Category: Celebrate Catering

3/8

With my boss out of town it was a bit of a slower week where I was doing less office work and more work on the floor. Wednesday, I ran food over to George Fox University and set up for an event myself that included cranberry chicken, roasted veggies, rice, mixed green salad and some beautiful fruit galettes. When I came back to the event center we spent the rest of the time hosting an event, bussing table, keeping the place in check and then after the event doing a reset for events the next day.

Thursday we had 2 events back to back, beginning with a chaotic morning. One of our clients (who happens to be the people who own the building and us) added another 10 people to their guest list last minute which is a big no no in the catering industry and they demanded we be prepared… We had to add 2 tables (topped with water goblets and 2 carafes), adjust drink portions and the chefs had to whip up more food as quick as they could. We managed to get it done before the guests arrived and everything went well with no complaints. The food was beautiful and delicious, we served teriyaki steak tri tip, rice, a rice noodle salad and a regular salad and cookies, we also added on teriyaki chicken at least minute to feed the extra people. From then on we bussed the room and cleaned up after them to then reset the entire room for another event 2 hours later so all in all it was a fun day (ha). Luckily the second event was an easier one food wise with simple cheese platters, veggies and fruit.

Due to my boss being out of town, I haven’t touched on the composting project as I need to wait for her to begin meeting with people. That is something I will be working on event after the quarter ends, I think it will be a good resume point if I stick with the sustainability field.

 

2/3

This week at celebrate, I spent Thursday through saturday doing the usual! Working events, in the office putting together menus for clients, emailing and contacting clients and so on.

In relation to my studies, I was assigned the task of specifically figuring out the compost situation. Good news! We are in a little wedge of the county where composting is free! Rhonda, my boss, asked me to reach out the the sales rep, contact our building owners upstairs to get them on board, configure how to introduce composting buckets into the facility/how many buckets and try to coordinate a plan for compost pick up. I’m pretty much in charge of it and considering she leaves town for a week she wants me to get to work on it while shes gone. The biggest problem we face, as I mentioned last week, is how to fit all our garbage, recycling and compost bins into a small garage so that all bins are easy to access for each pick up company (although it seems kind of silly to me that it is a huge inconvenience to move a bin around when they’re already getting paid for it anyways and its for a good cause) but, I need to look into it. I might not be an issue at all but I have to contact the different companies to make sure.

In other news, yesterday we had an event through the people upstairs (Home Builders Association, our owners) for a retirement party hosting upwards of 250 people. What is really cool is Oregon’s governor came! She is friends with the retiree and I got to watch part of her speech, after the event she had a line of people waiting to talk to her.

The food for this event included 300 mini burgers, a ton of corn dogs, cheese platters, hummus and pita bread and apricot meatballs. All of the food was delicious but for some reason this crowd was more of drinkers (we hosted a bar) than eaters, so all of us workers got to take a ton of food home, yay!

2/24

This week at celebrate was spent in the office but also finally back at the bistro! I enjoy the bistro because the woman I work with there is not only really nice but environmentally conscious with everything she does. She has her own composting bin that she uses on her own farm, she tries her best to reduce/reuse/recycle and any leftover food for the day that cannot be frozen or reused goes to me! This week I really left with a personal pizza, chili, a sandwich, chicken, veggies, rice and cookies. I was basically a human trashcan to reduce waste.

As for the office, we had several events cancelled due to the unruly weather so rather than catering I was on the computer communicating with clients and putting together event orders. There was a managers meeting including the chefs that I sat in the same room for Thursday and my boss, Rhonda, mentioned how she was taking a trip to Boston in the next two weeks where she will be going to do a seafood inventory to search for more sustainable seafood to include on the menu. I was kind of curious why Boston seafood may offer more sustainability but I didn’t want to interrupt the meeting. I’ll probably ask her before she goes.

Another important component of this week was that we finally had our compost meeting! It was with a representative Clackamas County’s Resource Conservation & Solid Waste group who went over how their composting system works. Some key points he brought up were:

• 2 free bins are offered for in restaurant use
• 1 free bin is offered to sit outside of the establishment for pick up
• Pick up is similar to a regular trash pick up but it is not through the same system
• Anything that was basically once alive can be composted
• Tea bags and coffee filters can be composted
• The compost is brought to a facility where it is put into an anaerobic chamber and the methane released off of it is captured for energy use, the leftover “black gold” is used as fertilizer
• They offer free training on how to compost and a system to set up
• Liners for the buckets will cost money, but you don’t have to use them. Small buckets can be dishwashed
• The outside bucket is picked up weekly
• Since he works for the government, he confirmed there are initiatives being made so that composting is MANDATORY in the next 2 or 3 years
• Clackamas county does not charge you for this service BUT the city Lake Oswego charges near $36 a month

The last point was important because our business is in a weird corner where we are basically on the line of Clackamas and Lake Oswego. What is interesting is that Lake Oswego leans towards the republican right side. They are behind in energy efficient initiatives. My boss’s main concerns were:

• Her company can’t afford another near $40 a month because (and I can confirm) their food waste production isn’t too high. The chefs make correct proportions and left overs are usually eaten by us workers or brought to veterans. The only food waste I see are from the cooking process and food left on clients plates. While any food waste is not beneficial, the amount going out isn’t cost effective for spending that much a month for a small business
• Where the bucket would be outside, in a small garage, there is barely enough room for the recycling and regular trash. So it would become a hassle for things to be moved around to be taken out

And I know those reasons sound, per se, self absorbed in terms of a business but realistically it’s not cost effective, you have to have a business before you decide to compost, not the other way around. My boss really, really wants to if it is free, but if she is charged monthly she will turn the offer down until it becomes mandatory. As a student of sustainability but also seeing the side of running a small business, I agree with this. If the food waste was more detrimental, such as when I worked at Buffalo Wild Wings, by all means I would be for composting.

 

2/16

This week was full of events, office work and aesthetically pleasing food. Wednesday turned from a 7 hour day into a 5 hour day which is always awesome. While we were waiting for an event to end at 6 so we could set up for a big event Thursday, I did some office work involving quote making for clients and had done a food drop to George Fox University. A food drop is when we transport food made in house and cater events elsewhere, GFU is a constant client so the drops are easy and I get to create my own food set up. When I got back, the event that was supposed to end at 6 left early so we did what we needed for set up and got out!

Thursday was an 8 to 5 kind of day, we had a big event for OHSU nurses and patients involved with Parkinson’s disease. They had over 90 guests, massage tables, two buffet lines and a particular set up that you can see on my instagram and linked photo on here. Mid-event, I was sent to do a food drop at GFU, once I got back we served food including salad, dinner rolls, apricot chicken, couscous and brownies. We made special plates for vegans/vegetarians/gluten free. My boss headed out early for an open house at our bistro so it was up to me to direct the entire clean up of the event, pretty cool being in charge and being trusted like that!

Friday was an easier day but filled with a lot of useful information. My compost meeting is finally confirmed for the 23rd which I am looking forward to. As I was learning the ropes working with client requests our chef, Jim, came in and surprised us with a meal he was practicing on. It was asparagus and prawns over rainbow couscous (I couldn’t have the prawns because pregnant, boo). A ver blanc was drizzled over the top and let me tell you, I have never tasted a more delicious sauce! I wanted to lick the bowl clean of that ver blanc. On top were microgreens of radishes. The perk of working for an upscale catering company is the amazing food.

Something I found interesting this week is when my boss and I were going over menu’s, she asked me why she wouldn’t offer a client caprese right now. I honestly had no idea because caprese is bomb all of the time! She said because tomatoes are not in season. May-October are usually decent times to get tomatoes because they are softer, taste better and fresher from California than when they are shipped now from Mexico. She always aims for menus that are seasonal.

Another aspect that stuck out to me in forming menus for clients is something called bites per hour. Our boss has an engineering degree so she calculates literally everything precisely. We were forming an event for 200 people and the way she can offer them the right amount of food without them running out or having too much is calculating bites. The first hour of served food, clients will eat around 5 “bites” (an example would would be a prawn or a cracker and cheese). The second hour I think it went down to 3 and the third hour it was 2. She calculates this into dozens, I honestly got a little lost but there is an event I have yet to see where there isn’t enough food served. Food aesthetics are just as important to running this company as food math is, who would have thought!

2/9

This week as a mix of working events and office work with clients. Wednesday I got to deliver food to George Fox University and do my own set up! It was a taco bar, not too much to say on that other than my presentation skills are getting SO much better. Thursday was a long day of event working, emailing and folding over 100 napkins envelope style. Friday was an even longer day where I set up a room for 200 people (for an awards ceremony), I put together events myself and worked the event. I work Sunday night too but I’d rather finish my work now then potentially be late so I can mention that work next week in my post.

In relation to my studies this quarter, I got to put together an inquiry for a wedding and the bride requested a “northwest” themed meal. I had to do a little research to refresh my mind on what constitutes as northwest, so I based my meal around berries, seafood, hearty meats and rustic type foods. I chose a huge array of salmon, berry compotes, nuts, meat and cheeses, hearty beef meals such as tri-tip and for dessert chose berry/chocolate mousse’. I’ll have to go through the selection with my boss before I send the quote because she is an EXPERT at food let me tell you. She’s very good at her job and I trust her judgement.

I did want to touch on some sustainability aspects to be worked on at my job because I speak so much about them working towards a goal but not what they are working on:

• Food waste – composting
• Recycling left over items from events (cans, cardboard, plastic)
• Re-using products for several events (linens, room set up styles)
• Creating similar meals for same day events to utilize the most of out food products
• Sourcing more local food

Those are just several examples, if all of these are harnessed, it creates less work to put on our plates on busy days and reduces any amount of unnecessary waste.

1/2

This week involved 3 days of work, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. As my hours are raising I’m getting involved with a lot more of the technical office work of dealing with clients. I made my first few phone calls and started sending my own emails! How official.

In relation to my studies, this week I sat in on some meetings with the chefs and listened to them discuss their switch of food carries. I know they get some of their food from a company called DUCK and also aramark. Yet, they are having troubles with aramark because for how high-scale the company strives to be, the food is very low-scale. This is where I’m seeing the ins and outs of trying to run your own local business, because aramark is so cheap it fits their budget, the boss was discussing how she would rather spend more for quality food than what aramark gives them. When I was hired on she was in the process of working to become a more sustainable, local provider and I think this and the initiative of composting is the right path.

To keep up with societies high demand for locally sourced food, how actually possible is this when food has become so commodified and industrialized? This is what I’m doing my academic reading in so I hope to be of some help by the end of the quarter.

Another component of work I did this week was the presentation of food. I’m learning there are certain ways of setting up food so that consumers do not take more than they need which is really interesting. Salad or fruit, that has larger portions and is cheaper, goes first. Next would be the side dish, so roasted veggies, mashed potatoes, ect. Consumers tend get excited and over fill their plate (I mean hey if its company paid, free food). Next is always the main course, poultry, beef, seafood, charcuterie boards. Once they get to this course their plate is usually decently full, so they grab less. This works out because the main course is usually the most expensive so 9 times out of 10 it does not run out. Last is dessert. I find it so interesting there is a system thought out behind this.

This week, one of the clients swore up and down that there was not enough food for 150 guests. It did not look like much food but because my boss does this for a living she tried over and over to reassure the client she did not need more food. The client decided to wait it out but was willing to pay more for food if it went low. By the end of the event, there was still quite a bit left over that they requested a to go box. Food can be a funny thing when it comes to consumption limits.

1/25

This week was a slow one, within the three days I worked we really only had one prominent event so I spent a lot more time in the office. I did get to bartend though so that was fun! Due to us having  a lot of upcoming events next week and the week after, the chefs spent quite a bit of time doing trial and error food for us to taste and discuss. It is interesting how food can entice someone depending on its density, sweetness, dryness, bitterness, etc. My boss has grown keen on perfecting food for clients, for example the chefs made beignets and when I tried the practice batch they tasted amazing but my boss felt they were too similar to donuts, a beignet is light and fluffy. He tried again and when she tasted them they were perfect. Other dishes we tested were a blueberry scone, brownies and a blue cheese scalloped potato medley. With each and every tiny change to the dish, it made it a world different. Crazy how food can do that!

Another exciting component was the discussion of a new seasonal menu, right now the winter menu is in place but as spring approaches, celebrate offers new food that not only aesthetically fits with the season but is currently growing or available. It also a marketing component too, with the rise of interest in “local” and “natural” foods, especially in the portland area, customers really like the idea of the sound of something “seasonal”.

Coming the next couple weeks I will be able to work 1 on 1 with clients so what it seems is I’ll be a sales person for food almost. To market food is a growing interest of mine this quarter, stay tuned!

1/20/18

The past three days have been spent specifically in at the catering event center setting up banquets and helping clients. Wednesday was a packed day with event after event after event, I worked a 10 hour shift! My field supervisor who has been out of town finally came in, so there was a lot to learn. In terms of sustainability, when this catering company has so many back to back events, reuse is very important in terms of saving time and reducing waste. For example, when planning such close events, we tried to keep meals for each event similar to each other so the same products are being utilized completely (salads, steaks, charcuterie). Ways to go about this is presenting certain menu items to clients and swaying their mind towards it. Another benefit of similar menus is when one food product isn’t brought out for the client because their party ate enough, that food can be put towards the next event.

Thursday was an easier day, much of what I did was setting up for events and spending time in the office working on putting my own events together, then having my supervisor review it for adjustments. For example, catered events not at our event center needs food that is easy to transfer and produces the least amount of waste all while fitting the clients needs. They have such an extensive menu that the options are endless.

Friday didn’t have any events, rather we spent part of the day preparing rooms for a wedding reception Saturday. The other half of the day was again spent in the office putting together my own events for clients to be reviewed. I discussed with my supervisor the recent meeting that I will be attending with her on implementing new composting plans to reduce food waste which I am excited for! If we don’t take the leftover food from events, it is quite a bit of food waste that piles up for landfills which kills me. I also overheard a meeting with the chefs on a recent event menu they are preparing for, my supervisor was really pushing for local and sustainable food to be bought, such as locally caught salmon.

Saturday was basically catering to the wedding reception, which was beautiful! We emphasized on food presentation, I’m learning that the way you set up food and the order actually influences how the clients will eat the food. This is important in a sense that it can reduce food that the client doesn’t eat. The bride’s father is affiliated with our company, so the mass amount of food leftover was basically given to us. My supervisor said we either toss what’s not eaten or you take it. I packed several bags of food and a whole entire carafe of hot chocolate for home. The best part about reducing waste in my new job is I am basically the new garbage can for the food.

1/13/18

This week was spent learning the ropes of what it takes to run a catering company, which is a lot more intricate than I anticipated. I spent time learning to set up for banquets, scheduling clients and also went to work at the company’s partner bistro on George Fox University campus. Some of my work for catering included organizing rooms to suit 50+ people, making food sit on tables in an aesthetically pleasing way and working with clients needs to find the the perfect banquet format fit. I particularly liked working on the bistro as it included making sandwiches, salads (such as the “NW mixed green salad”) and espresso drinks for stressed out Master’s students (they drink a lot of espresso).

The relevancy to this internship work to my academia is becoming more intricate than I anticipated. For a company that “markets” as sustainable as they do, it’s actually more of a work in progress than an entire truth. Some sustainable accepts I’m seeing are providing a seasonal menu for clients, so right now they have their seasonal winter menu involving roasted root vegetables and NorthWest salmon. The bistro and catering company as a whole does small practices to reduce their waste, so recycling left over materials from banquets and bringing leftover food to the homeless population downtown that my manager works with.

Some sustianable practices they’d like to work towards is composting. They struggle with how to keep the food concleaned and not smelly so customers won’t be turned off (they actually hired me to help implement ideas like this). I convinced the bistro manager to start a composting bin and she did! We felt too guilty throwing out food, she will be using the compost in her own farm. Unfortunately since it’s not growing season, the Catering company and bistro are not using as many vegetables/fruits as they used to in the summer and fall from the farm. I hope to continue ways to help them find more sustainable solutions to little fixes, so stay tuned!

A new topic I’d like to look into this quarter that I’m trying to find readings for is the idea of marketing a company as “sustainable” or “natural” to appeal to customers. In reality it can be very hard or costly for companies to stay true to that word. Why do customers feel much safer hearing/seeing those aspects although it may not be 100% true?