Budget and Business
Sep. 2nd, 2008 02:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snousleOf course, after a weekend of debauchery the first thing I did this morning was whip out my calculator. What did it cost, and more importantly, what would I charge for the service?
In short: after adding up the receipts for the pre-Badger cooking, it appears I can pay for materials and labor (my own) on a camp catering gig like this when revenue is about fifteen bucks per person per meal, plus about a dollar a mile for driving substantial distances. I'll have to do some more figuring to get the actual setup vs. per-person prices nailed down. And of course, there needs to be some fudge factor for unforseen costs that will make the actual price somewhat higher. (My "suggested donation" at previous events has heretofore been just for materials.)
Ingredients always seem pricey but they're not what drains the dollars. This is a labor-intensive business. I get terrible sticker shock over cheeses that go for $20 a pound, but the budget isn't so sensitive to that. Which means that I can spend considerably more on top ingredients. The cost is competitive with eating out in restaurants, and it's a hell of a lot more fun. It occurs to me that the Border Riders would enjoy that sort of thing on one of their southern runs? Just a thought...
Part of the reason the business is not sensitive to food costs is that my events database is now so refined that after spending $440 on food for 150 meals, I came home with nothing but a stick of butter, some cold polenta, and a few ounces of Romano. From which, I might add, I could have produced a fine meal if there had been a call for it. This says to me that I should move decisively into top quality products; there is no reason not to use, say, artisinal cheese to make quesadillas, or the pricey but pretty veggies from the local farmer's market.
I still need to make a substantial capital investment to bump it up from fun to professional, but the basic gig seems to be solid. I need a good quick-erect tent, insect netting (the bees were like something from a horror movie this year), rubber mats, some custom collapsible shelving, that sort of thing. Other than that, the kit has been refined to near-perfection; there isn't a single item that doesn't get used for something important. I don't feel like cooking outdoors is in any way a compromise when it comes to cuisine, and in some ways it's even more versatile than a traditional kitchen. The only trick is that you have to lug it around. A cargo van has proven to be the clear winner for catering vehicle - the one we rented for Badger made things fantastically easier. Too bad it only gets 20 mpg - and 16 when Bill drives it.
I'm especially pleased to find that it was not so physically taxing. I didn't come back tired, I came back energized and ready for more. That's the whole point of Badger - it's as hard and unforgiving as it gets, so if it works there it will surely work anywhere. There were no big problems, and I didn't lose my head. The biggest issue, actually, is that I tend to make the same little errors every year. I look at the list and say, oh bother, I don't need string. Then I get there, and I need string. Repeatedly. Then I look at my notes from last year: BRING STRING. Duh. This year, I wrote another note: ACTUALLY DO THESE THINGS.
We're probably a month or so away from having the kitchen approved by the health department, but unofficially? I'd take bookings right now.
In short: after adding up the receipts for the pre-Badger cooking, it appears I can pay for materials and labor (my own) on a camp catering gig like this when revenue is about fifteen bucks per person per meal, plus about a dollar a mile for driving substantial distances. I'll have to do some more figuring to get the actual setup vs. per-person prices nailed down. And of course, there needs to be some fudge factor for unforseen costs that will make the actual price somewhat higher. (My "suggested donation" at previous events has heretofore been just for materials.)
Ingredients always seem pricey but they're not what drains the dollars. This is a labor-intensive business. I get terrible sticker shock over cheeses that go for $20 a pound, but the budget isn't so sensitive to that. Which means that I can spend considerably more on top ingredients. The cost is competitive with eating out in restaurants, and it's a hell of a lot more fun. It occurs to me that the Border Riders would enjoy that sort of thing on one of their southern runs? Just a thought...
Part of the reason the business is not sensitive to food costs is that my events database is now so refined that after spending $440 on food for 150 meals, I came home with nothing but a stick of butter, some cold polenta, and a few ounces of Romano. From which, I might add, I could have produced a fine meal if there had been a call for it. This says to me that I should move decisively into top quality products; there is no reason not to use, say, artisinal cheese to make quesadillas, or the pricey but pretty veggies from the local farmer's market.
I still need to make a substantial capital investment to bump it up from fun to professional, but the basic gig seems to be solid. I need a good quick-erect tent, insect netting (the bees were like something from a horror movie this year), rubber mats, some custom collapsible shelving, that sort of thing. Other than that, the kit has been refined to near-perfection; there isn't a single item that doesn't get used for something important. I don't feel like cooking outdoors is in any way a compromise when it comes to cuisine, and in some ways it's even more versatile than a traditional kitchen. The only trick is that you have to lug it around. A cargo van has proven to be the clear winner for catering vehicle - the one we rented for Badger made things fantastically easier. Too bad it only gets 20 mpg - and 16 when Bill drives it.
I'm especially pleased to find that it was not so physically taxing. I didn't come back tired, I came back energized and ready for more. That's the whole point of Badger - it's as hard and unforgiving as it gets, so if it works there it will surely work anywhere. There were no big problems, and I didn't lose my head. The biggest issue, actually, is that I tend to make the same little errors every year. I look at the list and say, oh bother, I don't need string. Then I get there, and I need string. Repeatedly. Then I look at my notes from last year: BRING STRING. Duh. This year, I wrote another note: ACTUALLY DO THESE THINGS.
We're probably a month or so away from having the kitchen approved by the health department, but unofficially? I'd take bookings right now.
