On the one hand, you don’t need a menu/program at a Burns Supper with just a few friends in your home.
On the other hand, why not? Attendees will have a tangible memento of the evening (to jar the many intangible mementos in their brains), plus if you’re the host (it’s your house), the chef (you fix the food), or the chairman (master of ceremonies), a Bill o’ Fare can help keep you on track with what comes next.
Don’t get me wrong. The bottom line is fun and good fellowship. The bottom line is to enjoy being with other guests, eating good food, and enjoying the humorous, witty, brilliant, insightful, often earthy (occasionally bawdy) poems and songs of Robert Burns. But sometimes, having fun and relaxing happens better with a certain level of preparation ahead of time. A program can be just the thing to keep the event on course.
Here’s the one we’ll be using this year:
Burns Supper 2011
Bill o’ Fare
Starters and beverages*
Salmon and crackers and Scotch Eggs
Grace
Some hae meat and canna eat,
And some would eat that want it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat,
Sae let the Lord be thankit.
Soup
Cock-a-Leekie soup
The Haggis
Wi’ tatties and neeps.
Main Course
Roast Angus Beef
Mashed Potatoes
Vegetables
Dessert
Tipsy Laird (Scots Trifle)
Cheese and Oatcakes
Coffee and liqueur
Toast to the President
Immortal Memory
A few words about Robert Burns and a toast
Works by Burns
Tam O’ Shanter
Auld Lang Syne
*Cheers: Slainthe Mhath (slawn’-che-va)
