Wedding Food

My dad loves to cook.

And he’s excellent at it.

But he tends to cook more for small gatherings – holidays, church gatherings, etc – not largely attended wedding receptions. For the girl who almost seems to have taken my place (my somehow distant cousin), though, he decided to cater all the food for her 300+ buffet-style wedding reception.

 When he asked me a few months ago if I’d be willing to come to town and help him serve, I quickly said ‘yes’ assuming I’d merely be scooping potatoes or filling drinks. When Saturday morning started bright&early at 9am with a trip to two different stores with dad prior to food prep at the church, though, I quickly realized this simple-serving was going to be much more of a task. And when the help he’d expected in the kitchen never arrived, a family friend alongside my aunt and myself found ourselves frantically cooking while dad did his duties as Master of Ceremonies. After a stove-top fire, a solid 15 minutes running around through the darkness of the power outage, and quite a few spills&mishaps, we got all the food in the buffet line and started serving.
 – Garlic Crusted Pork – Chicken Marcella – Green Beans – Seasoned RedSkin Potatoes – Rolls – Fruit Kabobs –

Everyone loved it, of course – like I said: my dad is an excellent cook. But the stress leading up to the event was pretty intense and the fear on my dad’s face when he caught glimpses of the mayhem in the kitchen broke my heart. All I wanted to do was make sure all his hard work&preparation didn’t go to waste and – in the end – I’m positive it didn’t. And – after the ceremony – lots of people were willing to help clean up in the kitchen. By then, I think my mom&dad were in a sleepless haze, but I was awkwardly aware of how helpful ‘church people’ are willing to be over people at weddings in outside venues.

I guess the sense of family&community is really cute&heartwarming, but potentially nothing I’ll encounter personally.