More Crappy Office Kitchens

Not all catering gigs are in beautiful vineyards or elegant townhouses. Here are two more summer cocktail parties where I worked out of crappy office kitchens.

Tuesday, July 28th: A cocktail party at The One Club, 21 E 26th St, a non-profit organization for the recognition and promotion of excellence in advertising.


On the menu

• Artisanal Cheese Display with fresh and dried fruits, served with baguettes and assorted flatbreads
• Mediterranean Sampler of Provencal Chicken, Moroccan Shrimp, Smoked White Bean Spread, Eggplant Caponata, and Focaccia
• Skewers of Spanish Chorizo, Cheese, Roasted Zucchini, and Piquillo Peppers
• Spicy Gazpacho
• Chicken Shumai
• Wild Mushroom Pizzettes

We were told 60 people but of course it turned out to be over 100. Food quickly ran out and we were desperately understaffed. The portable oven came in a box filled with rain water and the tiny office kitchen was a mess before I got there. Not an ideal situation, but we survived and the client left happy. Another disaster averted.

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Wednesday, July 29th: A cocktail party at Herman Miller, 1177 Ave of the Americas - another high-end office furniture designer. (Sorry no pics, it was around this time my camera broke...poo)

On the Indian-inspired menu:

• Basmati Rice and Grilled Shrimp
• Vegetable Samosas
• Garam Masala-spiced Beef Skewers
• Paneer Cheese and Roasted Tomato Pizzettes
• Curry Chicken Salad on Potato Cakes

Working out of what looked more like a copy room was difficult enough for this 200 person cocktail party, what made it worse was that the room was still in heavy use by the employees. Random people coming and going to make copies, get coffee and steal food did not make us happy. We left annoyed and smelling of curry.