When we first began planning our family vacation to Florida, (yes, I’m mentioning it one more time!) one of the first issues we tackled after agreeing on a date, was how / when / what / where we would eat dinner each evening as a family.
We threw around a couple of ideas, none of which seemed very appealing unless of course you enjoy eating in a restaurant with fifteen kids under the age of eight, or cooking for several hours each evening while everyone else enjoys the pool and the surf.
Then we discovered that Martha Stewart was not available.
Neither was Paula Deen.
So. We were forced to look into some other option. During an impromptu family discussion, it was mentioned that maybe we should look for a caterer. A caterer that would prepare dinner, allow us to borrow tables and chairs, deliver the meals, and do all of that for a reasonable price.
Sound impossible?
Yes, I thought so too.
My sister-in-law, (with the help of John T. Google) found a lady in St. Petersburg, Florida who runs a lunch catering delivery business. She forwarded the number to me, and I got in contact with the catering lady, Kathi Maiden.
People, hear me when I say this, “Finding Kathi Maiden was like hitting the lottery.”
Only we didn’t win money.
And we didn’t have third cousins crawling out of the woodwork aggravating us to death.
She runs a business called ‘What’s For Lunch, St. Pete’ and when I contacted her she agreed to all of our hair-brained ideas. We decided upon a menu and she agreed to deliver dinner to our hotel every evening at 5:00 PM at a cost of $6.00 per person in disposable serving dishes.
It all sounded too good to be true so good and easy.
We had a bit of commotion from the manager of the hotel when we called to inquire about the possibility of using the breezeway to eat, but after a few conversations with her she agreed we could use the tables and chairs in the breezeway area during dinner time. (And after arriving there, it was evident that of the 17 rooms available, nine rooms were empty, seven rooms were occupied by our family, and one other room was a family we didn’t know. So, it’s not like we wreaked a lot of havoc at the hotel.
As a family, we decided on a menu and I forwarded the menu on to Kathi. We e-mailed back and forth several times before arriving in Florida and the first evening she was due to bring our dinner I was nervous about the whole set-up.
You know, because I have the utmost trust in people.
On Monday, Kathi showed up a bit before 5:00 PM with two banquet tables, some folding chairs and enough food to feed the country of Belize.
Or McDaddy’s family.
Monday was Mexican night so our menu consisted of enchiladas, build your own taco, burrito lasagna, taco fixin’s, refried beans, Spanish rice, summer salad, and two strawberry cakes. It was spectacularly delicious (try saying that three times fast!) and we were all so relieved that not only did the whole plan work out, it worked out perfectly. PERFECTLY! We also enjoyed Italian night (complete with tiramisu), hamburger/hotdog night, beef strogonoff night and country ham night. I’m sorry to say that I didn’t get any pictures of the spreads food. You should totally believe me when I tell you that her meals were impressive.
In fact, every. single. evening. she. outdid. herself.
Our family is so grateful to Kathi and thankful that she made dinnertime such a wonderful experience for us. None of us had to spend time preparing or planning dinners. And really, there was very little cleanup because every single meal was served in disposable containters.
Well, except for the spaghetti sauce.
But I’m not even mentioning that, because spaghetti sauce? Not a big deal at all.
And on top of that, there was generally enough food of some kind left over for lunch the next day. If you are visiting the St. Petersburg/Tampa area and have a need for food catering services or lunch, you should visit Kathi’s site What’s For Lunch St. Pete. It worked for us!
Works For Me Wednesday is hosted by We Are THAT Family.
{ 3 comments }
THAT has to be one of the best ideas I have ever heard. Seriously…. I will definitely remember that. Our family is doing a big trip next summer (my mom and dad, sister and bro in law and us), and while we’re not nearly as big as the mcfam, it will be a blessing to not have to think about eating out. Because, seriously… eating out with two toddlers is about as much fun as getting a root canal or going to the OBGYN.
Oh my goodness! That is such a great idea! I would have never thought of that. Certainly something to be filed away in my brain until the next family gathering! I love it.
That’s a great idea. Meals can make or break a vacation when traveling with a large group! After reading the first two paragraphs, I started thinking you might have tackled “freezer cooking” and was wondering how all the food would have been transported!
$6 per person for the mass amount of food you described sounds like an awesome deal! Getting a “combo” from a fast food joint costs around that but you guys moreso had a buffet each night, it sounds like. Nobody wants to spend their vacation in a kitchen, even those who love to cook!
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