Question 9 - How long do you want to wait between courses? or do
you want to wait at all?
If you mean how long between when the servers place a platter on my table
until they return with the platter for the next course... 15 minutes MAX.
10 - 20 minutes
Whatever is more convenient for the servers and preparers, but I think
it would be easier to have at least a little wait in between courses, that
way the first round of dishes will be finished and can be removed.
Otherwise we'd quickly run out of room.
There should be enough time between courses for the previous course to
be eaten. This way the next course does not get cold (or hot) before
it can be eaten. It is also nice for empty dishes to be removed first.
I don't mind waiting a little bit - and it seems to be better if the courses
are evenly timed, that is, if the wait
between them is consistent (provided of course that we don't consistently
have to wait half an hour!) Also, if the feast hall is so crowded that
the whole 'ceremony' of serving in courses is lost in the noise and uneven
timing of service to each table, then I don't see much point in bothering
with them at all.
I don't think the cooks need to "plan" rest periods between courses.
By the time all the tables are served (unless your feast is very small)
the first tables are ready for the next sampling. This is especially
true of the bread and cheese course, and any course that is unusual and
may not appeal to all palates. Get the recognizable food out there
quickly to reassure the feasters they will have "normal" or "real" food
too.
That's a toughie --- people eat at different speeds. I'd say that
a feast with several courses should allow 15 minutes per course from the
time the *entire* hall is served, then have 10 minutes to get the
next course ready, announced and out. This also presumes that
there are sufficient servers and serving implements to go around.
If there are only a couple or three courses, then more time can be allowed
so that folks who want (and can have) seconds of a favorite dish have time
to eat it.
10-15 minutes
Somewhere between 15-20 minutes. Possibly even a bit longer after a particularly
heavy course.
20 minutes or so is good.
Despite how most feasts are served, most courses were served in full.
The entire course (palate cleanser, meat, vegetables, starch, desert) was
served all at once. And time left between courses for talking, entertaining
and allowing the stomach to settle between courses. It also
wasn't uncommon for dancing to break forth and then people get back to
eating.
There should be enough time for all the food to go out, time for everyone
to eat, and then to have a few (maybe 10 ) minutes to settle before the
next course.
Not more than 15-20 minutes. Or I'm likely to get up and move around...
and miss the next course.
A nice 5 minutes or so between the finish of one and the start of another
- and I would allow about 15 minutes between the serving of a course and
the assumed completion of a course.
To wait at least 15 min after each course is completely served is nice
and not hard from the kitchen stand point, this also keeps the tables from
becoming overly crowed.
Yes - I'd like to wait at least 10 minutes after most people have finished
eating a course - this allows time to tablehop.
I do not mind a short wait between courses as long as there are not several
courses. I do not mind at all when everything is served at once,
which generally proves to be more efficient if less period.
Not at all, besides the length of time it takes everyone to reasonably
get through with the last course.
If there is planned entertainment, between courses is best. 10 minutes
is a good time.
30 minutes maximum.
Once I have been fed; 15-30 minutes ---time to talk with our tablemates.
This is for a feast that is the end of the event; for a bridge feast 15
min is kinda long 10 min is better.
No opinion, as long as feast doesn't drag on forever.
Depends on how well the event is run, at some bardic events there has been
a half hour to hour between removes and it was short, at some events one
minute is too much.
Ideally, I want to finish devouring one course and have the next magically
appear. I know the logistics would be a pain, but if there should
be a time between courses it should be no more than ten minutes from completion
of one to the beginning of the next. Or else people will start to
get bored and possibly leave.
In most cases, five to ten minutes between courses is adequate. In
some cases, fifteen to thirty may be necessary (to allow for trips to the
rest room or to allow preparers time to add "finishing touches" to a particularly
elaborate dish.)
I like to wander about to other tables or listen to bardic tails or music
between courses. at least 30 min. I also need time to eat what is served.
I do not mind a short wait between courses as long as there are not several
courses. I do not mind at all when everything is served at once,
which generally proves to be more efficient if less period.
I like a break of 15-20 minutes. This allows a little performance
or announcing to be done, gives you a chance to get to the bathroom if
necessary, etc., without feeling like the cooks have forgotten there's
supposed to be another course.
A few minutes, 10 or so, just long enough to eat some have a little conversation,
too long between without some very active entertainment, I get bored. If
it is too be served all at, once is fine as long as it is stated to me
at the beginning of the feast (i.e. in order for our servers and cooks
to sit with everyone we shall be serving everything at once). I find at
events with 100 or so feasters, by the time the servers have served everyone
the people served first may be ready for the next course, especially if
there are a limited number of servers to go around.
I don't mind a small wait between courses. However, more than
10-15 min gets long unless there is something else going on to distract
you.
Yes, I do believe there should be a break between courses. Give people
a chance to get up, do some chatting, socializing, etc. BUT, not
too long or you'll loose your "audience" if you know what I mean.
They'll literally wander off on you. But, I do believe there should
be a "quiet" time, when there's no entertainment, to allow people a chance
to wander around and chat with each other. And, when the next course
is ready to be served - it should be announced, and allow people to regain
their seats. Works in the theatre.
A wait is all right if there's entertainment I can hear(sometimes it's
drowned out by other feasters), and a reasonable wait with friends to visit
with is usually not noticeable. There are limits, of course.
I like to listen to a song or story between courses. So, 15 minutes or
so?
Maximum of ten minutes or the amount of time needed to clear away the previous
course.
How long do you want to wait between courses? or do you want to wait
at all? - Timing is everything I would say that the pace be set by high
table and their plates should never be totally empty.
I think courses should be served at twenty-minute to half-hour intervals.
That gives people a chance to pass the plates, eat, and possibly even get
seconds before the next course comes out, without having them sit and wait
too long for the next course.
Just long enough to finish the last one. <G> Maybe 15-20 minutes between
one course and the next (that's a top-of-my-head guess, not necessarily
based in reality.)
Not less than fifteen nor more that thirty minutes.
There should be time enough to eat what is given you, but not enough time
for an overheated 2 year old to throw up. I find a half hour between courses
is good.
Is this time between servers arriving at the table, or time between presumed
finish of one course to beginning of the next? If the latter, no more than
five minutes. If the former, 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the complexity
of the dish.
Don't mind waiting at all. Good conversation and time for a little music
between courses too.
I am prepared to wait five minutes without entertainment, maybe fifteen
minutes with entertainment.
I don't want to wait at all. I'd rather be dancing.
About 30 minutes seems to work well. You want to give the servers
enough time to eat (especially if you're doing the "one from each table"
model where you can't feed them in advance). If there's stuff going
on during dinner (entertainment, court, etc.), you can separate courses
by up to an hour, depending.
Not very long, say long enough for folks to cycle out to the toitie, or
for smokers to have a cigarette outside. Once again, if a Cook warns the
diners what to expect, a longer break can build anticipation, rather than
irritation.
No longer than 15 minutes between courses.
If there is plenty of food at each course, it is served hot (or cold, as
appropriate) and there is entertainment of some sort, I am willing to wait
about 30 minutes. But I would rather not have to wait very long.
Like I said, I'm usually pretty hungry.
Ten to fifteen minutes is a good wait. You can savor the first one,
watch some entertainment, and then eat again. I prefer to wait to let the
previous remove settle before jumping headlong into more food.
Ten to fifteen minutes is more than enough.
I think that 15-20 minutes between courses is sufficient to allow for dining,
conversation, and entertainment.
Depending on the feast and the entertainment, 1/2 hour to one hour.
Ideally, half hour to serve/taste, with entertainment beginning after twenty
minutes, and no more than ten minutes between end of entertainment and
beginning of next remove or at least a drink refreshment. This way
the kids don't get restless; either their eyes and ears OR their mouths
are always full. I know this is impossible, it's just ideal.
If the feast is getting started late, the first course should arrive immediately
and the second should come out no more than 15-20 minutes later.
But beyond that, and when things are running on schedule, the first course
should arrive within 10 minutes of people being seated, and later courses
every 20-30 minutes. Any pre-set should be on the table at the scheduled
starting time.
Twenty minuets between removes is adequate.
I would not wait more than 1/2 hr between removes. Longer than that
I’m gone.
A bit of time is nice always; if there is entertainment, of course more
time is needed.
I've seen feasts done successfully with substantial entertainment between
courses, and sometimes a break for conversation works, but in general I
prefer no break between courses.
Half an hour between the time the last dish leaving the kitchen and the
first dish of the second remove. That usually allows digestion and entertainment
time.
I don't want to wait! As I said, allow about 45 minutes for each
remove, clear dirty serving dishes, and bring out the next remove quickly.
This is a key point in my opinion, if there is good entertainment there
can be up to 30 minutes between courses. Keep in mind when timing
a feast it is important to watch the last table and make sure they are
not rushed.
A little wait is good, gives you time to digest, perhaps 2 songs, or 1
long story -- but not 30 minutes.
The best timing is the remove served, all three dishes, then entertainment,
uninterrupted by servers, usually around 10-15 minutes, then another remove.
Once most of the diners have been served and had some time to eat
the items, the next course should start coming out
15 to 20 minutes, maximum. I like having things served family style, where
the server simply places a container of whatever on the table, and we portion
it out as needed.
15 minutes.
About 20 min or so, so that there is time to finish the course.
15 or 20 minutes is good.
I would be more than happy to wait long enough that the servers get to
sit down and eat their portions of that remove also. More than 45
minutes between removes, though, is too long. If it takes the
servers that long to serve and eat, then you don't have enough servers
for the number of feasters.
At least 10 minutes, not much more than 20.
There should be enough time for the individual course to be enjoyed, but
not so much time that if I don't like a particular course I will fill up
on bread waiting for the next one. 15 minutes between each is good.
I prefer only a little wait, but I'm the nasty hurried sort ; )
15-20 minutes is enough to eat the remove and clean your palate for the
next.
Time enough to eat what you already have presented, then an announcement
of what the next course is as the first dish is being brought out.
Not a lot of waiting between courses.
There should be enough time for the individual course to be enjoyed, but
not so much time that if I don't like a particular course I will fill up
on bread waiting for the next one. 15 minutes between each is good.
I don't mind waiting between courses. It gives you a chance to digest
and listen to the bards for a while. I would think 20 minutes should be
the maximum wait.
If under 50 people then wait 20 min between courses and if over 50ppl then
buffet. 3 - 5 minutes tops. any longer and the hot food
will be cold by the time it hits my plate. That does no justice to
the cooks of the day.
No longer than 10 minutes after the last dish is served.
Maybe 10 minutes or so. Enough to let the previous course settle
and provide a 'fudge factor' for that dish that's running behind; not long
enough for the audience to get bored.
Maybe 10 minutes.
Maybe 15 minutes? Long enough to begin to anticipate the next dish,
but not so long that you are thinking "Where *is* the next course?"
15- 20 minutes or so.
I'm one that thinks they should overlap.
I think (from experience at other feasts than SCA) that about 10-15 minutes
between clearing the dishes from the previous remove to the delivery of
the next remove would be good....if sherbets or other palate-cleansers
are offered, it could be within that 10-15 minutes.
Half an hour is reasonable, more than that and people start getting restless,
and after more than 45 min. they start to lose interest in food.