The Waterdeep Trading Company relies on steady labor across docks, warehouses, counting rooms, and guard posts. Feeding that workforce is a daily operational task, not courtesy. A hungry crew slows work, causes friction, and creates avoidable risk. For this reason, the company operates a centralized food hall that delivers consistent meals at scale while maintaining precise cost control and minimal waste.
The food hall plans meals the same way the company plans freight and inventory, using fixed volumes, predictable demand, and clear rules that can be repeated every day.
Why Centralized Food Planning Matters
When meals are left to individual departments or ad hoc kitchens, costs rise, and service becomes uneven. A central food hall allows the company to buy in bulk, standardize portions, and control preparation timing. It also ensures that every worker, regardless of role or shift, receives the same reliable meal.
Central planning turns food into a managed resource rather than an ongoing problem.
Establishing the Workforce Baseline
Daily planning begins with a known headcount. The food hall does not plan by role, rank, or department. It plans by total mouths served across all shifts. Dockhands, clerks, guards, supervisors, and night watch are counted together to avoid gaps or double-counting.
The core planning unit is one hundred workers. This unit reflects proven banquet scale quantities that assume physical labor and full meals.
The One Hundred Worker Meal Set
The food hall uses a standard one-hundred-worker meal set as its baseline. One complete set feeds one hundred workers for a single main meal. Half a set feeds fifty workers, and a quarter set feeds twenty-five. Most days fall between one and two complete sets.
By scaling meals in these fixed blocks, purchasing, prep, and storage remain predictable.
Protein Planning for Sustained Labor
Protein is the most expensive and most closely tracked part of the meal. Portions are generous but controlled.
Only two protein options are served at any meal. One is treated as the primary dish, while the second supports variety without increasing waste.
Soup as the Daily Anchor
Soup is served at every meal. It fills bowls, stretches inventory, and absorbs attendance fluctuations without complaint.
One gallon serves about twenty workers, making soup the most efficient volume control tool in the hall.
Sides and Cold Dishes
Side dishes are chosen for stability and early preparation. Many are prepared before midday to smooth labor demand and reduce pressure during peak service.
Cold dishes are favored because they store well and reduce reliance on open fires during service.
Bread and Dairy as Calorie Insurance
Bread is always available. It ensures no worker leaves hungry, even on days when attendance exceeds estimates.
Bread consumption is tracked daily, as sharp increases often signal that protein portions need adjustment.
Beverage Planning
Water is unlimited. Hot drinks are planned by volume and issued in controlled batches.
Ale and spirits are not part of the food hall ration and are handled separately through licensed taverns.
Daily Planning in Practice
On a typical workday, the food hall may require approximately 1.5 meal sets to meet demand. In practice, the kitchen prepares two complete sets to protect against shortages and late arrivals. Any unused portions are intentionally folded into the following day’s soups or stews, where they can be safely and efficiently reused. Leftover proteins are never held beyond the day of service unless they are immediately repurposed in accordance with controlled preparation rules. This approach prevents spoilage, reduces waste, and minimizes the risk of illness while keeping service predictable.
Ledger Control and Oversight
Each day, the food hall reports the number of workers fed, the total food cost, the average cost per worker, and any recorded waste. These figures are reviewed weekly by the Arcane Treasurer to ensure the food hall supports operations without unnecessary spending.
Food is treated as an operational input, tracked with the same discipline as tools, wagons, or warehouse space.
Final Thoughts
Feeding a large workforce is a logistics problem solved through structure and repetition. By planning meals in fixed sets and enforcing clear reuse rules, the Waterdeep Trading Company keeps its workers fed, its kitchens orderly, and its ledgers clean. A full stomach keeps the company moving, and a planned kitchen keeps the company profitable.
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