Experience  (4000+ catered events)  Decades of off-premise catering experience, from 10,000+ events to intimate, high-end dinners. Sole Chef for private Hillary Clinton campaign event where Bill Clinton spoke to 30 donors at the $100K+ level. Selected as lead Chef for SpaceX company launch parties, supervising teams of up to 20 culinary staff. Chosen by Gene’s catering for two consecutive years to run the players’ tent kitchen at what is now the Miami Open tennis tournament,

It's the most important seasoning we use, and sodium level is a moving target. I say that it's the most important seasoning because using too little results in what the typical diner calls "bland" food. Add too much, and you've ruined the dish, and it's almost impossible to fix. No pressure.... The reason I call salt level a "moving target" is because our perception of the salt we add changes with time, primarily due to the process called osmosis. This is when a solution, in

Off-premise catering is all about logistics. It is also important in a restaurant setting but, is less a factor because there are less variables on a day to day basis. I've been involved in planning small and large events, for my own clients and for other caterers. This is by far the most important factor in creating a successful event. Even small catered events can involve a great many decisions that affect the finished product. There can be literally hundreds of details tha

I have a simple approach I use when assigning priority to various cooking steps. That is "Can I do this now without significantly...

What in the world would we do without chicken breasts?! They're bland, dry, and featured at almost every event. It would help if we used skin-on breast, but alas, most of time the skin must go. I hope everyone learns that the low fat diet has been debunked... If we fully cook the breasts at the central catering kitchen and transport them warm/hot, they're guaranteed to be dry, and/or tepid. If we transport them raw and cook onsite, there are significant challenges involving f

pickled veggies in Xiamen China I recently spent two weeks with my (now ex) wife in China and of course my focus was mainly on food. She's from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, and happily there was a line of family and friends waiting to wine and dine us. It's hard to overstate the importance of food in Chinese culture. A very common greeting in China translates literally as "have you eaten yet?" The first step in understanding the cuisine is to forget whatever you

"Chef Jerry was important to our operation this summer and his contributions will be valuable as we grow our business!" Cynthia Stewart,...

I might be a tool geek. Off-premise catering can happen in fully equipped professional kitchens, under a tent in a parking lot, or in a...

I once worked at a summer camp where my job was running four convection ovens and we fed 700 people, three meals per day. The bulk of the...