Feast

Aka Scottish locals eat Turkish food to send students to Ecuador.

Jamie (Orhan's nephew) and his classmates will be going on a service/vacation trip to Ecuador in a year or so, and right now are in fund raising mode. Jamie's idea was to have a Turkish feast, a proposition the cooking members of his family -- Orhan, Gün (his sister), and Güler (their mother) embraced with enthusiasm.

Here is a non-participant's view of the affair, starting a flashback to last week's shopping and including a cameo of me pretending to know what I am doing in the kitchen.

Step 1: Shopping. Lots of Shopping.

Rounds 1 and 2 were at a wholesaler and a grocery place in Glasgow; those were the outings that I spent working, first by the Clyde, then in the car.

While I put words together, Gün and Orhan got supplies. Lots of supplies.

Round 3 was yesterday in Killearn, where we picked up some gift certificates at the lovely Three Sisters Baking (and had lunch and enjoyed the view) and at the local Co-op.

During the Co-op part, Dev and I wandered around looking for good pictures. We didn't find much, but there was this:

Tempting, no?

Step 2: Mass Production

Between and after rounds of shopping, Güler and Gün and Orhan cooked. Güler was at the apartment making heaps of food, and Orhan and I are staying at the house, so I only have some pictures of this part of the process. Every time I turned around, it seemed, there was another tray or heap or bowl of food resting somewhere; imagine the apartment like this, too.

Step 3: Transportation

Gün moved Orhan and a load of food to the hall, then Güler and another load of food, then herself and me and a few more food items.

Step 4a: More Cooking

This was the point when Güler and Orhan began the heroic task of cooking non-stop for almost 5 hours while Gün managed the setup (including directing Jamie and his friends and me in various tasks) and also popped in to help cook during free minutes. The other person in the pictures is Cathy, a church volunteer who was there (I think) to make sure we didn't violate health standards or burn down the hall.

The chefs at work:

Food everywhere:

And occasionally a rest break, though Güler was still on hand to consult even when sitting down:

Step 4b: Setting Up the Hall

Meanwhile, the hall evolved:

Gün had also set up some displays about Turkish food:

Step 5: Feed People!

Between starters and the main course, Gün did a quiz about some Turkish facts, including food information people might have learned from the displays.

People loved the food, and the quiz was lively, and the whole shebang lasted about three hours.

Step 6: Clean Up

And then we put the hall back in order. ("We" in this case means the church ladies did all the dishes in their industrial dish washer, and Jamie and friends put things away, and various people cleaned surfaces. I was mostly resting, and wandering through now and then to take pictures.)

Step 7: Rest