Are You Requesting a Catering Proposal for Your Summer Wedding in December?
Planning a summer or fall wedding? Your caterer will not be able to give you the attention you truly deserve during the holiday season.
read moreLife is too short to eat bad food!
A few months back I received an e-mail from someone who had attended many parties which I had I catered before she moved across the country. She opened with this line: “I was thinking about you the other day, and thought I’d drop you a line, after 2 years of being away… I was at a small reception with the worst food I’ve ever had, and wished that you had been the one to cater this event…I was at a conference and everything served was pre-packaged stuff that you just pulled out of the freezer and re-heated…Yuck!” I have always been very proud of the quality of food I serve at events. I believe in using quality ingredients, and buy much of my produce at local farmer’s markets. I don’t serve frozen pre-made hors d’oeuvre or desserts, two areas where many caterers choose to trim costs. I make all my own salad dressings and sauces. Making these items in house can be labor intensive, and buying seasonal and vine and field ripened locally grown produce can sometimes be more expensive. It can be frustrating to get calls from prospective clients who don’t seem to understand that quality food always costs more. I’m sorry to say, that on many more than one occasion I have had prospects contact me saying they had a budget of $15-$20 a person for their wedding or other special event. Now, I believe these people must surely understand that you may be able to go to Denny’s and get a full meal for $15 to $20 per person, but for a fine dining experience, it’s going to cost a whole lot more than that. If you were taking your guests to a restaurant and picking up the bill, plus tip, and if the restaurant were closing its doors to accommodate only your party for that evening, surely you would expect to pay more. So perhaps it’s helpful to think of catering in this way. The caterer is picking up a restaurant and bringing it to your home or venue for the evening, and creating a dining experience hopefully way beyond the experience of dining at Denny’s. I recently had someone say to me, “no one is coming to my wedding just for the food.” Well, that’s probably true, but I am sure we have all had the experience of attending a wedding where the food was exceptionally good – or exceptionally bad- that people talked about for months, maybe even years to come. People do remember. Your guests may have traveled a great distance, bought you a gift, and spent their time, effort and money to join you in celebrating on your special day So don’t you owe it to them – and yourself – to serve great...
read moreSometimes money is the cheapest way out
My coach made this statement to me earlier this week. It's a statement I couldn't agree with more when it comes to hiring a caterer. A few years back someone I know well (who shall remain nameless!) had a big bash to celebrate her 50th birthday. She was trying to save money, so decided to do the work herself. She selected a great menu (she is a great cook), planned her shopping and prep work, shopped for a couple of days, cooked for a couple of days, pulled out all her serving platters, bowls and utensils, and decorated her buffet table. And then, of course, she had to clean her kitchen before her guests showed up, since we all know guests always like to hang out in the kitchen. Especially when the hostess is still doing last minute cooking when her guests show up. She was at least smart enough to hire a helper to be there at the time of the party. The night before the party the hostess/honoree tossed and turned in her sleep being overtired and concerned about everything going well. She hadn't spent time deciding what she was going to wear at the party, and still wasn't quite dressed before the first few guests started showing up, and she didn't have time to fix her hair the way she would have liked. While her guest all heartily enjoyed her party, she was pretty exhausted through it all. Her helper had kept the kitchen clean during the party, and was able to wash many of the platters and serving dishes, but when she woke up the next morning, she still had to pack them, along with all the table cloths, away again. Later that day she had to return the items she had rented. A couple of years later, I catered a 50th birthday party for a client. I met her at her home a couple of weeks before her party. Together we walked through her home and yard, decided where we would place buffet and guests tables. I was able to see what her decorative sense was. It was clear that she loved lots of color, so I made a point of bringing brightly colored fabrics to drape her buffet table. On the day of her party, my staff and I arrived a couple of hours before her guests were scheduled to arrive. She let us in, said hello to everyone, then disappeared into her private quarters from which she emerged an hour or so later looking fabulous- coiffed, made-up and dressed to kill. She greeted her guests in a relaxed manner and partied hard all night long. My staff greeted her guests as soon as they arrived with drinks, passed hors d'oeuvre and at the appropriate time, a beautifully appointed buffet. At the end of the night, when my staff and I had put away the leftover food, packed up all the serving pieces I had brought, we stopped off to say goodbye to my client, who was still enjoying drinks with her last few guests. I'm sure she slept in the next morning. The contrast between these two provided a stark lesson for me. While it certainly cost more to hire a caterer, isn't it nice to really be able to enjoy your...
read moreCatered Parties in this Current Economic Climate ?
All the news these past couple of weeks has been about the economic mess we find ourselves in right now. That situation, on top of the election cycle we are in, is cause for a lot of uncertainty and anxiety. As I was faced with putting out a newsletter to my client list this past week, I wondered what I could possibly say that would be pertinent. The holidays are coming and traditionally this is the time to book those parties. But who’s thinking about throwing a catered party, right now, with such other pressing matters on their minds, I asked myself? By the way, it turns out people are still entertaining. I had a pretty busy September. I thought back to one of my favorite quotes- a quote from the immortal and irrepressible Julia Child- which I have often used when speaking before groups. "Dining with one’s friends and beloved family is certainly one of life’s primal and most innocent delights, one that is both soul-satisfying and eternal". Wise words indeed! This crisis, too, shall pass. What’s important in life is those beloved family and friends. And still during times like these-maybe especially during times like these, it’s important to gather together and dine with our loved ones. After all, Julia Child developed her culinary and hostessing skills during post World War II Europe- certainly a challenging...
read moreSarah’s Baby Shower
I had the privilege this weekend of catering Sarah’s baby shower. A couple of years back I had catered her wedding shower, so it’s an ongoing story. That’s one of the reasons I love private special event catering. Sarah’s aunt, Lola, is a long time client of mine for whom I have catered many holiday and special celebration parties over the years. I have watched Sarah grow from a very young woman, to career woman, to wife and now mother. Natalie, one of Sarah’s closest friends was a guest at the shower. Several years back, I catered Natalie’s wedding reception. Natalie also brought her teenaged daughter to the shower (the wedding reception I catered was a second marriage for Natalie)- I was delighted to see the lovely child I remember running around in lovely girly dresses now a beautiful teenager verging on womanhood – almost 6 feet tall. So I have "vicarious" family thrills. Sarah loves the ocean, so her friends asked for a "sea shore" theme for both her baby and wedding shower.I have posted some of the pictures from her shower. I hope you will enjoy them. Bon Appetit!...
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