Journal 3.4: "CAFE INFINITO" in ACTION!

The big day had finally arrived! Preparation for the food stall resumed, with a BANG! At 7:00am we collected the vadapavs and puris from where we had ordered it and payed the remaining amount.

At 8:00 when we reached school, I saw that the hostel-ites on the team had begun working; lemonade making and cheese grating. All the food items I got was transferred from the car to the kitchen by us whilst we got a vessel to drop in all the ice-cream, crushed oreos and milk for the shake.

Simultaneously I went to check on the lemonade and kept tasting it every time we had to alter it (same for the shake). Then, I emptied a packet of ketchup into the dispenser. Next, the badges that I made were taken out from my bag along with scissors and cello tape and stuck on every teammate's shirt on the left side, by me. They loved the idea!

Afterward, I went out the cafeteria, toward the stall to keep a check on that too. We began transporting the huge & heavy utensils and carton boxes from the kitchen to the stall area. First, it was the oreo milkshake that two of us poured in the plastic glasses, followed by two again, storing it in the refrigerator, then it was the lemonade. Plates, spoons, tissue papers were all arranged. Meanwhile I put up the posters that I made. Anything extra (food and cups) were kept below the tables.

It was startling to see everyone so brisk and active on a saturday morning after sleeping at around 1 in the night!

Anyway, the next task was making the pani puris, pouring the pani in the cup, setting it on the thermo-plates and laying them on the table while also covering it with tissue paper or another plate itself (too many flies, ew!). Same thing was followed for vadapav, watermelon, gulab jamun and mad angle chat.

A a little bit of everything was displayed just so we do not delay in serving the parents and/or making them wait.

Almost set, we assembled together and discussed how it's all going to go about. One of the main member who had to get the billing software working, hadn't turned up yet and so we all got worried since he didn't pick our call too.

I noticed parents arriving one by one. Rushing to get the menu printouts, I discovered that I was already sweating and tired. The prices had to be written down by me on all copies.

At first itself there were about 8 people asking and waiting for their orders! Service had to be really quick, I helped all 3 counters in the service part. A while later I also went at the back of the stall to make and keep anything (pani puri) that was over on the table or fill new plates and cups with the other items.

Meanwhile the MC was announcing our menu and tempting the audiences' taste buds (I suppose).

As minutes flew, the confusion and scrambling intensified. In the process I dropped sauce on the floor, someone else knocked down the mad angle chat that was set in cups, blasted one another in the turmoil and what not! 11 o'clock was the peak time at which our sales hit the maximum!

In the midst of it all, one of the parent approached me to share something. Immediately I attended him. He said, “I would suggest you not to make use of plastic or thermo cups from next time on, as they are not bio-degradable and hence not eco-friendly. I replied with a smile, “Yes, sir, definately”.

One of the teammate and I decided with the others to go the audience, selling cupcakes and so they agreed. We sold almost 60 cupcakes and earned 3000/-!. This information was to be given to the accounts area, where it was updated in the software.

The time I went behind the stall to check for any stock updates, I noticed litter strewn across the place. Whilst picking up the waste, I asked two others to help out, and we dumped it in the trash can.

I had already gone twice, with my transport partner to the kitchen, to get big hot boxes of watermelon to the stall. One of my friend at the stall and I had one phone each, to contact each other and collaborate, to check stocks whilst I was at the kitchen to transport the items from there to the stall for updation. Watermelon and lemonade were selling the most due to the scorching heat.

I didn't feel like taking a break though we were all on our toes past quite some time now.

We altered the prices yet again according to the sales.

The morning session ended in a stretch. It was time to clean up the place and set the stall for the second batch! My partner and I took care of what has to be updated in our stall. Glasses, cups, spoons and hot boxes were transferred from the kitchen by us. Finally, I took a 5 minute break.

Excitement and tension was wide awake, within. Together we re-filled the refrigerator and plates while parents made their way! Some teammates had to leave and so I had to replace their service area too. One of us thought of making the watermelon pieces into juice, to sell even better.

Until 5:00pm, sales were minimal. Spirits were draining bit by bit. Moreover, I was upset looking at the ample amount of food, predicting it would go for a huge waste.

Nonetheless, it was time to barge into the audience and begin marketing. Quite some money was earned. That needed some skill and patience to repeatedly take trays of different items every half hour to the audience, convincing them to buy it off. We came up with the idea of making combos. Making appropriate combos, the prices were further reduced for one or two items and the MC was asked to make the announcement when there was any addition or change in the dishes of the stall.

Coke and pani puri were sold out.

From 7:30 as the program was coming to an end, parents started walking down from the gallery, few coming towards where the stall was while few going the other route. With some presence of mind, we divided ourselves accordingly. Most went to exit area, with a little bit of everything in hand and the rest few, including me were taking care of service in the stall. Sales boomed rapidly while it got back the beam on our faces. Watermelon juice was getting sold even at this time!

What was left? - vadapav, sandwich, cupcake and gulab jamun. We hurrayed to ourselves when we heard that our earning had reached an approximate of 69,000/-!

It was time to clean up and pack up. We did just that and cleared everything; extra food was distributed to the domestic helpers and drivers (this was time I was most glad).

Ms. Nivea and Mr.Murugesan were our supervisors who greatly helped us, throughout. They were more than happy and proud of us. Above all, we were. Of what I saw, everyone did a wonderful job!

Duration: 15 hours