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Tasters etiquette at a fest

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Mainegg
Mainegg Posts: 7,787
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Since it is the start of the Egg Fest season and we will all hopefully be attending at least one if not more (many more i wish) there is something I think should be discussed. we always talk about the cooks and what they need and what they have to do and we really never touch on the tasters..... this is a good chance to point out a few things if you are not cooking and on the other side of the tables!
1. Let the cook put out the sample or offer the platter or hand you a piece of what they are serving. So often we have done cooks that have a few steps of add on's or garnish that really adds to the flavor of the item and they are snapped up before we can even top it off. Remember our knifes are sharp and I have even observed fingers headed to a cutting board as the cook was slicing!
2. take one piece please! especially at a very busy well attended fest. sometimes it does take a few minutes for a batch of something to come off the egg. when we do the cinnamon rolls we can only cook about 30 at a time. please do not ask me to give you a dozen.. I am not a bakery. you have people behind you that have waited in line too. if hubby wants to try it then split yours in half or have him wait with you.
3. these are SAMPLES or TASTES not lunch or dinner LOL pace yourself there is so much great food that if you did more than that you would not get to try hardly anything. and we could not let as many of you have some either. bite size is the key here for all of us :)
4. I have seen a number of tasters that save their spoon or fork and carry it with them. this is not a bad idea on so many levels. besides the recycling factor it helps the cooks too. if you are not comfortable with that it is OK but it sure does help when the cook has run out. it happens :)
5. We love to talk about how we made it or seasoned it if there is not a crowd or we are just taking something off the egg and have to pay attention to that at the moment. please do not think we are rude if we are trying to get the samples ready for the line behind you if we can not talk for 20 minutes about our cook. this is where the work Egret does is so helpful with his recipe book for all the fests. HINT HINT to the cooks :).
6.but the biggest thing I think to me is "Thank You" please don't grab my items that I have spent a good deal of time preparing for you and not even make eye contact. a simple that was good or that tasted good goes a long ways to making us feel like doing this again.. the people that attend these as cooks put in a lot of time, and money to share what they love to do with you. please acknowledge that with a simple thank you.
OK off my rant now :) see you at an Egg fest soon I hope :)
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  • Photo Egg
    Photo Egg Posts: 12,110
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    Far from a "rant"...Well done.
    Thank you,
    Darian

    Galveston Texas
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  • mad max beyond eggdome
    mad max beyond eggdome Posts: 8,134
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    shoot, in atlanta, i need the secret service and local law enforcement to protect the spawn when she is serving up her brownies!!!..
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  • vidalia1
    vidalia1 Posts: 7,092
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    Great post Julie

    & under #1 we saw a cook at 2009 Eggtoberfest cooking chicken for his alfredo chicken pizza. Once his chicken was cooked he sliced it and turned around to get his pizza ready...when he turned around, his chicken was gone,tasters had snatched it up and had eaten it.... :pinch: :S
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  • Jer_inva
    Jer_inva Posts: 109
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    From someone who will be attending their first eggfest as a taster I say "Thank You" for putting this together. Jer
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  • mad max beyond eggdome
    mad max beyond eggdome Posts: 8,134
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    kim, same thing almost happened to me in atlanta a couple of years ago when i was making subs....i started to do assembly and people came all the way around behind the prep tables and started to grab the meat before i could put it on the bread!!!...unbelievable!!! . . .
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  • Austin Egger
    Austin Egger Posts: 256
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    Well said! My wife was getting a little miffed at our last eggfest that we cooked at. She saw 2 different people going through our coolers apparently looking for water and saw a few people using our 2.5 gallons of water (that was out) for putting in a cup as drinking water when we needed that to clean dishes. All she said is I wish they would have asked with out taking as we are already providing samples of food for them. She of course had a great time other than that.
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  • vidalia1
    vidalia1 Posts: 7,092
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    If Spawn would reveal her secret recipe then we could all be happy.... ;):) :laugh: B) :P

    Loved being by Spawn & TRex 2 years ago as I got brownies and ginger snaps hot off the BGE...it doesn't get any better than that... :lol: :silly:
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  • Fidel
    Fidel Posts: 10,172
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    I've had raw shrimp grabbed. Took them out of the bag of marinade to drain and before I could get it on the grid people were snatching them up.
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  • Fidel
    Fidel Posts: 10,172
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    thank you for the lobster dip I ate two years ago
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  • vidalia1
    vidalia1 Posts: 7,092
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    Thank you for the beers I took out of your cooler...ummm nope it was Dr Zauis who took it not me... :);)
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  • mad max beyond eggdome
    mad max beyond eggdome Posts: 8,134
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    hey, i felt the same way about your son's smores pie!!!! there are certain benefits to being a cook and behind the 'tape'!!
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  • mad max beyond eggdome
    mad max beyond eggdome Posts: 8,134
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    i swear, i think you could wrap chunks of alpo in bacon, grill it up, and serve it to the masses in atlanta and they'd tell you how great it was!!!

    oh wait, i think stike has done that already in new england!!
    :blink:
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  • vidalia1
    vidalia1 Posts: 7,092
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    Yes but it was dry aged Alpo.....

    :pinch: :S :huh: :whistle::lol: :silly:
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  • smokeystover
    smokeystover Posts: 68
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    Jer_inva wrote:
    From someone who will be attending their first eggfest as a taster I say "Thank You" for putting this together. Jer

    +1 to that. As a newbie, I definitely appreciate the insight from an experienced chef. This is something I'd actually been wondering about.
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  • Fidel
    Fidel Posts: 10,172
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    thankfully someone came forward. I was concerned that I had drank all those myself. Not out of the realm of possibility, but glad to hear I didn't kill a case and a half by myself in one day. Again.....
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  • Chubby
    Chubby Posts: 2,955
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    :whistle::whistle::whistle:

    They're lined up 6 deep for your "Tasty Morsels"...LMAO!!!

    d6a85d9b.jpg

    We always feel so bad for Sydney!!!

    e8488bc5.jpg

    But what can she do when you're her only ride home...??

    :woohoo:
    I spent most of my money on good bourbon, and bad women...the rest, I just wasted!!
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  • mad max beyond eggdome
    mad max beyond eggdome Posts: 8,134
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    LOL...yeah evie..cmon, full disclosure. ...where is the picture of the flaming brie?!?!?! they were piled 10 deep to pick through the trash can for that one weren't they!!! ...bastid!! :woohoo:
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  • Mainegg
    Mainegg Posts: 7,787
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    I really did not want it to come across as a rant :) or that you need an invitation to have a sample. most cooks do set up with the table across the front as a barrier. most tasters know not to go behind... we all think of it as a "duhh" thing LOL but it is just something that really needs to be addressed. if people do not know then they can not be blamed. and I know there are only a small portion of fest goers that are on here but it might help save someone the frustration or embarrassment. and 98.99 of the people do say thank you or make a nice comment or ask for the recipe. that feels good. we all like to be patted on the back.
    the other thing to add to the list is yes there might be a few samples set back not being served.. you are out walking from egg to egg eating... we are not LOL by the end of the day most cooks have not had hardly anything to eat unless the cook next to them takes pity and sets a piece aside to share. the last thing we want to eat is what we have been cooking all day and spent the day before prepping and weeks planning and doing sample cooks. LOL
    YUK!
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  • Mainegg
    Mainegg Posts: 7,787
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    :blush: your welcome Fidel :)
    this is all I remember....
    097.jpg
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  • Chubby
    Chubby Posts: 2,955
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    Hey...!!!

    I'll have you know the ONLY thing left from that fiasco was Jay's smoking... chared gloves...and one a "little more than slightly" burnt plank!!!

    :woohoo:
    I spent most of my money on good bourbon, and bad women...the rest, I just wasted!!
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  • Spring Chicken
    Spring Chicken Posts: 10,255
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    That should be required reading for everyone attending an Eggfest. Not that it would do any good for some people but we wouldn't feel so bad when they got stabbed while grabbing our treats.

    Spring "Grabber Stabber" Chicken
    Spring Texas USA
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  • Crimsongator
    Crimsongator Posts: 5,797
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    Hey, she was at least smiling while shooting you a bird. Did you hear what she nearly did to poor Pete. Just don't reach for a lamb chop :ermm:
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  • snake701uk
    snake701uk Posts: 187
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    The Sunshine State Fest will be my first direct contact with another egger, let alone a fest. However good manners are rule of the day, everywhere, not just at an EggFest. Me and my friend don't risk being stabbed for wisking away food. However we will ask questions (I need to learn), disturbing as little as possible. From the eggers that help me (and everybody) on this forum, I don't think that will be an issue.
    I look forward to seeing everybody there.
    Andy
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  • Florida Grillin Girl
    Florida Grillin Girl Posts: 4,973
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    Good idea to post this now, Julie.

    But newbies, don't be frightened away - Eggtoberfest (the Mother of all Eggfests) has this reputation, stictly due to the amount of attendees, but the smaller fests are not as crowded and they are much easier to navigate. Everyone always has plenty of food. Most festers will tell you they are stuffed by 1:00, and near the end, some cooks are begging people to eat the food.

    I myself get very selective of what I taste in the afternoon, and usually try to split the taste with a few other people.

    I like the walking fork idea.

    Thanks, Julie and who cares if it was a semi-rant?
    Happily egging on my original large BGE since 1996... now the owner of 5 eggs. Call me crazy, everyone else does!
     
    3 Large, 1 Small, 1 well-used Mini
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  • egret
    egret Posts: 4,170
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    That's why I'm not a taster! I can't remember all that stuff! :laugh: But, at the Denver fest one year, some guy ran off with one of my ABT's before I even cooked it!!
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  • Mainegg
    Mainegg Posts: 7,787
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    I look forward to meeting you Andy! when do you get in? I will be one of the gals working the registration table so say hi!
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  • SSN686
    SSN686 Posts: 3,504
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    Morning Chubby:

    I agree with you...the brie was very tasty...now the gloves...that is a whole nuther story (by the way I am still using those gloves...as a pad to place a hot pan ONLY) :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

    Have a GREAT day!

       Jay

    Brandon, FL


     

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  • Chubby
    Chubby Posts: 2,955
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    Good to see you my friend!!

    I hope you and yours are well!!

    ;)


    Evans n Ann!
    I spent most of my money on good bourbon, and bad women...the rest, I just wasted!!
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  • HungryMan
    HungryMan Posts: 3,470
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    Post to long for me to read. I will continue to walk into the cooking area to grab whatever I want. I feel very uncomfortable making eye contact with stranger cooking for me. Please cook something good like you always do. I will also bring my 16in diameter travel plate to fill up. Will you have something for me to drink also? I hate bringing a cooler.
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  • snake701uk
    snake701uk Posts: 187
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    We fly in around 6 pm on 8th. We stay in Hilton. We will wander along to Crowne during the evening to see what is going on. We are in USA for work and will look like 2 eggs fallen out of a basket, but be sure we will say Hi. We are really looking forward to the fest. See you there! Andy
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