Special evening for a friend

A dear friend of mine, asked if I would cater an intimate gathering he was throwing, a fund raiser for his organization, at a little place he knew in midtown. “No problem” I replied confidently, “sounds like fun. A special evening for a friend!”

The friend was David Winkler, esteemed classical composer and chairman of the Chamber Players International; the intimate Gathering was supposed to be for 35 of his supporters and the venue the Ana Tzarev Gallery in Midtown. “Ok,” I thought this could be fun, a great experience for us, we can do it!

By the time the doors opened for the special evening for a friend, a couple of months after our first discussion for menu and planning, we had a guest list of over 100!

When I received the news about the attendance, I thought “I must be crazy, how on earth are we going to make this happen? We have to carry everything, there is no kitchen, just prep space.” We had a lot of planning and organization to do, it was our first catering experience on our own. The small event of 30-35 people seems much more manageable in my mind, but the truth is it was not much more work with the food, and what we lacked in experience we made up for with creativity, determination & organization skills. I have a great team and together we came up with an excellent plan that worked flawlessly. We were so fortunate to receive rave reviews from all of the guests at the event, wonderful accolades from the staff at the gallery, and everything went off like clock work.

Could we have done a better job, sure. Do we have things to learn about catering, absolutely. Are we proud of what we accomplished with this event — no question! We did our best and we are all very proud of the success of the event for David Winkler and the Chamber Players International as well as the Ana Tzarev Gallery.

First we greeted the guests with a glass of wine and hors d’oeuvres: there was a buzz in the gallery as everyone was arriving!

• Herbed White Bean Dip w/ Veg Crudite

• Egg Salad & Cucumber Cups

• Crostini w/ Goat cheese and grilled zucchini

• Crostini w/ Artichoke Pesto

• Puff Pastry Mozzarella Pesto Sandwich Bites

• Puff Pastry w/ Bacon Jam

• Mushroom Duxelles mini Tartelettes

• Skewered Chicken Dijonaise

• Mini Italian Meatballs Paleo Style

• Bite Sized Potato skins filled with sour cream and bacon

Then the guests were gathered into the main hall for an amazing concert!  

 What an evening.