The "JohnT's First Paid Catering Gig" thread

[JohnT]

Over the years I have invited friends and neighbors over for a fried chicken dinner, made by me of course, something I also do as a housewarming for new neighbors, detailing my experiences in a Twitter thread from last year (sorry, must click link to see my delicious chicken):

John Thornton

A couple of weeks ago, got a call from J who is having a small get together for his real estate firm and he wanted to know if I cater.

Well… no. I’ve given casual thought to it, and making food for someone as a housewarming gift is kinda similar (but not at all), but I haven’t actually catered catered. But that didn’t matter as I told him this, concluding with “… but you have to start sometime. What are you thinking, J?”

So he ordered a 10 person fried chicken and fixings dinner to be delivered in 11.5 hours, 6 pm tonight:

24 pieces of chicken
Corn off the Cob
Cole Slaw
Biscuits

None of it particularly challenging - I’ve never done biscuits (I’m a yeast roll person), but I practiced yesterday, they came out fine, so no big deal. (And I bought some canned varieties if things get too dicey timewise.) I’m actually looking forward to the corn and have been viewing recipes - should I season it with bacon or the fried chicken cracklin’s which will inevitably be made?

Thoughts?

I’m getting $250 for my efforts, the food itself was sourced at about $45 (mostly chicken), and I’m printing business cards to put out for his people to call me if they want a catered fried chicken dinner because why not? J joked $250 was a lot to pay me for “a couple of hours work” and I looked him in the eye and said “It’s 5 hours, including shopping, which comes to $50 an hour, which is a good, pre-tax, living wage in San Antonio for selling 40 years of experience.” I followed up with a concession to have him pay cost for the food, provided receipts, so he can avoid any ‘unnecessary markups which you will undoubtably get from other caterers’. He was good with all this, as was I: I’m confident in the value of my time, having no need to concede at the first push, nor do I need to markup materials cost on my friend.

Anyway, this is my rather mundane (but not so pointle$$) thing I must share, so keep an eye on this thread for pictures and updates as I post my progress throughout the day.

Wish me luck! I’m diving in!

[iiandyiiii]

Cool! Let us know how it turns out.

I want some homemade fried chicken…

[Pardel-Lux]

Congratulations! Looks very tasty and crispy, great. But those breasts are enormous! Wow! I would have halfed them for fear of undercoocking the inside or burning the outside, but you obviously know what you are doing.
My suggestions for diversifying, if you ever feel the need to vary: free range chicken. More expensive, for going upmarket. A bit tougher on the bite, but tastier.
Marinades, if you have the time to let them do their thing.
Olive oil for the mediterranean touch. More expensive, for going upmarket, where no one in Texas has gone before (or have they?).
Just a question on your ingredients list: the item number five: Flower. What do you mean by that? Flour is number two, so no typo or autocorrect, I guess.

[nelliebly]

Congrats on what I hope is the first of many gigs! The chicken looks absolutely delish. You’re obviously a pro.

One question: you list “flour” and “flower.” Is the second one a typo, or do you have a secret ingredient?

[JohnT]

@Pardel-Lux

What do you mean by that? Flour is number two, so no typo or autocorrect, I guess.

It’s a typo. Twitter doesn’t allow for editing and I didn’t want to redo the entire thing.

[solost]

@JohnT

It’s a typo. Twitter doesn’t allow for editing and I didn’t want to redo the entire thing

What ingredient is it a typo of, though? I’d like to make this! If it’s a secret ingredient, fine.

One more question— you list Adam’s House Rub, which according to this link is just salt, pepper and garlic powder, which you already have as separate ingredients. Is your Adam’s Rub version different?

https://www.heb.com/product-detail/adams-reserve-house-all-purpose-rub/914285

[JohnT]

@Pardel-Lux

But those breasts are enormous! Wow! I would have halfed them for fear of undercoocking the inside or burning the outside, but you obviously know what you are doing.

The true secret to fried chicken is heat management (and quality pieces). You’re right - it’s not easy (at first) cooking a bone-in breast+back without scoring the breading, but it can be done as long as you don’t mind taking 30-40 minutes to cook those pieces, flipping them regularly.

[JohnT]

@solost

What ingredient is it a typo of, though? I’d like to make this! If it’s a secret ingredient, fine.

It’s not a secret ingredient, I typed in ‘flour’ twice, misspelled it the 2nd time, and auto-correct fixed it to ‘flower’. Didn’t even notice until a day or so after I posted the entire set of tweets.

And you are absolutely correct about the Adams. I used the little bit I had in the bottom of the spice jar, and then augmented it with salt, pepper, and garlic to get the breading to taste. One only has 280 characters on Twitter to say what to say…

Really, the secret to fried chicken is heat management, not seasoning. Once you learn how to cook it, then you can do things like Cajun fried chicken, garlic & herb fried chicken (a big favorite), parm & lemon fried chicken, etc.

[solost]

Thanks!

@JohnT

Really, the secret to fried chicken is heat management, not seasoning.

Sure, I am a born recipe tinkerer, but I like to understand the base recipe before I start messing with it

[JohnT]

I typed up my recipe for a woman I’m wooing and had it printed for her. In the introduction I went into how I learned to cook fried chicken @ at the beginning of my teen years:

When I was 12, my father got a position which would require him to be out of the house for weeks on end. My grandfather (his father) was at the house to provide legal cover re: adult authority, but he was in no condition to do anything about it should any of us four children decide to run amok.

But we didn’t – none of us were predisposed that way, not my oldest sister Beth, half out the door to college as she was, nor Rebecca, #2 on the depth chart, already Miss Conformity well on her way to being a Respected Physician. I was too involved in my books and the arcade, and my brother (third born) has… his entire life… taken to heart the Gospel of Thrift and the value of the Protestant Work Ethic as taught by my grandparents.

Dad got a job which would eventually turn into a multi-million-dollar business for him and his next wife, but at this stage he was still in ‘training’ mode and that required him to be gone for weeks at a time. And one of the things he would do when home was to generate dinner plans for his next trip – effectively mapping out what our dinners were going to be for 12, 17, 24 days straight. And when he would leave, we would have our meals for the next X days mapped out – including who was to cook.

My brother? He’d get hot dog night. Fish stick night. Frozen pizza night. Order Chinese delivery (we’re talking 1979-1981 here, not many options) night.

Me? I’d get ham and REAL mashed potatoes. Pot roast, requiring me to prepare dinner prior to the 7am school bus. Lasagna (real, not Stouffers).

And, of course, fried chicken. Living in Georgia, of course: Fried chicken.

(My sisters did not have to cook, already being of age to have jobs (and having them – you did not NOT work in my family, as per my grandparents, a lesson the four of us took to heart. I mean, we would have to explain to them weekly why we were unemployed teenagers, so it was just easier to work at Arby’s than say “yeah, I’m the loser grandkid with no job and no money. Again.”) My sisters, however, were responsible for shopping and handling any $ concerns in Dad’s absence, so the division of labor was probably fair.

Not that kept any of us from complaining, however.)

The point of this long introduction, <>, is I have been making fried chicken so long that I literally have zero idea about measurements. None.

And it’s true. I just make it to taste and whatever I have in my cabinet which catches my eye.

[not_what_you_d_expect]

Good Luck! I haven’t had a good piece of fried chicken in such a long time. It just seems like too much trouble to cook it anymore for just myself.

I really enjoy mixing fresh grape/cherry tomatoes and basil with my corn off the cob. Some people add mozzarella cheese and a marinade, but it doesn’t even need it, in my opinion.

I did notice a lack of dessert though and would love to recommend a delicious banana pudding or strawberry shortcake when you expand your empire. I may have mentioned my sweet tooth a time or two.

[JohnT]

The lady of the house is making her own desserts, but yes, I likely would have done a pie or something.

The corn is going to have bacon and chives in it. I was thinking a Fiesta corn mix (peppers, etc), but they really didn’t order that and I don’t know if I want to create a southern dinner with only ONE dish having a Tejano flair. Just seems… odd.

[k9bfriender]

Sounds like a fun gig, I spent a number of my culinary years in catering and banqueting.

$25 a head is a little high, but it’s not unreasonable, especially if that includes service charge and tip.

One thing you may want to be careful of though, it’s one thing to throw together a little shindig for a friend and some pocket money, but if this is something you are actually looking to do as a business, there are going to be a number of health code regulations that you will need to follow. If it’s found that you are running an unregistered food production business out of your house, you can get some pretty steep fines.

It depends on your state and local health codes, but it’s pretty hard to get anything more than making baked goods approved in a residence, and even that requires a fair amount of compliance with regulation(no carpet, no pets, water and sewer inspection…).

That said, catering was the most enjoyable and profitable culinary gig I’ve done, and had I not stumbled into owning a dog grooming business, it’s probably what I would have ended up doing.

[Tarataratara]

I wish I was there to have a taste! If you do end up in a biscuit emergency, the frozen version is much better than the canned. Please report back!

[JohnT]

@k9bfriender

One thing you may want to be careful of though, it’s one thing to throw together a little shindig for a friend and some pocket money, but if this is something you are actually looking to do as a business, there are going to be a number of health code regulations that you will need to follow. If it’s found that you are running an unregistered food production business out of your house, you can get some pretty steep fines.

Very true and I’m looking to do 3 or 4 of these a year, not so much a business or even a regular gig, just something to keep me profitable on the occasional weekend afternoon.

[JohnT]

Ingredients:

Corn:
… bacon
… cilantro
… parsley

Chicken
… cumin
… garlic
… s&p
… Canola oil

(This is kind of my default when I make for guests. They want ‘the same recipe’.)

Slaw:
… Mayo
… Dijon mustard
… Sugar
… Apple cider vinegar (she prefers a vinegar based slaw)
… Celery seeds

[burpo_the_wonder_mutt]

Is this gonna eventually be a 26-minute folk tune that people are going to request on Thanksgiving? You’ve already got the title.

[JohnT]

Down yon San 'tonio way
On this cold February day
The chicken was fried as our young men died…

… and, shit, don’t know where that last line came from, but y’all can take it from here.

[burpo_the_wonder_mutt]

Pick up the phone, don’t be nervous
Call, “JohnT’s First Paid Catering Gig,” service.

[Lancia]

Now I’m drooling for some fried chicken!

Although, I confess I’ve never made fried chicken (my southern grandmother would be so ashamed). I like to cook a fair bit but thats just not something I’ve ever attempted. So I am curious about something. You say that you did “7 minutes per side, with 5 minutes on the thick meaty side, then 5-5-3.”

I’m trying to noodle this out. Does this mean, put chicken in the oil, cook 7 minutes, flip, cook 5 minutes (now on the thicker side), flip, then cook 5 minutes, flip, cook five minutes, flip, cook 3 minutes, and done?

4 flips total?