Seeking suggestions for menu ideas for feeding a film crew for an all day shoot.

[MontanaMama]

Last edited Sat Feb 22, 2020, 07:50 PM - Edit history (2)

My husband and I own a small business that is rapidly growing. We have hired a video artist/producer/director to produce short informational videos about our product to expand our YouTube channel and social media presence. The first shoot is this Saturday. The director asked that we don’t take off site breakfast/lunch/coffee breaks so I will need to provide food and beverages for the production people and our staff to graze on throughout the day - 7 men and me. The guys on my staff are eaters! No vegetarians, vegans or gluten issues...just the director who says he doesn’t eat a lot of carbs. I have a small kitchen at our shop including a full sized fridge and gas stove. I entertain quite often at home but for some reason, this project has me flummoxed on what to do for this spread. I want to have fun with it. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.



UPDATE: We're still on site with the film crew. It has been a long day and my job as caterer is almost done. I have a couple more takes for my part in the video and then I'll start cleaning up. Thanks to all of you who gave me great suggestions. Here's the menu I went with:

Breakfast: Cinnamon swirl wheat bread, bacon knots, egg, sausage and cheese burritos, fresh strawberries, bananas, coffee, tea and warm cider.

Lunch: Green enchilada chicken soup (topped with jack cheese, tortilla strips, jalapenos, cilantro and sour cream). Taquitos, guacamole, salsa and chips, sliced veggies. Fruit seltzer water, Kombucha tea, various sodas. Macaroons and chocolate chip cookies.

Afternoon snack: Veggies and hummus, cheese and crackers, apple slices, cheddar cheese bread sticks, cookies from lunch.

Looks like the kegerator is seeing some action...

[lapfog_1]

1. How about a big pot of chili

with a few plates of veggies and chips for grazing.

[MontanaMama]

3. Thanks!

I am considering a pot of soup of some sort. I can make it ahead and leave it on the stove on low. Wondering about the wisdom of beans however...

[lapfog_1]

6. is it an outdoor shoot?

then your fine... otherwise soak the beans before making the chili.

LOL

[MontanaMama]

23. It's an indoor shoot.

AND it’s cold here. 12 degrees right now. That said...the soup is a great idea. It has beans in it. Does soaking help with the effects of beans? I hadn’t heard that. Easy enough.

[lapfog_1]

25. yes, check for the type of beans you are using for how long to soak

generally in cold water.

"Simply place dried beans in a container, cover them with water and let them soak. They'll need to soak eight to 12 hours, but the key to eliminating the gas is draining and rinsing every three hours. Yup, you read that right. Drain, rinse and start soaking again every three hours."

[brewens]

36. Is it a remake of Blazzing Saddles? They might want the beans to be full force. n/t

[LonePirate]

4. I was thinking the same thing, especially if the forecast expects a cold day.

Maybe throw in some brownies or cookies as well.

[Ohiogal]

2. Sloppy joes/pulled pork sandwiches

Potato salad, baked beans, brownies

[MontanaMama]

5. Pulled pork...

Now you’re talking. Thx!

[LakeArenal]

7. Fry hot dog and brats and keep them in a crock pot.

[MontanaMama]

9. Hmmmm.

That might be good. I work with some hard core carnivores. I have a grill at work too.

[NeoGreen]

8. Taco Bar?

Make your own as you please.

[MontanaMama]

10. Love that idea.

I make a mean taco meat. Have corn shells and flour shells...couple kinds of cheeses and a platter of veggies.

[Me.]

11. At Many Craft Services You'll Find

Egg Sands, Bagels, Cream Cheese, Donuts, Fruit

Sand fixings (sand meat, egg salad, tuna salad, deli meats)& salad fixings & pizza for lunches


For snacks...taquitos, cookies, chips, candy, cupcakes

coffee, tea, water, sodas, juice

[Kali]

12. ranch crew feeding menu

BREAKFAST
bacon, muffins, good granola or breakfast bars, breakfast burritos
fruit (bananas, citrus, apples)
OJ
coffee, duh


LUNCH/nibbles

shredded beef (pot roast, cheap cuts slow cooked and then shredded up, back into crock pot or similar with juice to keep warm)
rolls and flour tortillas
sides and condiments so folks can choose to make it Mexican (burritos) or BBQ - beans, coleslaw, bbq sauce, picante salsa, cheese, onion, etc
chips (individual bags in an assortment)
cheese plate (cubes with toothpicks), veggie plate with dip if it isn't too cold out, cold vegs and cold weather - meh
nuts
dried fruit

desert - pie, sorry just has to be pie or cobbler

iced tea, lemonade, coffee

[MontanaMama]

13. "Has to be pie or cobbler"

[Kali]

14. ...

[WhiteTara]

15. they'll appreciate grazing food

they're eating on the fly. I'd do rollups, fruits, cookies, small sandwiches. Grapes cut into small bunches are wonderful. Lunch with chili sounds great. For breakfast, I'd do breakfast burritos with sausage with cut-up fruit? Pancakes sound overwhelming to me in a small otra kitchen. Good luck. You'll have fun.

[MontanaMama]

16. Breakfast burritos.

Yes!

[WhiteTara]

17. glad I could help

[2naSalit]

26. Easy peasy way to make the innerds for burritos

the breakfast kind. Make "tortilla" as I learned it from Basque people...
6-8 beaten eggs in a big bowl...
Much like making an omelette, but use potato slices, peppers, onion, sausage and one complimentary spice besides black pepper which you use too. Saute all the stuff in a bit of oil or butter, when potatoes are nearly cooked as a sign of done, remove from stove and add to eggs in the bowl and mix up so every piece is covered by the egg and return to the skillet, cover and cook on med/low until the eggs are cooked and golden on the pan side, flip if you want to to make sure the top is cooked too. Put that in flour tortillas and you have burritos. Get small tortillas so you can have a lot of little ones. Serve with fruit and coffee.

[MontanaMama]

28. Why didn't I think of this?

Makes it so much easier. My shopping trip to Costco tomorrow will be epic.

[2naSalit]

31. LOL!

I almost wish I could be there to help!

[MontanaMama]

35. I wish you could be too.

Not even "almost". I'm the introvert on our staff. I am happy to keep the food stocked and ready to avoid being on camera.

[samnsara]

18. Include bacon knots! sprinkled with garlic and parmasean.. they keep you filled!

..carb-less and good through the day. Pizza bites...or a big pot of chili cooking on the gas stove all day....loaves of garlic bread and bags of green salad they can dish out themselves. have fun and share the menu when you get it sorted

[MontanaMama]

21. Bacon knots...

I'm hunting for these online right now! I'll update you all with my final menu once I nail it down. Thank you for the input!

[PennyK]

24. What are bacon knots????

That sounds like something I'd love!

[MontanaMama]

29. I didn't know what they were either...

I found this recipe: https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a58662/garlic-parm-bacon-knots-recipe/

and many others...I'm going to make some with a sprinkle of smoked paprika and brown sugar. Super excited to put a platter of them out for the crew.

[Kali]

37. OMG

that is going to the next pot luck

[MontanaMama]

38. So I made them for the film crew.

I par baked them in the bbq so the grease wouldn't mung up my oven. I sprinkled them with smoked paprika, brown sugar and parmesan cheese....then, this morning crisped them up in the oven at work and OMG. They were insanely good. 2 pounds of bacon gone in a flash. MAKE THEM!

[Kali]

39. they will have to be made for a social occasion

too dangerous sounding to even think of doing a trial run

[MontanaMama]

40. I might make them again tomorrow morning for the family.

I'll only make a few of them however. WAY better than a slice of bacon.

[msongs]

19. why should u feed them? are they doing this for free? nt

[MontanaMama]

20. It is part of the contract. We are paying them to

write the scripts, do the filming and editing. They don't want anyone taking breaks off site that could hold up the show. I like to cook and entertain so I don't really mind. My participation in the videos will just be here and there so it will give me something to do.

[Me.]

22. Film Crews Alwats Get Fed

an army travels on its stomach

[2naSalit]

33. +1

[handmade34]

27. I've catered a few small events

keep it simple but include finger/grazing foods as well

coffee, tea, water

breakfast: quiche, breakfast burritos, egg/(bacon, ham or sausage) muffins, fruit

lunch: beef stew, casseroles, shepherd's pie, lasagna, salad (tossed, cole slaw, potato)

sweet: pie, brownies, cookies, cheesecake, bread pudding

[MontanaMama]

32. I'll put you on speed dial.

Hadn't thought of quiche. I'll put one together tonight. My chickens have been pumping out the eggs with these longer days. Eggcellent idea!!

[Phoenix61]

30. Spiced cider might be nice. nt

[MontanaMama]

34. Yes! I have some

from our local Western Cider...they sell boxes of spiced cider in a box similar to boxed wine. EAsy to warm up too. Super idea.THIS has been the best thread.

[Apollo Zeus]

41. Sounds like a very nice assortment

I worked on 4 pro sets in 2019 and one student film:

Student film (in an AirBnb with permission): scrambled eggs and bacon cooked there by the Producer, bagels and donuts from Dunkin Donuts, cut fruit and berries. Lunch: Subway subs, nice hummus, pita, apples, Indian take-out, tikka masala, saag paneer

Succession (HBO on location with 200+ people): 2 big buffet lines with everything labeled, vegan options, etc Probably 24 different options

Billions, Monsterland and another HBO -- scrambled eggs, sausage, hash browns, pancakes, bacon, toast, fruit
all day: fruit, energy bars, coffee, tea, water, nuts and candy, cookies,
on Billions I got the crew dinner -- a beef carving station, fish, chicken, a chef they all knew by name and liked and who also played DJ.

Productions move around like little armies and about 1/3 of all crew members are military veterans. I do it 6 days a year for fun but one crew of about 40 people had been at working 12 to 16-hour days for 55 days straight -- all period (1940s) and lots of locations. Brutal stuff for a crew -- dressing massive sets, blocking traffic, dealing with parking and angry residents. Then pack it all up drive down the road and do it all again somewhere else. I worked the last day of that shoot and had so much respect for all of them. When you're tired and not due to sleep in your own bed for a while lovingly prepared food makes a big impact.