In the organized chaos of the kitchen, racks of sizzling turkeys are pulled from the oven while volunteers fill massive trays with frozen carrots and cube 70 loaves of bread for the stuffing.

"It's just like doing a turkey dinner for your family, only multiplied by 250. It's just there's a lot more volume," chef Ryan Orr said casually.

Producing Christmas dinner for 1,000 people does have some challenges, such as trying to keep 1,000 kilograms of food hot while it is transferred from the Naden kitchen at CFB Esquimalt to the Bay Street Armouries, Orr admitted.

But work that goes into the Mustard Seed Christmas Dinner is always worthwhile, said Orr, 33, who has been in charge of cooking the annual meal for the last five years.

"I like to think people understand the effort that goes into this and appreciate a fantastic dinner," he said.

Orr and nine kitchen crew volunteers peeled 250 kilos of potatoes and chopped umpteen onions and heads of celery yesterday as they prepared for the dinner to be held tonight.

Between 800 and 1,000 people, ranging from families in need of a hand to those who are homeless, are expected to sit down to roast turkey, garlic mashed potatoes with rosemary cream, steamed vegetables with herb butter, country-style stuffing and gravy.

The main course will be followed by desserts prepared and served by staff at the Fairmont Empress Hotel.

At the Mustard Seed Street Church and Food Bank, another group of volunteers formed production lines yesterday as they buttered 1,000 buns, rolled 1,000 sets of cutlery and prepared goody bags filled with chocolate and candy for guests to take away.

The 22nd annual dinner is being held about one week earlier than usual because it is the only time the armouries were available, said volunteer co-ordinator Michelle Nardi.

It is usually held early in December because several other social agencies hold special dinners closer to Christmas.

There is never a shortage of volunteers for preparing or serving, said Nardi.

"A lot of people have been doing it for years. We have groups from Starbucks and groups from medical clinics and even a couple of Salmon Kings," she said.

"There's just some awesome peace and joy in bringing it all together. The highlight for me is being part of something that serves the community."

The work is helped by Christmas music and laughter, said volunteer Michelle McGuff.

"It seems like such a big project, but everything works out. You wonder how it all comes together and it just does."

After the meal, cleanup help will be provided by children and staff from Kids Klub as a thank-you for food donated by the Mustard Seed for children's lunches.

Then, in six short months, the first calls will begin for the 2010 Christmas dinner, said co-ordinator Diane Riddell.

jlavoie@tc.canwest.com