Intro to the various stocks,soups and sauces.
Mirepoix
Roux and other binding agents.
Fats and oils used in cooking.
Cooking,holding and serving foods safely.
Cuts of meats and what each is best used for.
Cooking rice and pastas.
Cooking beans.
Cooking vegetables and potatoes.
Intro to baking breads,bisquits,cornbreads.
Roasting meats and poultry.
Cooking fish and seafood.
Intro into baking cakes,pies,brownies,cookies,etc.
Proper food storage methods
Meal planning and prep.
I’ll go over the various ways to set up a field kitchen,and do all of the above in a grid-down scenario.

Class #2 will be focused on grid down cooking,and will involve planning meals,doing the prep work,cooking meals over a fire,how to make the fire,and set up your “kitchen” near the fire,and all the food safety during prep,coking,holding at the right temperature,and serving the meals.
I’ll announce class #2 about 6 weeks prior to the date of the class.
Classes will be held in Sagamore Hills Ohio
 Class #1 the basics,will be held on Saturday March 12th at 9am-5pm
Anyone interested,please contact me via
gamegetterII@yahoo.com
Or-
starvinlarry@gmail.com

21 comments:

  1. If I lived on your continent, I'd be there in a heartbeat.

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  2. I second the first poster's comment even though I am on the same continent. I just can't take that much time off even for a condensed class.

    But you mention you are going to put alot of this online. Well I am going to make an offer. I am willing to set up a Moodle platform free of charge and assist with the content setup in exchange for a gratis access to the course.

    Logistically this is an important item. It needs to be widely accessible and disseminated so those of us that may not be the point of the spear can be prepared to support those that are.

    Thanks for your time and I think this is important.

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    1. That's a possibility,I have to get the video issues worked out first,and I can't do this full time,I have to work full time as well.
      Having someone else set up the online stuff is worth the trade,so when I get the video issues worked out,I'll let you know.

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  3. Gamegetter, Excellent! Good to see you educating the masses. Have a good class and have some fun with it. Best wishes. Knuck

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  4. Gamegetter, Excellent! Good to see you educating the masses. Have a good class and have some fun with it. Best wishes. Knuck

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. Thanks!
      No one else is doing it,I figure it's information that needs to get out to the community,and I have access to a church kitchen with commercial grade equipment,so I'm giving it a shot.
      We'll see if there's enough interest.

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  5. I was at one time Serve Safe Certified...are you familiar with this? So this would really be an interesting course for me...let me know of online capabilities as well. I was a Food Service Manager for a large school district for 10 years...there are many differences I am sure, but some things are probably very similar, as far as temps, holding, storing, and cooking, sanitation, etc..let me know....thanks.

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  6. I was at one time Serve Safe Certified...are you familiar with this? So this would really be an interesting course for me...let me know of online capabilities as well. I was a Food Service Manager for a large school district for 10 years...there are many differences I am sure, but some things are probably very similar, as far as temps, holding, storing, and cooking, sanitation, etc..let me know....thanks.

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    1. Serve safe wasn't operational when I was running kitchens,we had to take food safety classes via the local county health department,then as other food safety programs became available,most of us were able to test out of them by demonstrating we had the knowledge.

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    2. The Serve Safe Cert. was the testing that verified the knowledge of the practice...thereby eliminating the need for the demonstrations of each participant. Anyway, I am very interested in the online version of the course...If you will let Wirecutter know the details of the course...he will set up payment. Thanks gamegetter II. Looking forward to this! I have been out of the field for 20 years almost...so it's kind of exciting...something to look forward to. Thanks again.

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  7. People -- TAKE THIS CLASS, if you can. Luckily, my wife is a ServSafe instructor, and I'm getting a long term knowledge and wisdom dump from her, but cooking for a family and cooking for a crowd are two different animals.

    All of the odds are increased -- you don't have any margin anymore. Think about the environment this is going to be used in. Everyone is going to be under brutal levels of mental and physical stress. Their immune systems are going to be shot (and they may themselves actually be shot.) Bad food at best will make that stress even worse, and at worst will kill people.

    Cooking does two things -- it kills dangerous pathogens and neutralizes natural toxins, and it makes food more easily and completely digestible -- two things that will be VITAL in an emergency situation. If the food isn't properly cooked, people aren't just getting sick -- they also aren't getting all the nutrients and energy they could be getting, and that's just like chucking out 1/10th (or more) of your provisions right at the start of the emergency.

    The final thing is that good cooking can push through the other direction -- it can make what you have more palatable, cutting through stress-related appetite problems, and preventing waste. I hope that there is a good healthy portion of meal planning based on caloric and nutrient requirements. Do your meal planning NOW, because it doesn't matter how good you are at it if you simply didn't put up stores to ALLOW you to meet those requirements. (It always boggles my mind to meet someone whose put up 500 lbs of beans and rice... and not an ounce of salt, much less pepper, spices, fats, etc.)

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I'll be covering items to store for preppers in the classes-mainly in class #2.
      I don't get it either,have a friend who bought 300# of rice,and nothing to season it with a few years ago.
      He's since purchased spices,beef and chicken base,etc.
      The worst thing about it is he knows what I did for a living for 20 some years-he ate in most of the restaurants,except for the country clubs.
      I'll be using that as an example of what not to do in class.
      Also will cover how to consider calorie requirements and proper nutrition in menu planning.

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  8. It's a great Idea! and as much a moral booster as mail call, But im afraid I had my fill of cooking for a group.. 9 months in the galley with 300 hungry mouths was about my limit.

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    1. Only 300 people? Child's play,there were plenty of days we put out well over 3,000 meals.
      Try cooking for a member-guest golf tournament that lasts a week at a private country club with 500 members who all took part in the tournament,as well as 500 guests.
      1,000 people a day for 5 days in a row for breakfast,lunch,dinner,and appetizers for the happy hour in the bar.
      I ran the kitchens in hotels that had a banquet capacity of 2500 if all rooms were filled.
      Plenty of times they were filled for lunch and dinner,along with a couple dozen breakfast parties,and we still had to serve breakfast,lunch and dinner in the dining room,plus room service,plus an extensive bar appetizer display.
      It's all about staying ahead on prep work,paying attention to food safety and keeping the kitchen clean and sanitized.
      I would still be working as an executive chef,but I like to fish and hunt-that's just not possible when you're running hotel or country club kitchens.
      Got sick of to many days of going to work in the dark,and coming home in the dark.

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  9. I would not want to even contemplate cooking for 500 or more, day in, day out. But there is the need for that.

    But what I would be interested in would be capable of producing 3 squares a day for 48hrs on a moments notice for a platoon size company of patriots.

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  10. Yeah gamegetter I wasnt bragging,Just stating a fact.. Im not one to play the one-up game.But comparing cooking on land to cooking at sea is, well,... I'll just leave it at that.. I think it's a great idea, yur on to something...

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    1. I didn't mean it as a one up comment-I apologize if you took it that way.
      I was just trying to point out some of the experience I've got.
      As for feeding a platoon sized group 3 meals a day-I'm helping out a couple guys who have a surplus MKT The mobile kitchen trailer is how the military does it,and it's a great concept,just needs tweaked a little for feeding "civilians",as no one will have all the canned,boxed,and frozen foods the military uses a lot of.
      You've got me on the cooking at sea thing,I've only cooked on trawlers off the east coast,usually with a 5 man crew.
      Made a few trips on a scallop boat that processed and bagged or froze the scallops at sea,that one had a crew of 32.
      Cooking at sea is a whole 'nother animal.

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  11. I am interested. The money seems very reasonable for what you are offering in return. Like everyone, the issue is in the planning of time. I am looking closely at my schedule. I have a back ground of a family restaurant. I am aware of some of your material, but could learn so much from your vast knowledge. I hope to be able to attend.
    I also think that an online video series, at a reasonable cost, would be great. You must make it worth your while, no one expects you to do it for free.
    No matter if I make it or not, I hope you have a great turn out, because this is the kind of thing that is just what is needed. Good for you.

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  12. My wife and I are in! Thanks for stepping up to do this, it's not as sexy as a gun class but a major gap in my knowledge and I can't wait!

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    1. Thank you for your interest,as I explained in the post,you'll be getting some info via e-mail before the class,as that's the only way I can cover all the material,as this is really a 3 day course condensed into a one day class.
      So basically,everyone gets to do some homework before class.

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