Kitchen Working Group 21/11/06

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swithun
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Kitchen Working Group 21/11/06

Post by swithun » Thu Nov 23, 2006 6:55 pm

Present
Robin, Laura, Jane, Shannon, Sean, Neil, Chris, Graeme, Dai, Alex, Ryan, Gareth, Danny, Swithun

Agenda
Shannon: Dish washer, Winter menu, Coffee timer, Potato machine, Supplies, New KMs
Robin: Fire safety, Training of volunteers, Night managers
Chris: Smoothies, Building, Working groups

(Action points are underlined)

Dishwasher
We seem to manage without a glass washer, and it is not a legal requirement.
So we will not get a new one. Instead we will get rid of the old one. Chris will remove it and see about selling it on eBay.
Things to look into are a better rack for dishes and a double sink. In the mean time, people can use a big salad tub for rinsing.
The metal cabinet near the bins is for the chop. Everyone be on the look out for shelves or drawers that could go there instead.

Winter menu
The menu should be simplified by making and selling more specials - soup, curry and chili.
We will stop making guacamole in winter, as avocados are not in season and come from a long way away. This means no more veggie burgers.
We (Shanon) will order more seasonal vegetables, like butter nut squash.
Sandwiches should sell better than they do. Perhaps they don't always sell well is because they are of variable quality. With a list of approved fillings and better quality control, volunteers should make more appetising sandwiches.
Falafels will go outside the pitta bread, Berlin stylee.
A thread on good and bad sandwiches will be started.

Coffee timer
The coffee machine stays on all night, using electricity. A timer switch would be nice, but an estimate was got and it was for 325 pounds. So, instead, we will just switch it off at night and on again in the morning. It should take less than an hour to warm up again.
If anyone has a cafetiere spare, they could bring it down, for staff to drink coffee in the morning.

Potato machine
A baked potato oven is being looked for. We almost had one, but Ryan was outbid. Alex will now look for a second hand one with a budget of 500 pounds, or a new one for more (but still as little as possible). The Classic Compact from King Edward is the model to go for.
There are some suppliers who might be better than eBay as far as warranties etc. go.
We would sell potatoes for a very high profit margin. They are wheat free and keep longer than rice. We would also do sweet potatoes.

Supplies
It would be nice if we could have more organic supplies. Opinion was divided on whether this would result in too much waste, especially with salad leaves. Plus, organic food is more expensive and not delivered every day. But in cases where we can switch to organic items with no (or little) extra cost, it would be good to do so.
People are invited to do research on this, and Shannon is the main buyer of supplies.

New KMs
Robin's last shift is Friday.
Shannon will work Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Ryan will work Tuesday and Thursday. Alex will start on Saturday. Sundays will be split between the above and other people like Jane, Laura and Swithun.
On Sundays, open at 1pm. Use the extra time to do a deep clean. Push all thefurniture to the side and use 10 buckets of water to mop the floor. Vacuum under the cushions on the sofa - and trouser the dosh. The coffee machine can be cleaned by putting little bowls in the filters and filling with the powder.
Robin will make a list of cleaning jobs and their frequency.

Fire safety
New volunteers need to be trained. Show them the fire escapes, the extinguishers, alarms. The latch of the double doors needs to be down. Information on fire safety is on the board by the staff toilet. The fire alarms will be tested on Fridays.

Training new volunteers
After fire safety training, show volunteers the freezers, fridge and dry store. In the kitchen, you can show volunteers the boiler, tea and coffee and then till in one smooth operation.

Night managers
Some people like to help, but they should really sign up for a proper shift, rather than help randomly.
If there are extra people, then they can always do recycling, tidy the free shop, put out candles or make the place look nice.

Smoothies
Chris thinks we should make smoothies - just banana, sugar and milk.
There would be a high markup. But everyone else thought that it was too much hassle, what with the cleaning, the space needed etc..
Chris will make his own smoothies at home.

Building
There is a list of building jobs to be done on the volunteer notice board, plus stuff on a thread on the BB.
The kitchen tap is broken.

Working groups
Rather than a committee with positions, the Forest will instead be run by various Working Groups (WGs). Each committee position will be replaced by a WG. Each WG will have a Mission Statement (MS). The Forest WG and each WG will decide on the MS for that WG. As a working MS, the MS of the kitchen WG will be to make money for the Forest in an ethical manner, or something to that effect.
The benefit of WGs is that it will make the Forest more open and transparent. Anyone can turn up to the WG meetings. These will be held round about once a month.
At each meeting, the Action Points (APs) of the previous meeting will be discussed. Then, new APs will be decided upon for the next meeting. The people who bottom line the WGs will be called Raspberries, or something else.

AOCB
Don't put the salt out for customers. Other people think it is sugar and then we need to make them new coffees.
Only Shannon will buy margarine.
There are still too many people not paying corkage. Neil will buy some tape and this will be put on bottles, so that we can see who has payed and who hasn't. We will see how this goes for a few weeks.

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chris
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Post by chris » Fri Nov 24, 2006 11:42 am

dishwasher - i have disconnected, but am not removing it, or selling it on ebay. but i think it would be good if these things were done.

fire safety - all new volunteers need to sign the form that says theyve been trained in fire safety in the building, and these sheets need to be kept somewhere safe...
Maybe it could work? But it will be a kaleidoscopic blend of mysterious shadows and rainbow hued-dreams seen through compassionate tears.

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Shannon
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Post by Shannon » Tue Nov 28, 2006 12:06 am

Where do these fire safety sheets live?

Also, can someone remind me if we agreed that Friday is fire alarm day?

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Jane
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Post by Jane » Tue Nov 28, 2006 11:37 am

friday at 11am, ring in the weekend!
"We all tend to idealise kindness and tolerance, then wonder why we find ourselves infested with losers and nutcases." Sebastian Horsley

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beev
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Post by beev » Mon Dec 04, 2006 12:49 am

Sorry about the tape. I searched and searched. The place where I bought it before has stopped selling it and I couldn't even find stuff on the web. I have some now which might work better than insulating tape. I'll bring it in.

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Gaz
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Post by Gaz » Wed Dec 27, 2006 12:36 pm

Smoothies
Chris thinks we should make smoothies - just banana, sugar and milk.
There would be a high markup. But everyone else thought that it was too much hassle, what with the cleaning, the space needed etc..
Chris will make his own smoothies at home.
Lookie here...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6118730.stm

Chris was right (yet again)
the more you think, the more you stink

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Shannon
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Post by Shannon » Wed Dec 27, 2006 7:17 pm

Ah, but the article also says this:
Ms Maer admits the winter market is "difficult". As alternatives, Crussh includes in its range soup, honey porridge - and coffee.
We agreed to look at it again for the summer months. Space is at a premium in the kitchen. If we were to set up smoothie shop, something else will need to be cut back.

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chris
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Post by chris » Thu Dec 28, 2006 10:18 am

the market is only difficult becuase the demand is so high..

cut back on everything for smoothies!
Maybe it could work? But it will be a kaleidoscopic blend of mysterious shadows and rainbow hued-dreams seen through compassionate tears.

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