Offering Cooking Instructions -- Local Cuisine?

From the moment they step through the door your bookings become guests, and their experiences determine whether they ever come back.
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Rocket Rab
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Post by Rocket Rab »

Hello Deb,

Have been reading through the thread with growing admiration at your can-do spirit (I would feel daunted by this one, but Diogo is obviously brimming with enthusiasm..).

You appear to have a confusing number of parameters to consider....

Have I got this right:

- Diogo would spend a total of 8 hours maximum on this project (your calculations)? Edit: I FORGOTTHE CLEANING, AGGH! Add on 2 hours... even so, I think per-guest charge (see below) would still cover it

- Ten guests would be involved, whether cooking/shopping or not?

Let's say you pay Diogo 20 (or even 25) euros an hour (en especes, bien sûr). That's generous by French standards, so I'm assuming it would also be ok in Portugal.
So 200 euros thus far.

Ten guests - 20 euros each plus, say, 25/30 euros each for ingredients

So wouldn't 45-50 euros/person be about right ? I wouldn't charge less for the group members who don't want to go shopping/do any preparation - that's their choice, 'you' still have to do the work.

If this is going to become a regular activity with declared revenues you may need to think again....

Good luck!
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Ju
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Post by Ju »

I agree with Jenny, you should be looking at how much per hour Diogo wants for his time. He is not a proffessional chef so you can't really charge chef rates. As he is doing more interaction than someone cleaning for example you need to pay more than you pay your cleaners. So if you pay your cleaners €15 then he should get more like €20. The rates will then depend on the local ecconomy (eg in London you would get more but in rural France less).

Rather than worrying about a price per head, fiw a price per day with an - upto a maximum of x people. This way if a couple want to do it Diogo doesn't loose out.

Sounds like a great plan though, make sure you let us know how it goes.

Ju
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debk
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Post by debk »

Hello, everyone -

Thanks again for the support! Based on the comments here, I emailed with the guest about the extra folks in house #2. She was just delightful and assured me that they will ply the extras with cheese and crackers and lock them away from the cooking zone... and, also, that "our non-cooks have learned that good things come to those who wait patiently."

Now, though they still want to have a max of 5 cooking participants, they want to feed 12, not 10. "We'll obviously pay more for the 12," she said.

Diogo and I went ahead with the following (for 3-5 cooking participants; guests purchase all foodstuffs, wines, etc.):
€300 to feed up to 6
€370 to feed up to 12 (we had already suggested €350 for 10)

The guests are thrilled. I even got an email from someone in the party that I had never heard from before talking about her excitement about going to the big local market with Diogo and asking me to thank him for all his upfront work.

I will certainly let you know how it goes. I think a lot may depend on the mesh of personalities, and there's not much I can do about that except set expectations appropriately beforehand, which you are all so graciously helping me do.

And now Diogo and I have started brainstorming a "Guided Fado Night" led personally by a member of Portugal's most famous fado family, taking visitors into the labyrinthine backstreets of fado as occasionally seen by a few privileged Portuguese, never by tourists.
A VisitingPortugal exclusive, new for 2007. :)
debk
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Rocket Rab
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Post by Rocket Rab »

Deb,

Sounds like you have a very valuable marketing asset in Diogo.

Better treat him nice, girl!! :D
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debk
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Post by debk »

Better treat him nice, girl!!
Ack. I panicked when I read this. What to do? What to do??!? But then I remembered that Diogo's son sleeps over at our house regularly... something he and his wife have said they appreciate. :wink:
debk
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Rocket Rab
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Post by Rocket Rab »

Sorry, Deb. Don't panic - just teasing....!

I bet Diogo is thrilled to be involved in the project and it sounds like you are more than concerned to give him a fair deal.
:D
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Mountain Goat
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Post by Mountain Goat »

debk, hi

I didn't want to hijack your catering thread, so have started another for a much less ambitious scenario: informal après-ski chalet catering.

MG
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debk
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Post by debk »

Don't panic - just teasing....!
Teasing is the language of love in my family. :roll:

have started another (thread)...
Off to take a look!
debk
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Ciapolin
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Post by Ciapolin »

Considering the time it will involve, I think they've got a bargain! Well done, and hop it goes well.
Carole-Anne
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debk
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Post by debk »

Thanks to all the wonderful suggestions from you LMHers, I'm thrilled to report that the cooking day was... drumroll...

... a SMASHING SUCCESS!

The guests loved it. Diogo loved it. So, of course, I loved it.

And, relatedly, we also designed an "Insider's Fado Night" which Diogo has done twice to the utter delight of those guests. (Fado is Portugal's soul music and Diogo belongs to Portugal's most famous fado family. Guests are enchanted. It's so exciting to give them this unique access to the inner workings of Lisbon's heartbeat!)

Now we're busy drafting webpages to present these two new "VisitingPortugal Exclusives" to all our 2007 guests.

To view our in-progress pages:

http://visitingportugal.com/secure/test ... lasses.htm

http://visitingportugal.com/secure/test ... -tours.htm


Thank you, again, for all your help.
debk
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Rocket Rab
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Post by Rocket Rab »

Fantastico!! You seem to have hit on a fabulous USP...well done! I love the look of the website additions.

I thought it sounded like an ambitious project when I first read about this, but it has obviously been well worth the effort. And then some!
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Big Sis..
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Post by Big Sis.. »

Well Done Debk :)

Glad it worked out after all the effort you put in...I expect youve inspired others to do something similar... :wink: :lol:
Fraise
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Post by Fraise »

Brilliant result !! Yay -mabes we could have a LMHatters session- now there's a thought :wink:
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Giddy Goat
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Post by Giddy Goat »

Good grief!! No wonder you haven't been posting here for a bit Deb!! You have been busy! Congratulations on two resounding successes! You'll be beating them off with sticks!
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be
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