A Day in the Life of a Caterer

Catering: it's an important business and one that sometimes, I think, is taken for granted. The success of events, large or small, is often dependent on the food.

Last week I had the rather stressful job of catering a 'party' at the request of my partner Nic. When he first asked me I wasn't so keen on the idea. His idea of catering was "let's just cook up a big pot of curry and then heat it up in the microwave at the venue", to which I gave my standard response to all of his bad ideas: "that's a great idea, but...no".

It had to be something easy to eat. Finger food, food that would taste great hold or cold.

Now, about the party. I was given some rather cryptic details. It was a Thanksgiving snack for people volunteering on a political campaign. "Ahhh!" I thought: "A political party". They were giving up their holiday time to make calls and canvas the streets. How many of them were there? "Not sure, about fifteen", he replied. There were in fact about 20. Will other people be bringing any food? "Oh yes, it's like a pot luck". Only one other person brought food.

So armed with these details, I came up with a menu. My previous trepidation about catering had vanished because I thought what the hell, it's good experience, other people are bringing food and I'll use the recipes on my websites.

The menu consisted of mini corn cakes topped with horseradish crème fraîche, smoked salmon and spring onions, sweet potato and bocconcini skewers, sumac chicken skewers and vegan cupcakes. The cupcakes might sound a bit out of place but they were amazing. I've included a photo of them and the recipe will follow next week. People are always dumbfounded to learn that they are free of dairy and eggs, yet so rich and delicious.

The big cooking extravaganza began at 9am on Thanksgiving morning in our rather small kitchen. Dinner was being served at the election office at 4pm. We made it there by 4.30. It was a success. People were thrilled and I was relieved.

Nic and I made a good team. He was in charge of frying. He made the pint-sized corn cakes and cooked the chicken to juicy perfection. I roasted the sweet potato, marinated the bocconcini, assembled things and baked. We both overdosed on the vegan chocolate icing and still yet managed to taste-test our creations...several times.

My one-day stint as a caterer gave me a new-found appreciation for the catering business -- especially small ones. It's a hectic affair and your timing and sense of proportion have to be perfect. We ended up making up too much food which was a blessing.

Mini Corn Cakes with Crème Fraîche & Smoked Salmon

Corn Cakes

1 cup all-purpose flour & 1/4 cup extra
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 eggs
1 cup milk
2 cans of corn kernels
1/2 tsp of sea salt
1 Tbs olive oil

Topping

400 grams of smoked salmon (cold smoked or hot smoked)
250 mls of crème fraîche
2-3 Tbs of horseradish
Several spring onions, finely sliced

Method:

1. Sift flour and bicarb of soda into medium bowl. Make a well in the middle of the flour and gradually mix in combined egg and milk; stirring until smooth.
2. Add the corn to the batter and season with salt. Stir well to combine.
3. Heat the oil in a small, heavy-based fry-pan over a medium heat. Ladle about 1/8 cup of the corn batter into the fry pan and fry until golden brown. Turn corn cake over to the other side and cook until golden. Repeat with remaining mixture. Keep corn cakes warm in a low oven.
4. In a medium bowl, combine the crème fraîche and horseradish. Mix well and then set aside.
5. Once you're ready to serve, place the corn cakes on a plate and spoon on a little of the crème fraîche/horseradish cream, a piece of smoked salmon and top with a sliver of spring onion. Serve.

The sweet potato & bocconcini skewers can be found here.

Comments

[VeggieGirl]

I give you MAAAAJOR kudos for taking on such a demanding job; and your food looks impeccable!!

[Manggy]

The mini corn cakes look so elegant! Based on what I've seen so far, the real secret to catering is having a hard-working team behind you, haha :)

[Erin]

Oh how beautiful! I'm impressed!

[Patricia Scarpin]

Syrie, tks for sharing something so nice - I could picture you making all those delicious recipes. Love the finger food and will be using your ideas next time I have people over!

[Dee]

Your food looks as glamorous as you do! I'm definitely keeping the corn cakes in mind.

[Shari]

Looks like fabulous food! I love the swirl on the cupcakes.

[Irene]

The food looks fantastic! The little corn cakes remind me of the little blini with caviar that I love so much. Catering (and just throwing parties in general) is VERY demanding. You're so right, the food is half the success of an event.

[Bob LaGatta]

It’s good to know that I’m not alone when it comes to writing articles about quality, good food. And I love sharing good recipes too. You could check http://www.technocooks.com if you want a different “menu.” The picture above looks mouthwatering...nicely done

I’ll better check the archived posts from your site. Ciao!

[Ivy]

Everything looks beautiful and I am sure it all was sooo Tasty.
I was going to say.. are you from Canada because in the U.S we haven't had Thanksgiving yet-haha.
My half-brother is from B.C. :)

[Chocolate Shavings]

I works in catering and it is indeed quite a difficult job where you have to pay attention to every detail and be extremely organized! Your party seemed to have turned out wonderfully - the food looks beautiful!

[Alexa]

Wow, I want you to cater my next party ;-)
This spread would be worth volunteering for a political campaign. You did an amazing job-- very professional.
I can't wait for your vegan cupcake recipe next week.

[mikky]

what a great feast... everything looks so good... :)

[Rasa Malaysia]

I want you to be my caterer! Everything looks so good. Perfect 10. :)

[Niall Harbison]

Well done on the catering and I agree with you that it is what makes a good party. I did it for years and the food sets the tone for the night without a doubt! Sounds like you make a good team as well which is important!

[Syrie]

Oh, VeggieGirl thanks so much for your message. Yes it was a feat and one I won't be completing any time soon!

Mark - that's it! Get everyone else to do the work. I'm quite good at being bossy too!

Thanks so much Erin...where did your blog go?!

Thank you Patricia. I hope you enjoy them if you make them. The corn cakes were my fave.

Oh Dee, your a doll. Thank you.

Hi Shari...I used a number 4 star tip. It took a few cupcakes to get a the hang of it! thanks for visiting.

Hi Irene, the corn cakes were definitely my fave. I ate about 6 of them. I had to try them out before feeding the masses of course!

Thanks for visiting Bob and introducing me to your great site.

You're right Ivy! I didn't even think of that. Have a great Thanksgiving when it arrives!

Thanks Chocolate Shavings and kudos to all the caters! It's a tough job.

Thanks for your lovely comment Alexa.

Thanks for visiting Mikky!

Oh Bee! I think the same thing about your food everyday!

Thanks Niall, well there were a few tense moments in the kitchen but no explosions. We were too focused on the food!

[catering]

Oh! those food seemed so delicious! and it makes me crave for my favorite pancake. I wanna try your catering service some other time. Anyway, thanks for sharing this recipe, I will also try it at home.

-miyaka-

[Catering Urns]

Oh how beautiful! I'm impressed!