When you reach this range of mega-cooking, you are far beyond the amateur realm. Here are a few notes I collected from folks who actually do this kind of work, which may help.
To serve 500 to 600 people cafeteria line style during a three-hour event requires 40 to 60 on-site volunteer servers. This does not count the cooks or kitchen crew, or the clean up after. You need one serving line for each 50 people to serve all comers within an hour.
A professional Texas BBQ catering company uses this provision list for their standard 500 person BBQ:
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Here is the "recipe" for the annual Allen's Neck Meeting's Quaker Clambake, the Allen's Neck Meeting's delicious fund-raiser. The Allen's Neck Meeting bake is so authentic that several years ago the bakemasters and their crew were invited by the Smithsonian to hold a clambake on the Washington Mall. To serve 500 paying guests and the staff, they use: 125 workers (pitmasters, cooks servers, and cleanup)
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George Berish in a book about the clambake offers this recipe for Yankee Haymakers, a tangy refreshing cool drink served at the Meeting House's bicentennial. George Berish's Yankee Haymakers Drink
1 gallon pure water
Store in icebox and it will always be cool. The old way to keep it cool was to hang it in a well. It was usually stored in a stone crock or jug. |
This is a partial shopping list for a Thanksgiving dinner that serves over 1000 guests with over 200 volunteers.
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Iced tea "Sweet tea" from instant tea or loose tea
5 pounds (about 11 cups) sugar
First make the base. Pour together the boiling water, sugar and tea and stir until the sugar dissolves. Cover, continue to steep for 15 minutes. Strain and use immediately or refrigerate. When ready to serve, use a 10 gallon (40 quart) food safe container. Fill with a large block of ice, 7-10 pounds, and 7 1/2 to 8 gallons of cold water. Then pour the strong tea solution into the container slowly and stir well. Don't put the tea base in first, it will stay at the bottom.
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Indian Milk Sweet
8 gallons of milk
This huge recipe is an all day affair. It makes a sort of milk fudge.
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