Fall into Flavor: Plan Your Perfect Autumn Events with Actual Food!

Fall into Flavor: Plan Your Perfect Autumn Events with Actual Food!

Fall is a magical time of year, with vibrant colors, crisp air, and a bounty of delicious ingredients. As the weather cools, it's the perfect opportunity to embrace the harvest season with a menu and decor that reflects the warm and comforting flavors of fall!

Highlighting Seasonal Ingredients: Using seasonal produce is a wonderful way to add freshness and vibrancy to your wedding or event.

Here are some of the star ingredients of fall:

• Vegetables: Squash (butternut, acorn, delicata) sweet potatoes, root vegetables (potatoes, carrots, turnips), cauliflower, cabbage, peas and corn.

• Fruits: Apples, pears, cranberries, plums and figs.

• Herbs and Spices: Sage, rosemary, thyme, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves.

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Culinary Creations: These versatile ingredients can be incorporated into every course of your meal:

• Appetizers: Charcuterie boards with seasonal fruits, nuts, cheeses and smoked pork belly hoe cakes with an apple slaw.

• Salads: Arugula salad with roasted beets, goat cheese, candied pecans and harvest salad with a maple vinaigrette.

• Main Course: Herb-roasted chicken with crispy sweet potato, peas, corn succotash, braised short ribs with a parsnip mash and pickle fried okra.

• Desserts: Spiced apple cake with maple frosting, mini pear tarts, cranberry and pecan pie.

Support Local: Using local and seasonal ingredients not only supports local farmers but also ensures the freshest and most flavorful produce for your event.

Embrace the Harvest and Create an Unforgettable Event!

By incorporating seasonal flavors and elements, you can create a truly special event that captures the essence of fall. Your guests will be delighted with the delicious food, warm atmosphere and the overall feeling of celebrating the season with you. So, embrace the harvest and let the flavors of fall make your wedding or event an unforgettable experience.

Fall in Love with the Black Tea Old Fashioned: A Sophisticated Twist on a Timeless Classic

An old fashioned is the perfect cocktail for any event.  It is an approachable classic, sophisticated yet simple, and is the ultimate opportunity to incorporate your own creative twist.  With fall approaching, one of our favorite twists on this timeless cocktail is an earl grey old fashioned.  This spin takes the the rich toasty oak notes of a great bourbon, and pairs them with a herbal and floral sweetness of a black tea infused demerara syrup.

To make this variation on an old fashioned you will need to start by preparing the earl grey demerara syrup, with the following ingredients:

1 cup water

1 cup demerara (or turbinado) sugar

4 tea bags of earl grey tea

Put everything in a small pot and simmer until all of your sugar has dissolved.  Once all of the sugar has desolved, remove from heat, and let the tea continue to steep for at least 20 minutes.  Then, pull out the tea bags (squeezing out any extra syrup), and transfer the syrup into a container in the refrigerator to cool down.  Once your syrup is cool you are ready to make your old fashioned. 

You will need:

2oz Bourbon (your favorite)

0.5oz Earl Grey Demerara Syrup

2 dashes Angostura Bitters

2 dashes Orange Bitters

Pour all your ingredients into a mixing glass on ice, and stir for about 15 seconds (a long stir is the key to a great old fashioned).  From there, strain your old fashioned into a rocks glass on fresh ice, or one large ice cube.  For garnish, get a vegetable peeler and peel a large piece from an orange skin, avoiding as much white as possible.  With the skin side facing your cocktail, squeeze the peel in half to express the orange oil over your old fashioned, and toss the peel in the glass.

With that you have a deep, lightly sweet, vibrant cocktail that will warm your guests at any fall events, cheers!

90 Day Catering Checklist

Countdown To Your Big Day: 90-Day Checklist Inside!

With just 90 days left until your wedding day, the excitement must be building up! We understand that amidst the joy, there's also a lot to manage—from liaising with vendors, to ensuring every detail is perfect for your special day.

To ease your journey towards the altar, we've crafted a comprehensive 90-day checklist. This checklist is designed to streamline your collaboration with your caterer and ensure that everything falls seamlessly into place.

Created with your needs in mind, this checklist is your go-to resource for simplifying the planning process and ensuring that your big day unfolds flawlessly.

Let's make these last 90 days truly memorable, as you countdown to your dream wedding!

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90 DAYS OUT

• Review Food and Bar Menus

  • It has probably been a while since you initially created your food and drink menus with your caterer. This is a good chance to make sure everything still aligns with any changes to your overall vision.

• Schedule a Site Visit

  • Get together with any appropriate vendors at the venue, in order to start dialing in specific plans for the day and assess each teams needs to make that plan happen.

60 DAYS OUT

• Send Your Tentative Rental Order to Your Caterer

  • This is a great time for your team to review your tentative rentals. This ensures that all the necessary equipment is planned for and for anything unnecessary to be scratched.

• Put Together Your Alcohol Order

  • Work with your caterer and alcohol vendor to determine the variety and quantities of alcohol you want at your bar. Considering service time, estimated guest count and bar menu specifics, like signature drinks.

• Connect Your Planner/Coordinator with Your Vendors

  • As you start to get closer to the date, one of the most important things you can do is to get your wedding team on the same page, so that everyone is pulling in the same direction.

• Begin Finalizing Headcount

  • If invitations have not been sent, prioritize that- with an RSVP date of four weeks out from the big day. Having a solidified headcount as early as possible, helps your whole team with planning and finalizing details.

30 DAYS OUT

• Confirm Final Headcount With Caterer

  • Send your caterer a breakdown of attendees for the day, including guests, children and vendors. Send over any dietary information you have received, as well as guest meal choices by table and seat, if applicable.

• Send Over All Final Documents

  • Give your wedding team one last opportunity to review final rental order, alcohol order, timeline and layout to make sure there are no final adjustments that need to be made.

• Plan A Month Out Meeting or Call

  • Get your planning and catering team together on a call to go over any remaining questions and details.

7 DAYS OUT

• Pay Your Final Bill

  • Getting your final balances out of the way the week of the wedding, leaves you with peace of mind to enjoy the night.

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You Did It! Let's Celebrate Your Wedding Success.

Crafting a wedding involves meticulous planning. When you set up your vendor team for success, all that's left for you, is to relish a memorable night with loved ones, while your team handles everything seamlessly.

Though each wedding's journey is distinct, this checklist serves as an invaluable guide to keep you ahead of the curve, empowering your wedding team to deliver their finest work for you.

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Mastering the Art of Corporate Catering: Elevate Your Office Events!

From multi day conferences to weekday lunches, catering meals in a corporate setting comes with a unique set of challenges and opportunities that other social engagements may not. 

Operating within a business setting frequently entails:

• Constrained deadlines.

• Suboptimal kitchen facilities.

• Elevated expectations, particularly when catering to significant clients or essential team members.

Nevertheless, none of these factors preclude the possibility of delivering exceptional food and service that surpass expectations.

When working with business clients, punctuality is paramount. 

There may only be half an hour to grab lunch between meetings, and it is important that your meal is ready to meet that tight turnaround. 

With that in mind, your meal should include items that are easy to take quickly, and a set up to match.

We recommend avoiding something like a build it yourself bar in favor of fully composed dishes that are one grab away. Additionally, always plan to have food set 10 minutes before the set meal time, to reduce the chance of a last minute scramble eating up valuable meal time.

As important as punctuality, is flexibility when it comes to timelines.  In a business environment things are always on the move.  Meetings start late and end early, a last minute call can pull someone away at an important moment, etc. 

As much as we may plan, mealtimes can become a moving target. 

Actions we take to guarantee an outstanding corporate catering experience for our clients:

1. Anticipate flexibility by preparing ahead of schedule, ensuring readiness well in advance of the required time.

2. Include menu items that can be swiftly finalized and maintain their quality over extended periods.

3. Maintain contingency plans for holding dishes, whether through chafing dishes, hot boxes, or refrigeration, ensuring readiness regardless of unexpected circumstances.

Lastly,

Remember, in a corporate setting, your meal may cater to a diverse audience with varying dietary needs. Ensure inclusivity by offering a wide array of accommodating options on your menu, allowing everyone to enjoy a satisfying meal, regardless of undisclosed restrictions. Include grab-and-go selections like sandwiches, granola bowls, and fruit cups for those with limited time between meetings.

In the business realm, catering should not only provide sustenance, convenience, and adaptability but also elevate the occasion beyond standard break room fare. With meticulous planning, any work function can become the highlight of a team member's week or leave a lasting impression on an important client.

We're eager to assist you in planning your next corporate event. Click the link below to connect with our sales team!

Serve In Style: Reasons to Consider a Stations Service For Your Next Event

When planning a meal for your wedding or event, there are many approaches you can take to make your service stand out.  One style of service that is growing in popularity is a collection of various food stations combined with passed appetizers to create a more unique and informal experience that encourages guests to graze and mingle.  As opposed to a more traditional buffet or plated dinner where guests are served their meal, and then move on, this stations service is a great option for those who want to break the mold and introduce a little extra creativity to their events.

A service with multiple stations has a couple of distinct advantages over other options.  As you look at putting together a menu that will create full bountiful stations, you may want to consider including more options that are customizable guest to guest, such as a mac and cheese bar.  You can also include some more fun, casual, comfort options that may feel out of place in a more traditional style, like tacos, sliders, or french fries.  This route is also an amazing way to showcase your personal story, as you may feature stations from different parts of your culture, or to represent milestones in your life, without the fear of having a disjointed buffet, or non-cohesive dinner plate.  Finally, this is a great option for those who want a more social experience for their guests, as you have the option to play around with more non-conventional seating arrangements, and to encourage guests to make multiple trips for smaller plates of food, getting them walking around the space.

To achieve a successful execution of a multi station service, there are a couple of approaches and considerations to keep in mind.  Try to avoid having all of your guests going to stations all at once creating that buffet line feel.  Forego the cocktail hour, and instead include some passed appetizers and stations open right from the start to give your guests multiple options to naturally spread out (in addition to your bar, a photobooth, or other interactive options).  Set your dinner time slightly earlier than normal so that your guests aren’t coming in starving, and wanting to make one heaping plate.  With an earlier start time, plan for a longer dinner service time, to ensure guests don’t feel rushed to get to everything.  Many of your guests may still think they are just supposed to make their one dinner plate, so start messaging on the service style early, and use your MC on the night to give direction.  Don’t forget to use your layout and rentals to your advantage as well.  Spread your stations out to give your guests ample space, and utilize a mix of traditional tables, high top tables, and lounge seating.  With a mix of seating be sure to pick a menu that can be enjoyed on the go, as guests may move from group to group.  When selecting your dishes, it is helpful to go with a smaller plate size, and to provide more than one for each guest as well.  All in all, it is important that this service is considered from the ground up of your planning process to achieve what your guests will remember as relaxed, plentiful, and engaging.

A mixed stations service is the perfect choice for those looking to add that extra touch of originality to make their event stand out above the rest!