When it’s time to start the food and beverage planning with a hotel catering team, event producers are most likely to be handed a big file of “banquet menus” presented with fancy wording and packaging. Buffets, plated dinners, themed events, and food stations – you know the drill. Other than a glance at the pricing model, I generally spend little time with these menu packets. While I do respect that a skilled culinary team has spent many hours crafting and packaging these menus, I simply find this method of menu planning to be sterile, lacking in personality and that it provides little clue to the heart and soul of the hotel’s Chef de Cuisine and the seasonal offerings. I want more!

At Wilsonwest, we start the process with a conversation with our catering and conference services manager and from there we ask to be introduced to the Food & Beverage Director. Once we have a solid understanding of the property, the kitchen, and the connections to local purveyors, we then ask for an introduction to the Executive Chef and the Banquet Chef. We LOVE seeing what’s going on in the kitchen and what the Chef is enjoying doing at the moment. What’s a new favorite? What are you most proud of? What are the limitations of the kitchen and better yet, what special equipment, facilities or culinary resources do you have to really make the meal a special event?

We share information about our audience, however during the planning stages, we rarely dictate the specifics of any menu. We want to hear from the experts first - encouraging them to share the very best of what they have to offer and hopefully create an opportunity for them to try something new. We generally find that at first, the Chef is hesitant, thinking that a couple of event planners have turned “culinary” and they are protective of their space and rightly so. We respect that. It’s precisely the reason we solicit the expertise from the Executive Chef rather than solely a catering or conference services manager who may have little or no experience in the kitchen.

From here, it’s on to the tasting where we pay careful attention to presentation, portion, service, flatware, dinnerware, and (of course) taste. The banquet and conference service team are engaged in this process and from here we connect and build the team who will stage and serve the meal. We ask the team to taste along with us – it’s a collaborative with just the right amount of cooks in and out of the kitchen.

By this point in the process, almost every Chef we’ve worked with is excited, engaged and completely passionate about executing a new and exciting menu – so much so , that our joint creation often becomes a new addition to the banquet menu!

nick2 Event Essentials collaboration, drink, events, food

Each year at this time, as I count my blessings, I count among them the most wonderful invitation I receive each year: Thanksgiving brunch at Thomas Keller’s Manhattan restaurant Per Se – complete with the best indoor seats for viewing Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Does it get any better than that?

For 85 years, Macy’s Parade has kicked off the holiday season with glorious bands, balloons, and floats. 85 Years! I salute Macy’s for sticking with this parade through good and bad years (including both the Great Depression and the current recession).

Now, go out there and spread some of that good will and good cheer! Pretty soon more parades will start happening again in this country.

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at Wilsonwest who love parades, parties, and the like.

*Full disclosure: I borrowed this post’s clever title from Per Se’s invitation. Thank you Thomas Keller and the generous people of Per Se for the yearly invite.

admin The Wilsonwest Way culture, drink, food, holidays

Last week, we were dining at Flour and Water here in San Francisco (it only took me a month to get a reservation) and in walked Ruth Reichl, Editor of Gourmet magazine, author, and food critic. I recognized her immediately and was excited to have such a foodie in our ‘hood. Seeing her reminded me of a great Summer memory of at least ten years ago. I was visiting family in Ohio and reading her book Tender at the Bone, a memoir of her life (with a food providing a backdrop, of course). I had plenty of leisure time that week and when I came upon Ruth’s story about her childhood memory of eating her first soufflé – accompanied by a recipe – I was inspired to try one of my own. That entire week was spent perfecting my soufflé, much to the delight of the family and neighborhood children who enjoyed both the rejects and the winners.

Whenever I see a famous person (no, it’s not every week) I usually keep my distance and avert my gaze, as that is just what seems to be the right thing to do. But this particular evening at Flour and Water, I decided to stop by Ruth Reichl’s table and thank her for contributing to such a great memory for me. She looked me in they eye, thanked me for sharing my words, and smiled at me in the best kind of way.

So yesterday, when I read of the sudden closing of Gourmet, I was especially saddened. I know that the writers, editors, and staff of Gourmet were the inspiration for many, many amazing culinary journeys, celebrations, and memories over the years.

Thank you Gourmet for inspiring us to keep tasting, to delight in diversity and perfection, and to relish in the discovery of something new. You will be missed.

admin The Wilsonwest Way drink, food, San Francisco

M.F.K. Fisher’s How to Cook a Wolf spoke to a nation at war and in the throes of rationing during WW II: a time when many felt the proverbial wolf at the door. But its central message, extolling the virtues of simplicity, still resonates today. “Since we must eat to live,” Fisher wrote in a postscript to the revised edition, “We might as well do it with both grace and gusto.”

I have long believed in the virtue of the family table and the power of food to transform. Beautiful food served with grace and eaten with gusto carries the ability to bridge diverse cultures. When Americans return from travel to Italy or France they will often remark on a leisurely lunch they experienced in which conversation (rather than time) remained king. I do hope the movement toward sustainability, slow food, and simplicity bring this tradition back to our culture.

On a higher note, I often imagine what table and environment might be set to help foster peace in the Middle East. I invite you to share your thoughts here with me and let’s send them along to the likes of Thomas Keller, Alain Ducasse, Matsuhita Nobu, Alice Waters, or the spikey-haired “diner” guy on the Food Network.

admin Relationship Marketing, The Wilsonwest Way culture, drink, food, relationships