As was mentioned above, the cost of running a houseparty at a catered centre is making it increasingly likely that you will wish to have a self-catering weekend. If this is the case, check that the venue has suitable facilities for the number of people you are bringing - a church hall kitchen that usually serves only as preparation space for cups of tea and the odd cake will not easily convert into the production house for seventy evening meals.

Recent tightening of health and safety and other hygiene regulations apply to weekends of this kind and someone from your group will probably need to arrive early at the venue to be briefed on the cleaning arrangements.

Another important question concerns who will actually do the cooking. Bear in mind that food often has to be prepared during the teaching sessions and therefore whoever is working in the kitchen is unlikely to benefit much from the spiritual feeding that is on offer. You could ask for volunteers, but several CUs have found it works well to invite the previous year’s committee or other recent graduates back to the houseparty as caterers. It is always wise to try and ensure that at least one of the caterers has some experience of cooking for large numbers!

In deciding upon menus it is always better to put cost and ease of preparation before originality. In practice this tends to mean one spag bol or lasagne dish, jacket potatoes and some sort of chicken meal. Tried and tested quantities can normally be obtained from your staffworker or others who have previous experience, or alternatively I believe a book of recommended recipies (published by Scripture Union?) was recently updated. Remember to ask on the booking form if people are vegetarian or have other special dietary requirements and don’t forget to have something laid on for them.

Three tips that I learnt the hard way. Save time on the Friday night by recommending that people have a packed tea on the way or offer soup and sandwiches on arrival rather than cooking a meal.

Secondly, preparing coleslaw for 100 people without the aid of a multichef takes hours. And thirdly, jacket potatoes always take longer to soften up than you expect. Talking of multichefs, if there are any handy kitchen gizmos like this which are easily transported then it may be worth taking them with you. You will also need to sort out when and where you are going to buy the food. Some centres will have arrangements with local shops and they may even be able to deliver your supplies straight to the centre. If you have to do your own shopping try and borrow a cash and carry card (your church may have one). This will allow you to buy bulk at reduced rates. Remember also that food for 50 people for two and a half days takes up a lot of transport space.