The Rural Voice, 1992-07, Page 411
Many of the people are like old
friends and going there is like
renewing a friendship, Jeff says.
Every year they feed 1050 pounds of
beef to the 1200 people who attend.
Business has grown by word of
mouth. "If you can do a good
job of a meal that's your best
advertising," Jeff says. It's a people
business and people are
always coming away from
the meals to give
compliments and ask for
recipes. People often think
they have some exotic
recipe but everything is
done simply, but done well,
Jeff says.
Depending on the size of
the event, there will be
anywhere from four people
to 15 or 16 helping out.
When a big event is coming
up Jeff and Cathy get the
help of neighbours, friends
and relatives. Betty Cardiff
often lends a hand and if
father Murray, M.P. for
Huron -Bruce, is speaking at the event
he'll likely soon have his jacket off
and an apron on to help carve the
meat.
Because most of the demand is for
beef, Jeff says it's not often he can
make use of produce from his own
farm. If someone wants a whole roast
pig he will use one of his own pigs
but he has no beef, and even if he did,
he uses only roasts so there'd be the
problem of what to do with the rest of
the cattle beast.
One food that he does grow on the
farm has been finding its way into
meals more and more. The last
couple of years they've set up a bean
pot along with the barbecue at some
events and won raves for the taste of
the beans cooked over an open fire.
into for easy cleaning and sterilizing
of equipment. This year they've
bought a 20 -foot trailer which
contains a compartment for hauling
the equipment and a room for
refrigeration, equipped with
cupboards. The trailer also provides
somewhere to get out of the rain
when the barbecue has to be done in
inclement weather. The barbecuing
The Cardiffs have developed their own equipment
that allows them to barbecue whole roasts in one
section and bake potatoes up top.
The equipment they use was
developed by themselves over
the years. There have been
many modifications along the way.
When Cardiff and Campbell started
out, Murray carted around a pick-up
truck load of cement blocks on which
to set the barbecue, he says. Now the
barbecue is all made of steel, and
comes apart easily for trucking.
In 1990 the Cardiffs modified part
of their driving shed into a catering
area they can drive their trailer right
goes on in good weather and bad and
there's often more than wanted of the
latter.
The catering business makes for
a hectic summer as they try to
juggle cropping on the 200
acre farm, the weaner operation with
a 150 -sow herd and family
obligations. Jeff's brother Scott helps
out by keeping on with duties like
combining while Jeff is off on
catering business. It makes for a
hectic time: last year they had only
three weekends when there wasn't
catering to be done. Some days there
was more than one event on the same
day in different places. This summer
the biggest event may be the Usborne
Twp. 150th anniversary homecoming
when organizers are hoping to feed .
1500 to 2000 people and the Cardiffs
are to provide everything but the
dessert. "We've got our work cut out
for us," Jeff says, who also will be
without the help of Cathy, who
recently gave birth to a new son and
is taking the summer off. Just to
organize the help for such a big event
will be a colossal task, Jeff says.
Still, he says, they always get a lot
of good comments at such an event.
"That's what makes it all
worthwhile."—KRO
a Fouts.,
1 �it�tttS Bc0 look
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R.R. 6, Woodstock, Ont.
519-655-2942
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R.R. 2, Tavistock, Ont.
519-462-2704
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JULY 1992 37