Demographic Changes

I'm quite capable of preparing food for mates, and done enough of it over the years.  

Turnturtle, given your sailing club experiences, I to can see your point of view however, your experience does not represent the vast majority of clubs in this country. Most clubs do not provide their committee members with any perks. I am certainly not aware of any with preferential parking!
I would say most clubs operate as 'clubs' not businesses, with an operating committee and a small group of trustees should things go pear shaped needing a carve-up. Things like galley and bar are operated by members through the normal duties rosta, with a small number of key individuals appropriately trained in food hygiene.
I agree with the outdated views on wives manning the galley, and having experimented with giving the duty to a family name rather than an individual we have now settled on members just picking galley duties using dutyman. Some families like the old ways, but other more modern families do their galley duty as a family activity or the men just front up and do it. Some of our male members are fantastic cooks.
As for skilled work completed by members, well if it's their trade, they are qualified and they provide good value then no problem paying them for it. There are plenty of general jobs that can be completed in club work parties with no payments, but specialist activities requiring a qualified trade should I believe be paid for.
I guess things like petrol money for doing club errands are perhaps more contentious. If I offered (as I did), to collect some new Oppies for our club from Weymouth, I wouldn't expect to put in a claim for petrol as I'm doing it as a favour to the club. I know others have a different view on this type of expense but then some of us are also happy to buy others a beer at the bar! We are all different ;)



Edited by craiggo - 02 Feb 15 at 6:37pm

Originally posted by Woodbotherer Well the current plan is to flood the place with people, we're trying to attract other clubs/activities,

All seems very good if you're in the right sort of location. The only thing to be wary of is something I hear has happened in a couple of US clubs. The word is that the social and catering side had gone so very well that the nasty wet sailors were getting in the way of the business and were chucked out...

Until the old buffers keeping the kids out all die out...

Vast majority of clubs Paul? Factor in coastal yacht clubs with paid bar staff and caterers and I think you'll find the sport offers quite a few sailing clubs with a more professional outlook to the hospitality side of their operation. I'm not knocking the small, volunteer run places; and I'm certainly no fan of compo culture and the 'elf n safety, but I do wonder if there's a few well meaning individuals who are at quite significant personal risk in the world we now live in.

Food legislation is in place to protect us- and it would be prudent to ensure any catering facility gets the right training, not to mention specialist insurance - regardless of its profit motivations and whether Bill's wife makes the best beef casserole. That incidentally, she brings in once a month in some tupperware from her non-approved domestic kitchen.

Who is to be held accountable when Mavis sends Tarquin into an anaphylactic shock at the Oppy open? I mean how was she to know he had allergies and the cooking oil the bacon was fried in was sesame based? I'm not sure 'we didn't know we had to follow this HACCP thing when selling food' cuts it. Not today, not in the EU anyway.

Edited by turnturtle - 02 Feb 15 at 8:32pm