Ritz-y Evening with a Top Chef

We were invited Friday evening to the Ritz Carlton, Washington, DC to taste the new Autumn banquet menu by chef, Eric Ripert.

We knew of Chef Eric Ripert from wonderful restaurants like La Bernardin (his NYC restaurant)and appearances on Top Chef (a favorite of us both) and were just thrilled to taste his food.

The entire evening was really just fantastic. We felt wonderfully spoiled. Each element of the evening was so thoughtful.

We began with Veuve Clicquot, hors d'oeuvres, and conversation. We were then taken downstairs to the ballroom where we were greeted by the banquet and events staff from the Ritz. As the doors to the ballroom opened we saw a room draped in chocolate brown taffeta uplit in green. There was one long table spanning the length of the ballroom that glittered with glassware and pin spotting.

The table was dressed with a chocolate brown and warm green striped linen and accented with a variety of all white floral arrangements from Green Works. The sparkle brown chargers that we used last weekend for Nigeria and Jeff's wedding as well as the amber resin chivari chairs were perfect choices from Party Rental. The modern glassware paired with an amber water glass, gold flatware, menu card, and place card all worked together to create a luxurious yet chic place setting. It was so much fun to walk into the room and have no idea what awaited us. We didn't choose the linen or the chargers or light the candles. It was a treat to dine in such a beautiful room without the work of creating the design!

And then. The food. The food was just amazing.

The Menu: Lobster Cappuccino as the first course and Thyme-Crusted Tuna with Herb and Truffle Salad as the second course. The entree choice was a difficult decision. We both chose the Halibut "au Bambou" with cellophane noodles, wood ear mushrooms and a spiced bamboo broth which was incredibly delicious. The other entree choice was Pan-Roasted Rack of Lamb with a spicy mustard-mint Persillade Cauliflower, Almond and Apricot. Wow. Each course was paired with wine and was presented beautifully. The dessert served was Dark Chocolate, Peanut and Caramel Tart with Meyer Lemon Puree, Peanut Powder and Praline-Citrus Sorbet. The nighcap? A wonderful demitasse cup of espresso. Heaven...

It was fabulous evening of conversation with event planners from the DC area. At the conclusion of the meal Eric came out once again to chat, mingle, and hear our reactions to the meal (we even had him sign our menu card). We left with smiles on our faces and a bag of deliciously light cookies.

All of the images below are from Regeti Photography - see more on their blog . Thanks Srinu and Amy!

Veggies

We were recently talking with a Bride-To-Be who chooses to eat vegetarian.  In discussing her wedding reception menu, she was concerned about having great food for her guests without feeling like she was eating an afterthought vegetarian option.

The solution?

We came up with two options for her to explore during her search for the ideal caterer.

The first option is Menu Service.  In this style of service, wedding guests are given two or three choices for their entree and are asking to choose by their server at the beginning of the meal.  For this Bride we would develop the menu with a fantastic vegetarian option, a beef option, and perhaps a fish option.

The second solution we decided upon is a stations meal with wonderful stations of pasta, fish, and beef.  Just to name a few.  This allows the guests to select from all of the stations and enjoy a little bit of everything, including the vegetarian choices.

This Bride-To-Be was struggling with creating a wonderful meal that her guests were sure to enjoy, while balancing in a meal that she was sure to love.  She loved these solutions and is looking forward to her tasting!

Catering Tastings

Over the years we have attended many catering "tastings" with our clients. Some caterers and reception venues do a good job at a tasting and others are dreadful. How would you like to be the bride and groom (along with their parents) paying $ 30,000. to a hotel for your wedding reception and at your final tasting be served a single salad with 5 forks for all to share? This really happened and was embarrassing. The hotel continued the fiasco by serving one entree next to the whole group next and expected everyone to use the same forks to dig in together to taste. No wine was offered, no hors d'oeuvres to taste, no bread, no dessert, no coffee, no courtesy, no class. Let's just say that although the wedding reception that was held there a couple of months later was fine, I never recommended the hotel venue again.

Now let's look at a better scenario: I was with a client last week for a tasting at Classic Catering People in Owings Mills. They are catering the bride's August wedding. The bride and groom along with the groom's parents and I attended the tasting along with our wonderful sales executive Terri Young. Terri is not only one of the best catering managers in the area, but always develops a killer menu for the event.

At this tasting, we were led to a private room with a beautifully set table. I had arranged for the bride's tablecloth choice to be delivered the day ahead in order for her to see it on the table with the china, glassware and flatware that the catering is using for the wedding. Everyone was offered a drink by a wonderful server. After some conversation about the schedule for the wedding day and logistics of the rentals for the wedding, our server proceeded to bring out a parade of 10 crazy good hors d'oeuvres choices. (Be sure to see the next blog post which contains valuable tips to use at the tasting). Seven types of fabulous morsels made the cut. The guests will be thrilled.

After a nice interlude of a few more minutes of logistics discussion, the server arrived back in the room with the first course options. Half of us were served a Layered Summer Salad of mixed greens, watermelon croutons, feta cheese, toasted Sesame seeds and radishes in a soy-lime vinaigrette and half of us were served a Stack of Fresh Mozzarella and Red and Yellow Tomatoes with a Basil Vinaigrette. The food was beautifully presented and it was a difficult choice because they were both delicious. Since the wedding hasn't happened yet, I won't reveal the final choice here.

May I just mention the creative bread basket? It was filled with housemade garlic bread, petite ciabatta rolls, and butter triangles. Delish.

Of course in typical Classic Catering first class service, the entree selections came out next. Once again we were each served a complete plate presentation of 2 choices of entrees with accompaniments of vegetables and potatoes. They were very impressive plates of food. Again, I'll leave actual choices from everyone for now but promise to post more after the wedding takes place next week.

The tasting appointment lasted about 1.5 hours and the bride and groom left full and satisfied that their wedding reception food will be awesome. It was a wonderful experience.