Turns out that Beverly’s party was not the one Bill’s station dished up. Turns out that Nora’s party was not the one Bill’s station dished up. Turns out that Millie was standing with Chloe by the buffet table in the kitchen when the dish-up went on. Turns out they were standing together and both watching Bill as he worked.
This dish-up was an easy one. His party was one of the bigger ones, for a hundred twenty-six people, more than ninety of them chicken.
The runner, a steward, brought the first pan, and it all started. Bill dished up a chicken, one of the stewards put on the duchess potato and the vegetable and another steward sauced it. The waiter – Bill’s party had all waiters – capped it and stacked the plates on his tray.
One after the next after the next, each one the same, they worked through. The only thing that changed was the waiter. Each waiter took four stacks of five plates and hoisted the tray on his shoulder to head off. As he left, the next waiter placed his tray down and began capping plates. It was frowned upon if the waiter held up the dish-up. The waiters all knew this and made sure not to do so.
Each time a pan got low the runner got a new one. This was also timed not to disrupt the flow of plates. Same was true for the flat kitchen trays of duchess potatoes and the pans of vegetables. Each station had its own runner for those items, and no runner wanted to misstep and mess up the flow.
Continuity, sameness, perfection. Done.
The fifth tray had the remainder of the chicken and the rest fish. A sixth and seventh tray went out with just fish. The fish were placed on a central station out in the dining room kitchen and each waiter took what was needed for his tables.
“Fish will be out momentarily,” was their standard line.
It didn’t take long for all the parties to go. It was a slam-bam, thank you ma’am deal. The waiters hung out to make sure the people all had what they needed, what they wanted, and since the buffet table was back in the kitchen all day and had a better selection of foods than the banquet fare, the waiters didn’t bother to ask for or sneak extra plates for themselves. They did take what they could from the open bar, not in drinking there on the job but by taking bottles of whiskey from the cases delivered.
For these parties on this day, not much whiskey could be stolen, but some was. It would go up for sale on the black market there in the hotel. It was an active black market.
Very little food, when all was said and done, was left over. The fish all went, as did the chicken, though there were about a half dozen chicken entrees left. Because there was sauce left over for both, Jimmy Banquet Chef, in regard for Christmas Eve, decided he would make a fish special. Bill was good with that because a nice fish special sold well and was really easy to serve. It only needed to be warmed in the Dutch oven. The sauce stayed hot on the steam table. Piece of cake.
Immediately after the dish-up when the kitchen end of it was done, the stewards went for more eggnog. They drank it down fast and came back to their respective stations where they began the breakdown. Bill did not drink eggnog. He did not drink anything since he still had a long night ahead of him. But he did keep looking toward the buffet table to see who was there. He did not see Chloe though he would find out that she watched him do his station’s main item dish-up. He would learn that she watched him all the way through, or just until she could cut out without him seeing her.
