A Second Helping

[steepholm]

I was at the training session for the Christmas homeless shelter today: I enjoyed it enough last year to sign up for a couple more shifts this. This time I'm going to be working in the kitchen, though, rather than front of house. With luck I'll be assigned washing up, an activity I always find satisfying.

My first shift will start at 7.30am on Christmas Day, which I applied for in part because I thought there might not be many takers, but it turns out that I was lucky to get it. Apparently I'm not the only one who remembered the second chapter of Little Women when filling out the application form.

I was impressed with the chef. No doling out stew with a big ladle for him. Highlights from the projected menu include lamb tagine and roasted vegetables with herb and fruit cous cous, as well as rib-sticking puddings and enough custard to drown a duke in - to say nothing of options for people with allergies, dietary restrictions, etc. And there's no limit to helpings, either: the guests there hear the word "No" more than enough the rest of the year.

Comments

[eglantine-br.livejournal.com]

Marmee would be so pleased with you!

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

Good egg! They're not asking you to sacrifice your buckwheats and your cream, wrapped up in a shawl?

I would love that meal myself--I adore lamb tagine--but is it what the poor of Bristol would think of as Christmas dinner? Would they not feel cheated of their sprouts? Or are they largely homesick North Africans?

Nine

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

There are more traditional options available too, but that was my favourite. The chef's attitude is, when life gives you a score of lamb shanks at a knock-down price, make lamb tagine. (Skipchen is only a couple of hundred yards away, and seems motivated by the same spirit.)

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

Mmmm. Lamb shanks. So infinitely better than turkey.

Nine

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

Well done for volunteering again.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

Thanks - though to be honest it's a lot more pleasant a way to spend Christmas morning than mooching about here on my own, so I gain too.