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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.
Saturday, July 25th: Wedding reception at Wolffer Estate Vineyards, Sagg Harbor, East Hampton.
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On the menu- Crabmeat Salad in Pate Brisee Boats
- Mini Salmon Crepes
- Prosciutto Foie & Fig Canapes
- Cured Beef with Cheese and Pistachios
Frisee Salad with Cranberries & Walnuts with a Lemon Viniagrette- Spinach Risotto with Asparagus & Peas
- Baby Lambchops with Purple Potato Puree
- Cheese-Herb Souffle
Filet of Sole with Butter Sauce served with Haricot Verts- Individual Vanilla Meringues with Raspberry Coulis
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It was the most perfect summer day. The indoor tasting room was set up elegantly for dancing and a long table for dinner was set up on the veranda overlooking the blooming vineyard. A bride couldn't ask for a more gorgeous wedding reception...
...and then there's the mother of the bride. Not only did she complain about every tiny detail of the setup and venue, but every course was problematic - not enough dressing on the salad, not enough salt on the fish, lamb was too cold. At one point, she actually stormed into the kitchen and started incoherently giving orders and yelling at the chefs. This has never happened to me before. Complaints usually go to the catering director on the floor, not to the frantically working cooks holding sharp knives and hot pots. Thankfully, the catering director put a stop to it all and asked the client never to contact the company again.
There are nice clients and not so nice clients, just as there are nice people and not so nice people. In a service industry where the customer is always supposed to be right, it is difficult to know how to react when things go sour. Unfortunately, it's something that can probably only be learned through experience.
As for my first trip to the Hamptons, it really was not all that it's cracked up to be. All the beautiful houses are hidden from public view by tall hedges and gates. With only one main road, traffic is intolerable. The beaches are overcrowded and only reachable through private grounds. Finally, in my limited experience, the people aren't so nice and live far from what most of us call reality. I'm much more agreeable to the nitty gritty city.
On July 21st, I traveled down to 440 West 14th St. for another solo catering gig at the offices of Diane Von Furstenberg and for once I didn't mind prepping in the office kitchen. If there were a top ten list of office kitchens, Diane's would rate number one so far. It makes me think Diane appreciates food, or at least her office designer does.
I'm not typically one for high-end fashion, or more accurately I can't afford it, but the pretty print dresses and shiny silks made me wish Diane started a H&M line. But for those of you who are, I took a quick peek into their style room and it looks like Egyptian prints are in for the Fall.
I plated a couple cheese and charcuterie plates, filet mignon on a crostini, mushroom truffle pizzettes, and chive-chicken skewers in a mad rush and hauled ass out of there for another catering gig uptown.
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A 20 minute subway ride uptown on the A train and I was at 4 Columbus Circle in the offices of Steelcase, a high-end office furniture designer. Two other chefs were already frantically plating food out of a typical crappy tiny office kitchen/copy room. Mini lobster salads, shrimp skewers, roasted eggplant endive cups, duck canapes and chorizo on polenta cakes were among the menu items.
I thought working two gigs in one night would be exciting and challenging, but I really did not enjoy it. I like seeing an event run from beginning to end. To have to leave only 2 hours into one party and come into another party for only the last 3 hours left me feeling somewhat incomplete. It's nice to see a party come full circle, from setup to breakdown. Someday I'd also like to be involved in menu creation and client tasting and finally be able to see a menu go from vision to paper to plate.
In the meantime, back to paying my dues...
Last week I started at an ultra high-end Italian catering company recommended by a chef friend. On Monday, June 22nd, I went in for a quick interview and was greeted with a mix of surprise and confusion.
"Legaspi?" the owner asked with her Italian inflection.
"Yes," I replied.
"Where are you from?"
"I was born here but my parents are from the Philippines."
"Ahhh....." she responded, her voice trailing off with concern.
So I surmised that they believed me to be of Italian descent from my last name (Say it with me in your best Italian accent, hand gestures and all, "Le-GAS-pi!") Thankfully, they agreed to try me out at two of their events last week. Both went so well that they've asked me back for five more gigs in the month of July. I'll have to thank my chef friend as well as my husband for the foot in the door.
Italian gig #1: Tuesday, June 23rd. A private home on Gramercy Park South. 50 person hors d'oeuvre and buffet for the Italian elite to accompany their private Italian opera concert (Really...we could hear it from the kitchen).
Italian gig #2: Saturday, June 27th. A sprawling mansion located somewhere in the Hudson Valley. 80 person hors d'oeuvre and waiter-served Italian wedding reception in a ridiculous house with a crazy amazing kitchen (the pictures speak for themselves... and the dog's name is Gnocco).
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Some items from both menus - Napoleoni al Timo con Pomodoro, Basilico e Caprino (thyme tuile Napoleon with tomato and goat cheese)
- Ovetti di Quaglia all'Occhio di Bue (canapes with fried quail egg and paprika)
- Cucchiai Croccanti di Formaggio con Spuma di Peperoni Gialli e Pinoli (crunchy cheese spoons with yellow pepper foam and toasted pine nuts)
- Creppine di Salmone Affumicato ed Aneto (smoked salmon crepes with sour cream and dill)
- Rotolini di Vitello con Mousse Tonnata (poached veal small cigars with tuna and caper mousse)
- Risotto con Crema di Basilico e Scorza di Limone (basil reduction and lemon zest risotto)
- Gnocchi Verdi di Spinaci e Ricotta (gnocchi with spinach and ricotta)
- Polpettine con Salsa de Carciofi e Scorze di Limone (mini veal meatballs with artichokes and lemon zest)
as well as, - Potato puree with caviar and lemon gelee
- Prosciutto wrapped mascarpone cheese with ground pistachio nuts
- Gorgonzola souffle canape with celery and toasted almond
- Polenta with wild mushrooms
- Mini-steak tartar with capers and lemon zest
- Truffle and walnut pastry puff
- Prosciutto, foie gras and fig jam canape with black sesame seeds
- Fried lotus root and sage leaves
- Mini-lobster salad
- Cold zucchini soup
- Baby lamb chops with mustard sauce and sauteed potatoes
- Assorted bite-sized pastries, cookies and chocolates
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One thing that is a bit daunting about this new company, and maybe you have already gathered, is that everyone is Italian. The owners, the admin, the chefs, the waitstaff, the clients....everyone, but me. Italian and Spanish are the only two languages used in the kitchen and I quickly had to dust off my crappy kitchen Spanish to keep up. I am also now known as "CHIN-TIA," which took a lot of getting used to. But I do feel so blessed to have been accepted into this company. Not only is the clientele, for lack of a better phrase, super duper fancy pants, but the food is tremendous and the plating is a work of art.
I could not have asked for a more appropriate next step for me as a chef. With my previous French and Japanese experience, Italian was a major cuisine missing from my cv. This year has been tough work-wise, as I'm sure it has been for many, but lately I've also found myself lacking in energy and motivation. My venture into this new cuisine has awoken the sleepy chef within me and I feel like I'm back at school, full of drive and focus and curiosity, wanting to absorb everything. It feels good...it feels great!
Up Next: 180 person wedding at the New York City Public Library (Sex and the City stylez!)
3:45pm, Thursday, June 25.
I arrive at 350 Park Ave, 8th flr, a bit early for my first solo gig. The admin in charge meets me at reception and shows me to the kitchen. It's an office kitchen not unlike the kitchen in The Office. Equipped with a toaster oven, microwave, coffee machine and fridge, this will be my kitchen for the evening and in it I am to make a 3 course plated dinner for 12 executives.
The Captain arrives 15 minutes later and chats cheerfully with the admin. When she leaves, he whispers (not so cheerfully), "We're in trouble." Turns out this particular catering company had four other gigs the same evening, all occurring simultaneously in Manhattan, and hired only one driver. So the equipment and food are still en route ... or not, no one seems to know. We wait an hour and a half for the driver. It isn't until 6pm that my kitchen is finally set up and I'm able to start cooking. With a 7pm service time, we're seriously cutting it close.
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On the menu
First Course
Mixed Field Greens, Pomegranate Seeds, Toasted Pine Nuts and Asiago Cheese with an Aged Balsamic Dressing served with Fire Grilled Shrimp with Three Sauces - Wasabi Aioli, Thai-Basil and Chipotle Garlic
Second Course, choice of
Polenta Crusted Sea Bass with Corn and Tomatillo Salsa
or
Pepper Crusted Filet of Beef with Mushroom Demi Glace
both served with
Grilled Asparagus and Scallion Mashed Red Bliss Potatoes
Third Course
Assortment of Fruit Tarts, Petit Fours and After Dinner Cookies
Rasberry Daquoise and Lemon Tart
Fresh Berries with Whipped Cream
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Food goes out hot and plates come back empty, which is a good sign. Once in a while an office worker, smelling the air, would wander into the kitchen. We make a nice plate of leftovers for the hard working non-executives still hanging around after 9pm.
As we clean and pack up, the Captain tells me he's worked with this client in the past and his team had previously been tipped $400! I'll have to wait for next week's paycheck to find out, but let's hope the current economic climate does not dampen their generosity.
It was a busy catering week for me. I had three gigs all in Midtown West, which is admittedly my least favorite section of Manhattan. This aversion most likely originates from previous employment in Times Square, where trying to get a quick lunch is a 45 minute ordeal - meandering through constant street congestion, standing in tourist and angry banker-filled lines, and paying twice as much as one would pay 20 blocks down. But I digress...
The first was a private cocktail party at a nightclub called Touch. Picture, if you will, a Times Square club with an hour-long wait in a 
line filled with loud B&Ts, doors guarded by list-wielding heavy-set bouncers, and an 18 year old hostess demanding $25 at the door and a mandatory $5 coat check. Inside you'll find stained velvet couches, 'reserved' signs on all empty tables, and $17 beers. As you might have surmised, I do not visit such clubs and could not help but laugh at the angry line as I entered quickly through the nearby employee entrance.
The party itself was pretty easy, although it still amazes me that we are expected to produce all the food out of what looks like an old office, with only one portable grill, two toaster ovens and one working sink. But we pulled it off once again and pushed out passed hors d'œuvres of lobster mac & cheese, mushroom risotto, chicken empanadas, and smoked duck breast, along with platters of cheese, sandwiches, and chicken satay. I left the club past midnight with the line still miles long...Did I mention this was a Tuesday night?
The next gig was a two-day CEA conference at an event space on W. 34th St, across the street from the Empire State Building. We were set up in the far back corner hidden from view by a black curtain. With a microwave and three toaster ovens, we made 2000 passed appetizers over two days, includi
ng mini-cheeseburgers, mini-mushroom pizzas, cheese puffs, shaomai, spring rolls, and lobster empanadas. Thankfully, two great chefs were with me at this event and we were able to turn over the food at lightning speed.
Next up is a very large sit-down dinner. These tend to be more interesting and exciting to work. Details to come!
Side Note: I must make business cards asap. I feel like such a novice when a client or fellow chef asks for my information and I have to scribble it down on a scrap of paper. Any suggestions on where I can order unique business cards (cheap!) are greatly appreciated!
is another address of the rich and richer. It is located on the upper eastside, across the street from the Guggenheim Museum and overlooks Central Park.
Upon entering, I was immediately interrogated by the doorman. I guess my hoodie, sneakers, jeans and backpack just screamed "I don't belong here!" I was shown to the service elevator (maybe there's a dress code for the regular elevator?) and was taken to the sixth floor. The doors opened directly into the client's kitchen and I felt like I was transported to a scene from Gosford Park.Although I only saw the kitchen and dining room, the apartment looked, felt, and smelled like an old 1930s English country house. Without looking out the window, I would have never guessed I was in the middle of New York City. The kitchen was pretty standard, but for the ten china cabinets dedicated to several different patterns of china and hundreds of pieces of silver and crystal.
The dining room had a long mahogany table, yellowing floral wallpaper, and museum-sized portraits in heavy, gold-trimmed frames. The owners were an elderly couple celebrating their nephew's 50th birthday.
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Sit-down dinner (20 guests)
On the menu
Passed Hors d'œuvres
- Bite-sized Maryland crab cakes with red pepper aioli and capers
- Braised short ribs with caramelized onions on potato latkes
- Chinese shaomai dumplings served with a orange-soy dipping sauce
- Endive with herbed goat cheese, tomato and olives
Entree
- Mixed green salad with cranberries, pumpkin seeds and Asiago cheese, served with a balsamic vinaigrette
- Filet mignon with a red wine demi-glaze, served with celery root fingerling potato puree, sauteed mushrooms and sugarsnap peas
Dessert
- Individual chocolate molten lava cakes with caramel sauce and raspberries
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Catering, especially for these types of private parties, requires a lot of compromising and problem solving. There's always going to be something missing (an ingredient, a pot or pan, a utensil) and there's always going to be a change (in this instance, the last minute omission of raw onions and garlic). Thankfully, the crew was flexible, calm and experienced at 'handling' the client, which makes events like these a breeze.
On a side note, I'm fascinated that there are people who live like this. I mean, this was a family get together at a grandparents' house and everyone was dressed to the nines. There was butler service, seating arrangements and a strict agenda for the guests (drinks in the foyer, then to the dining room, and finally to the living room to enjoy aperitifs, cigars and a hired jazz quartet). This old-rich is so different from the new-rich I had just experienced at 25 Bond St. It's stuffy, rigid, and overly scheduled.
There is one old-rich tradition I favor that the new-rich do not often participate in - tipping. In restaurants, only front of the house and customer-facing chefs receive tips. So after years in the food service industry, this was my very first tip. It was an unexpected, greatly appreciated bonus!
Next up: A full day catering Cooper Union's commencement.
If you live in NYC, you probably know that a loft at this particular address comes with a steep price tag.
Last night I catered a cocktail party for 30 Richie Richs at a loft similar to this one, but nicer and on the 7th floor. I only saw the main floor of the 3-story loft, but that single floor had a dining room that looked more like a conference room, two sitting rooms and a kitchen bigger than my whole apartment.
These are the easiest types of jobs. A couple cheese plates, some pretty shrimp, fried artichoke leaves, and spicy gazpacho is usually more than enough...because no one eats. They nibble, nod and smile and half the food is thrown out. Very frustrating.
The owners are clean freaks, so most of my time was spent making sure everything was spotless. Also, I was not aware that I would be working in socks or else I would not have worn my bright spring yellows.
Note to self: Must play lotto today.
On March 7, 2009, I catered a lardo party for a friend. Guests were encouraged to add a piece of lardo to every bite.
Meat and Cheese Plates
- Manchego, Parma, Stilton, Cambozola, Tomme de Crayeuse, stinky cheese from Union Sq market (name long forgotten).
- Lardo, Prosciutto, Soppressata, Pate served with Riesling Poached Lady Apples (combine riesling, water, sugar, vanilla bean, boil, simmer 2-3mins, add peeled lady apples, simmer 20mins until cooked through but still firm)
- Pear, Apple, Grapes, Cantaloupes
- Fig cake, Candied Walnuts (toast walnuts, add sugar, allow to melt, toss, add cayenne, toss, spread on silpat, cool, break apart) and Candied Pumpkin Seeds (toast seeds, add sugar, toss, spread on silpat, cool, break apart)
- Olives, Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper
Cold Appetizers
- Mozzarella, Roasted Tomato (plum tomatoes, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, sugar, pepper, 275d, 2hrs) and Basil
- Parma Tacos (shredded parma on silpat, 300d, 6mins, mold, cool) served with Arugula, Pear, and Prosciutto
- Amy's Semolina bread with fennel seeds and golden raisins served with Goat Cheese, Honey and Black Pepper
Hot Appetizers
- Puff pastry balls
- Mushroom tart (puff pastry circles, parma, sautéed mushrooms w rosemary and white wine, 425d, 15mins, truffle oil)
- Tomato and goat cheese tarts (puff pastry circles, parma, caramelized onions w thyme and white wine, goat cheese, roasted tomato, basil, 425d, 15mins)
Dessert
- Apple tart (peeled sliced apples, caramelized sugar, eggs, sour cream, lemon zest, vanilla extract, flour, baking powder, salt, powdered sugar, 350d, 30-40mins, cool 10-15mins, unmold)
Where to find Lardo in NYC:
**Thanks to Jess for the beautiful pics!
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