The "Inn Cookie Wedding Favors" for Andrea and Adam were delivered to nearby Migis Lodge in Casco, Maine this afternoon. The favors looked great and I couldn't help but think that this labor of Love I call "innkeeping" is an exercise in teamwork.
I called a former guest, Claire, who stayed here back in February recently. Claire owned a home-based cookie business for many years. She offered great advice in me taking this big step, particularly in the realities of "timing" baked goods.
Making 650 cookies was challenging (I never say the word "difficult" anymore--saying "difficult" defeats your ability to create and gain victory). The favors comprised of 2 Strawberry Snickerdoodle cookies & 2 Godiva Liqueur Chocolate Cookies (I had to omit the semi-sweet chips as they do not hold up in Summer heat in a foodservice-safe cellophane bag). A simple, homespun treat for the ceremony of two nice, young former guests of the inn.
Waking up at 2am Saturday morning was like being in college again! I delighted in thinking that the quiet baking of cookies could be sensed by my sleeping guests, though. After packaging them, Gail finished them perfectly with the wedding color hand-tied raffia. Debbie, the inn's Head Housekeeper, helped me deliver and place the favors on the dining tables at the venue, sooned to be filled with family and friends of Adam and Andrea. When I checked on Debbie's positioning of the items on the tables, she said (in the true detailed fashion she puts into the details of the guest rooms): "See? I line them up with the 3rd line on the (embossed) tablecloth." Now that is detail! I followed her lead happily.
This cookie project became a chain of individuals expressing their talents. I am/was proud of the people that surround me. I think they "get" my concept of homemade/inn-made food. I think they get the young boy who used to play "waiter" to/with his brothers, asking if "Cheez-Its or Oreos" from the kitchen cabinets would do as the Special of the Day! (Another story, for sure!) They may not have the culinary technical background I have been blessed with, yet they add the most important ingredient in any kitchen: CARE.
Guests enjoyed my Mom's Pistachio Sour Cream Coffee Cake to start their breakfast after my long night of baking. Next, Applesauce-Spice Buttermilk Pancakes were appreciated (it was a rainy morning).
Great day here at Inn at Long Lake. I plan to catch up on my sleep and start again in the morning!
Thanks for reading!
Keith
Your Maine Innkeeper
Naples, Maine
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