The meeting we went to at Occasions Caterer is worth mentioning. It is a huge firm. http://occasionscaterers.com/They have around thirty events a day. It is extraordinary when you think of how many things can go wrong at thirty different events. But, for us, nothing went wrong. It was all set up in a Tasting Room: a table with candelabra and flower arrangements and many glasses and chargers on placemats. It looked like a lovely dinner party. And we all sat down, Lilla and Delilah and Alex and Me, and the wedding planner and two women who work at Occasions Caterer. They and the wedding planner were all rather dressed up. The rest of us were dressed casually.

 

We were served, first, a series of individual hors d?oeuvres. We were given a menu and were encouraged to mark what we liked best, with a private grading system of our own. I used 100%, on down, but, truly, most everything was 100%. The food was delicious. One of the owners sat with us for part of the meal. He told us that he and his twin brother had graduated from college with rather worthless degrees and they had worked for caterers while in college. They decided to start their own company, using their kitchen in their apartment. And the rest is history.

Occasions Caterers really is an amazing operation. We got to inspect the kitchens, which were extensive, with mammoth pots and bowls for mixing and marinating. Stoves and ovens and sinks and countertops were all spacious. Walk- in freezers and fridges and stacks of trays for putting prepared food on to wait its turn. There were photos of the staff hanging overhead, which we thought was a charming touch. Then, there is a separate pastry area and one for making chocolate.

They are a GREEN company, which means they recycle everything, use organic everything, and really try to be ahead of the curve on ways to conserve. We looked at the glassware, china, flatware and tablecloth selections, checked out ballroom chairs and table types and spent almost four hours there. It was the first time I had done anything like that. I guess a lot of people do it when choosing a caterer for a large event. ?On past occasions, when I myself have used a caterer, I just called them up and said what I needed, and maybe discussed alternatives, but never anything like this “Show” they put on for us yesterday!

 

The company sent home sacks of food, too, for dinner for Mother and me, but I could not eat dinner. I was completely stuffed from the tasting.? I did sit with Mother, who also ate almost none of it. She has little appetite in the evening. But she did enjoy her papaya for desert.

 

What we ate at our “Tasting” was often Asian in flavor, which I loved. The salads served were nice; the first one was sort of a ?normal? salad. The second was made from asparagus which was put through a slicer so that it was served in long thin slices, mixed with other greens, somehow. That was extraordinary. ?The entrees were beef, cooked perfectly but which had been seasoned with coriander and had an unusual taste. If I am going to have tenderloin, which is expensive, I want it to taste like tenderloin. This did not. The other entree was cod. I have never tasted fish so good. It was just delicious. And then they had also given us wine, both white and red, and non-alcoholic beverages like cucumber water, spiced tea and, finally, a lemon drink and a grapefruit drink, both of which were to die for!

 

Then they served us a drink with bourbon- and- something. It was real and tasty if you are a bourbon drinker, which I am not. They then brought out a sort of martini glass with a cloudy liquid that turned out to be gin with something added that tasted delicious and with pomegranate seeds sprinkled in it. I actually drank 3/4 of mine over the course of the meal.

 

The whole thing was over the top, in my opinion. It just did not seem to be very restrained. But I don’t think of Delilah or Alex as the type of people who care about that. They care about the Green part, and each other. That’s it. And Lilla has her own taste, her own style. She does not need to color inside the lines.

I believe that true good taste is lovely, but it is also a reassurance to people, showing that things can be done a certain way. Sort of like the army wearing uniforms. It all has a purpose. Occasions understands this and? play to their audience, depending on who it is.

And for people who would not be able to figure it out any other way, it works great. Good taste is innate in some; others need to be shown what it is. Charley Matheson has an innate sense of this. In fact, he is an arbiter of good taste. He instinctively knows the right thing to do. The right look for a room, the proper way to dress and look dapper without being weird. I have always admired him for that ability. I am much more all over the place with my ideas and my clothes and my rooms.

 

So, yesterday is over and I?m not sure what today holds. But I shall sally Forth!

 

End

 

Copyright 2018 Bonnie B. Matheson