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With the wedding season around the corner and my lady needing her special day to be memorable as ever I took the initiative and interviewed 5 caterers giving them only 3 dishes to serve. The choices were entree's i feel are staples for any personal chef, catering company or even aspiring chef. I also chose on a varying degree of difficulty to assess how serious each caterer was about the event and to see if they were willing to take on a bit more of a challenge to impress or if they would display a unique twist on a traditional and oft times more forgettable dish that is served at many weddings I have been to. The list starts with the most challenging and daring and moves down the line to the least compelling but allows for a bit more freedom of expression in the dish.
First on my list was a crab and bay shrimp stuffed salmon. I chose this to distinguish those caterers that intended to cook a bit more impressive dish and truly wanted to earn my business. The freshness of the seafood is always a key determinant in choosing the right service and chef for the job. I left the seasoning up to the cook and was impressed with the one caterer that chose this dish as there proposed menu item. The mix of rosemary and old bay seasonings was robust and the freshness left it's impression.
Second i looked towards the sometimes tough but delicate duck breast with a sauce of the chef own personal tastes. This was chosen by two of the five chefs and i was all but inspired by both of these dishes. While one was undercooked and under-seasoned the other was dry and glazed with an inappropriate amount of teriyaki something I was not accustom to seeing from refined cooks and am in full understanding as to why. I was impressed with the reduction that was served on the side of the under-seasoned duck breast and gave some extra points for that item.
Finally the traditional dish was included to weed out the weak or allow someone to stand out by offering a unique twist on an over served dish that can easily lack personality. The chicken breast and steamed vegetables was meant to lure in the catering service that was looking to take the easy path and if they didn't do something special with it, they were lost. In fact of the 2 that chose this dish they were both quite impressive. One caterer served a delicious and sweet chutney that allowed the mushroom and prosciutto stuffed chicken to stand out. The final personal chef used a white wine sauce and a side of garlic blue cheese mash potatoes to ride shotgun with a lightly pan fried all white chicken breast. This stood out however my decision had been made.
The effort was there for only one of the personal chefs and they made the decision to impress at the highest level offered. This told me they would do a fine job with any of the dishes that I decided to go with and I made a decidedly confident choice. As the moral says it's worth the effort.
Harvard Williams is a writer and food lover that is in close contact with many caterers, personal chef's and food service workers. His passion for unique items and the psychology behind a nations love for food drives him to consistently try new food items. He has worked closely with such caterers as http://www.sandiego-catering.net on improving their wedding catering service and is working on his long time goal of releasing a the first pop up cook book!
Friends Link : calphalon contemporary nonstick
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