Some things about a gourmet meeting are the same as any other Toastmasters meeting: The Educational VP gets volunteers/assigns roles: Toastmaster, Topicmaster, General Evaluator, Speakers, etc. General Evaluator tends to be an easier job than most clubs since our round robin evaluation makes most of the job introducing each person in turn to speak. Sometimes Table Topics is changed to just be the recipe recitation (explained below) to save time.
There is the extra volunteering for "Host", since we meet at a member's house for each session. The food theme for the meeting is planned for the year, based on what people are interested in, by the `Theme committee.'
The host sends out directions and a reminder by email. The week or so before the meeting members email what they will be bringing for food so the menu can form. People who are slow to choose a recipe usually try to bring something for a course with few dishes. So if there is only one dessert announced that might be selected. Courses include appetizers, soup, bread, entre'e, dessert, and beverage.
The day of the meeting we begin gathering about 4 PM (sometimes changed for special meetings.) People arrive and socialize, letting dishes heat if needed or doing final preparation. The agenda has appetizers and the reading of the recipes leading up to 5 PM when the meeting begins.
The reading of the recipes is a short prepared speech by each person about what they brought for food and how it was prepared. This is a timed event of one to two minutes that provides an opportunity to practice giving short and concise prepared speeches. We are also planning a Recipe Reading contest.
Dietary restrictions, food allergies, and finding non-allergenic substitutions, are a challenging but educational concern. Some things just can't be made compatible and the members need to be warned; sometimes a person will bring an alternate version of the same dish modified with food restrictions in mind, these are often sought after as interesting variations in their own right. The reading of the recipes alerts members of any concerns in how the food was prepared.
The meeting itself begins at 5PM with traditional staples like wordmaster, jokemaster, and assignment of positions like timer. Table topics are standard, but being an advanced club CCAT often accepts particularly challenging topics. Memorable past events include the "Grab bag of the Unknown" where each person picks a random, often unrecognizable, item to talk about, even if they can't figure out what it is.
A break for the soup and bread courses gives a pleasant opportunity to socialize before reconvening for prepared speeches. Speakers distribute a copy of the evaluation form to each member and each member makes notes after the speech.
A break for the entre'e course allows more discussion and preparation. We then reconvene for the round robin evaluations. Members try to have enough points that at least one of their points will be new when it is their turn to speak. A short comment of praise for some part of the speech, then a comment of encouragement or improvement; each evaluation short and not needing to be comprehensive.
Next we break for the much anticipated dessert course and then reconvene for the business meeting and adjournment.