Food for sport

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33778, 26 February 1975, Page 6

Food for sport

A small hand of Christchurch women, devoted to cricket, will feed about 120 players and officials during the second test between England and New Zealand, which starts at Lancaster Park on Friday.

“Chief cook” is Mrs Joyce Benzie, a former Canterbury representative cricketer. She and four or five friends will prepare, cook and serve lunches and afternoon teas on each of the five days set down for play. Included in the group of cook-hostesses are Mrs Joan McCleary, a former Canterbury representative cricketer, and Mrs Betty Burtt, a wife of a former New Zealand cricketer, Mr T. B. Burtt. ‘‘We want to feed our visitors well — in the New Zealand way.” Mrs Benzie said yesterday. The bill of fare includes 45 chickens, about 501 b corned beef and eight legs of lamb to be served cold with salads on different days.

“And we are praying for some salmon, even if it is only enough to serve as an entree.” she added.

Home-cooked The voluntary caterers will do all the cooking in their own kitchens and cut up ■ buckets of salad. (They have I bought the buckets specially). Most of the sweets are al- ( ready made and stored in | home freezers. Apple pies, orange cheesecake, apricot crumb and the kind of puddings that are better freshly baked will be made the night before they are needed and. of course, served with lashings of cream. So much for lunches. Afternoon teas will include cakes, home-made sandiwiches with a wide variety of fillings, buttered pikelets, and scones. ' v Are these few women i daunted at the thought of i such large-scale catering? Not la bit of it. Trial run Tliey have already had a’ 'trial run. They fed between 80 and 110 for the threp, three-day matches during the Plunket Shield series at Lan 1

' caster Park early this year.i “The Canterbury Cricket Association had a problem: when it came to catering at Christmas time, so we decided to help out,” Mrs Benzie said. “The appreciation for what we did then gave us the confidence to undertake test match meals for the New Zealand Cricket Council. We have only one regret; we’ll be too busy to see the cricket.” During the Plunket Shield matches several people arrived at the Lancaster Park kitchen quarters with large salads to help out. . “We thought this was wonderful,” Joyce Benzie said, “and quite unexpected. A love of cricket forges a tremendous bond of friendship and willingness to help,”

I After meals “old-time” (cricketers took turns in helping to wash up stacks of dishes. The Canterbury Cricket Association paid for the food for the shield matches, she said, and the New Zealand Cricket Council will foot the bill for the test meals. Before taking on mass: catering for cricketers Mrs Benzie said she had helped al little with some large-scale! cooking for Plunket Society: functions. But as far as she! knows none of her team-1 mates had “cooked big” until, they pitched in for the shield j matches. i In any case, having cooked j for a family of seven for: many years, Mrs Benzie says! “feeding 120 for five days is I only a matter of arithmetic.” 1