Putting on a catering job is like playing volleyball

The menu is the volleyball court!

The players are the dishes!

Organisation is everything when you have a full menu with several starters, mains, sides and a dessert.

First you map out what you are going to cook, so that the table has variety in flavour, colour and nutrients. That is how we set out our court.

Then you need every ingredient: knowing where to buy each one and when, since some keep for a long time and others have to be fresh. And making sure that once the fresh produce is home it all fits in the fridge — or finding other ways to keep the greens, say, in good condition!

THE GAME IS ABOUT TO START!

Among pots and pans, wooden spoons and scales, the ball (the cook) jumps from player to player, from dish to dish.

The timing of every serve, set or spike has to be perfect! The ball stays with each player only as long as it needs to, because there are many dishes and some tasks take priority: a few can be done well in advance, others have to be left until close to the event.

As the game nears its end, with every player still on court, it matters to keep in mind the energetic balance of each dish, managing each player's drive against their tiredness, and the expectations around the result.

There is constant reorganising and reassessing, and each dish has to be stored and arranged properly so that, at the end, it gives its best!

In the end everyone wins:

• The players (the dishes), because they had the joy of sharing the ball and their know-how — and their flavours! Every one of them had time on court. They should also be eaten with care and in moderation, so that nobody leaves the table stuffed!

• The ball (the cook), because it brought all the players together, lifting them, showing them off and inviting them onto the court, which left the audience buzzing with everyone's performance!

• The court (the menu) is the space where it all happens, and it therefore follows the natural order of the Universe! There is an order to it so that everything can coexist and resonate as one: it is the variety and the complementarity between the dishes that bring the nutritional richness — and, more than that, the order of starters, mains, salads, fermented, salty and aromatic foods! Finishing with a dessert that is lightly sweet and nourishing.

The result is a revitalising re-energising, of body and mind!