We had been asked, some time ago to cater a friend’s sons’ Bar Mitzvah and we were delighted to have the oppportunity to put a local twist on a traditionally Jewish event. I didn’t have a Bat Mitzvah when I was 13 because my family weren’t religious so I was excited to be involved in my friends son’s special day. We then realised that it co-incided with our first anniversary but as the buffet was to be served at lunch, we decided to throw an anniversary celebration that evening – it seemed apt that two very important rights of passges should be celebrated on the same day.
A week before the day, The Royal Seven Stars had a fire and informed Wendy that she wouldn’t be able to have the Bar Mitzvah there in the evening, so she had to frantically find a new venue and our small buffet lunch turned into a rather large buffet evening meal, which was just half an hour before our party was due to get started!
On Saturday 6th October we packed Henrietta Sandwich, our loyal and sturdy stead and set off for a local village hall. As we hauled up a typical Devon hill, Hetty begun to judder… Me in my eternal optimism suggested that she was struggling with the gigantic Bar Mitzvah cake I had baked which contained 60 eg
gs, 3.5kg of butter, the same again of sugar and flour, plus a kilo of chocolate, a litre of cream and six jars of homemade gooseberry jam! But it quickly became apparent that Hetty was very unwell. We pulled over and got in touch with our call out service, then our fantastic friend Anna, who arrived in a flash, transported myself and half the food to the hall. While I started setting up, she went back for the rest of the food (her car is smaller than Hetty) and when she returned, we finished preparing our lovely buffet of local and mostly organic treats, while Hannah waited for the call-out man. Bustling around us as we set up, were a multitude of Wendy’s friends getting the hall ready – decorating it with graffitti posters, balloons and streamers… The hall hadn’t been accessible until 7pm. When we arrived at 7.30 the majority of the work had been done! It was so wonderful to see a community come together and make good of an unideal situation.
Once I was satisfied the waiting staff knew how to warm the crumble and when to serve the pavlova’s and cake, Anna and I hurried back to my house where a wonderful anniversary celebration had begun (Hannah had got back from the garage not long before)! A room full of clients, friends and suppliers, all there to wish us luck in the future and congratulate us on our progress so far! We were astounded by the generosity of gifts and well wishing and enjoyed great company, lovely wine, bubbly and of course, The Kitchen Table delights (people were particularly inamoured with Hannah’s vegetarian sausage rolls!)
So here’s to rights of passages, milestones and achievements, to communities helping a friend and to good, local and delicious food!! Cheers!