Forum Topic

Feedback??

Hi guys,Just wanted to get your thoughts on this and get your feedback!!I am wanting to get my sideline business going,coming to peoples houses when they have had their babies and do a load of batch cooking(say upto a mnths worth of foods)for you to put into the freezer!As some of you know I am a nanny but I also make wheat free cakes to sell to and hopeful taking orders for Xmas cakes in the next couple of weeks!!Any help or feedback would be greatly appreiated on how I can get this batch cooking idea off the ground.Thanks guys,Xavia.

Xavia Marshall ● 5804d21 Comments

Hello Xavia.My only comment would be don't call it Xmas if you actually mean Christmas! Nobody calls the hindu festival of Diwali "Diw" or the Jewish festival of Yom Kippur "Yom"in order to be sensitive to those who believe in Christmas, please keep the Christ bit in. All the best for your business. If you put it under another heading ie. to do with the food I'm sure you would get more people reading what you wrote.

Kyria- Josephine Sewell ● 5803d

Really? Is it offensive? I never knew and have been happily writing Xmas for years thinking it was wholly uncontentious...at least we don't wish each other "Happy Holidays"By the way "Yom" just means "day" so that would be seriously pointless!

Sara Nathan ● 5803d

I can't believe it's offensive, but will call it *mas in future just in case.Having you thought of advertising with the local NCT?Agree with K-J S that thread title is important. Calling it e.g. "Home-baked cakes" rather than "Feedback??" will lead more people to click on it.

Ian M Green ● 5803d

Thank you for comments.What do any of you think of the batch cooking idea?do any of you think mums would go for this?I will be making Christmas cakes in the nxt couple of weeks if anyone is interested!!Thanks.

Xavia Marshall ● 5803d

Sara - no, it's not offensive. It's only made out to be by a minority of Christians who love to pretend they are being persecuted. Some of them use it as a proxy for moaning about our multi-cultural society.Given that you are Jewish and I'm an athiest I fail to see why either of us should have to pay any recognition to the term "Christ". Surely to us it is just a winter festival - and if it is to start requiring some sort of religious compulsion then perhaps more people will begin opting out  altogether. I can remember writing the word "Xmas" in cards as early as 1973: it was completely harmless and no one ever complained - but then came along the anti-PC brigade.

Robin Taylor ● 5802d

For one who espouses better English and grammar etc, I am surprised you subscribe to the use of lazy English which is just useful for commerce when they cannot be bothered to use the word in full.It has little to do with atheism. N.B. how to spell this word!!!!Back to the main point.I hope the initiative gets off the ground.

George Knox ● 5802d

The problem with the original proposal is that it is too easy to get OK prepared meals from M & S or waitrose or even Cook.People seem to appreciate cakes or even chicken soup in times of crisis - and if they have a preference - one friend dying of cancer wanted proper rice pudding and bread & butter pudding but even then Marks's b & b was better than mine...although my rice pudding was rather fine!But all that was as a gift - I think people might buy special occasion cakes and so on but will they commission shepherd's pies and lancashire hot pot? I'm not sure.

Sara Nathan ● 5802d

I'm actually thinking of doing this for busy mummies who have just had their babies and either don't have the time to batch cook,can't cook or simply don't like doing it-this Is where I come in!!it's like having a chef to cook your babies foods as and when you want!!This is my original idea that I wanted your opinions on!!Thanx

Xavia Marshall ● 5802d

No need to worry about 'Xmas' in my opinion - it originates from using the letter X as an abbreviation for Christ. See here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XmasMy father (retired vicar) often used to write notes in his diary for things such as 'Xian Aid Wk', so even today it can be seen as just shorthand.  As regards the cooking idea, I don't have children so can't say whether this would have a big take-up.  In our church, we organise a rota to cook meals for anyone who's about to have a baby.  Every day for about a month, someone comes round with a meal or brings something they've made which can be frozen.  That seems to go down well (pun intended!) so perhaps there might be demand for it?

Gill Hothersall ● 5801d

Who would do the shopping for all the supplies for this big cook up? I don't think I'd want someone cooking in my kitchen right after having a baby. How do you intend to charge for all this? The volunteers from the church dropping off food each day sounds a better idea.

Audrey Walton ● 5801d

Didn't he die on a X?  Nokia spells it Wobs, sensitive Americans no doubt :)

Becky Bell ● 5800d

This sounds like a good idea to me. It wouldn't suit everyone to have a person in their home after the birth, but for some, who like home cooking, it could also be a bit of back-up and company at this time. I could see that you might find a market, particularly when you got known and recommended between mums. Would you want to cook babies' food though - how would that work with insurance, etc.

Becky Bell ● 5800d

Wobs???

Sara Nathan ● 5800d

Try texting the word Xmas :)

Becky Bell ● 5800d

Aha - us blackberry chaps have forgotten that sort of texting!

Sara Nathan ● 5800d

"We wish you a merry Wobs..." ... don't think it'll catch on.I assumed the idea was that food would be cooked off the premises, and then brought to the parent, either day by day (sort of posh meals on wheels) or in bulk to freeze.I don't think a new mum would like someone else in their home.  Mine looks like a bomb-site at times and I don't even have kids!

Gill Hothersall ● 5800d

Thank you for all ur comments about XMAS but that was really not wot I expected from this forum,so if I knew how to deleate the thread I would!!Hardly any of you have even given me any feedback on my original question and for those of u who did I thank u very much!Miss x marshall

Xavia Marshall ● 5800d

Maybe you haven't fully explained your idea. The thought of someone coming in my kitchen and cooking up a batch of food to be frozen is not at all appealling. You also didn't answer my question re cost of this side line business. I don't see this as a money making proposition at all.

Audrey Walton ● 5800d

Xavia - I think it's a great idea. I think it'd be better to do it in the weeks leading up to the birth so it's ready and waiting after the birth (which is when parents have little time to do anything!) - it's exactly what I did. I went a bit mad and made about 4kg of lasagne, bolognese etc but it meant it was all there ready to go when the nipper arrived, and a quick blast in the microwave sorted dinner out for us both with minimum fuss for a couple of weeks - more time for sleep.As for everyone else - I'm quite amazed at the lack of respect for Xavia's request for feedback. Jumping straight in with a grammar critique isn't exactly the best way to build a community! As for the Xmas thing: language is always evolving. Xmas is not a misspelling. What would Stephen Fry do.......?Happy Wobs everyone.

Steve Burnham ● 5800d

Wow thanks Steve that's really nice of u to say and was what I was looking for from the very beginning.Audrey,I didn't answer you about the money side of it as I hadn't gone that far into it I was just after feedback from a community website that was local to my area,and one last thing I would like to point out that idea to carry on my cooking skills was from a pregnant mummy friend of mine who wanted me to come onto her kitchen and cook for her as she didn't want to and she thought this would be a great idea!!I think I shall be closing this discussion now.Thank you for your time.X Marshall.

Xavia Marshall ● 5800d

Actually quite a lot of people have given you sensible feedback amidst the joshing and diversions - as you would expect on a public forum. Look through again Miss X and you will see probings, questions and ideas.

Sara Nathan ● 5800d