My shop renewed its annual Holiday tradition today.

Today is the start of UGA's annual "Cook's Holiday" feast, something my shop has been enjoying for several years.

The Cook's Holiday has been taking place at UGA for something like 30 years. The Automotive Center discovered this wonderful event back in 2013, and has been a regular attendee ever since. We look forward to the beginning of each December where we set a Thursday afternoon aside to enjoy a good meal together as a group.

We began to gather around 10:30 AM for the ride to the Bolton Commons.
Naturally, Phil and Paul had to pick on Jeremiah before departure.

Brent waits patiently for our group to gather for the ride to lunch.

Paul is going to watch the shop while we're gone, which means he'll get to feast tomorrow. Truth be told, I think he's looking forward to the peace and quiet, and is probably hoping we'll be gone for the rest of the day. Sorry to disappoint, however.

The Cook's Holiday has called the Bolton Dining Commons on campus "home" for the past few years.

Bolton Dining Commons on campus.

Our plan was to get there early in hopes of beating the crowd, which was a good idea. We arrived to a small line that had begun to build at the entrance, but nothing too intense. Arriving 30 minutes early definitely has its perks.

The Bolton staff wants everyone in the group to be present before being seated. So we were directed to the gathering area to wait until everyone in the group arrived before getting in line.

Felicia got to work passing out the tickets while we waited.

We hung out while waiting for everyone to arrive.

Arriving 30 minutes early gave us some time to hang out and relax.

Linda is retiring at the end of the year and has taken every opportunity to remind all of us of the fact that, "I don't have to come back to work !"

The 2017 "Cook's Holiday" marks the 5th year for us, making us seasoned pros when it comes to feasting. The usual pre-feast chaos lessens with each passing year resulting in a lot of calm smiles, even from Brent.

Everyone knows that taking pictures is my thing. The festive decor makes for a great background which Felicia was happy to put to use. The Bolton staff always does a great job with the decorations.

Great candid shot of Felicia !

Good shot of Felicia.

Brent & Cyndi.

Good picture of Brent & Cyndi.

We spent a few minutes relaxing and waiting for the whole group to arrive.
With everyone present and accounted for, it was our turn to get in line.

Arriving early paid off in that the line was still quite short when we joined.

We hit the host staff with a party of 20 which resulted in some concerning looks. But they found 5 tables for us under the "snow" after a few minutes.

This is Cook's Holiday number 5 for our group. So we know the routing pretty well - fill plate, stuff yourself, repeat - and wasted no time in attacking the empty buffet.

This "arriving early" thing definitely paid off.

The food was wonderful as usual. I quickly became BFFs with the chef at the brisket carving station.

Our group has developed and perfected a good feasting philosophy over the years. The goal of the feast is to stuff yourself to the point that you are unable to be productive in any way when you return to work. Congratulations on a job well done.

Wendel, Kenny, and Mark decided to give me an artistic pose. Phil's blurred hand only added to the quality of the shot.

A good picture !

"The Big Boss" Jamie.

After sufficiently stuffing ourselves, it was time to head back to work and pretend to do something for the rest of the day.