We’re having the annual debate about what food to go for for our annual dining night.
We want to have a bit of class ( ie not a roast chicken dinner) but still have something that is still affordable and will be eaten by the cadets (so no wild boar or alligator )
Anyone got any suggestion for a suitable menu (or even some recipe ideas )
Cheers for any help
Chief Tech
I presume your caterers have full options, ie you’re not restricted to set menus?
Next question, and the biggest consideration, What’s the budget per head?
Pizza. Pizza is ace.
Also, if you’ve got guests there, it’s a dining out.
You might be surprised as to how adult the cadets’ tastes can be. Our annual end-of-camp dinner in Normandy often has six oysters as a starter option and it’s invariably the most popular choice (with some of the remainder opting for escargot…).
[quote=“tango_lima” post=15094]Pizza. Pizza is ace.
Also, if you’ve got guests there, it’s a dining out.[/quote]
If you have guests there, it’s called a guest night
People are “dined out”
[quote=“Plt Off Prune” post=15098][quote=“tango_lima” post=15094]Pizza. Pizza is ace.
Also, if you’ve got guests there, it’s a dining out.[/quote]
If you have guests there, it’s called a guest night
People are “dined out”[/quote]
Nope.
Members of the unit only = dining in
Guests, spouses, etc present = dining out
I just realised that looked like pretty pedantic. I meant it more in the tone of ‘Hey, fun fact…’
I thought a ‘Dining Out’ was a farewell / leaving / retirement / moving to new posting dinner?
[quote=“tango_lima” post=15100][quote=“Plt Off Prune” post=15098][quote=“tango_lima” post=15094]Pizza. Pizza is ace.
Also, if you’ve got guests there, it’s a dining out.[/quote]
If you have guests there, it’s called a guest night
People are “dined out”[/quote]
Nope.
Members of the unit only = dining in
Guests, spouses, etc present = dining out
I just realised that looked like pretty pedantic. I meant it more in the tone of ‘Hey, fun fact…’[/quote]
Meh, not what I was taught but hey ho
Just tell them it is “mystery meat”.
It is when I left the RAF I was Dined out of the Sgts Mess
[attachment=141]Capture.JPG[/attachment]
Mess Night Traditions
By Charles J. Gibowicz
And now back to the topic at hand.
OP, how many covers are you looking at? 30-50 and you can become quite imaginative. ~200 and you need to keep it fairly easy to do otherwise your kitchen runs the risk of dishing up cold food or waiting for ages whilst prep is completed.
My understanding:
The terms Dined In and Dined Out used to mean that the Mess Members paid for the meal of the arriving or leaving members. However, a Dining In Night (sometimes shortened to a Dining In) is the term used for the function itself, not what goes on at it. However, people may be Dined In at a Dining In; they could also be [i]Dined Out /i.
Formal Dinner, Mess Members only, nobody leaving = Dining In Night, but new Mess Members may also be Dined In and sometimes people Dined Out.
Formal Dinner, Mess Members only, someone leaving the Unit or the Service and to whom the Mess wishes to formally say farewell/thank you etc, those individuals are Dined Out, see above; I’ve never heard of a ‘Dining Out Night’.
Formal Dinner, Mess Members with their Guests, be they spouses, or guests of the Mess, VIPs etc = Guest Night, but people may also be Dined In and Dined Out at Guest Nights.
[quote=“cygnus maximus” post=15113]My understanding:
The terms Dined In and Dined Out used to mean that the Mess Members paid for the meal of the arriving or leaving members. However, a Dining In Night (sometimes shortehed to a Dining In) is the term used for the function itself, not what goes on at it. However, people may be Dined In at a Dining In; they could also be [i]Dined Out /i.
Formal Dinner, Mess Members only, nobody leaving = Dining In Night, but new Mess Members may also be Dined In and sometimes people Dined Out.
Formal Dinner, Mess Members only, someone leaving the Unit or the Service and to whom the Mess wishes to formally say farewell/thank you etc, those individuals are Dined Out, see above; I’ve never heard of a ‘Dining Out Night’.
Formal Dinner, Mess Members with their Guests, be they spouses, or guests of the Mess, VIPs etc = Guest Night, but people may also be Dined In and Dined Out at Guest Nights.[/quote]
You’re not wrong.
However, the dining in = unit/dining out = unit + guests difference was (probably) invented (and used) by the RAF and taken to the USA by the USAAF who adopted a lot of RAF customs when they became the USAF post war.
It’s since fallen out of general RAF use, but remains, in an etiquette sense, correct. I would suggest that the term ‘dining out’ has been dropped because of the confusion with people being ‘dined out’ (which could happen at a dining in or a dining out) and replaced with the eminently more sensible ‘guest night’.
All the above, however, doesn’t change the fact that, if you have guests at your cadet squadron dinner, and whether you may or may not be dining someone in or out, it’s not a dining in.
I hate formal dinners.
On topic: horse was a popular choice this time last year…but seriously, can’t you just get your caterers to sort it out? If people don’t eat it, they don’t eat it. As long as they don’t fling the bones over their shoulder you should be alright.
and there I always thought that "dining in’ was a quiet beer and a pizza at home, and ‘dining out’ was a trip to KFC…