Finally.
After about 6 months of weighing pro’s and con’s, and four yummy tastings, we decided on a caterer!  The funniest thing about this? Is the fact that the first caterer really hit it home.  I loved their food (albeit we need to change the vegetarian entree, but they have many choices).  I loved their service.  I loved their price.

But because this opportunity to eat great food for free, while every need and idea about food you love is tended to, doesn’t come along often — we shopped around.  I know our budget scared some caterers.  Many catering companies snubbed my RFP (request for proposal) when they saw the total budget number.  Still, we found a total of 4 companies willing to work with us.  Those four tastings were heaven (especially when they involved cake)!

When it came time to make a decision we looked at many details.  However when we dropped the name of the two finalists, one thing consistently happened: people raved about one and said the other was decent.  It happened time and time again, with different vendors and others in-the-know.  We then realized we had apples and oranges.  It was a no brainer: go with the top-tier catering company.  They have the experience.  They have the crowd popularity.  They have everything we need. 
And on my wedding day, I want to know the food and catering will go smoothly, if not also wow the guests.

And so, we chose Windows!  
Now to iron out details, sign the proposal, drop the deposit, and schedule a cake tasting!

This is our biggest budget item and a HUGE decision!
Time to celebrate ~ Let’s eat!

Last Friday we attending our third catering tasting, with Main Event Catering.  You might remember our previous two with Windows and The Unnamed Caterer.  With Mike back in school and the school year in full swing for me, as well, we struggled to find a time that worked for everyone to hold this tasting.  Finally, our calendars aligned and we dined!

Looking back on our menu, we somehow left out the vegetarian option, which is all over shocking.  I know I included it in our RFP (request for proposal).  But we also entirely overlooked it when reviewing their proposed menu.  I blame Mike.  (because pointing fingers is fun. and it’s never the bride’s fault. right? hehe)

Upon arriving at Main Event the tuxedo-sporting server greeting us with champagne flutes.  The staff lead us into a candle lit room, showcasing linens and flatware options.  They set the table with basic white linens, accented by votive candles.

Once seated our three hors d’oeuvres were presented, plated for the purpose of the tasting.  At the event they will be passed.

Hors D’Oeuvres
1.  Cheddar Pierogies:  lightly fried with sauteed cabbage & a dollop of creme fraiche
2.  Goat Cheese Quenelles:  fig + honey glazed pecans on an endive spear
3.  Grilled Chicken Pinwheels: corn + peppers, tortilla pinwheel, dark mole sauce

The Cheddar Pierogies (1) tasted amazing! Being of Polish heritage, we picked these out for our menu with out a second thought, and am glad we did.  The pierogies were slightly fried, as opposed to boiled or sauteed, as I am accustomed to – however this serving option makes more sense for finger foods.

Having never heard of a Quenelle (2) before, I did not know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised.  This sweet combination of goat cheese and pecans laid on a small endive (fancy lettuce) boat.  This hors d’oeurve was a nice contrast to the others, but still complemented them well.

I expected the Pinwheel (3) to be a boring wrap, but the mole sauce really kicked it up a bit.  It was a little spicy and we don’t want our guests gulping down their cocktail to remedy this, so we asked that the sauce be taken down a notch. 

Overall the hors d’ouerves tasted great!

Next up: First Course
Salad of Royal Lettuces: baby romaine, lola rossa, frisee + endive, sliced summer straberries, crumbled chevre cheese, champange + strawberry vinaigrette;  Cornbread muffins with salted butter or apple butter

Honestly this salad didn’t WOW me, but being a former vegetarian, I have high salad expectations.  It did a solid job and tasted great.  (However, nothing can compare to the salad at Window’s Tasting!)  We asked for the amount of frisee to be reduced, because it looks and tastes like a weed.  I always eat around it.  I can do without the texture variety.  The cornbread muffins were tasting and great with apple butter!

The Entree: Pan-Seared Free Range Chicken
Chicken coated in herb bread crumbs, marsala mushroom sauce, sunburst + starburst squash of teeny zucchini with roasted shallot butter and Yukon Gold Mash(ed potatoes)

We give the chicken a solid two-thumbs up.  It was tasty and the meal was well presented.  It reminded us of to chicken-fried-chicken, but without the unhealthy aspect, being pan-seared instead of deep-fried. The mashed potatoes totally rocked, and the squash paired perfectly.
I still don’t know how we managed to set this up with out the vegetarian option!

For desert we will have wedding cake.  However they sent us away with their signature Deep Dark Chocolate Truffles (“deftly hand rolled”).

All in all, this Main Event Catering Tasting went well.  We enjoyed all the dishes presented and they were very open to hearing our feedback and adjusting the menu.  What Mike and I both liked best about this caterer was their family-like quality.  This tasting being a couple days before Halloween, some of the other staff dressed in costume. So fun! Also, being after school hours, their kids were in the building, too (but not running around like crazy, but still there). I like a company that respects and understands that people have lives and families, and allows them to be a part of their business.   Also, the chef came out before and after the tasting to hear our ideas and talk openly with us.

Their kosher options are much more involved than other caterers.  They offer salad, bread and the entree all on kosher china from the JCC.  But you pay for that, as you cannot return the china after.  The per person cost for a kosher meal is twice that of a normal meal.  Gah!  I like the idea of our kosher-eating guests having their three course meal presented on china and not airplane style, but still.  Nice, but expensive!

Main Event Catering is a lot less corporate and more small-business minded.  We liked that.
However, they are slightly over budget (of course).  We plan on asking them if there is anything they can do for us, and sharing with them the other proposal prices offered to us.  Maybe they can work with us?  We’ll see.  We have our last tasting this coming weekend.  A yummy decision will be made soon!

Preface: In efforts to support all businesses encountered on this wedding planning journey, Caterer B shall remain nameless.  I’m not here to bash anyone who is doing their honest job to earn some money.  If the fit is not right, then that’s it.  Unless we can work out some details that Caterer B might not be for us.

On Saturday Mike, Meagan (bridesmaid from Atlanta) and I traveled 60 miles round trip out to Maryland to meet with Caterer B.  The Chef invited us into his home for a private tasting.  There’s something to be said for someone starting out a business and using their home to further their cause.  At the same time, it’s no fancy personal room decked out with dishware and flatware options.

The Chef explained he chose white linens for our tasting to focus on the food.  He provided us with a swatch book to choose from over 50 colors of linens.  The same teal tablecloth presenting at Windows Catering tasting is available.  I might need to do some heavy duty internet searching to find those lovely votive holders from the last tasting, regardless of the caterer we choose!

Caterer B’s company specializes in signature drink options to complement soft beverage choices.  Three different specialty lemonades graced our table: passion fruit & vanilla bean, strawberry, and peach, along with ice tea.

The Menu:
Passed Hors D’oeuvres
1. Spicy Sesame Salmon on Cucumber
2. Goat Cheese & Leek Tarts
3. Beef Tenderloin Slider with Carmelized Onions
4. Small Stationary table with crudites Shooters, Vegetables/Fruits, Breads and Humus

First Course
Plated Mixed Greens Salad in Cucumber Collar with Champagne Vinaigrette

Plated Dinner Options
1. ‘Coq Au Vin’
or
2. Squash, Asparagus & Peppers Wrapped in Grilled Eggplant in Aromatic Tomato Sauce
or
3. Tenderloin of Beef*
or
4.  Kosher Meal (outsourced)

*We took this option off the menu prior to the tasting, however The Chef wanted us to see the options available to us.

All served with Herb Roasted Potatoes,
Lemongrass scented Broccoli and
Red wine Shallot Sauce

Dessert
Wedding Cake, coffee available

The signature drink options were a nice touch, however we are not in need of four choices and chose the peach lemonade (due to the alcohol pairing versatility!).

The Hors D’oeurves ranged in impact.  You can never go wrong with hummus and cheese, ever.  The Goat Cheese & Leek Tarts wowed us.  The spiciness of the salmon left us searching for water.  We understood they are striving for impact and texture versatility, however we are not out to shock our guests into gulping down their cocktail.  The slider also felt out of place, as far as wedding fare goes, however Mike enjoyed it.

The Mixed green salad complemented the meals nicely.  We all enjoyed the champagne vinaigrette!

The entrees ranged in success.

The Coq Au Vin, a traditional French dish made by marinating chicken in red wine, tasted largely of wine with a side of chicken.  Also it contained bone, which might be messy for a wedding. The meat was dry, even with the sauce.  We brought this up and The Chef agreed to change it to a breast of chicken and a whole different recipe.  We decided Coq Au Vin is gourmet and are looking for something more recognizable for our guests (and not so wine-y).

The Vegetarian Entree rocked my socks all the way to China and back.  I hardly shared.  The combination of all those vegetables, wrapped in eggplant, made my dinner.

The Tenderloin of Beef was a nice touch, but not a necessary option.  We do not have room in our budget for it, and it didn’t rock any socks.

All entrees came with a side of potatoes and broccoli, practically making me barefoot yet again.  They shall stay (in mah belly!)

Thanks to me asking about cakes, The Chef decided to take on a bakery partnership!

There were three options for us to try: Lemon with butter-creme and fondant, Chocolate Peacan with butter-creme, and Vanilla with Raspberry filling and butter-creme.  The beautiful presentation included three topper-sized cakes!  There were no measly, tiny slices served!

The Raspberry icing in the Vanilla cake was nice, but nothing special to me.  Meagan swore by the icing on the Chocolate Pecan cake. Not being a huge icing fan, I took her word for it!  Being a super-huge-fan of chocolate cake, my expectations were high and not met.  The Lemon cake was more dense and moist, but again nothing to write home about.  All in all the cakes left me wanting more, however Mike (who says of himself that he will eat any baked good and has no standards when it comes to sugar) loved it all. We are not tied to this baker and will explore other options here.

Meagan found the large spoons on the table hilarious.
As did I!

Overall, we need to work out a few things with Caterer B.  While he is in our budget, he might not be in our wedding.  We put out Requests for Proposal to 5 more caterers this weekend to see if it is possible to find a caterer in our budget who tastes good too!

Yesterday Mike (fiance), Diana (bridesmaid) and I took a short trip down to Virginia to meet with our representative from Windows Catering.  Let me say this now:  catering tastings are amazing, more amazing than creating a wedding registry.  As Mike put it, “forget the master’s degree, I want her job!”

We arrived to find a table set with teal linens and my beloved gold chiavari chairs.  In my excitement I forgot to take a picture of the entire table, but I did get close ups of the place settings and menus, and candles.  There was no centerpiece at this time because most likely we will have flowers.

When our rep. emailed to asked my colors, I stumbled.  I wrote her telling that basically peacock feathers are my inspiration but have yet to narrow it down — something in the jewel tones: deep blue, turquoise, with gold and copper (brown?) accents, maybe even some purple to keep it interesting.  Once I see some bridesmaids’ dresses (this weekend!) I think hope I will have a direction.  I really did like the teal tablecloth accented with the candle holders, though.

Here’s our tasting menu:
PASSED HORS D’OEUVRE:
1. Griddlecakes and Smoked Salmon: wisps of potatoes and zucchini, sauteed until crispy, topped with Norwegian smoked salmon, with creme fraiche and snipped chives
2.  Mozzarella, Oven-Dried Cherry Tomato and Basil presented on coins of tempura-battered Japanese eggplant
3.  Phyllo Purse of brie cheese with almond and pear wrapped in delicate phyllo layers with a curry aioli for dipping

FIRST COURSE
Arugula Salad with Sliced Pears: sliced Anjou pears with Derbyshire stilton, tender arugula leaves and spiced Georgia pecans, dressed with a warm, Modena barrel-aged 80 year old balsamic vinaigrette served with a cornbread madeleine

MAIN COURSE
1.  Big Island Chicken: breast of chicken in a macadamia nut crust served with grilled pineapple, steamed rice and coconut milk and dark rum sauce with grilled asparagus
or
2.  Twin Artichoke Bottoms: artichokes stuffed with roasted garlic spinach in a sundried tomato with butternut squash battons, California asparagus and baby carrots
or
3. Kosher Meal: outsourced  (will rant about this later)

DESSERT
Wedding Cake, coffee available

All the hors d’oeuvres were amazing, especially the phyllo purse.  I could honestly eat a whole plate of those as my entree!  We realized though that we only have 3 hors d’oeurves and need an additional one.  Mike also pointed out that I neglected to pick any meat hors d’oeurves.  Our 4th choice will  involve some meat.

The salad kicked any other salad’s butt.  Amazingly yummy.

I enjoyed the artichoke entree, but found the texture tough.  Diana pointed out that it replicated a meat in that sense, which I totally understand but question if others will love that.  We are revamping the veggie entree choice.  (Do I smell another tasting?!)  Also we discussed the possibility of me, the bride, having my own special entree.  I love salmon and tilapia, but not all vegetarians eat fish so we kept away from that as an option.  That doesn’t mean that I can’t have it on my big day!  We are working on this option.

Lastly we discussed the flatware, which I doubt anyone pays an inch of attention to at the wedding.  However our rep assured us that it mattered for me: I get to chose what my day will look like, down to the forks.

We dined with “Choice A” but then shown “Chocie B.”  I really like the simplicity of B with the rounded, skinny handles.  (Do you call the stems “handles” ? I have no clue).   I chose B.  So ya’ll better really pay attention to my silverware at the wedding.  I want pictures with those forks!  Or not.

On Saturday we meet with our other catering option, a smaller up-and-coming business whose proposal comes well under that of Windows.  However, having your tasting served by a waiter in a tux, red and white wine available, many linen options laid out, a flat screen playing a picture slide-show, and all your dishware options presented is pretty snazzy and swayed me a bit.  We shall see how the quality and service match up on Saturday!

Are you hungry yet?!

I wrote up and saved exactly what we need from a caterer, in a word document.  I did this for two reasons: 1) Our desires are detailed and ultimately I forget something when asking for a proposal from different caterers and 2) I’m too lazy to retype it every time.
[edit: 3) also because I never remember how to spell "hors d'oeuvres" and"chiavari" and need to stop googling it every time]

The blurb goes something like this (cut, paste):

Wedding, 6/19/2011 5p – 10:30 at the Carnegie Institution, DC.
-We are looking for a seated dinner for 170 (max) guests, including the band.
-We are interested in up to 4 passed hors d’oeuvres and with two different entree choices: one chicken, one vegetarian.  Please avoid over-use of mushrooms as the bride and maid of honor do not like them. -About twelve guests will need outsourced prepared and packaged Kosher meals.  They will not be eating the choice entree.
-Please focus more on vegetarian friendly options for hors d’oeuvres to stray from blatantly non-kosher options (“Kosher style” is fine).  No shellfish or crab, or meat/milk combination (blatantly non-Kosher) like cheese on top of meat. (A small amount of milk in a dish containing meat is fine, just so long as it’s not covered in milk).
-Desert will be the wedding cake.  We would like the cake cost included in our proposal.
-We will provide alcohol, but need to rent your glassware and use your liquor license.  Please include soft beverages.
-We need enough chiavari chairs for guests during the ceremony to be used also with dinner. Six-foot-wide tables are provided on site.  Basic linens are fine.
-Please stay below our price point of $BLAH (sorry readers, that’s private)

So far we are looking at 2 different caterers.  Let’s call them A and B.

Caterer A is a well known DC company recommended to us by a friend who happens to be a wedding planner. Because of this reference they were able to meet our price point ($BLAH) by giving us complementary soft beverages and food containers.  Who knew you had to PAY for the containers they use to transport the food to your wedding?  The wedding cake is included and they do LOVELY things with icing. 
However, Caterer A neglected to include the tax in our quote and we are over our price point by $2K.
We have our tasting with Caterer A on the 27th.

Caterer B contacted US from weddingwire.com.  (don’t know it? you post what you need and people come to you. amazing.)   Caterer B greeted us in an email containing 4 previously drafted proposals for others, all under our price point.  I sent him my blurb and he responded well, reaching the price point to a T.  Interesting how that happened when none of his previous proposals even came close to our ceiling.  After many emails back and forth to iron out details Caterer B remains cordial, helpful, and bending over backwards for us.  He even threw in a “late bites” section and an extra entree choice – which, if we cut, then our price comes down drastically.  No cake involved though.  Thanks to our request, he now has a bakery partnership.  We think this is good.  Hopefully we like this bakery.
Oh and all this correspondence is with the chef himself, just the chef and us working on the basics.  It’s quite refreshing.
We have our tasting with Caterer B on the 31st, with an extra guest in attendance (a bridesmaid).

So we’ll eat, drink and be blogging about this soon!