Three Years Ago: Catering Conversation: Candles in a Barn

It's time for Three Years Ago again, our Special Department of Re-Posting Posts from this blog from exactly three years ago. Today, Catering Conversation: Candles in a Barn.

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The premise for this conversation is thus: We were the temp staff for a wedding at a Napa vineyard / horse farm. I was separated from the other catering staff for several hours, while they passed out champagne & hors d'oeuvres to the wedding guests, & I lit hundreds & hundreds of candles in the barn where the reception would take place. The baker had driven up from Berkeley with a beautiful (but ultimately bland) chocolate cake, & this one lady who worked there was running around, sneaking white wine, fixing lots of small things. We'll call her "Paulette".

Baker: This all just looks beautiful.
Your hero: You know, there's a reason why you don't often see this sight.
Baker: What?
Your hero: Of thousands of candles in a barn.
Paulette: Ah, but this is a concrete barn. The candles distract from the concrete. [Note: there was still a lot of hay, & a strong wind blowing thru.]
Your hero (more of a statement than a question): You ever heard of Bessie?
Baker: Ah, ha.
Paulette: No, who is she?
Baker: The Chicago Fire.
Paulette: Was she a caterer?
Your hero: No, she was a cow.
Paulette: A what?
Your hero: Cow. A Cow. Bessie was a cow.