Sausage Sizzles
From CASSA
Contents |
[edit] Hosting a Sausage Sizzle
Sausage Sizzles are a great little fund-raiser and good for getting our name out there (and getting delicious sausage into our mouths), but they take time and effort to run. Follow these instructions and tips to make sure things go smoothly.
The instructions that follow are pretty detailed, so here's the tl;dr version:
Preparation...
- Book the BBQ area for 10.30am to 2.30pm via Facilities.
- Buy 100 sausages, 100 buns and 4 kilos of onions from Coles or the IGA on Beaufort/Walcott St. Also buy tomato sauce (2 bottles or one big one - make sure it has squirt nozzle), mustard (1 bottle), BBQ sauce (1 bottle), olive oil and paper towels/serviettes if needed - check what we have in the office. Keep cold stuff refrigerated before use.
- Email all volunteers to remind/confirm. Direct them to this page and tell them to arrive 30 minutes early.
Setup...
- Buy 3 bags of ice on way in, fill esky with ice and drinks.
- Cut up onions (halve and slice, don't dice).
- Borrow table from Facilities or Guild, set up next to BBQ.
- Bring out and set up change/takings container, price lists, all the food, all the utensils, etc.
Cooking / Running the Event...
- Clean BBQ and cook stuff - remember that demand will rise once lunch time hits. Don't get slack when it's quiet, but don't cook too much in advance.
- Use BBQ furthest away from cafeteria. If it stops working, push button and hold for 5 secs. Remember that pushing button while it's still on will NOT extend on-ness... will only go back on once it times out and goes off.
- Arrange stuff so that people can help themselves after they pay.
Cleaning Up...
- Clean BBQ area, return table, tidy up, take everything back to office... Leave area as we found it.
- Empty and air/dry esky, clean utensils and condiment bottles in staff room.
- Count and record takings.
- If you have lots of uncooked leftovers, run another sausage sizzle next day or day after, otherwise just cook up what is left and it will surely be eaten.
[edit] Preparation (several days before)
- Book the BBQ by going to the Facilities Management Office (Room 3.151, fmo.ml@ecu.edu.au). Staff members can book the area via http://ecusis.ecu.edu.au/ if needed. The "room number" for the BBQ/Gazebo area is 03A.101. Make the booking for 10.30am to 2.30pm and be sure to get the date correct.
- Check the CASSA office to see if we have any paper towels, olive oil and condiments (tomato sauce, mustard, BBQ sauce). Check that condiments are not expired, and if they have been opened, make sure that they have been kept in the fridge. Throw out anything old, unrefrigerated, manky looking or funky smelling - food poisoning is not worth saving a few dollars. Unless we have almost full bottles of condiments, chances are you'll need to buy another regardless.
- Buy the ingredients - do this as close to the date as possible, ideally the night before or the morning of the day. Go to a Coles, or the IGA on the intersection of Beaufort and Walcott Streets is cheap and close. Buy BBQ sausages, hot dog buns and onions. If needed, also buy condiments, a bottle of olive oil and a packet of serviettes or roll of paper towels. Get the following amounts (these may be revised in future):
- Sausages: 100 - They often have large packs of ~20, so 5 of those will usually be enough.
- Buns: 100 - Usually in dozen bags, so get 9 doz. Try to get pre-sliced hot-dog buns if possible/cheap.
- Onions: 4 kilos of onions - The pre-bagged ones are usually cheaper. Try to get big ones as they take less time to slice.
- Tomato Sauce: 2 x 500ml bottle.
- Mustard & BBQ Sauce: 1 x 500ml bottle of each.
- Assuming you get 100 buns and sausages, onions and all the condiments, it should cost approximately $120. If you only get 100 sausages and buns, the onions, and perhaps a single condiment, it should cost about $100. Make sure the treasurer gets the receipt.
- Store the food in the CASSA office. Refrigerate everything that needs to be refrigerated - take drinks out of our fridge if needed. If we need more fridge space, the staff room fridges usually have room to spare. Ask or be escorted by a staff member.
- If you don't think there will be time to slice the onions before the event the next day, slice them now. Or slice half.
- Email volunteers to confirm/remind them about the event. Tell them to be at the CASSA office by 10.00am. Aim to have 4 people running the event. 3 minimum, preferably 5 while setting up. Remember that some people may not be able to stay for the whole event, so you may need replacements.
[edit] Setting Up
- Start preparing before 10.30am, since it takes time to set everything up and get cooking. Recruit other members to help if volunteers haven't turned up yet.
- Slice up the onions. Don't dice them, just cut in half and slice the halves. Put it all into a big (clean) plastic bag or two. It goes much faster if two people do it. Also goes faster if you buy big onions rather than small ones. Clean the area you use for slicing.
- Arrange for someone to buy 3 bags of ice on the way in (many petrol stations sell them). Break up the ice by slamming the bag on the floor a few times, then empty into large esky. Add layer of drinks, repeat until full. Bring out to BBQ area - keep closed when not in use. Chances are you'll need to refill the esky before the end of the event, so have someone around to keep an eye on stock.
- Go to the Facilities Management Office (Room 3.151) or the Guild (next to Tav) and ask to borrow a collapsible table. Set it up next to the BBQ.
- Borrow the large moving dolly from SCSS support if they have it available, and use it to bring everything out to the BBQ. If not, just use our big plastic containers. Bring:
- All the food (sausages, buns, onions, condiments).
- All the utensils and stuff (tongs, knives, trays, olive oil, serviettes, etc).
- The esky full of drinks.
- The cash box / some change, and an empty container (e.g. plastic cup) for takings.
- The price list signs from the office, and something to stick them to the table if needed.
- Set up table with buns on end closest to BBQ and cash box / takings container set up on other end. Stick price lists to table. Keep esky behind table and hand out drinks upon payment. Keep things in the shade wherever possible, particularly the esky and sausages.
[edit] Cooking / Running the Event
- Clean/Prime the BBQs using the scrape, paper towels and olive oil.
- Cook sausages and onion in batches based on demand - once lunch time hits it will typically be cooking constantly until the rush is over... Try not to burn anything, and place it on the trays when done. If you have a big pile of sausages and onions ready, lay off for a bit.
- Onions take a while to cook and run out fast... don't get caught out.
- Of the two BBQ hotplates, the one closest to the cafeteria is slow/not very hot... Try to use the other one. If the BBQ stops working, push and hold the button for 5 seconds. Remember that pressing it while the BBQ is still on will not extend the time - it will ignore button presses unless the BBQ is off.
- Cook with the long-handle tongs and Leave pairs of short-handle tongs for people to serve themselves with. Keep condiments in this area.
[edit] Cleaning Up
- Clean the BBQ using the scrape and paper towels.
- Tidy everything up, put rubbish in bin, return table, take things back to office, etc. Be sure to leave the area as you found it.
- Empty ice from esky and dry/air it out before storing it.
- If a condiment bottle is more than half empty and we haven't got another BBQ planned for soon after, chuck the bottle out.
- Wash all the utensils and the condiment bottles using the staff room sink. Ask or be escorted by a staff member.
- Count and record the takings from the event.
- If you have a decent amount of leftover sausages and buns - close to 50 or more - try to organise another BBQ for the next day or the day after - make sure the sausages and buns have not expired. Book the area again as soon as possible. If you have only a small amount left over, just cook up the sausages - if they're not all eaten for cheap/free by the time you finish packing up, wrap the sausages tightly in a clean plastic bag and keep them in the fridge. I'm sure someone will eat them, and if they don't, remember to chuck them out.
- If you can't book the area again, the BBQ near the CASSA office / building 18 is available on a first-come-first-served basis. It doesn't get as much traffic, but it's better than nothing.
