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Decorating the Holidays

Posted by Peppers Team on Fri, Nov 12, 2021

Decorating for the Holidays: How to Make Your Home as Wonderful as the Food

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It does not matter how much you plan, cook, clean, or stress- nothing can compare to holiday decorations. There is something about the sights of the holiday season that brings a warm fuzzy feeling. But many people struggle with the same question, where to begin?! 

1. Don't Over-Do It. There is a fine line between the right amount of decor and too much decor, but that fine line is an important line. Having too many knick-knacks sitting out or too many lights hung everywhere makes the space feel claustrophobic, is overwhelming to look at, and is expensive! Decorations are one area where the time-old statement "less is more" still proves to be true. 

2. Use Your Resources! There are so many websites you can draw inspiration from. Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr, and so many more. When in doubt you can even Google good ideas on how to decorate. Pick something you like that isn't too complicated, and try to replicate it. Don't forget to add your own flair though! 
Desserts 2019-13

3. Bargain Shopping. Don't break the bank decorating for one holiday! If you start early, you can find loads of sales and discount coupons so you can get fantastic decorations at a fraction of the cost.

Pro Tip:  Try planning ahead an entire year! The best time to buy holiday decor is to buy it right after the holiday when everything is on sale! You won't find better quality at a better price. 

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4. Ask for Help. Decorating can be such hard work, especially if you're hanging lights or other large elements. Ask a few people to help you! Doing it together will make it so much more exciting, and you'll make so many, often hilarious, memories.  

5. Take Pictures! Take pictures of all your hard work so you have something to remember it by. You'll have pictures from the parties of course, but your decorations won't be the focus. Take a few minutes to walk around and snap some photos. For those serious decorators, you can try starting a scrapbook of your holiday decor so that next year you have inspiration from the styles you like the best. 

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The holidays are one of the most special times of the year. It is not often that people can join in with their friends and families and share a meal and a laugh. This time should be joyful and happy, so don't stress yourself trying to make everything perfect! Make your plan, and then take a step back to enjoy your efforts. Interested in learning more about us - contact us today! 



Hosting the Holidays

Posted by Peppers Team on Fri, Oct 22, 2021

Hosting the Holidays: How to Enjoy Your Own Thanksgiving

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For many people, hosting the holidays is something that you look forward to for your whole life. You grow up watching your parents, aunts, uncles, or grandparents putting on these big productions, and when you are an adult, you want to do the same. But then you realize- hosting the holidays is HARD. Below are the tips that we have found to be the most effective in making sure you don't get too overwhelmed amid all the planning. 

1. Remember What Makes Them Important. Thanksgiving is not about what you eat, wear, or where it takes place. Thanksgiving is a time to come together and be thankful for the time that you have with your loved ones. It is time to reminisce about past good times and remember loved ones who are no longer with you. It is also a great time to look forward to what you have to be thankful for in the future. While you're planning, take the time to stop and think about all of this so you can keep the upcoming holiday in perspective.

2. Do As Much As You Can In Advance. One of the most stressful parts of any holiday is running around last minute trying to figure things out! Before you even begin to invite people into your home for Thanksgiving, first think about what you want to make! Do research to determine how many people your recipes will feed and how much the ingredients for each one will cost you. Make sure you can get everyone at a local store, or if not, that it can be delivered in time. Once you have a plan, then you can begin making your guest list. 
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3. Take Some Of The Pressure Off of Yourself. People love to be involved! Ask people who are coming to bring something small. You can ask them to bring a side or a dessert. If you would prefer to provide the meal, you can always ask people to bring a game, a beverage, or even some photos of family or friends that can be enjoyed by all. This will help draw your guests in and make them feel engaged and it will also help you to feel like you don't have to do it all. 

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4. It Doesn't Have To Be Traditional. The best thing about holidays is that you get to decide how they are celebrated. You don't have to follow the way the adults did it when you were a kid! Shake things up, try something new this year! Maybe you don't like pie and want to do something more fun for dessert, or maybe you want to host Thanksgiving but absolutely hate to cook. To explore some ways you can host Thanksgiving without ever having to make a single recipe, take a look at our Thanksgiving Menu. 
5. Follow CDC guidelines! Now more than ever, it is so important that we protect ourselves and our families. Do whatever you can to ensure that your holiday guests help you to follow CDC guidelines for a safe and fun get-together. If weather permits, host your party outside! If not, you can open windows, socially distance, and make hand sanitizer and masks readily available for anyone entering your home. 

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The holidays are one of the most special times of the year. It is not often that people can join in with their friends and families and share a meal and a laugh. This time should be joyful and happy, so don't stress yourself trying to make everything perfect! Make your plan, and then take a step back to enjoy your efforts. Interested in learning more about us - contact us today! 



Support for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund

Posted by Lillian Davis on Tue, Jul 27, 2021

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On June 10th, members of Congress introduced the Restaurant Revitalization Fund Replenishment Act to add $60 billion dollars to the fund to support independent restaurants and bars. We’re advocating for the program to be refilled so that everyone who needs relief can access it. 

 

How can you help?

Step 1: Get to know the bill! Visit https://www.saverestaurants.com/advocate/ to learn more about why this bill was created, and why it is so important to your local bars & restaurants that it be refilled.

 

Step 2: Email your reps! This only takes a minute, and by visiting the link above you can find a form that will guide you through creating your email.  

 

Step 3: Call Congress! You can call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 to reach your members of congress. 

 

Step 4: Share on social media! The more people who know, the more support the Restaurant Revitalization Fund will get. 

 

These small steps can help to make a big difference for the future of your favorite local bars and restaurants! 

Planning a Memorable Graduation Party During The Covid-19 Pandemic

Posted by Peppers Team on Fri, Jul 31, 2020

Planning a Memorable Graduation Party During Covid-19

Outdoor Graduation Party With Balloons

We understand that the Covid-19 pandemic has put a lot of summer parties, especially 2020 graduation parties, on hold. With the introduction of phase 3 in Massachusetts, our clients are looking for ways to still have a memorable graduation celebration while following state guidelines. Here are our top tips for planning a graduation party during Covid-19.

  1. Host your party outdoors. We have always been fond of backyard graduation parties because they feel more personal. We recommend renting a tent to keep both your guests and the food out of the sun. Following guidelines of keeping guest seating 6 feet apart will impact the size of the tent needed based on your anticipated guest count. You will want to keep in mind the space you have to work with and size of the tent needed to determine the number of guests you can safely host. Our team, in coordination with a tent rental company, can help you determine the appropriate size. 
  2. Order food from a caterer that is following CDC and state guidelines for sanitization and food preparation. Whether looking for pick-up catering or a full-service event, the way food is presented is important. Guests may not be comfortable with a large self-serve buffet with many different hands touching the serving utensils.
    Chinese Food Takeout ContainerIndividually boxed gourmet sandwich
    Consider offering a boxed meal for each guest or individually served items. Boxed meals don’t have to be just your standard sandwich or salad. Think gourmet sandwiches served alongside homemade chips, individual Asian noodle salads served in Chinese takeout boxes, or a curated bento box with a variety of healthy offerings.

    If you’re thinking of having a full-service catered event, servers can handle food from the buffet to limit the amount direct contact guests have with the buffet. BBQ style cuisine like BBQ chicken, pulled pork sliders, and cornbread have always been popular options for summer grad parties and can easily be served by staff. Another option is an on-site chef cooking fresh burgers right from the grill for each guest. You could even bring in the sports game-day feel with individual open-top boxes assembled for guests, each filled with mini sliders or chili dogs served alongside fries. 
    graduation party grilling graduation catering sliders
  3. You can’t have a graduation party without sweets. A cake can still be served but think of having one person assigned to cutting all the slices and putting them on individual plates for each guest to grab as they are cut. You can also offer cake as individually wrapped cake pops. Or if pies are more your style, you can do individual pie pops. Looking for a dessert that helps beat the summer heat? Individually wrapped novelty ice cream desserts are a great way to go. Check our some of our bakeries past dessert creations
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  4. When it comes to drinks -- you can include them in the boxed meal if you are doing that style of service, or have servers bring drinks to each guest individually. If you are hosting an event without a caterer, you could encourage guests to bring their own beverages.
  5. How about adding in a unique way to follow mask guidelines? You can incorporate face masks into the celebration by getting custom cloth masks in the school colors or with the school logo on them.

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  1. Make it easy for guests to follow sanitization guidelines. Consider having hand sanitizer out and available for guests on every table and trash cans close by.

Graduations are a very special and important milestone to celebrate. We are here to help you plan your event so you, the graduate, and your guests feel safe and have an enjoyable time. Interested in learning more about us - contact us today! 



Paige and Josh's Wedding Aldworth Manor

Posted by Peppers Team on Wed, Mar 11, 2020

Paige and Josh's Wedding at Aldworth ManorNew Hampshire Wedding Venues

Aldworth Manor is a hidden gem situated on a 170 rolling acres estate in Southern New Hampshire. The manor gives off a unique Tuscan style feel unlike any venue in the area. With amazing views of Mount Monadnock, exceptional grounds and gardens, Aldworth Manor provided a one-of-a-kind backdrop for Paige and Josh's wedding.  

Green and white floral arrangements and accents complimented the surrounding landscape of the venue perfectly by bringing in a natural and romantic feel. This detail was intertwined throughout their entire day from the wedding invites and table decor to the greenery tied on high top tables and garnishes accompanying the signature cocktails. 

Their ceremony took place outside on the lawn with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres to follow on the patio and surrounding grounds. The dinner reception was held under a beautiful white sailcloth tent with a mix of farmhouse and round tables. Family and friends enjoyed the private estate all to themselves to celebrate Paige and Josh's special day. Here is a sneak peek. 

Aldworth Manor Wedding VenueWedding Invites Aldworth ManorAldworth Manor Wedding White and Green Floral Bouquet
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Aldworth Manor Wedding Venue Tent with Farmhouse Tables and Greenery
Aldworth Manor Catering Peppers Artful Events Dessert Mini Pies
Wedding Catering Peppers Artful Events Mini DessertsPeppers Artful Events Wedding Catering Mini Dessert Display Aldworth Manor Wedding VenueAldworth Manor Wedding Couple In Lawn

THE TEAM

Catering & Desserts: Peppers Artful Events
Venue: Aldworth Manor
Photographer: Undressed Moments
Florist: Paisley Floral design
Videographer: Jess Cremins
Tent: Sperry Tents Seacoast

Featured Event Venue: Boston Innovation and Design Center

Posted by Peppers Team on Tue, Mar 03, 2020

FEATURED EVENT VENUE: BOSTON INNOVATION AND DESIGN CENTER

Boston Innovation & Design Center Event Space Seaport District Reception

The Boston Innovation and Design Center is a modern and industrial event venue located on Boston’s waterfront in the Seaport district. This former naval base can accommodate anywhere from 25-600 guests. It’s convenient location with various indoor and outdoor spaces makes it versatile for galas, meetings, social and corporate events. 

Drydock Hall is a hip and industrial 8,700 square feet space that can accommodate up to 600 guests for a cocktail reception or 250 for a dinner or gala. With access to an outdoor Promenade, you can incorporate the outside in your event. 


Drydock Hall Promenade Boston Innovation & Design Center

Galley West is an open and inviting event space sized at 5,500 square feet. It can accommodate up to 350 guests and is perfect for cocktail receptions or dinner events. Plus the surrounding design showrooms make for fun window shopping during your event.

The Loft provides 14,400 square feet of raw and inspiring event space that can hold up to 570 standing capacity or 350 for a reception style event. It provides the perfect backdrop for creating your own experience from scratch and with rows of windows you will get lots of natural light and beautiful city views. 

The Loft Space at Boston Innovation & Design Center

The Seminar Room offers a warm and inviting setting for smaller sized events up to 100 guests, making it perfect for meetings or seminars. 

Seminar Space at Boston Innovation & Design Center

Clients can take advantage of one or multiple spaces when planning their event. Whether you are looking at holding an all-day conference with multiple breakout rooms or an extravagant gala for 300 guests, the BIDC offers an array of unique options for your event. 

Contact us to learn more about hosting your event at The Boston Innovation and Design Center.

Six Venues Perfect For Company Summer Party

Posted by Peppers Team on Thu, Feb 27, 2020

Six Venues Perfect For Hosting An Outdoor Summer Company Event

The summer is a great time to celebrate outdoors with delicious food, lawn games, and good company. Finding the perfect location for an outdoor corporate BBQ, picnic, employee or client appreciation event is one of the first steps in the planning process. We've got you covered with six must see venues perfect for hosting outdoor events of all sizes. 

Connors Center Corporate Event Venue TentSamantha Melanson Photography
The Connors Center (Dover, MA)
The Connors Center is situated on a serene and private 80-acre estate, with both indoor and outdoor options for your summer celebration. The lower lawn is the perfect location for a large event tent accommodating up to 400 guests depending on the style of service. Conveniently located Indoor restrooms are just a few steps away.  With a a working on-site kitchen, caterers can execute a wide range of menu offerings and eliminate the need for charging for extra equipment. Another great outdoor location is the covered open air pavilion complete with picnic tables. The pavilion provides the ideal location for a BBQ, lobster bake or cook-out for up to 80 guests. 
 The Carriage House at Gore Place Event Venue
Gore Place (Waltham, MA)
Gore place boasts of natural beauty, New England charm, and privacy of a 50-acre country estate, just nine miles from Boston. Their on-site century tent can accommodate up to 200 guests for a seated reception and more with a cocktail style event. If hosting an outdoor corporate celebration, guests can take advantage of all the additional lawn space for food trucks, lawn games, bars and food stations. The Carriage house provides a more intimate indoor space for events up to 125. In the spring and summer you can incorporate the outdoor space adjacent to the Carriage House as well to offer both indoor and outdoor event activities.  The Gardens at Elm Bank and Carriage House Event Venue
Douglasolyons Aerial Photographic Solutions
The Gardens at Elm Bank (Wellesley, MA)
The Gardens at Elm Bank provides a tranquil and picturesque location for your summer event with its twelve beautiful gardens, open fields and historic buildings. With indoor and outdoor spaces Elm Bank offers a wealth of different options for your event from setting up a large reception tent on the maple grove to hosting an indoor event in the Carriage House and adjoining tent. Clients love the versatility of the space and the option of moving indoors in the event of inclement weather. Elm Bank also offers plenty of parking and can accommodate groups of virtually any size. 
The Pierce House Outdoor Deck and Lawn Event Space
Leah Freeman Photography 
The Pierce House (Lincoln, MA)
Looking for a historic setting that offers charm along with expansive outdoor space for your event? Check out The Pierce House just 30 minutes from Boston.  From May through October their large 30' by 105' tent provides the ideal space for a summer outing, corporate picnic or BBQ for up to 250 people. Surrounded by lawns and fields, clients can take advantage of the extra outdoor space to expand their event. With free on-site parking, a historic mansion as a backdrop, and versatile event space, The Pierce House offers many advantages for planning your summer event. 
Courageous Sailing Center Pier 4 Corporate Event Tent Boston
Courageous Sailing Center (Boston, MA)
Located on pier 4 in the Charlestown Navy Yard, with sprawling views of the harbor, you couldn't ask for a more picturesque backdrop as boats and the bustle of the city surround you. The outdoor space is 10,000 square feet and provides versatility for tent sizes allowing you accommodate groups of virtually any size. Some clients choose to leave the end the pier open to allow guests to soak up the summer sun and have uninterrupted views of the harbor. You can event add a sailing lesson or ride to your event as a unique entertainment component. They only host 10 evening and 10 daytime events per year so plan to book yours far in advance!
The Five Bridge Inn Lawn and Tent Event Venue Corporate
The Five Bridge Inn (Rehoboth, MA)
The Five Bridge Inn with its expansive lawn, tented spaces, outdoor pavilion and barn, you are sure to find the perfect spot for your event here.  Host a BBQ in the tent then incorporate games outdoor on the lawn or enjoy a raw bar and lobster bake around the pool on the pavilion. Set back on a quiet estate you will have the property all to yourself. They even have chickens and alpacas that you can visit - which is always fun for kids!

Interested in learning more about these venues or want to inquire about catering? Contact us today!

Contact Us

 

Sammy and Jack Elm Bank

Posted by Peppers Team on Mon, Feb 10, 2020

Sammy and Jack's Wedding at The Gardens of Elm Bank

Gardens at Elm Bank Wedding

The photo opportunities at the Gardens at Elm Bank are endless. There are so many unique spots to sneak away and capture perfect moments together as newlyweds. Sammy and Jack tied the knot on a beautiful summer day in June and took full advantage of all the gardens had to offer. Gardens at Elm Bank Wedding
Gardens at Elm Bank Wedding
Their wedding ceremony took place in the Italianate Garden with floral topped pillars accenting the fountain backdrop. Following the ceremony, guests made their way to the tent to enjoy cocktails, an antipasto and cheese display, and a delicious array of passed hors d'oeuvres. Cocktail hour featured the couple's signature drink, a Moscow mule, which is a blend of vodka, ginger beer, and lime. Gardens at Elm Bank Wedding CateringGardens at Elm Bank WeddingGardens at Elm Bank Wedding CateringGardens at Elm Bank Wedding Catering

The Carriage House provided the perfect backdrop for the dinner reception. Guests dined at white linen tables adorned with gorgeous green and white flowers.

Garden rustic and elegance blended seamlessly through all the details of Sammy and Jack's day. Kinship Floral and Event Design created a stunning runner of greenery and candlelight down the row of farmhouse tables that the wedding party sat at. Choosing a head table design different from the rest of the guest seating provided a great way to highlight the wedding party and added to the visual design of the space.

Gardens at Elm Bank WeddingGardens at Elm Bank Wedding CateringGardens at Elm Bank Wedding CateringGardens at Elm Bank Wedding Catering
Gardens at Elm Bank Wedding Catering
Gardens at Elm Bank Wedding Catering

From the couple's constant smiles throughout the day to all the beautiful wedding details - including a unique white tile dance floor, there is so much to love about Sammy and Jack's  wedding day. 

THE TEAM
Catering, Bar & Cake: Peppers Artful Events
Venue: The Gardens at Elm Bank
Photographer: First Mate Photography Co.
DJ: Murray Hill Talent
Florist: Kinship Floral and Event Design

Lisa and Joel's Wedding Five Bridge Inn

Posted by Peppers Team on Fri, Jan 17, 2020

Lisa and Joel's Barn Wedding at The Five Bridge Inn

Five Bridge Inn Wedding

We were over the moon excited when our Executive Pastry got engaged. We have had the pleasure of working with Lisa for the past seven years. Her fiance Joel has even been a great asset to our operations team during our busy seasons. These two are such a fun loving couple so we knew their day would be full of laughter, love, delicious desserts and of course an amazing cake design. 

Lisa's vision for her day was rustic with a touch of color and citrus. When she toured the barn at the Five Bridge Inn, she immediately fell in love with the space. It was the perfect backdrop to compliment her vision and she loved how the barn was nestled in it's own intimate space on the property. With most guests traveling from Vermont and Seattle, the Inn was perfect for accommodating many of their out of towners.

Five Bridge Inn Wedding Barn Five Bridge Inn Wedding
Kumquats provided a beautiful pop of orange among the green and rustic color scheme. This detail was incorporated in the floral arrangements, invites, menus, cake, and even the beautiful collar that their dog Buddha wore. Five Bridge Inn WeddingFive Bridge Inn Wedding
The wedding ceremony took place outside in front of the gazebo, surrounded by built in wood benches. After a heartfelt ceremony, guests enjoyed signature cocktails and passed hors d'oeuvres on the patio before heading inside the barn for the dinner reception. Five Bridge Inn WeddingFive Bridge Inn WeddingFive Bridge Inn WeddingFive Bridge Inn Wedding Barn Wedding MAbarn wedding massachusettsFive Bridge Inn Wedding
Five Bridge Inn Wedding catering
Lisa designed a decadent dessert display to surround her one-of-a-kind wedding cake. The cake was a combination of styles tying in a modern marble tier, gold accents, and touches of rustic and greenery. This made for the sweetest ending to their celebration. Five Bridge Inn Wedding
wedding desserts
Five Bridge Inn Wedding

THE TEAM

Catering, Desserts, Floral Designs: Peppers Artful Events
Venue: The Five Bridge Inn
Photographer: Mobile Video Photography
DJ: Jeff Fowler

Event Venue Feature: Kilburn Event Center

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Fri, Jan 03, 2020

EVENT VENUE FEATURE: THE KILBURN EVENT CENTER
Kilburn Event Venue

The Kilburn Event Center is a historic waterfront wedding and special events venue in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The newly renovated venue features spectacular views of Clark’s Cove, a rooftop terrace and versatile event spaces perfect for everything from weddings and galas to social and corporate events.

The main and largest of the spaces is a 20,000 square foot loft that can accommodate up to 1,500 guests. For smaller events the room can be elegantly separated to create the perfect space for your event. With rows of tall windows overlooking the cove, white washed walls, high ceilings, and wooden floors, the beautiful industrial loft creates a stunning backdrop for any occasion. The open floor plan allows for versatility and can accommodate a wide range of room configurations.

Kilburn Event Venue Weddings

Starting in the spring of 2020, a newly renovated rooftop terrace with unobstructed views of the ocean will be available for rent. This provides a memorable setting for a ceremony or cocktail reception.

The team involved in the renovation of the mill has taken impeccable care into creating an amazing event space while preserving the historic details of the mill. More event spaces are continually being added as they work towards restoring the entire 500,000 square ft mill.

Contact us to learn more about hosting your event at The Kilburn Event Center. 

Lauren and Ryan's Wedding at Tower Hill Botanic Garden

Posted by Peppers Team on Wed, Sep 25, 2019

Lauren and Ryan's Wedding at Tower Hill Botanic Garden

Wedding Reception Tower Hill Botanic Garden

Lauren and Ryan celebrated their wedding day at Tower Hill Botanic Garden with a beautiful ceremony in the secret garden followed by a reception in the Orangerie. Their garden style wedding was bright and romantic. The peach, orange, and green floral arrangements popped against the light colored linens on the guest tables and the soft grays of the bridesmaid dresses. The gold touches with the votives and the centerpieces added a classic and elegant feel.

Each place setting welcomed guests with a hand tied ribbon around the dinner napkin, a sprig of rosemary, and a menu. The dinner started off with one of our most popular and colorful salads, The Napoleon Caprese, which is an artful display of heirloom tomatoes, edible flowers, cucumber ribbons, fresh burrata, baby arugula, basil oil and balsamic syrup. Following the first course guests were offered a choice entree of our free range statler chicken breast, petite tenderloin filet, or charred Japanese eggplant. For desserts guests enjoy a delicious dessert bar with seasonal mini sweets.

The Wilson Stevens Band rocked the rest of the wedding night with their get on the dance floor hits. 

Wedding Reception Tower Hill Botanic Garden

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THE TEAM

Catering, Desserts, Floral Designs: Peppers Artful Events
Venue: Tower Hill Botanic Garden
Photographer: Aubrey Greene Photography
Band: Wilson Stevens Band

Rachel and Olivia at Crompton Collective

Posted by Peppers Team on Tue, Sep 10, 2019

Rachel and Olivia's Wedding at The White Room

Rachel and Olivia celebrated their wedding at the White Room at Crompton Collective in Worcester with a fun bash filled with love, laughter, and pops of rainbows. There were many talented vendors involved in bringing their dream wedding to life, all local and/or women run businesses - which was important to Rachel and Olivia. From their beautiful first look in the Seed to Stem shop, and their memorable donut wall to all the guests incorporating a rainbow in their attire in unique ways, there were so many things to love about their wedding. Here is a sneak peek! Wedding White Room Crompton Collectivesame sex wedding worcesterWedding White Room Crompton CollectiveWedding White Room Crompton CollectiveWedding White Room Crompton CollectiveWedding White Room Crompton CollectiveWedding White Room Crompton CollectiveWedding White Room Crompton CollectiveWedding White Room Crompton Collectivesame sex Wedding White Room Crompton CollectiveRachel Olivia Wedding Crompton CollectiveWedding White Room Crompton CollectiveWedding White Room Crompton Collective

THE TEAM

Catering and Bar: Peppers Artful Events
Photographer: Cyndi Lu Photography
Venue: The White Room at Crompton Collective
Donuts: Allie’s Donuts
Flowers: AP Studio Boston
Hair: Stacie Morin
Makeup: Kimberly Fosher
DJ: Sound Choice Events
Pizza: Antonio’s
First Look: Seed to Stem Shop


 

Lieu and Nathan's Wedding at the Pierce House

Posted by Peppers Team on Wed, Aug 21, 2019

 


Lieu and Nathan's Wedding at The Pierce House

Pierce House Weddings

Lieu and Nathan had a perfect spring day for their wedding at the Pierce House in Lincoln, MA. The celebration started with a heartfelt ceremony on the sprawling lawn. A white floral backdrop accented the ceremony and created a beautiful focal point behind the couple. Following the ceremony guests enjoyed cocktails and passed hors'douevres on the deck and lawn of the house before entering the tent for dinner and dancing. The dinner reception kicked off with an amazing first dance by Leui and Nathan. The rest of the evening with filled with dining, dancing, laughs, and even some late night passed churros!

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Catering: Peppers Artful Events
Photographer: Leah Freeman Photography
Venue: The Pierce House

 

Event Venue Feature: Oakholm Farm

Posted by Peppers Team on Wed, Jul 31, 2019

EVENT VENUE FEATURE: OAKHOLM FARM ESTATE (BROOKFIELD, MA)

Oakholm farm wedding venue

The Oakholm Farm Estate is a working family farm with a rich Swedish heritage. The farm invites guests to pick their own blueberries, strawberries and Christmas trees, depending on the season, as well as offers lodging and outdoor event opportunities. Currently operated by Babe and Christina Predella, this secluded venue has become a haven of relaxation and togetherness, making it ideal for weddings or corporate outtings.

Oakholm farm wedding venue catering

Oakholm Farm Estate offers so many benefits for wedding couples all in one location. The farm is surrounded by an oak forest and situated atop a hill overlooking Lake Quaboag, providing breathtaking views and scenery. Their on-site lodging, called “The Big House” offers overnight accommodations for the wedding party or guests with six bedrooms, sleeping up to 13 guests, in addition to a kitchen, game room, dining room, side terrace and five sitting areas. Ceremonies take place under their beautiful arbor surrounded with sweeping views of Lake Quaboag. The large reception tent with hanging lights and chandeliers can accommodate up to 200 guests with a dance floor. They even have a fire pit to enjoy a closing night cap after the festivities! With a personable and professional on-site team combined with a beautiful setting, you are sure to have an amazing wedding experience at Oakholm Farm. 

Oakholm farm wedding venueRae (1)

Contact us to learn more about hosting your event at Oakholm Farm Estate.
Ceremony and Tent Photos Courtesy of Audrey Cutler Photography.

Top Venues for Hosting Your Holiday Party

Posted by Peppers Team on Fri, Jul 26, 2019

Find the Perfect Venue to Host Your Holiday Party

Whether planning a small intimate party for under 50 or an extravagant holiday soiree for 300, the following list of venues, museums, and historical spaces will provide the perfect backdrop for your corporate holiday party. Our list features venues from Boston, Worcester, Rhode Island, and beyond. Find the perfect location to host your next event no matter the size or location. 


70 Guests and Under

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    • Tower Hill Botanic Garden (Boylston, MA)
      Tower Hill Botanic Garden offers an intimate setting for groups of 50 or less.  Every winter Tower Hill decks out their expansive gardens with colorful lights and stunning holiday decorations. This draws thousands of visitors every winter. Combine your holiday party with their annual holiday light show for a truly festive celebration.
  • The Pierce House (Lincoln, MA)
    The  Pierce House provides a beautiful historic setting for your holiday party. The house is full of charm and elegance with uniquely decorated rooms, polished hardwood floors, working fireplaces and more. They can accommodate groups of 70 or less on the main floor of the house. Just 30 minutes from Boston The Pierce House is an ideal spot for those looking to stay close to the city but want to avoid the holiday traffic within the city. 
  • The Worcester Historical Museum (Worcester, MA)
    Worcester Historical Museum provides a setting that blends the history of the community with your event. The Marion S. and Paris Fletcher Auditorium are filled with historical elegance, showcasing a collection of 19th century portraiture and a wall of stained glass that details the settlement of Worcester. The open space of the auditorium provides a flexible space for various styles of holiday parties.  

75-100 Guestsgrand view farm
Photo by Joe Brown Digital Photography

  • Grand View Farm (Burlington, MA)
    Grand View Farm and Marion Tavern is a delightful place to host your family or corporate holiday parties. This warm, versatile venue provides a range of options at an affordable price. Each room has its own character, with all the comfort of home, but the convenience of Burlington’s charming downtown location. The Hall, which seats 100, is a modernized replica of the 19th Century barn. Marion Tavern has multiple rooms on the first floor to accommodate groups of 70 or less. 
  • Asa Waters Mansion (Millbury MA)
     Asa Waters Mansion provides an elegant, intimate and festive setting for your special event. This stately nineteenth-century home makes for an inviting atmosphere for holiday parties. They can accommodate up to 85 guests for a sit down event or 100 with a cocktail style party.
  • Gore Place (Waltham, MA)
     Gore place provides natural beauty, New England charm, and privacy of a 50-acre country estate. The carriage house and adjoining harness room have been renovated and boast of modern elegance. With ample parking and a beautiful setting, Gore place provides an excellent space for hosting your holiday party up for up to 100 guests. 

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Jackie Ricciardi Photography

  • The Worcester Art Museum (Worcester, MA)
    The Worcester Art Museum offers architecturally beautiful grand spaces, over 35,000 works of art, and 50 centuries of creative spirit for your holiday party. Usage of the Renaissance Court can grant your invitees access to a wealth of history and art among the first floor galleries or add in a docent lead tour of the museums galleries. With various spaces from the museum cafe to the Renaissance Court and balconies, WAM can accommodate a range of groups from 50 - 200 and provides a space full of charm for your holiday celebration. 
  • Commanders Mansion (Watertown, MA)
    Commanders Mansion stands upon seven acres of beautiful land in Watertown, MA. The mansion is an impressive example of Italianate-Victorian architecture and exhibits intricate details both inside and out. They can accommodate 100-130 for a seated dinner or up to 150 for a cocktail style reception on the first floor of the mansion. 
  • Discovery Museum (Acton, MA)
    Science, nature and play are combined at the Discovery Museum, a hands-on museum dedicated to fostering lifelong learning in children and adults. The museum features a whimsical yet natural theme suited to a joyful holiday gathering. There are also various spaces to allow for a wide range of party sizes, from 30 - 300. For a more intimate setting, the Party Room accommodates up to 30 guests. For larger groups and large holiday events, guests can choose to rent specific rooms or floors of the museum, or even choose to utilize the entire building.
  • Hopkinton Center for the Arts (Hopkinton, MA)
    The HCA has been completely renovated and offers various spaces for either an imitate  celebration or a large holiday party. The performance center features an open floor plan, stunning wood beams, climate-control, and hard wood floors. This is the largest space in the arts center accommodating up to 150 guests for a seated reception or up to 250 with mixed seating. Adjacent is the lobby with a built in bar, walls of art, rustic accents and a granite welcome desk. They also have a rustic style loft that is perfect for smaller gatherings of 60 guests or less. 
  • The Endicott Estate (Dedham, MA)
    The Endicott Estate, built in 1904, features a 3 story, 25 room Colonial Revival mansion situated on 18 acres of land. The indoor spaces found within the mansion are ideal for gatherings during the winter months, complete with period furnishings and cozy fireplaces perfect for a vintage style holiday party. The rooms of the mansion are equipped to serve a plated dinner for up to 150 guests, or 200 guests in a cocktail reception arrangement. 
  • The Society of Arts and Crafts (Boston)
    The Society of Arts and Crafts provides a space unlike no other in the Boston Area. Host your event surrounded by a rotating array of one-of-a-kind crafts and large windows overlooking the seaport district. Guests can even pop into the gift shop to pick up a unique holiday gift. The space can accommodate up to 150 guests for a cocktail style reception with food stations. 

150-200 Guests
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The Ewings Photography Studio

  • The Connors Center (Dover, MA)
    The Connors Center provides a large estate complete with stunning stone architecture that, when the first snow of winter falls, appears to have been taken straight out of a classic story book. The historic interior of the estate offers a selection of rooms and spaces, some of which include wood paneling, luxurious furniture and fireplaces to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere. The largest space is the Estate Room, allowing for 150 - 200 guests, followed by the Main Parlor, Dining Room, Charles River Meeting Room and Garden Terrace Room. The smallest space is the Dover Parlor, with a capacity of 18 - 45 guests.
  • Charles River Museum of Industry (Waltham, MA)
    The Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation is a historic gem of the Greater Boston area. Once a 19th century textile mill, the venue features stunning views of the Charles River and an old world industrial flair reminiscent of holiday seasons passed. The open, brick-walled event area can accommodate from 150-250 guests, depending on the style of seating, from sit-down to mixed and cocktail seating. 
  • deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum (Lincoln, MA)
    The deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum is dedicated to showcasing contemporary art from New England and beyond, including its Sculpture Park of more than 60 works and over 3,500 artworks in its permanent collection. For a modern and sleek holiday event, deDordova offers the Dewey Family Gallery, which houses works from their permanent collection as well as select exhibitions, allowing for a maximum of 130 guests for a seated event and 200 guests for a cocktail style event. 
  • Harry Parker Boathouse (Brighton, MA)
    The Harry Parker Boathouse, home of the Boston College rowing team, combines interior spaces featuring unique architectural design with outdoor views and natural charm. Holiday events have the opportunity to utilize the Community Room on the second floor as well as experience the beauty of New England winters by gazing over the two balconies overlooking the Charles River. Traditional seating in the Community Room can accommodate 180 - 200 guests, or up to 220 for a cocktail reception arrangement.
  • The Hanover Theatre (Worcester, MA)
    Bring an old world theatrical elegance to your holiday events at The Hanover Theatre. The most intimate space accommodating up to 150 guests, the Historic Lobby, lends itself to a classic holiday theme with traditional and historic elements such as chandeliers, antique mirrors and a grand staircase. The Event Center and the Grand Promenade can additionally seat up to 250 guests. The Theatre Stage can seat up to 300 guests and will be sure to infuse sparkle and glamour to any holiday party.
  • The White Room (Worcester, MA)
    Created as an event space by Crompton Collective, a curated boutique marketplace, The White Room provides a clean blank slate to allow for creative freedom. Yet, the space lends itself to a vintage yet eclectic holiday theme, apparent from the industrial exposed ceiling and the use of mismatched wooden seating.
  • Village Hall at the Common (Framingham, MA)
    The newly renovated Village Hall at the Common provides a beautiful setting for a holiday party for up to 180 guests for a seated event or 200 for a cocktail style party. For smaller groups the first floor with built in bar would be an ideal space. Guests can utilize both floors - start with a cocktail reception on the first floor then move up to the second for dinner. Framingham residents can take advantage of discount rental rates. 

200 + Guests

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  • Mechanics Hall (Worcester, MA)
    Mechanics Hall is one of the largest and most awe-inspiring venues in Central Mass in terms of space and decadent decoration. In total, the venue can accommodate anywhere from 10 to 1,000 guests depending on the style of party, and includes a choice of 5 function rooms. The Great Hall is the most recognizable space, with its coffered ceiling and grand center stage. Next is Washburn Hall with its arched windows, bar and smaller scale stage. In addition, more intimate holiday gatherings can be arranged in the Boyden Salon or the Dickens Room. 
  • Killburn Mill Event Center (New Bedford, MA)
    Located on the third floor of the 113 year old Killburn cotton mill, the Event Center boasts large windows enriching the large hall with plenty of natural light and panoramic views of Clark's Cove below. Be ready to surround yourself with views of the New England winter season, all while being able to accommodate a wide range of guests, from 50 - 500. 
  • The Ballroom at the Providence G (Providence, RI)
    The Ballroom at the Providence G presents a space worthy of grand and elegant holiday parties, with its crisp white walls, tall windows, and crystal chandeliers. Creativity is encouraged in this space, as the layout, theme and color scheme can be molded to match each host's unique vision for their holiday gathering. With traditional seating and a dance floor, 250 guests can be accommodated, with a maximum of 350 guests for a cocktail style event.


Holiday Planning Guide

Posted by Peppers Team on Fri, Jul 26, 2019

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It's that time of year again to start planning your office holiday party. Holiday parties are a great way to show appreciation for employee’s hard work and celebrate the years successes. Plus, they offer a perfect break from the busy holiday season for a time to unwind with co-workers. Our  guide is a great place to start when it comes to planning your holiday party whether you are celebrating at the office or at an off-site venue.  We'll help you stay organized, have fun, and plan a memorable holiday bash!

1. Choose a date and time. December dates book up quickly for caterers so make sure you decide on a date early. An evening event after work is great for a more party atmosphere where a holiday luncheon is more casual and good way to break up the day. Popular December dates for 2019 will likely be the 7th, 11th, 14th, and 18th. Since these dates will be in high demand, you will want to get on your caterers calendar early if you are planning for any of these dates. If you're on a tight budget or planning a bit last minute, consider having your party in early January. January can be ideal for those companies that are very busy in December and it often allows for greater attendance because you're not competing with other holiday obligations. 

  1. Guest list. Will the party be for only employees of the company or will invites be extended to family as well? The estimated guest list will help you determine how much space you will need for your event.
  2. Style of party. Determining the style of event you want to have is important whether it be a formal plated reception, casual buffet dinner, or a fun cocktail style event. Many venues can accommodate a range of guest counts, but they are often dependent on the style of event. A cocktail style reception needs less space than a dinner event. If you are considering hosting at your office, you will want to determine what style of event does the space best lend itself to. A celebration with passed hors d'oeuvres  and food stations is a great option for those looking for a more casual party vibe while a sit-down dinner with a buffet or plated meal is ideal for those looking for a more formal feel.
  3. Location. the location is important and can play into the overall vibe of the event. Having an estimated guest count and style of event will also help you narrow down the best location. If you are looking for somewhere in the city for an after-work party consider the distance and how easily guests can get there. If hosting at your office, you will want to consider the style of party and how easily it can be accommodated within the office space. Hosting at your office can typically help when you have a tight budget but if you will need to bring in many rentals and staging than it may be more cost effective to choose an off-site location. Museums, historical buildings, nightclubs and special event venues are all great options for providing a unique backdrop to your event. Check out our list of top venues in New England for hosting your holiday party at. Our Event Designers are a great resource for helping you find the perfect location for your event and can get creative with floorplans if hosting at your office.
  4. Choose a Theme. Deciding on a theme will help you narrow down the style, feel, and food options. Your caterer can work with you to take any theme and style of event and determine the perfect food to go along with it. Interested in a lodge style holiday party? A hot chocolate bar, passed hot toddies, savory waffle station, and warm hearty chili compliment this kind of celebration. Check out our blog on holiday themes for inspiration for your holiday party. 
  5. Food and drink. By this point you likely know if you are interested in a plated meal, buffet dinner, food stations, or cocktail style menu. Our team will work with you to devise the perfect menu. Knowing what your crowd likes or any allergies that need to be considered will be helpful to determine the best menu. The bar is an important part of any event. Do you want to do a full open bar, beer and wine bar, or some fun signature cocktails? By offering a limited bar with a few themed drinks can help keep budgets in line. If you are concerned about drinking at your event, a beer and wine bar would be the best option, along with only hiring TIPs certified Bartenders who are adapt at monitoring drinking during your event.
  6. Send Invites. The next step is to send your invites – evites and email newsletters can reach your employees the fastest. If you want a more formal invite opt to send a physical invite by mail. Plan to let employees know at least four weeks in advance of the date. 
  1. Plan entertainment and decor. Incorporating fun entertainment can help elevate your event. Dj’s or live music are always great for a party atmosphere. Hiring live carolers can add a truly festive feel. Other unique entertainment options to consider are – an ugly sweater contest, chocolate truffle roulette, casino games, employee cookie swap, photo booth, caricature artist, or a wine or beer tasting. 
    Most importantly, try to have fun and enjoy the process of planning your holiday party. Contact us today to learn how our team can help bring your holiday party vision to life! 

 


 

2019 Holiday Food and Drink Trends

Posted by Peppers Team on Fri, Jul 26, 2019

2019 Holiday Trends

The catering industry is constantly changing and new trends are always emerging. Here are our top holiday food and drink trends for 2019.  

Food Trends

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  • Interactive Stations  This one continues to be popular for all kinds of events. Chef manned food stations with chef's assembling small plate offerings allows guests to mix and mingle in a cocktail party setting and enjoy a variety of different dishes. 
  • Roaming Food Stations Food is assembled behind the scenes then wheeled throughout the party. This can be done on a cart, a food wall, or other unique display piece on wheels. Guests then grab what they would like as the food wheels by.  This is both fun and interactive. 
  • Cereal is making a comeback  Cereal milk paired with house-made cookies, cereal mini milkshakes, and cereal infused desserts like ice-cream sandwiches rolled in fruity pebbles are just a few ways to incorporate this trend at your next event.   
  • Grazing stations  Grazing stations provide a bountiful display of food for guests to enjoy at their leisure while mixing and mingling. Antipasto and Charcuterie, Spanish pinxtos, and dessert charcuterie are some of the most popular. 
  • Smoked Foods  Smoking isn't just for the bbq these days. You can smoke everything from meats and seafood to cocktails and desserts. Smoking can add a fun visual aspect and infuses a smokey taste into the food/drink. Imagine servers passing trays of drinks that have a trail of smoke in their path and right before serving the glass cloches is pulled off and unveils their cocktail in a cloud of smoke. Now that's a memorable experience! 
  • Chocolate truffle roulette  Guests take one truffle at a time guessing which flavor they are enjoying, but in the mix are a few not so favorable flavors! 
  • Plant-based offerings  Plant based menus and stations are on an all time high. Chefs are getting creative to expand their offerings. Beet tartare, plant-based poke stations utilizing colored beets, jack fruit chili, tofu tacos and impossible meat sliders are just a few of the trending plant based offerings being infused into menus. 
  • Elevated takes on comfort classic Upscale versions of grilled cheese, mac and cheese, and flatbread pizzas. 
  • Raclette stations  Lightly warmed and melty raclette cheese is scraped in front of guests and used to top crostinis, artisan breads, meats, or over potatoes (the traditional way!).  
  • Mini desserts  The mini trend has been around for a while and isn't loosing steam. Think mini holiday themed dessert stations, individual pies, single serve cookie skillets, mini bread puddings and seasonal crisps for the holidays.
  • Dessert-ified Cocktails Bite size cocktail desserts that taste like your favorite holiday cocktail with a mini pipette of a cordial. 
  • Holiday ice-cream sandwiches  Ice-cream isn't just for the summer time! Take a holiday twist on your ice-cream sandwich station with holiday cookies paired with seasonal ice cream flavors like peppermint, rum raisin, maple or gingerbread. You can even incorporate the mini trend here with mini ice-cream cones.
  • Holiday cakesicals  This is a blend of a cake and popsical. Who doesn't love new ways to enjoy cake! Plus you can add fun holiday edible accents like Christmas trees, snowflakes, and lights to bring a truly festive feel. 
  • Cotton Candy This carnival treat is making an appearance at catering events. Whether served from a mobile cart, used to top a cocktail, or infused with alcohol, this is a fun trend to include in your next event. 

Drinks

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  • Themed cocktails with less alcohol Substituting vodka with specialty flavored liqueurs creates a delicious cocktail without the high alcohol content. 
  • Healthy cocktails Creating cocktails with fresh fruit juices, infused beet juice, or kombucha, can create a guilt free holiday cocktail. 
  • Unique Presentations Sometimes it isn't about what is served that is memorable but instead the presentation and experience. Draft beer walls, mobile cocktail vans, slushie carts, color changing drinks, all add an interactive and fun presentation to your bar service. 
  • Memorable Garnishes Dehydrated fruits, cotton candy, ice with frozen berries, are just a few unique garnishes to adorn your cocktails.

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Sam's Show-Stopping Bar Mitzvah at Hanover Theater

Posted by Peppers Team on Fri, Jun 21, 2019

Sam's Bar Mitzvah at Hanover Theatre was a Show-Stopper

Bar Mitzvah Hanover Theater

From the very early planning stages, Sam knew he wanted his celebration to be centered around theater. Having spent his summers at theater school and being cast in lead roles like the Big, Friendly, Giant in BFG and Willy Wonka is Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, he always had a passion and knack for the show life.    

Hanover Theatre set the stage and provided the perfect backdrop for the party. With added details like place cards that were modeled after box office tickets and popular Broadway shows acting as table numbers, the theme was intertwined throughout the entire event. 

When it came to the menu - mac and cheese was a non-negotiable for Sam.  He would have been ok if it was the only thing on the menu! We did find some other foods that Sam was open to. The kid’s menu included popular favorites such as chicken fingers, french fries with cajun spice, pigs in a blanket, and an ice-cream sundae bar. The adults enjoyed their own buffet featuring grilled hanger steak, Miso grilled Atlantic salmon, charred Japanese eggplant, and seasonal vegetables.

The entire event was filled with dancing, laughing, and fun. Here is a sneak peek! 

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The Team

Photographer: LoveDays Photography
Venue: The Hanover Theater
Catering & Cake: Peppers Artful Events
Centerpieces: Fab Functions by Pat
Photobooth: Clear Choice Photo Booths

Currier Art Museum 100th Anniversary Gala

Posted by Peppers Team on Thu, Jun 06, 2019

The Currier Art Museum 100th Anniversary Gala

The Currier Art Museum celebrated their 100th anniversary with a roaring twenties themed gala at the Manchester Masonic Lodge. The lodge was transformed with vintage lounge furniture, lighting, backdrops, and black and white linens. Malloy Events headed up the design and transformation of the space. Here is a sneak peek!


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The Menu
Say Cheese, Please Stationary
Baked Brie with Bosc Pears and Armagnac
Ale & Cheddar Fondue With Pretzel Nibs, Crudite, and Flatbread Crackers
New England Cheeses and Crackers, Jams, and Fruit

Passed to Guests as They Arrive
Sirloin Beef  Pop with Horseradish Creme
Deviled Eggs 
Cucumber, Watercress, and Smoked Salmon Canapes
Skewered Shrimp Wrapped in Snow Peas
Plump Stuffed Apricots with Spiced Pecans and Gorgonzola

Dinner Reception
First Course
Field Greens with Cherry Tomato and Buffalo Mozzarella
Served with Focaccia

Second Course
Bistro Filet and Sea Scallops
with Hasselback Potato, Carrot Puree, Bruleed Onion, Haricot Vert,
Baby Turnips, and Lemon Beurre Blanc

Vegetarian Option
Charred Eggplant
Spicy Lentils, Pickled Cucumbers, Oven Roasted Tomatoes, Red Pepper Raita.

Dessert
Collection of Handcrafted Mini Desserts


The Team
Florals & Event Design: Malloy Events
Photographer: Kendal J. Bush Photography
Catering:
Peppers Artful Events
Venue: 
Manchester Masonic Lodge

Megan and Mike's Wedding at Tower Hill Botanic Garden

Posted by Peppers Team on Thu, May 16, 2019

 


Megan and Mike's Wedding at Tower Hill Botanic Garden

 
Tower Hill Botanic Garden was the perfect backdrop for Megan and Mike's summer garden wedding. Their color palette of timeless blush and ivory paired with periwinkle created beautiful pops of color. Both the bride and groom were teachers so they wanted to incorporate that into the details of their wedding. This was done by integrating books into the design of the floral arrangements on the guest tables, and into the decor on the ceremony drink table and dessert station. Their rose colored table numbers all showcased love quotes from various stories and poems.   Here is a sneak peek of their wedding day. 


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THE TEAM

Catering, Cakes, and Floral Design: Peppers Artful Events
Photographer: Henry + Mac
Venue: Tower Hill Botanic Garden

 

Event Venue Feature: Allrose Farm

Posted by Peppers Team on Wed, May 01, 2019

VENUE FEATURE: ALLROSE FARM 

 Top Barn Wedding Venue NH, Farm
Photo: Halie Olzswoy

Allrose Farm (Greenfield, NH) is a private boutique wedding venue located on a quiet and serene road in the lovely Monadnock Region of New Hampshire. Owners, Nicole and Nathan have taken impeccable care of the farm and on-site barn. The historic barn offers a perfect backdrop for wedding receptions with a beautiful two-story stone fireplace, elegant chandeliers, and a loft overlooking the lower level. Ceremonies can take place near the pond, or under the garden arch or sugar maple tree. The farm can accommodate small intimate weddings or large weddings up to 125.

 Allrose farms offers many amenities included with your rental.

  • Easily accessible on-site parking lot for all your guests
  • Napa cross back reception chairs
  • Handmade farm tables
  • Wooden bar
  • High top tables for cocktail hour
  • Working stone fireplace
  • Private bridal dressing suite
  • Grooms cottage
  • Lawn games (corn hole boards)
  • Ceremony benches
  • On-site restrooms
  • Unlimited photo opportunities
Allrose Farm Wedding Venue
Allrose Farm Wedding Venue

Allrose Farm Tree Ceremony
Photo Credits: (Middle Photo) Ashley Helen, (Botton Photo) Danielle Towle
Contact us to learn more about hosting your wedding at Allrose Farm or visit their website.  

Demi and Phil's Vow Renewal

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Wed, Apr 17, 2019

Demi and Phil's Vow Renewal at The Gardens at Uncanoonuc Mountain

Weddings The Gardens at Uncanoonuc Mountain

 Demi and Phil's vow renewal at The Gardens at Uncanoonuc Mountain, reminds us why we love fall weddings in New England. As the yellow, maroon and orange colors start peeping through on the trees, it creates a stunning backdrop for photos. The Gardens at Uncanoonuc Mountain set the stage for this wedding, with so much natural beauty between the gardens, pathways, and lush woods surrounding the property. 

The fall inspired wedding theme was carried throughout all the details from the bridal bouquet and flowers in copper colored vases to the farm tables, wood signs and pumpkin accents.  Every detail came together to create a truly gorgeous celebration.

 

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 The Menu
Welcome Hors d'Oeuvres Table |
Local Farmhouse Cheese served with Crudite Shots
First Course | Duo of Clam Chowder and Roasted Butternut Squash Soup Cups
Entree Course | 
Chicken Scaloppini Marsala or Braised Boneless Short Ribs of Beef  English Style Served with Roasted Root Vegetables and Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Dessert |
Artisan Mini Dessert Bar
Late Night Passed |
Flatbread Pizza Bites

 The Team
Venue: The Gardens at Uncanoonuc
Photographer: Henry + Mac
Flowers: Apotheca 
Catering, Cake, Bartending: Peppers Artful Events

Wedding Featured in Bliss Celebrations Guide

 

 

CATIE Award Winner For Best Celebration Cake

Posted by Peppers Team on Fri, Mar 15, 2019

2019 Best Celebration Cake Winner

Harry Plopper Cake2

This February we were announced as the 2019 award winner for "Best Celebration Cake" in the National Catered Arts Through Innovative Excellence Awards. The award ceremony took place in New Orleans at the 2019 Catersource conference. The CATIE awards are often regarded as "the academy awards" for the catering industry. We were so honored to take home this award and had an amazing and inspiring time being surrounded by the best of the best in the catering industry.

A little background on the cake design: The Harry Plopper cake was designed for a special client celebrating their 33rd birthday. Our client Meagan, celebrates 33 as a big milestone year. It was a tradition her and her friends started and called it the “Larry Bird” year, which is a phrase they came up with because their favorite Celtics basketball player, Larry Bird, was number 33. 

When we first met with Meagan, she had no idea what she wanted for her 33rd birthday cake but she knew she wanted it to be fun, different, and memorable. We started asking her questions about her likes, dislikes, hobbies, favorite bands, shows, and movies to give us inspiration. She mentioned she loves Harry Plopper, a character from The Simpsons movie. That gave us the perfect inspiration for the base of the cake. Meagan also noted she loves the TV show Futurama and the band phish. Over the course of the next few days, our Pastry Chef started working on a 3-D design of the pig. She also wanted to tie in other elements that reflected things Meagan enjoys. That is where the idea of creating a Phish inspired dog collar with a bender dog tag came from. When Meagan came to pick up her cake she was beyond thrilled with the outcome. We were so happy she loved the cake and we had such a fun time designing and creating it for her.  

 

Menu Ideas and Tips for Planning a Wedding Brunch Reception

Posted by Peppers Team on Wed, Mar 06, 2019

Wedding Brunch Reception Menu Ideas and Tips

For our brunch lovers out there—you will be excited to hear that brunches are hitting the wedding scene! There are so many ways to create a fun and memorable wedding brunch reception—whether going for a more formal or casual vibe.

Food stations and cocktail receptions work well for this style of wedding. Guests can try a wide variety of brunch-inspired dishes in a setting that encourages mingling and socializing.

The Beverages

wedding brunch receptionsWelcome Drinks create a wonderful first impression at the reception. Greet your guests with a colorful mimosa, sweet tea, smoothie shot, or mini coffee with a donut hole garnish. For an extra wow factor consider a drink wall to display mimosas or mocktails in a fun grab-and-go presentation.
Beverage Stations are a great way to let guests enjoy beverages as they wish throughout the reception and can include a DIY customization component. For a brunch wedding, we especially love an espresso coffee cart or a specialty drink bar—mimosas, bloody mary's, or smoothies!

 photo:  gwendolyn pellegrino photography 

 

The Menu

Food Stations work wonderfully for brunch-style menus. The options are endless and there are many ways to take classic dishes and elevate their presentation.
 wedding brunch menu ideas

Waffle Bars with freshly made waffles served with a variety of delicious toppings such as whipped cream, strawberry sauce, chocolate sauce, bananas, chocolate chips, and nuts. 

Crepe Stations with a chef making warm crepes on request for your guests with sweet fillings such as nutella, chocolate sauce, bananas, and mascarpone cheese—or savory fillings like spinach, ham, or chicken.  

Smoothie Bowls are becoming a very popular food trend. These are great if you’re looking for a menu on the healthier side. Offer a variety of smoothie bases with toppings such as coconut flakes, chia seeds, berries and fruit, nuts, seeds, and granola.

Bacon Planks may be on the opposite side of the health spectrum but are always a crowd favorite. Elevate this presentation by serving the bacon hanging where guests can select their own pieces.

Yogurt and Berry Parfaits served in martini glasses for a more upscale feeling.

Donut Bars with your favorite donuts displayed on a custom donut wall or off our market cart for a unique presentation.

Pass mini versions of your favorite brunch dishes to allow your guests to try a wide variety of options in bite size. Here are a few of our favorites..

wedding brunch reception menuBacon, Egg and Cheese Croissants

French Toast Sticks Served in Maple Syrup Dipper Cups

Mini Pancake Bites

Chicken and Waffle Sliders

Frittatas Baked in Individual Casserole Dishes

Fruit Waffle Cones

Mini Mason Jars Filled with Salad

Cereal Milk with a Donut Hole

Breakfast Pizzas

Savory Macaroons with Salmon and Cream Cheese

The Cake

For your wedding cake opt for a small ceremonial cutting cake or a stacked waffle cake and then offer a dessert bar for your guests enjoyment. Donut bars, patisserie bars, mini trifles, make your own strawberry shortbread, macaroons and tea, and fruit tart stations are excellent options for a sweet ending to your brunch reception. 

 

Decor and Entertainment

Lawn Games are a great entertainment option for an early afternoon or morning wedding. There are a variety of game options these days such as life size jenga, cornhole, ladder toss, and giant connect four. Have your cornhole board double as a guest book with a custom monogram and have your guests sign it!

When it comes to designing the color and look for your wedding reception consider incorporating pops of brightly colored florals - like coral, yellow, orange or pink. Another way to incorporate color is through your linen choices. Patterns are especially fun to add into the mix and can really enhance the look of the room.  

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Photos left to right - Meghann Gregory Photography, Lindsay Hackney Photography, Alvah Reida Photography

 Now who's ready to start their wedding reception off with a mimosa toast!? 

 

Event Venue Feature: The Barn at Pickering House & The Pickering House Inn

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Wed, Jan 02, 2019

EVENT VENUE FEATURE: THE BARN AT PICKERING HOUSE

The barn at pickering house

The Barn at Pickering House is a restored 19th century barn located in the heart of downtown Wolfeboro, NH, a charming town nestled on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee. The classic New England barn offers rustic charm in a fantastic location just a quick stroll from the town docks, waterfront park and the downtown Wolfeboro shops and restaurants.

 

weddings the barn at pickering houserustic wedding barn
Photo: Mark Spooner Photography

The barn provides a perfect setting for wedding receptions, rehearsal dinners, farewell brunches, elopement parties and other celebrations. When you hold your rehearsal dinner and/or wedding reception at The Barn, the entire property -- including the attached luxury Pickering House Inn -- is exclusively yours for two nights (two night minimum required). The barn can accommodate up to 150 guests for a sit-down event and offers a wide array of amenities.

    40' x 60' open space with haylofts

    Sweeping central staircase

    Heating and air conditioning

    Built-in bar

    Rectangular and round farm tables

    Cross-back, cafe style chairs

    Assorted antique furnishings

    Decorative string lighting

    Adjacent prep kitchen

    ADA compliant private restrooms
 
barn weddings The pickering house inn
Couple Photo Above: Mark Spooner Photography

The attached Pickering House Inn was once the homestead of one of Wolfeboro, NH’s most prominent citizens. Today it is reinvented as a new historic boutique hotel with 10 spacious guest rooms, a kitchen gathering space, two living rooms, a dining/meeting room, sitting porches, a garden area and convenient parking. Your guests staying at the inn will have exclusive use of the inn and enjoy the full Pickering House Inn experience including a gourmet breakfast, daily refreshments, and evening wine/spirits.

The Pickering House Inn

Learn more by visiting the Barn at Pickering House Website or contact us today. 

Melanie and Matt's Wedding at The Gardens at Elm Bank

Posted by Peppers Team on Thu, Dec 06, 2018

Melanie & Matt | The Gardens at Elm Bank

The gardens at elm bank wedding


 Melanie and Matt had the most perfect spring day in May for their wedding reception at The Gardens at Elm Bank. The lush gardens provided a beautiful backdrop for their photos. They took full advantage of the venues expansive property with cocktail hour in the gardens, a grand entrance in the tent, and the dinner reception in the carriage house.

The carriage house was decorated with lavender linens and sweeping drapery with lights, creating a soft and magical ambiance for the reception. The couple tied in rustic elements with Mr. and Mrs. signs made out of wood slabs for their sweetheart table and white washed wooden boxes for the guest table centerpieces.

The whole evening was filled with love and laughter. The couple's smiles were infectious and you couldn't help but feel the immense love between these two! We are still aw-ing over the beauty of their day.

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The Team
Venue: The Gardens at Elm Bank
Photographer: Meghann Gregory Photography
Wedding PlannerElegant Aura 
Flower Bouquets: Style and Design at Peppers Artful Events
Catering, Cake, Bartending: Peppers Artful Events

Ashley and Nick's Wedding at The Gardens at Uncanoonuc Mountain

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Thu, Dec 06, 2018

Ashley and Nick | The Gardens at Uncanoonuc Mountain

Gardens at Uncanoonuc Wedding

Ashley and Nick’s wedding took place at the Gardens at Uncanoonuc Mountain, a 15-acre garden estate tucked halfway up the south slope of the North Uncanoonuc Mountain. The flower gardens were in peak season, providing the perfect backdrop for their wedding. With a soft muted color palette and romantic floral designs, every detail came together beautifully and boasted of timeless elegance.

The ceremony took place under the large oak tree near the cottage. Our hearts all melted when we saw Nick's reaction as Ashley made her way down the aisle. Following the ceremony, guests enjoyed lawn games, cocktails, and appetizers in the pine grove. While guests mingled, servers passed mini flatbread pizzas, chicken fingers, and cocktail sliders. Guests loved the comfort classic bites!

For the dinner reception, guests dined at farmhouse tables set-up communal style under the large sperry tent. The tables were adorned with lanterns, soft ivory napkins, mercury votives, and green/white floral arrangements, creating a romantic rustic feel. The entire evening was filled with love, laughter and unforgettable memories. We were honored to be a part of their celebration!

 

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 The Team
Venue: The Gardens at Uncanoonuc
Photographer: Lindsay Hackney Photography
Floral Bouquets: Apotheca 
Catering, Cake, Bartending: Peppers Artful Events

 

 

Eggnog Panna Cotta with Salted Caramel

Posted by Peppers Team on Fri, Oct 26, 2018

IMG_3847-1

Eggnog Panna Cotta with Salted Caramel

How about finishing your dinner with eggnog instead of starting with it?

We know, some of you may be thinking, why not do both. We’ll leave that for you to decide! 

Makes 6-8 Servings

Panna Cotta Ingredients 

4    cups eggnog

½   tsp. vanilla extract

½   tsp. rum extract

½   tsp. cinnamon, ground ( we recommend Vietnamese )

¼  tsp. nutmeg, we prefer fresh shaved using whole nutmeg & shaving with a microplane

2   packets unflavored gelatin

¼  cup water, bottled

Salted Caramel Ingredients

3 1/3  cups water

1 cup sugar

1  tsp. vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean pod split and scrapped

¼  cup heavy cream

1  oz. butter, unsalted

1-2 pinches sea salt

Directions for Panna Cotta:

1. Place the water in a 2 quart size bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over to bloom (soak) for 10 minutes.

2. While the gelatin softens, heat the eggnog in a saucepan and add the remaining ingredients. Bring the eggnog mixture to a warm but not scalding temperature.

3. Once the gelatin is completely dissolved remove the eggnog mixture from the stove top. Slowly whisk the gelatin into the eggnog saucepan.  

4. Transfer your mixture into individual dishes and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-4 hours.  

Directions for Caramel Sauce:

  1. Combine the water and sugar and cook at medium/medium low heat. You with take this past the boil temp of 210 to over 260 degrees. Keep heating until your caramel has reached a golden amber color. You can gently turn your pan side to side if you feel the sides are burning but do not stir.
  2. Remove the caramel from the heat once it has reached the desired color and gently whisk in the vanilla, heavy cream, butter, and salt.
  3. Pour into a jar and cover until you are ready to serve your panna cotta.

Autumn Gold Rush Holiday Cocktail

Posted by Peppers Team on Thu, Oct 25, 2018

Holiday Cocktail | Autumn Gold Rush

bourbon

Infused bourbon brings fall flavors to life in this holiday themed drink. Perfect sipping cocktail to keep you warm from the inside out on those cool fall evenings.  


Ingredients

2 ounces apple and pear infused bourbon (recipe below) *Make a week in advance

.75 ounce honey syrup

.75 ounce lemon juice

 

Directions to Infuse Bourbon (Make 1 week in advance)

1. Cut 1 red apple and 1 pear into large pieces. Place fruit slices in a large jar and pour a 750 ml bottle of bourbon over the fruit.

2. Cover and shake well - every day for 3-4 days.

3. Add a vanilla bean and 2 cinnamon sticks. Allow to infuse, shaking daily for another 3-4 days. Strain.

For honey syrup: combine equal parts honey and hot water. Stir well to combine. Let cool and pour into a squeeze bottle.

Cocktail Directions: 

1. Combine all ingredients in shaker with ice and shake, then strain over fresh ice in a highball. Garnish with fruit and cinnamon stick. Enjoy!

Under the Harvest Moon Gala

Posted by Peppers Team on Fri, Oct 19, 2018

Under the Harvest Moon Gala 

Tower Hill Botanic Garden, Under the Harvest Moon Gala, supports and celebrates the work of the Worcester County Horticultural Society, the third oldest active horticultural society in the United States, driving to inspire and encourage the practice of horticulture. 

The evening started with themed cocktails, seasonal hors d'oeuvres, a raw bar and beautiful garden views followed by a farm to table dinner and live auction. The event wouldn't be complete without live music, desserts, and fireworks under the harvest moon! It was certainly a magical and memorable evening. 

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The Menu

Cocktail Hour in the Gardens

Raw Bar
Chatham Farms Oysters, crisp apple mignonette
Fresh harvested from the prime areas off the coast of Chatham

Pork Belly Slider
crispy kale, apple ancho pepper jam

Warm Golden Beet Gazpacho Shooter
creme fraiche, cucumber & dill

Grilled Eggplant & Pepper Croustade
Westfield Farm Capri mousseline

Duck Proscuitto and Mission Figs
Great Hill Farm blue cheese

Sugar Pumpkin Pancake and Free Range Chicken Confit
Lilac Hedge Farm Chicken, Stoneyfield yogurt cheese, tart apple,
Renaissance Farm radish sprouts


Dinner in the Conservatory

First Course

fall greens, carrots, mint, pickled fennel, fresh picked herbs,
edible flowers, tomatoes, cucumbers, honey lavender vinaigrette

Second Course

Herb Crusted Angus Tenderloin of Beef
asparagus and carrot bundle, turnips in cream, scallion potato cake, thyme blossoms, Angus tenderloin, caramelized apple cognac peppercorn sauce

Vegetable Hondashi
baby bok choy, rainbow carrots, shiitake mushroom, ginger, edamame, nori,
steamed jasmine rice, Hondashi broth, lotus root

Dessert and Coffee
Under the Harvest Moon

petite apple streusel pie, gold leaf apple brandy caramel bon bons,
house-made chantilly cream purple sweet potato and Grand Marnier ice cream

Coffee and Cordials

 

Photography by Troy B. Thompson  

Event Venue Feature: Society of Arts + Crafts

Posted by Peppers Team on Mon, Oct 01, 2018

VENUE FEATURE: SOCIETY OF ARTS + CRAFTS

The Society of Arts + Crafts offers a unique and captivating venue for a variety of occasions. Founded in 1897, the Society is the oldest non-profit arts + crafts organization in the country. Located in the Seaport District, with  9,000 square feet of contemporary second floor space, designed by Sasaki Associates, and 160 feet of window views of the ever-changing Seaport. 
 
The Society hosts a rotation of exhibitions in addition to their retail gallery that represents the work of 200+ craft artists, a perfect setting to accommodate intimate dinner parties, cocktail receptions, corporate events and weddings. In addition, the Trustee's Gallery is available for smaller meetings and presentations.
 
Rental prices range depending on the number of guests and the nature of the event. Schedule a tour with April L. Ranch, Director of Community+Strategic Partnerships by emailing communitypartnerships@societyofcrafts.org
 

Tito's Fountain of Youth Cocktail

Posted by Peppers Team on Mon, Sep 17, 2018

Tito's Fountain of Youth Cocktail

Elderflower liqueur is becoming a popular ingredient to incorporate into cocktails. With its sweet and slightly floral taste it is a very versatile liqueur that mixes well with wine and other spirits. We especially enjoy it in a cocktail mixed with some bubbly and Tito's Vodka! 

Elderflower cocktail recipe

 

Ingredients
1.5 oz Titos Vodka
3/4 oz St. Elder Elderflower Liqueur 
2 oz Prosecco or Champagne
3/4 Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
Mint Sprigs
Lime Garnish

 

 

 

Steps:
Muddle mint springs and lemon juice in your drinking glass then top with ice.
Add vodka and elderflower liqueur to glass.
Pour contents of glass into a cocktail shaker and shake well!
Pour back into the glass and top with prosecco and a lime wedge garnish. Enjoy!
Inspired by Tito's Vodka Recipe @ https://www.titosvodka.com/recipes/vodka-drinks/fountain-of-youth

Kitt and Bennett's Garden Wedding at Tower Hill Botanic Garden

Posted by Peppers Team on Wed, Aug 01, 2018

Kitt and Bennett's Tower Hill WeddingTower Hill Botanic Garden Wedding

Tower Hill Botanic Garden was the perfect setting for Kitt and Bennett’s wedding. The color palate was a beautiful mix of soft blush, sage green and ivory with pops of gold and ruby red accented in the flowers and table settings. The groomsmen wore bright ruby polka dot bow-ties while the groom was in classic black tie. The bride was dressed in a beautiful traditional white lace gown while her bridesmaids wore soft sage chiffon.

The ceremony took place in the secret garden with floral bouquets marking the chairs at the end of each aisle framing the bridal party as they walked down the aisle.  

The Orangerie where the dinner reception took place looked stunning with their color palate. Beautiful gold chargers set the base of the place settings with magnolia leaves with the guests names ascribed in gold placed on each charger. The polka dots from the groomsmen’s ties were carried through in the design on the wineglasses and the plates the cake was served on.

Every detail from this wedding was perfectly designed and planned to create a beautiful and memorable celebration.

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The Team

Photographer: Samantha Melanson Photography
Catering, Cake and Placecards: Peppers Artful Events
Venue: Tower Hill Botanic Garden

Event Venue Feature: Commander's Mansion

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Tue, Jul 10, 2018

EVENT VENUE FEATURE: COMMANDER'S MANSION

Commander's Mansion, located in Watertown MA, sits on seven secluded acres at the rear of the former Watertown Arsenal. The mansion has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1976 and boasts of beauty and Italianate-Victorian architecture inside and out.

The mansion is available for weddings and social and corporate events. Corporate clients enjoy the mansions unique rooms which provide a relaxed and spacious setting. There are various breakout rooms’ available along with free internet and parking. The mansion can accommodate events ranging from 20-130 guests based on the setup. During May through October a tent can be rented to accommodate larger events up to 200.

Commanders Mansion Weddings

The mansion provides an ideal setting for Commander's Mansion Eventsa weddings and only hosts one per day so you and your guests can enjoy exclusive use of the property. Ceremonies take place under a beautiful grape arbor with cocktails and dinner to follow in the mansion or under the tent depending on the size of the wedding. There are even two on-site suites to be used prior to the wedding for getting ready. Commander's Mansion provides a unique and beautiful backdrop for a memorable wedding or special event. 

Contact us to learn more about hosting your events at Commander's Mansion. 

 

 

Featured Event Venue The Harry Parker Boathouse

Posted by Peppers Team on Tue, Jun 19, 2018

Featured Event Venue: The Harry Parker Boathouse

Harry Parker Boathouse Events

Community Rowing Inc (CRI), located on the banks of the Charles River in Brighton MA, is an internationally recognized attraction for rowing and a gem within the Massachusetts park system.  CRI’S community room, located in the Harry Parker Boathouse is available for rent for events from weddings to bar and bat mitzvah’s and corporate to social events.

The community room provides a 150 degree view of the Charles River with windows that frame the room and balconies overlooking the water. This space can accommodate up to 200 guests for a sit down dinner with dance floor or up to 220 for a cocktail style reception. Also available to rent is the outdoor space next to the Charles on the lower level along with the boat bays. This provides an ideal space to host a cocktail hour for your wedding or dinner event with beautiful views of the Charles River.

Harry Parker Boathouse Events

Host your wedding at the Harry Parker Boathouse for a memorable occasion.  Start with your ceremony on the docks of the Charles River, followed by cocktails outside on the lower level, and finish with dinner and dancing on the second floor in the community room. This is the perfect venue for anyone interested in a nautical theme wedding.

Contact us to learn more about hosting your next event at Community Rowing Inc.

Contact Us

FEATURED EVENT VENUE: CHARLES RIVER MUSEUM OF INDUSTRY

Posted by Peppers Team on Wed, May 09, 2018

FEATURED EVENT VENUE: CHARLES RIVER MUSEUM OF INDUSTRY

weddings charles river museum of industry

Charles River Museum of Industry, located in Waltham MA, is a historic 19th century textile mill overlooking the scenic Charles River. The museum provides a unique backdrop for your wedding or special event. Your guests will get the opportunity to explore the museum's hands on exhibits featuring American innovation and invention from 1812 to modern day, including the Boston Manufacturing Company, The Orient Bicycle and Met Automobile, the Waltham Watch Factory and more!

Enjoy cocktails on the lower level of the museum surrounded by the unique exhibits, then make your way upstairs for dinner in the main function space with exposed brick and industrial beams. Whether you want a rustic feel with farm tables and bistro lighting or bright colored and fun linens, the space is a blank slate that can take on a variety of looks and styles.

The museum can accommodate events up to 300 for a cocktail style event or 160 for a seated dinner with room for dancing. They regularly host weddings, birthday parties, bar and bat mitzvahs, and special public and corporate events of all kinds.

Charles River Museum of Industryweddings charles river museum of industryevents charles river museum of industryevents charles river museum of industryPhoto Credits: First 3 images- Mark Spooner Photography, Last 2  images - Simi Rabinowitz Photography

Contact us to learn more about hosting your event at the Charles River Museum of Industry

Contact Us

Romance and Elegance at the Gardens at Uncanoonuc Mountain

Posted by Peppers Team on Thu, Apr 26, 2018

Romance and Elegance at the Gardens at Uncanoonuc Mountain

the gardens at uncanoonuc Mountain

The Gardens at Uncanoonuc Mountain, Goffstown's newest venue, provides a magical and serene backdrop for your wedding or special event. Imagine getting married under a large oak tree while your guests are surrounded by the colorful gardens. Enjoy cocktails and appetizers outside the quant cottage with views of the gardens or up by the pine grove for an intimate setting with lots of tree cover for shade. Dinner and dancing take place under a large sperry sailcloth tent on the center lawn of the perfectly manicured property. End your evening with smore's by the fire pit. Your guests will enjoy full use of the property and the picture opportunities are endless. 

When owners Nattie and Alyssa approached us to take part in a styled photoshoot at their property we were beyond excited. It was a great opportunity to showcase what a wedding at their venue would be like. In coordination with Alyssa of Apotheca Flowers and a great team of vendors a romantic and elegant garden summer wedding was brought to life. 

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This styled shoot was featured in New Hampshire Bride 2018 Spring/Summer addition. Click here to see the publication. 

The Team
Venue: The Gardens at Uncanoonuc Mountain
Floral Designer and Coordinator: Alyssa Van Guilder, Apotheca Flowers
Catering, Cake, Dessert Bar, Beer Wall, Chalkboard Signage: Peppers Artful Events
Photographer: Lindsay Hackney Photography
Vintage Furniture, White Washed Farm Tables, Cross Back Chairs: Boston Rustic Wedding Rentals
China, Glassware, Flatware, Linens: Peak Event Services

Caitlin and Nat's Fall Wedding at Larz Anderson Auto Museum

Posted by Peppers Team on Tue, Apr 10, 2018

Caitlin and Nat's Fall Wedding at Larz Anderson Auto Museum

Larz Anderson Auto Museum Wedding

Cheers to Caitlin and Nat who planned the details for their fall wedding to truly reflect their personalities, food tastes, and the wedding venue.

The ceremony took place on the park hilltop with gorgeous views of Boston. A jewel-covered floral arbor was the perfect focal point for their intimate ceremony on this gorgeous  fall day.

Back down at the museum for cocktail hour, guests enjoyed playing classic video arcade games while sipping on a harvest-inspired apple cider old fashioned signature cocktail. Many of their wedding details paid homage to the car museum like the license plates that were used as table numbers. The menu was created around the couple’s favorite dishes and consisted of a laid back station menu. This included New England lobster rolls, barbecue brisket and mac and cheese. For desserts guests enjoyed a selection of homemade pies and mini sweets along with a late night passed snackof warm apple cider donuts! 

We loved every beautiful detail at this wedding from the picturesque hilltop I do's to the teacup centerpieces!


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The Team
Venue: Larz Anderson Automobile Museum
Catering, Dessert, Floral Designs: Peppers Artful Events
Photographer: Dreamlove Photography
DJ : Absolute Celebrations

No Mocking These Graduate Inspired Mocktails

Posted by Peppers Team on Mon, Apr 02, 2018

No Mocking These Graduate Inspired Mocktails

drink4.5

Having a Summer Graduation party? Looking for some unique, alcohol-free beverages that the whole crowd can enjoy?  Consider having a “mocktail” bar. Mocktails are fun, flavorful, hand-crafted beverages that contain zero alcohol making this a no-brainer for a high-school-aged crowd of graduates. As for the adults? Good luck keeping them away from these delicious and refreshing drinks!

 
Class of 2018

  • Cotton candy - enough to fill an 8oz glass
  • Raspberry or Regular Gingerale
  • Cherry or Raspberry Garnish

    Crafting Your Mocktail:

    Set out your martini glass. For optional flare, lightly wet the rim your glass with a lemon wedge and dip in colored sugar. Then place one piece of cotton candy in each glass. Pour the ginger ale over the cotton candy and top with cherry before serving.


The Adventure Awaits

  • 3 TBS Water
  • 2 TBS White Sugar
  • 1 TSP Coconut Extract
  • 2- 12 oz Cans of Lemon Lime Soda
  • Blue Food Coloring
  • Swedish Fish for Garnish

Crafting Your Mocktail:

1. Make the simple syrup by combining the water and sugar together and heating in the microwave for 30-60 seconds or boil togher in a pot on the stove. Let cool. 

2. In a pitcher or punch bowl combine the simple syrup, soda, coconut extract and food coloring. 

3. Add in swedish fish for garnish and serve over ice. 

The Strawberry Celebration

  • 1 Cup Strawberry Yogurt
  • 1 Cup Vanilla Almond Milk
  • 2 Cups Frozen Strawberries
  • 2 TBS Lemon Juice
  • Sprinkles and Fresh Strawberries for Garnish

Crafting Your Mocktail:

1. Place all ingredients in a blender

2. Blend on high for 2 minutes or until smooth. 

3. Wet the rim of glass with a lemon wedge then dip in sprinkles. Pour in mixture from blender. Garnish with a strawberry and enjoy! 

 

For more festive details, consider adding colorful straws in the graduates school colors or use graduation cap picks as garnish. An interesting glass such as a mason jar or a fun-shaped plastic cup makes for a great presentation. 



 

What's on the Menu for your Graduation Party?

Posted by Peppers Team on Mon, Apr 02, 2018

What's on the Menu | Graduation Party Planning

Menu planning for a graduation party is an important step in putting together the perfect celebration.  After all the invites are sent, location is determined and the theme is decided on, it’s time to start planning the food! But where do you start? Ask yourself- what kind of food does the graduate like? What kind of food will work best in the location where the event is taking place? Is there a particular theme for the event that the food can coincide with? These will help you determine the direction of the menu.

Here are a few of our favorite themed graduation party food menus.

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

baseball theme graduation catering

Game day food is fun for a graduation party and fits great with an outdoor celebration.

Menu Ideas: Nachos, Sausage and Peppers, Pretzels and Mustards, Flavored Popcorn, Chili Dogs

Grill Party

graduation party catering

Grill parties are perfect for outdoor summer celebrations. If your party will have guests coming and going, this menu lends itself to items that can be quickly thrown on the grill for new party guests. 

Menu Ideas: Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, Watermelon, Pasta Salad, Coleslaw, Potato Salad 

Smokey Texas BBQ
graduation party catering

Perfect for the BBQ lover in your family and an excellent menu that holds up very well on a buffet.

Menu Ideas: Brisket, Pulled Pork Sliders, BBQ Chicken,  Fried Pickles, Coleslaw, Potato Salad

A Day at the Fair

graduation party catering

Summer is state fair season. Fair menus are filled with delicious fried food and easy to eat on the go items (think food on a stick!).

Menu Ideas: Cotton Candy, Funnel Cakes, Pretzels, Corn Dogs, Kettle Corn

Mexican Fiesta

graduation party catering

A Mexican themed menu allows guests to customize their offerings. We love a make your own taco bar where guests pick their proteins along with all the fixins! Then you can add in some fun Mexican side dishes.

Menu Ideas: Make Your Own Taco Bar, Salsa and Queso with Tortilla Chips, Refried Beans, Mexican Rice, Stuffed Jalapenos 

New England Lobster Bakegraduation party catering

Celebrate with classic New England faire! This is a great menu for the graduate who will be traveling away from New England to go to school. 

Menu Ideas: Clam Chowder, Steamed Lobsters, Corn, Baked Beans, Pasta Salad

Tips:

Graduation parties tend to be an event where guests are juggling multiple parties in the same day which means guests will come and go throughout the duration of the party. If this is likely the case with your party you will want to choose a menu that can hold for an extended period of time or have food that can quickly be made for new guests as they arrive.

Most graduation parties are a mix of friends and family which means a wide range of age groups. When deciding on a menu make sure you have options that will satisfy all ages attending.

A good place to start menu planning is choosing a theme that focuses on some of the graduates favorite foods.

Ready to start planning? Give us a call!

Contact Us



 

Lemon Thyme Vodka Spritzer

Posted by Peppers Team on Sun, Apr 01, 2018

LEMON THYME VODKA SPRITZER

Ingredients (Makes 10 servings)nhmag_uncanoonuc-36

Simple Syrup
  • 4 whole Lemons Zested
  • 8 sprigs Fresh Thyme
  • 3 3/4 Cups Granulated Sugar
  • 3 3/4 Cups Water
Cocktail
  • 4 whole Lemons, Juiced
  • 1 1/4 Cups Your Favorite Vodka
  • 7 Cups Club Soda 
  • Blueberries, For Garnish
  •  Sliced Lemons, For Garnish

Preparation

For the lemon-thyme simple syrup
In a medium saucepan, add lemon zest, thyme sprigs, sugar and water. Bring to a low boil and reduce heat to simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let the syrup cool for 15 minutes.

For the cocktail
Pour the cooled simple syrup into a pitcher and add the fresh squeezed lemon juice and tequila. Add a handful of ice cubes and fill the rest of the pitcher with the club soda. Stir well to combine. Add ice cubes, 1 sprig of thyme and a slice of lemon to a tall glass and top with cocktail. Sip and enjoy!

Photo © Lindsay Hackney Photography

Apricot Almond Chicken Salad Recipe

Posted by Peppers Team on Sun, Apr 01, 2018

Apricot Almond Chicken Salad

Our Apricot Almond Chicken Salad has been a staple on our sandwich catering menu for many years and is by far one of our most popular. Now you can enjoy this recipe at home from our kitchen to yours. 
Makes 16 Servings

Chicken Salad Ingredients chicken salad edited5-4055
3 lbs Boneless Chicken Breasts
1 Box of Chicken Stock
4 Celery Stalks
1/2 Bunch of Scallions
1/2 Cups Sliced Toasted Almonds
½ Cup Dried Apricots
¼ Cup Dry Sherry Wine
6 sprigs of Rosemary Chopped
Black Pepper to Taste

Dressing Ingredients:
2/3 Cup Dijon Mustard
1/4 Cup Whole Grain Mustard
1/4 Cup Heavy Mayo
¼ Cup Sour Cream 
1/8 Cup + 1 TBS Honey
Juice From Half a Lemon

Directions:

  1. Fill a pot with chicken stock and heat to a boil. Place chicken in pot and poach until cooked through (roughly 25-30 minutes). Let cool and cut into small cubes.
  2. Dice apricots. Heat dry sherry wine on the stove. Once heated drop in diced apricots for 2-4 minutes until soft then drain.
  3. Combine all dressing ingredients together and mix well.
  4. Combine all chicken salad ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
  5. Add dressing to bowl with chicken salad and mix.

Enjoy as is, on top of a green salad, or add to your favorite sandwich bread. 

Best Celebration Cake CATIE Award Finalist

Posted by Peppers Team on Sat, Mar 31, 2018

2018 CATIE AWARD FINALIST

 

CATIE Finalist PNG

The International Caterers Association recognizes each year exemplary production at an event through their Catered Arts Through Innovative Excellence Awards (CATIE). 

This year our Executive Pastry Chef, Lisa McCaffrey was recognized as an ICA CATIE Award finalist for Best Celebration Cake. Out of all the submission received internationally she was awarded one of the top 3 finalist                                                                  spots for her work designing a Legends of Zelda Wedding Cake. 

                                                        The Cake

 

 

 

Featured Event Venue Larz Anderson Automobile Museum

Posted by Peppers Team on Fri, Mar 30, 2018

FEATURED EVENT VENUE: LARZ ANDERSON AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM

larz anderson automobile museum
Photo by http://www.dreamlovephotography.com

    Larz Anderson Auto Museum located in Brookline, Massachusetts sits on a stunning 64 acres at the Larz Anderson Park. The property, once owned by the late Larz and Isabele Anderson, is most known for “America’s Oldest Car Collection” and related memorabilia, however, the grounds surrounding the museum are nothing short of breathtaking and offer a truly unique, historically-rich setting for weddings, corporate and social events of all kinds.  While appealing to car enthusiasts, the museum is also a desired attraction for those interested in history, architecture and an authentic vintage setting.

    There are three main spaces in which functions can be held: The Main Gallery, The Stable Room and the Great Lawn.

       The Main Gallery, located inside the Carriage House, is a great spot for a cocktail reception, wedding or corporate meeting and can easily hold up to 150 standing guests. The vaulted ceilings, exposed brick walls, original wood flooring and permanent exhibits of exquisite vintage automobiles set the stage for a truly unique event location. The gallery offers room for a large dance floor and photo ops by the great doors as you enter the space.

       The Stable Room, once home to the Anderson’s horses, is a more intimate space and is great location for cocktail hour with unique exhibits for guests to enjoy as they mingle.

       The Great Lawn can hold up to 500 guests and is a popular spot for tented weddings, picnics, barbecues, and automobile shows. Tents can be set up on the sprawling lush green lawn with clear views of both the Carriage House and the Park. Guests are welcome to enjoy the museum throughout the event and many choose to have cocktail receptions or meetings inside the museum before kicking off their reception outdoors.  

     Due to its close proximity to the Larz Anderson Park attractions, you can utilize both the park and the museum for your functions. Corporate clients have used the ball field, skating rink and open lawn for fun outdoor activities while wedding ceremonies have been held at “The Top of the Hill” and “The Temple of Love”, also located inside the park.

Larz Andereson Automobile Museum Eventslarz anderson automobile museum eventsPhoto by http://www.dreamlovephotography.com

 With many function options in both the park and the museum itself, the Larz Anderson Auto Museum makes for an ideal setting for events of all types and sizes.

Learn more about hosting your event at Larz Anderson Auto Museum

 

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake with Homemade Lemon Curd

Posted by Peppers Team on Thu, Mar 29, 2018

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake with Homemade Lemon Curd

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Our lemon poppy seed cake is a delicious dessert perfect for the spring and summer season. The combination of the light and airy poppy seed cake paired with rich lemon curd creates a wonderfully balanced treat. This dessert originated from one of our local farm to table dinners and was such a big hit we decided to make it a staple recipe for the summer. Now you can enjoy this recipe at home!  

Ingredients (Makes 12 servings)

Lemon Curd

  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1/3 cup lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 2 teaspoons lemon zest

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups white sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 13 fluid ounces evaporated milk
  • 1/4 cup poppy seeds

Steps for lemon curd:

1. Whisk eggs, sugar, and lemon juice in a double boiler over simmering water until mixed well, then continue to stir until thick, about 7 to 10 minutes.

2. Drain mixture through a mesh sieve to get rid of lumps. Fold in butter until well incorporated. Mix in lemon zest.

3. Cover curd and chill in the refrigerator until it has thickened, about 4 hours.

Steps for Poppy Seed Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10 inch cake pan.

2. In a large bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and add eggs, vanilla, oil and milk. Mix well. Then fold in the poppy seeds. Pour mixture into a 10 inch cake pan. 

3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

4. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

5. Pour lemon curd over cooled cake and top with berries and whipped cream. Enjoy!

 

Outdoor Venues for Corporate Events

Posted by Peppers Team on Fri, Mar 16, 2018

HERE COMES THE SUN | OUTDOOR VENUES FOR CORPORATE EVENTS

Summer is just around the corner and that means plenty of outdoor customer and employee events and retreats.

Here are some great locations to consider with lots of outdoor (and indoor) space for lawn games, scavenger hunts, picnics, concerts, paint parties, make your own terrariums,  yoga and more!

 The Connors Center 

MegAndyWedding-007Photo by Samantha Melanson Photography
Location: Dover, MA
Website: 
The Connors Center

The Gardens at Elm Bank

Allegro_photography_jennifer_trevor_128Photo by Allegro Photography
Location: Wellesley, MA
Website: The Gardens at Elm Bank

The Gardens at Uncanoonuc

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Photo by Lindsay Hackney Photography
Location: Goffstown, NH
Website: The Gardens at Uncanoonuc Mountain

Gore Place

carriage house 1-1Location: Waltham, MA
Website: Gore Place

Harry Parker Boathouse 

2016_04_27_CRISpring_1040Location: Brighton, MA
Website: Harry Parker Boathouse

Larz Anderson Auto Museum


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Photo by Love Days Photography
Location: Brookline, MA
Website: Larz Anderson Auto Museum

Pierce House

Back of House (1)Location: Lincoln, MA
Website: The Pierce House

 

Tower Hill Botanic Gardens

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Photo by Samantha Melanson Photography
Location: Boylston, MA
Website: Tower Hill Botanic Garden
The Five Bridge Inn0078 Lindsey and David-2Photo by Angela Greenlaw Photography
Location: Rehoboth,MA
Website: The Five Bridge Inn

Contact Us

Preparing For Your Wedding Cake Tasting

Posted by Peppers Team on Mon, Mar 12, 2018

PREPARING FOR YOUR WEDDING CAKE TASTING 

Wedding cakes massachusetts

 A wedding cake tasting is a fun task to check off your wedding to do list. What is better then spending an hour tasting some delicious cake flavors?

Cake tastings are typically scheduled 6 months in advance of your wedding date. When scheduling your tasting let the Pastry Chef know any allergies to take into consideration. At Peppers, we offer a large variety of flavor combinations. For the tasting, our chef will choose a selection of cake flavors for you to try. If there are any specific combinations you are most interested in we are always happy to accomodate. When tasting the cakes, If there are any flavors you like but want a different filling know that you can always customize to create the combination that works for you. 

Between tasting the different cake slices have a sip of water so the flavors don't mix. Keep a tally of which ones you and your fiance like best and then rank them in order. If you are doing a tiered cake you can offer different flavors on the different tiers. Save the flavor you think will be the most popular for the bottom tier - which is the tier you will get the most cake slices out of! If you are opting for a smaller size cake you can have sheet cakes of different flavors that can be kept in the kitchen then cut and offered to guests later in the evening. 

At your cake tasting you will also discuss the design and look of the cake. Bringing photos with you or saving a Pinterest board of the designs you like is always helpful. You can  combine elements from different cakes to create a unique look. 

You will also want to decide if the cake will be made with buttercream or fondant. If your wedding will take place outdoors in the heat of summer you may want to consider a fondant cake that won't begin to melt in the heat. 

Most importantly remember to have fun and enjoy the experience! 

Looking for wedding cake design inspiration? Check out our pinterest board. 

 



 

Featured Event Venue The Gardens at Elm Bank

Posted by Peppers Team on Mon, Mar 05, 2018

FEATURED EVENT VENUE: THE GARDENS AT ELM BANK

The gardens at Elm Bank Wedding and events Photo by douglasolyons | Aerial Photographic Solutions 

The Gardens at Elm Bank is a beautiful event venue, located on Massachusetts Horticultural Society's 36 acres on the Elm Bank Reservation in Wellesley, MA. The venue is home to fields, meadows, streams, wooded areas and colorful formal gardens. The gardens, buildings, and grounds of Elm Bank are an ideal setting for weddings, a bar or bat mitzvah, corporate events, meetings, retreats, and social events.

With twelve gardens and several indoor and outdoor spaces, Elm Bank can accommodate groups of virtually any size.

The gardens at elm bank
Photo by douglasolyons | Aerial Photographic Solutions 

The Hunnewell Building (Carriage House) offers 3,000 square feet of indoor function space with a vaulted and trussed ceiling. Attached to the building is a beautiful three season tent complete with permanent flooring and doors to separate the two spaces. The tent and building combined can accommodate events up to 225 for a sit-down dinner or 400 for a standing reception. The Carriage House provides a blank slate that can easily accommodate a variety of different styles and looks, whether you are looking to host an elegant gala reception or a rustic wedding celebration. 

The gardens at Elm Bank Wedding and events
Photos: (left) Lauren Methia Photography  (right) First Mate Photo Co
The Maple Grove is a sprawling grassy area surrounded by towering maple trees in the heart of the twelve gardens. This space can accommodate a large event tent ideal for weddings and corporate events in the spring and summer months.

The gardens at Elm Bank Wedding and events

Elm Bank provides a picturesque setting for your wedding. Say your "I do's" in the Italianate Garden surrounded by seasonal flowers followed by cocktails in the quaint Weezie's Garden. The carriage house and adjacent three season tent are the perfect location for dinner and dancing. Guests can enjoy dinner in the carriage house with dessert and dancing in the tent. For more intimate gatherings the carriage house provides a perfect space for both dinner and dancing.

No one wants to think of rain on their wedding day but having a backup option for an outdoor wedding is key. In the event that you and your guests need to move indoors you can utilize the tent for the ceremony and cocktails.

On top of it all, the photo opportunities around the property are endless. 

The gardens at Elm Bank Wedding and events

Contact us to learn more about hosting your event at The Gardens at Elm Bank. 

Weddings With a Personal Touch

Posted by Peppers Team on Tue, Feb 27, 2018

Weddings with a Personal Touch 

Many busy brides quickly realize they can't do it all. The hours you wish you could spend DIYing your entire wedding are quickly filled with fittings, makeup trials, and following up on RSVPs. Wedding professionals are here to help while still allowing you to add your personal flair to your day. 

We worked with the following three brides to incorporate their unique and personal touches into the design of their wedding.

Judy, one of our White Room Venue Brides, collected heirlooms of silver and pewter pitchers, bowls, and candlesticks throughout the year. She ended up building a fairly large collection, some even from her wedding venue’s antique mall (Crompton Collective). We used her collection to create unique centerpieces for the guest tables. This gave every table its own style and look by incorporating the different and unique vessels that Judy had spent a year collecting.

wedding flowersvintage wedding flowerspersonal wedding flowers
Photography by Joseph Gonzalez-Dufresne Helloimjoe.com

Caroline, another one of our Brides who tied the knot at The White Room, provided us an array of fun and unique touches to incorporate throughout her wedding.  We tied in her gold dinosaurs with our centerpieces of taper candles and potted ferns for a fun and natural feel. We displayed her handwritten placecard tags on our custom  “Find Your Seat” lattice board. For the ceremony aisle we set up large Boston Ferns and lanterns to line the aisle which we later utilized in the reception space to complement vintage seating and frame Caroline’s oriental rugs.

Wedding inspirationThe White Room Weddingwedding placecards

Caitlin, who celebrated her special day at The Larz Anderson Automobile Museum, wanted to play on the castle-like car museum theme. Her brother and father collected license plates to use as table numbers. We then incorporated touches of rose gold to match her wedding ring along with mini teacup arrangements stacked on antique books around the license plates. She had found a retro radio from the dash of an old car that we used to accent her sweetheart table, where a eucalyptus garland was later draped around, recycled from the ceremony arch. For her bouquets, we wrapped her mother and mother in laws lockets along with the groom’s grandmother’s lace around the base of the bouquets. It was such a nice and personal touch.

personalized weddingwedding flowersLarz Anderson Automobile Museum Wedding
Photos by Dreamlove Photography

These brides utilized our style and design services while still providing many of their own personal items to complement their day. By working together we created custom style and design packages that allowed us to assist in bringing their dream wedding to life while having them be an active part in the design. We are happy to help our brides with as little or as much design assistance they need.  


We invite you to check out our pinterest page to get inspired from previous weddings and events we have done or contact us to learn more about our style and design services to see how we can work together to make a create a truly memorable and personalized celebration.



 

Asa Waters Mansion Photoshoot

Posted by Peppers Team on Tue, Feb 13, 2018

ASA Waters Mansion Photoshoot

We had the opportunity to participate in a styled photoshoot at Asa Waters Mansion in Millbury where four vastly different styles and looks were created to showcase the versatility of the venue.   

Vintage Elegance
Farmhouse tables paired with lace runners create a rustic vintage feel while rose gold floral vases and gold candlesticks add a touch of elegance. 

Vintage rustic weddingwedding farmhouse tablesvintage weddings Asa Waters Mansion

 Turquoise Romance 
Bright pink and purple floral arrangements really pop on a turquoise blue linen. Peacock feathers with hints of blue and green help tie the linen and flowers together to create a cohesive look. 

Asa Waters Mansion WeddingWedding Flowers Millbury

 Tangerine Dreams
Tangerine colored linens with hot pink napkins create a fun, fresh and tropical feel to the tables.  The bright colored florals accent the table linens and complete the look. 

Asa Waters WeddingAsa Waters wedding

Garden Party

Deep wine colored pintuck linens paired with rustic garden centerpieces create a truly unique feel to these tablescapes. Natural elements of birch and moss add texture while the ivory roses soften the look.    

Asa Waters WeddingsAsa Waters Wedding Event

No matter what the occasion or theme of your event, Asa Waters Mansion provides a wonderful backdrop to compliment your celebration.  

The Team
Venue:
Asa Waters Mansion
Photographer:
Alvah Reida Photography
Floral Designs and Centerpieces:
Peppers Artful Events Style and Design Team



 

Featured Event Venue: Asa Waters Mansion

Posted by Peppers Team on Mon, Feb 05, 2018

Featured Event Venue: Asa Waters Mansion


Asa Waters Mansion Millbury

Asa Waters Mansion, located in Millbury, MA is is a historic landmark listed with both the National and State Registers of Historic Places. The mansion and grounds offer great indoor and outdoor options for hosting weddings, baby showers, bridal showers, bereavements, meetings and cultural events.

When hosting a wedding at Asa Waters, the estate is yours for the day. Ceremonies can take place on the lawn, on a 19th century bandstand, under a portico or inside the mansion. Following the ceremony your guests can enjoy cocktails outside under a tent or inside the mansion. Depending on the size of your guest list and look and feel of your wedding, receptions are held in the mansion, under a tent or a combination of both!

Weddings Asa Waters
Photo @ Reiman Photography
Asa Waters WeddingPhoto @ Alvah Reida Photography

Asa Waters Mansion hosts events year-round and can accommodate everything from an intimate afternoon bridal shower for 25 to a large corporate fundraiser for 250 on the lawn. Contact us today to learn more about hosting your event at Asa Waters Mansion. 

Contact Us

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Bridal Shower Cake Ideas

Posted by Peppers Team on Tue, Jan 30, 2018

Bridal Shower Cakes

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Bridal showers are a fun pre-wedding tradition to celebrate and shower the bride to be. There are so many details that go into planning the perfect celebration with everything from deciding on the location, theme, invite list and beyond. On thing is for sure, dessert will always be on the menu and cakes never go out of style. Finding the perfect cake design that is right for your celebration can be fun and allows you to get creative. The cake not only is a delicious treat but part of the decoration for the party. We always recommend having the cake on display from the beginning of the event so guests can delight in the design. 

Bridal shower cakes can be personalized to fit with the celebration in many ways

  • Does the couple have a custom wedding monogram that you can include in the design of the cake?
  • The design can be centered around the wedding color scheme or season that the wedding will take place.
  • Sports fans or book fanatics? Go with a look that showcases something that the couple loves.
  • Tie in the overall look and feel of the wedding. Think rustic cake for a barn wedding or glam cake for an upscale city wedding. 
  • Girly, frilly and feminine is always perfectly suited for bridal showers. 
Here are a few of our favorite bridal shower cakes from this past year to help inspire you. These are just a starting point as we can work with you to create a truly unique cake for your celebration. 

Girly, Frilly, Feminine

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Modern and Glam Cakes

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Personalized and Theme Cakes 

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IMG_0017 (2).jpgTo see more cake designs and other desserts check out our CakeART page. CakeART

Molly and John's Dazzling Summer Wedding

Posted by Peppers Team on Wed, Jan 24, 2018

MOLLY AND JOHN'S DAZZLING SUMMER WEDDING

home wedding tent massachusetts

   Molly & John were married at a beautiful church in Wayland, MA with their reception immediately following at Molly’s parents’ private residence. Guests arrived by shuttle and were welcomed by servers passing a variety of signature cocktails before making their way to the cocktail hour. The cocktail hour tent featured a full bar, a fresh iced tea and lavender lemonade station, a chef active raw bar, and a variety of passed hors d'oeuvres. Guests were able to take full advantage of the property- sitting on the deck, taking pictures by a tree with hanging picture frames, swinging on an old wooden tree swing out front and taking in the beautiful surrounding.

   When it was time for the dinner reception, guests received a small Moscow Mule mug which doubled as their place card and favor. The mini mugs were displayed on two free-standing, dark-stained wooden “pegboards” with gold hooks, creating a unique and impactful display.

         The dinner reception was held in a large clear tent, allowing guests to take in all of the beautiful scenery surrounding the home. The table linens and chairs were all white, making the blush and rose gold centerpieces really “pop”. The centerpieces were a mix of three styles, a grouping of three rose gold vases with matching votive candles, a geometric terrarium filled with florals and accented with candles, and vessels of floating flowers with candles. The mix of arrangements created great texture and height on the guest tables.  

    The Bride, Groom and all of their guests spent the evening dancing to a live band, enjoying a decadent dessert, and having a ball! The evening ended with the newlyweds running through an arch of sparklers leading them to their private town car. It was such a magical and perfect wedding for a truly lovely couple! 

wedding wayland ma
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flowers weddings peppers artful eventshome wedding backyard tent weddingwedding hashtagswedding favorswedding favors placecardscustom wedding signagebackyard tent wedding elegantwedding catering menuwedding catering peppers artful eventspeppers wedding flowerspeppers artful events wedding cakeclear tent weddingsparkler send off wedding

The Menu 
Cocktail Hour
Classic "Au Poivre" Sirloin Steak Skewer
Parmesan Tuile, Roasted Pear, Arugula, Local Honey
Coconut Crusted Chicken with Ancho Honey Sauce
Spring Leek Arancini with Tomato Basil Coulis
Avocado and Roasted Vegetable Quesadilla 
Bacon, Mozzarella & Tomato Panini
"AW SHUCKS" Raw Bar
First Course
Farming Turtles Rocket Green Salad
Second Course
Herb Rubbed Tenderloin of Beef with Fingerling Potatoes & Sugar Snap Peas
Seared Halibut with Fresh Summer Salsa, Quinoa and Vegetable Pilar, & Sugar Snap Peas
Creamy Polenta Cake with Vegetable Ratatouille served over Pesto Zucchini Noodles
Dessert
Tiered Wedding Cake- Lemonade Cake with Raspberry Mousse, Lemon Curd Cake, and Salted Caramel Devils Food Cake
Late Night Snacks
Sliders & Fries

THE TEAM

Caterer, Florist, Cake: Peppers Artful Events
Photographer: Once Like a Spark Photography
Tent: A Tent To Rent
Moscow Mule Cups/Peg Board: Designs at Peppers Artful Events
Rentals: Peak Event Services

Click to See More Wedding Menus



 

Katy and Rob's Summer Wedding at Tyrone Farm

Posted by Peppers Team on Tue, Jan 09, 2018

Katy and Rob's Wedding at Tyrone Farm

Katy and Rob were so much fun to work with. They were so easy and laid back but knew what they wanted. Their wedding vision was the rustic look of a farm with a touch of bling and blush. This was accomplished by incorporating with the natural beauty of the chestnut barn at Tyrone Farm sparkle and blush linens, a gold drip cake, and beautiful pops of color in the florals from It's So Ranunculus. We especially loved the placecard holder they made themselves with wood and chicken wire. It fit perfecly with the overall look of their day! Here is a sneak peek of their beautiful summer wedding. 

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The Wedding Menu

Passed Hors D'oeuvres
Thai Coconut Shrimp with Mango Lime Chutney
Parmesan Tuile, Arugula, Mascarpone & Caramelized Pear
Pulled Chicken Slider
Churrasco Steak Kabob
Bacon Mozzarella & Tomato Panini
Fish and Chips Cone
First Course
Chef's Pick Salad with Local Seasonal Vegetables & Greens
Second Course
Murray's Statler Chicken or Braised Boneless Short Ribs
With Leek and Potato Pancake & Summer Vegetable Succotash
Desserts
Lavender Pear and Cannoli Tiered Wedding Cake
Cheesecake Pops
Assorted Cookies

The Team:
Catering & Bartending: Peppers Artful Events
Wedding Cake: CakeART 
Photographer: Joanna Fisher Photography
Florist: It's So Ranunculus
Venue: Tyrone Farm 

See Sample Wedding Menus

Featured Wedding Venue Tyrone Farm

Posted by Peppers Team on Wed, Jan 03, 2018

Tyrone Farm: Featured Wedding Venue

Tyrone Farm Weddings

Tyrone Farm, situated on a beautiful 170 acre country estate in Pomfret, Connecticut, provides an idyllic backdrop for weddings. With spectacular views, beautiful gardens, and perfectly manicured lawns, the farm sets the stage for an unforgettable wedding.

The farm only hosts one wedding a day so the entire estate is yours for the day. Ceremonies can be held under 2 granite pergolas, under a tent or in the barn. Cocktail hour is held on the bluestone terrace with expansive views of the estate. Guests are invited to stroll the grounds and gardens taking in all that the estate has to offer. Dinner receptions take place in the historic chestnut barn or bluestone terrace.  The Chestnut Barn has been renovated to create an elegant yet comfortable environment while showcasing the barns original structure with hand-hewn beams, wide plank floors and wrought iron chandeliers. Both the barn and terrace provide a memorable location to celebrate with friends and family.  

Like Peppers, Tyrone Farm is committed to environmental stewardship. The farm is solar-powered and was placed under conservation easement to preserve this singular estate for future generations. Just another reason Tyrone Farm is a unique location to host your wedding! 

Tyrone Farm Catering WeddingBarn Weddings CTFarm Weddings CT

Contact our Sales Team to learn more about hosting your wedding at Tyrone Farm or check out our Pinterest page for more inspirational photos from previous weddings at Tyrone Farm. 

Start Planning


 

Marisa and Garrison's Elegant Garden Wedding at Tower Hill

Posted by Peppers Team on Wed, Dec 27, 2017

Marisa and Garrison's Elegant Garden Wedding at Tower Hill Tower Hill Botanic Garden Wedding

Tower Hill Botanic Garden was the perfect venue for Marisa and Garrison's elegant garden style wedding. The natural beauty of Tower Hill provided the ideal complement to their wedding theme.

Wooden handmade signs, rustic lanterns, and ivory and green colored florals welcomed guests to the ceremony in the Lawm Garden, setting the stage for the celebration. Following the ceremony guests enjoyed a walk through the gardens basking in the beauty of Tower Hill, as they made their way to the Winter Garden. Once in the Winter Garden guests were greeted with cocktails and a chef active gnocchi station.

Dinner and dancing took place in the Orangerie, a beautiful 18th-century glass conservatory. The Orangerie looked stunning with rustic farm tables, a soft neutral color palette and lots of candlelight intertwined throughout the table designs. Each place setting was adorned with a rosemary sprig and a mini infused oil bottle. It was a perfect blend of rustic and elegance.

We were honored to be a part of the celebration and had so much fun bringing their wedding vision to life!    

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THE TEAM

Photography: Love & Perry Photography
Venue: Tower Hill Botanic Gardens
Rentals: Peak Event Services
Farm House Tables: Boston Rustic Wedding Rentals
Florals, Favors, Signage, Design: Peppers Artful Events
Cake & Cannoli Bar: CakeART at Peppers Artful Events
Catering: Peppers Artful Events



 

Featured Venue: The Worcester Art Museum

Posted by Peppers Team on Mon, Dec 11, 2017

FEATURED VENUE: THE WORCESTER ART MUSEUM

Worcester Art Museum Weddings and Events

Since opening its doors in the spring of 1898, the Worcester Art Museum's internationally renowned collection has impressed all those who enter, with its grand spaces, over 35,000 works of art, and 50 centuries of creative spirit. This lasting impression can be yours to share for your corporate event, holiday party, meeting, wedding or social event.

Imagine your guests in this one-of-a-kind space with the ability to offer a unique entertaining experience. Host your event in the Renaissance Court and grant your invitees access to a wealth of history and art among the first floor galleries. This is the perfect location for a cocktail style event or seated dinner reception.  The balcony above the Renaissance court can also be used for dinner receptions, accommodating up to 120 guests, providing a unique view of the museum. The Museum Café, with its adjacent outdoor Courtyard can accommodate 30 to 150 guests — depending on the style of service. This space allows your guests to enjoy the outdoor courtyard in good weather months. To complement your event, you may want to offer your guests a docent-led tour of selected galleries, or an opportunity to view one or more of our galleries on their own.

For a weekday corporate meeting, consider the Museum's Conference Room. With audio, visual, and Internet capabilities, the Conference Room seats 100 guest’s theater-style and 40 in a classroom-style scenario.

Weddings at The Museum

With stunning architecture and elegant surroundings, Worcester Art Museum sets the stage for an unforgettable wedding. Imagine your bridal party's big entrance down the grand staircase of the Renaissance Court, surrounded by 50 centuries of art. Following the ceremony guests can enjoy cocktails and hors d'oeuvre in the Renaissance court and make their way through the surrounding galleries on the first level of the museum. Depending on the size of the wedding, dinner can take place in the Renaissance Court or on the balcony. Following dinner guests make their way back to the Renaissance court for dancing and dessert. Your guests will get to enjoy all that the Worcester Art Museum has to offer in a one-of-a-kind space.

Weddings Worcester Art MuseumWeddings Worcester Art Museum

Photo Credits:  Eric Limon Photography (top image) Erica Ferrone Photography (bottom two) 

Contact us today to learn more about hosting your event at the Worcester Art Museum.


Contact Us

Holiday Party Themes

Posted by Peppers Team on Fri, Nov 24, 2017

HOLIDAY PARTY THEMES 

Winter Wonderland

holiday party dessertsHoliday Party FlowersIMG_8285-1

Winter wonderland is a fun theme that incorporates a lot of white and silver accents. Think white linens adorned with fake snow, silver Christmas trees, white and silver balls, and lots of candlelight. For more of an outdoor winter wonderland incorporate pine cones, mini live Christmas trees and natural elements like birch logs. For the menu a festive dessert display with snowflake shaped cookies, white chocolate mousse cups, and a Baked Alaskan would pair perfectly with the theme. Welcome cocktails offer a way to introduce the theme to the guests from the start -  how about a Godiva white chocolate martini or for a non-alcoholic option a white hot chocolate passed on wood slabs?

Ralph Lauren Inspired Party
holiday party themesholiday party themesholiday party themes

A great way to get inspired and see what is trending for the holiday season is to window shop designer stores during the holidays. Ralph Lauren, a leading designer for home furnishings and clothing, is a great brand to pick up design ideas from. For a classic Ralph Lauren inspired party think plaids paired with classic timeless holiday accents. Colors ranging from reds and maroons, to greens and golds. One of our favorite looks is pairing a plaid tablecloth with gold candlesticks, greenery, and vases filled with cranberries in water with a floating candle. For the menu you can include classics like beef wellingtons, baked ham, green bean casserole, and potatoes gratin. Pair your entrees with timeless holiday dessert recipes like rum balls, a yule log, bread pudding, or a croquembouche.

Natural and Rustic Holiday 

rustic Christmas themerustic christmas themerustic christmas theme

How fun is an old-fashioned rustic Christmas? We love the country charm look for the holidays. To bring this look to life incorporate details like burlap ribbons, pine cones, wooden trees, rustic lanterns, and green garland. Some of our favorite rustic displays include pine cones and holiday balls displayed in glass cloches alongside lanterns with flickering lights. For dessert, our classic buche de noel cake is a perfect accent to a dessert station.

Christmas Around the World
holiday party themeholiday party theme

Christmas is celebrated in so many ways around the world. This is a fun theme which showcases how different cultures celebrate the holiday. For decor, you can stick with traditional holiday colors of reds, golds and greens. For the menu, create different stations reflecting traditional holiday food like Panettone bread and fish dishes for Italy, Swedish meatballs and rice pudding for Sweden, tamales and snow ball cookies for Mexico, fish (oysters, caviar) and bûche de Noël for France, there are so many more options too! You can have stations with different entree dishes from around the world then offer a large dessert display with a dessert from each country.  Each station can be accented with décor elements that you would see in each country during the holidays.

Ski Lodge 

ski lodge holiday party themeholiday party catering themesholiday party themes

Whether you are someone who prefers to hit the slopes or curl up by the fire, transporting guests to a ski lodge-esque holiday party is sure to warm everyone’s heart. This look is accomplished through a palette of warm browns, frosted white, forest green and deep burgundy. Imagine a cabin dusted in fresh snow as you enter a rich wooden wonderland of evergreen branches, red berries, and pinecones illuminated by rustic antler chandeliers. Food options can similarly express warmth and comfort, such as a hot chocolate bar, a chili or soup station, or hot toddies passed as guests arrive.

Vintage Charm 

holiday party themesholiday party themes

Elegance and family history is infused to create this vintage charm theme. Dig into the box of vintage holiday décor, and let your party be inspired by creations of the past! Whether they be silver, gold or champagne, ornaments are a key design feature. Specifically those with distressed finishes, characteristic of handmade mercury glass ornaments, complete the nostalgic essence. Navy, burgundy and evergreen accents can be incorporated throughout the décor or linens. Drinks can be served in antique style crystal glassware, alongside classic holiday dishes. Mimic grandma’s cooking through traditional carved meat dishes of pork, ham or beef, in combination with classic side dishes. For the desserts, bring out the vintage cookie cutters to form your buttery shortbread cookies and accompany with a traditional spice cake, including raisins, cranberries and nuts.

Elegant and Luminous 

glam holiday party themeholiday party themegold holiday party

Grand venues often demand opulent holiday themes. “Luminous” not only references the effect created from metallic or iridescent surfaces, but also glamorous purple, gold, and blue tones. Mix in plush fabrics sprinkled with sequins, gold and purple hanging ornaments, as well as funky over sized lounge furniture. This trend takes on a modern, elegant and glamorous aesthetic, allowing for sophisticated and dainty food and drink pairings. For drinks, this could include a champagne cocktail rimmed in crystalline gold sugar, followed by appetizers passed on gold and purple trays adorned with shiny ornaments. Sophisticated hors d'oeuvres pair well with the elegant theme, such as tuna tartare, prosciutto wrapped figs, oysters Rockefeller, steak tartare, or duck confit. Finish with mini cheesecakes and sparkling sugar dipped strawberries.

Mixing Metals

holiday party themeholiday party themeholiday party theme

 Perhaps inspired by Yukon Cornelius’s classic tune “Silver and Gold”, mixing metals has become a staple not only for fashion accessories, but also for holiday décor. Taking on a rustic minimalism, silver and gold accents are paired with natural evergreen and light wood varieties. Metallic elements can be incorporated into candles, hanging ornaments, silverware, floral arrangements, napkins and plates, and glassware. Top silver platters with a signature drink featuring gold glitter rimmed glasses. Create a dessert display of silver glitter and gold accented desserts such as truffles, French Macaroons, and cake pops.

Theme and decor ideas are endless for your holiday celebration. Our design experts can work with you to bring your vision to life with everything from menu selections to custom table designs. 


 

Winter Reimagined with Tower Hill and Peppers Artful Events

Posted by Peppers Team on Tue, Nov 21, 2017

WINTER REIMAGINED WITH TOWER HILL AND PEPPERS ARTFUL EVENTS

winter reimagined

Winter Reimagined is a fun family event for all ages. As evening falls at Tower Hill, visitors have the opportunity to marvel at glittering lights displayed throughout acres of formal gardens. The prized collection of trees and shrubs, along with illuminated paths, sculptures, and fountains, come to life in the glow of the lights. Inside, guests will see hand-made and nature-inspired ornaments, a wishing tree forest, an up-cycled igloo, and two towering conservatories brimming with subtropical plants and seasonal music.

We’re excited to partner with Tower Hill Botanic Garden to offer a variety of dining options for their annual Winter Reimagined light show. Take a break from walking and dine in the cafe with a selection of delicious small plate offerings like our ever-popular short ribs, chicken pot pies, and butternut squash lasagna! Also available will be flatbreads, seasonal salads, and hearty soups. No dining experience would be complete without a sweet ending like our homemade cinnamon apple cranberry crisp or a slice of pecan carrot cake - to name a few! The cafe will also be offering themed cocktails and craft beer. 

Looking for something on the go? Stop by one of our food stands to grab a warm cider donut paired with mulled apple cider. Or head outside to the Winter Garden to roast marshmallows over an open fire and build your own s'mores. A perfect activity for the kids to enjoy!

Don't miss out! We strongly encourage making dinner reservations and purchasing tickets in advance as Tower Hill frequently sells out on busy nights and weekends.

Purchase Tickets Here or call Tower Hill 508-869-6111 x 147 to place a dinner reservation. 

Follow us on facebook for updates on special dining options Peppers Artful Events Facebook 

Holiday Moscow Mule Recipe

Posted by Peppers Team on Tue, Nov 21, 2017

HOLIDAY MOSCOW MULE RECIPE

holiday cocktails moscow mule

Ingredients
.5 oz lime simple syrup *
.5 oz cranberry juice
1.5 oz gin 
2 oz cold ginger beer
1 rosemary sprig
Candied cranberries and orange slice garnish

Instructions
Combine simple syrup, cranberry juice, and gin. Pour over ice and top with ginger beer. Serve garnished with rosemary, an orange wedge and sugared cranberries.


* Lime Simple Syrup Recipe: Heat equal parts water and sugar until dissolved. Remove from heat and add juice from a lime. Let cool before using for cocktail. 

 

Peppers Sales Team's Favorite Cookie Recipes

Posted by Peppers Team on Tue, Nov 21, 2017

THE PEPPERS SALES TEAM'S FAVORITE COOKIE RECIPES

Our Sales Team shares their favorite recipes to bring to a holiday cookie exchange. Enjoy and happy baking! 

holiday cookie recipes

Jody: Old Fashioned Ginger Cookies
Ingredients

  • ½ cup shortening
  • ½ cup sugar, plus more for rolling
  • 1 cup mild molasses
  • 2 TBSP milk
  • 1 TBSP ground ginger
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp ground cloves
  • ½ ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
  • 2 & ½  cups all-purpose flour  

Steps

1. Prevent oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with  parchment paper.

2. In large mixing bowl beat shortening with electric mixer for about 30 seconds.

3. Add sugar, beat until light. Add molasses, milk, ginger, salt, baking soda, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. Beat until combined

4. Beat in flour until combined.  

5. Shape dough into about 48  1 and ¼ inch balls, roll in the additional sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on parchment paper lined cookie sheets.

Flatten slightly. Bake  10 – 12 minutes until edges are firm. Cool on wire rack.
*perfect compliment to our Holiday Moscow Mule Recipe! 

Melissa: Soft and Chewy White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Ingredients
  • ¾ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp cornstarch
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • Pinch salt
  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 cup white chocolate chips
Steps                                                                                                  
  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter, brown sugar & white sugar with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and egg.
  2. Combine the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and pinch of salt in a seperate bowl then beat into the mixture in the stand mixer until combined.  
  3. Stir in the cranberries and white chocolate. 
  4. Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 1 hour. You can chill it overnight if you'd like, but one hour chill time is mandatory to prevent cookies from spreading and to create that light, soft and chewy texture.
  5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with silicone liners or mist lightly with cooking spray. Remove chilled dough from fridge and roll into tablespoon sized balls. Place onto the cookie sheets about 1-2" apart from one another.
  6. Bake for approx. 8-10 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking time to ensure an even cook. Cookies may appear slightly undone but they will continue to set as they cool. After 10 minutes transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. 

 

Patricia: Triple Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup baking cocoa
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3 ounces white baking chocolate, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons canola oil
  • 3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
  • 1/4 cup crushed candy canes (about 10 miniature)

Steps
 
1. Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg. In another bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda; gradually beat into creamed mixture.

2. Shape dough into 1-in. balls; place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten to 2-in. rounds with the bottom of a glass. Bake 6-8 minutes or until set (do not overbake). Cool on pans 5 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

3. In a microwave, melt white chocolate with 1 teaspoon oil; stir until smooth. Drizzle over cookies. Repeat with semisweet chocolate and remaining oil. Sprinkle tops with crushed candy canes; let stand until set. Yield: about 3 dozen.

Liz: Oatmeal White Cranberry and Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 6-ounce package Ocean Spray® Craisins® Original Dried Cranberries
  • 2/3 cup white chocolate chunks or chips
Steps

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well.

3. Combine oats, flour, aking soda and salt in a seperate bowl. Then add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well. 

4. Stire in fried cranberries and white chocolate chunks

5. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes then cool on a wire rack. 

Dianne: Chocolate Dipped Florentine Shortbreads

Ingredients

Pastry
  • 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch dice and chilled
  • 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch dice and chilled
  • 6 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Topping
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • Zest of 1 orange
  • 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1/2 cup chesnut honey
  • 1 stick unsalted butter
  • 3 cups sliced blanched almonds
  • 2/3 cup finely diced candied orange rind
  • 3/4 pound buttersweet chocolate, chopped
Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter the bottom and sides of an 11-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet. Line the bottom with parchment paper, leaving about 1 inch overhanging at the short ends. Butter the parchment.

2. In a food processor, pulse the diced butter with the sugar and the salt 6 times. Add the flour and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Spread the crumbs on the baking sheet and press them into a thin, even layer. Prick the dough all over with a fork. Refrigerate for 10 minutes, or until firm. Bake in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack. Increase the oven temperature to 425°
 
3. In a small saucepan, heat the cream with the orange zest over moderate heat just until bubbles appear around the edge, about 5 minutes. In a heavy medium saucepan, combine the sugar with the corn syrup and water and bring to a boil over moderately high heat, stirring just until the sugar dissolves. Cook the syrup over moderately high heat, swirling the pan occasionally, until a medium amber caramel forms, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the honey, the infused cream and the butter and stir until the butter melts. Cook the caramel topping over moderately high heat until a candy thermometer registers 255°, about 4 minutes. Stir in the almonds and candied orange rind and immediately spread the caramel over the pastry with a wooden spoon.
 
4. Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake the pastry for 10 minutes, or until the topping is bubbling. Transfer the baking sheet to a rack and let cool for 30 minutes.
 
5. Run a knife around the edge of the baking sheet to loosen the pastry and slide the parchment paper onto a work surface. Using a sharp, heavy knife, cut the pastry into 2 1/2-inch strips. Cut the strips into 2 1/2-by-3-inch rectangles. Cut each rectangle diagonally in half.
 
6. Line 2 large baking sheets with wax paper. Melt two-thirds of the chocolate in a bowl in a microwave oven for about 1 minute. Add the remaining chocolate and stir until completely melted. Dip 1 corner of each cookie into the chocolate and transfer it to the prepared baking sheets. Refrigerate until the chocolate is just set, about 5 minutes.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe

Posted by Peppers Team on Thu, Nov 02, 2017

PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE RECIPE

Pumpkin cheesecake
Makes: 8” cheesecakePumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients:
2 cups graham cracker crumb
3 tbsp sugar
5 tbsp melted butter
1 Pound cream Cheese
2 cups pumpkin puree
¾ cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Line an 8” spring form pan with parchment paper. On the outside of the cake pan wrap with foil up to the sides of the pan on the outside (this will prevent water from getting into the pan when baking the cheesecake mixture). Mix the graham cracker crumbs with the sugar and melted butter. Pour into an 8” spring form pan. Press the crumbs down into the bottom of the pan and the sides of the pan, you can use a measuring cup or spoon to push down the crumbs even more. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes. Cool for 5-10 minutes.

Cream the cream cheese, pumpkin puree and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping the side of the bowl until all incorporated. Add the sour cream and vanilla and mix on low for 2 minutes. Pour the batter into the spring form on top of the crust. Make sure the batter is evenly distributed. Place the pan into a dish that can hold hot water 1” deep. Place dish with cheesecake into oven, pour hot water into pan once in the oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until there is a slight wiggle but not wet. 

Steamed Cranberry Pecan Pudding

Posted by Peppers Team on Thu, Nov 02, 2017

Steamed Cranberry Pecan Pudding
A wonderful and classic dessert than can be made days in advance of the big day. 

INGREDIENTS
¼  cup unsalted butter, plus a couple tbsps. to grease the pan
3 tbsp. sugar, granulated plus extra for dusting
¾  cup pecans, chopped
1 & 1/2 cups cranberries, coarse chopped
1 & ½ cups flour
1 & ¼  tsp baking powder
½  tsp baking soda
½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
¼ cup molasses
2 tsp orange zest, minced or from a zester
1/3 cup buttermilk
Serve with your favorite seasonal ice cream

1. Generously grease the inside of a decorative bundt / angel food cake style pan, especially the bottom. Dust the mold well with granulated sugar and shake out the excess.
2. Combine the cranberries and the 3 tbsps of sugar and set aside while mixing the remaining ingredients.
3. In a large mixing bowl, blend the butter, brown sugar, molasses and orange zest. Mix at low speed for 2 minutes to blend well. Add in the dry ingredients slowly then add in the buttermilk and blend until mixed. Lastly, fold in the pecans, cranberries and any liquid in the bowl.
4. Spoon in the entire mix into the baking pan, spread evenly and cover with aluminum foil if you do not have a cover. Place the pan into a larger pot with boiling water, to come half way up the pan. Place this hot water bath on a medium low heat for 1 and ½ hours until the cake pulls away from the side of the pan and a knife inserted comes out clean of any batter.
4. Remove the cake from the water bath to cool for 15 minutes, then turn upside down onto a wire rack.

* This cake can be served or cooked a day or two in advance and kept wrapped in the refrigerator until service or ideally, gently warmed in a 275 degree oven until warm, before serving.



 

A Perfect Fall Cocktail Apple of My Eye

Posted by Peppers Team on Thu, Nov 02, 2017

PERFECT FALL COCKTAIL
APPLE OF MY EYE

fall cocktail events


A perfect cocktail to compliment the fall season with a delicious blend of fresh apple juice, whiskey, allspice dram and a dash of bitters. 

Allspice dram originated in the tropical hills and valleys of Jamaica, the allspice berry has for generations been prized for its exceptional tastes of clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg. 

Ingredients
1.5 oz Rye Whiskey
.75 oz Fresh Apple Juice
.5 oz Allspice Dram 
2 Dashes Peychaud’s Bitters

Steps
Dip the rim of the martini glass in fresh apple juice then in a plate with
cinnamon sugar.
Shake together all ingredients with ice then strain over rimmed martini glass.
Garnish with a tart apple slice or orange peel.



 

Featured Venue: DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum

Posted by Peppers Team on Wed, Nov 01, 2017

VENUE FEATURE: deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum

deCordova Sculpture park weddingEstablished in 1950, deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum is the largest park of its kind in New England encompassing 30 acres, 20 miles northwest of Boston. Providing a constantly changing landscape of large-scale, outdoor, modern and contemporary sculpture and site-specific installations.  Inside, the Museum features a robust slate of rotating exhibitions and innovative interpretive programming. With a rich history and unique backdrop, decordova  provides an unforgettable location to host your event. 

deCordova sculpture park weddingsThe Museum offers a variety of locations to host your event. The Dewey Family Gallery and Sculpture Park Terrace combines an indoor and outdoor space that overlooks picturesque flint pond and the sculpture park. This combined space can accommodate up to 140 guests with dinner and dancing, 170 for just dinner, and 200 for a standing reception. The Rappaport Roof Terrace, located on the 6th floor of the museum with expansive views of Flint Pond and the sculpture park is a great location for a cocktail reception. It can accommodate up to 100 guests for evening functions and can be rented with other spaces within the museum. The DeNormandie Library on the 4th floor is the perfect spot for a small corporate meeting or retreat accommodating up to 25 guests. Lastly, tented events can be held right in the Sculpture Park surrounded by more than 60 works of art. This truly creates a one-of-a-kind backdrop for your occasion.

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Hosting a corporate dinner, retreat, holiday party, birthday or wedding? Contact us to learn about hosting your event at the decordova Sculpture Park and Museum or check out the Museum's website to learn more.

 Contact Us



 

Annual Farm to Table Dinner at Indian Head Farm

Posted by Peppers Team on Wed, Oct 25, 2017

ANNUAL FARM TO TABLE DINNER AT INDIAN HEAD FARMFarm to table indian head farm

Our fourth annual farm to table dinner at Indian Head Farm was a huge success. We partnered with Lilac Hedge and Indian Head Farm to create a menu with fresh seasonal cuisine. The evening started off with passed appetizers and drinks, followed by a buffet dinner, and dessert. The turn out was fantastic and the weather was beautiful! 

Menu

Appetizers
Lilac Hedge Farm Pork Belly Slider with Tomato Compote and Arugula
Chevre Rhubarb Crostini
Summer Vegetable Gazpacho Shooter


Dinner
Mixed Field Green Salad 
Basil, Mint, Dill, Sorel, Arugula, Malabar Spinach, Shaved Red Radish, Local Maple Syrup Vinaigrette
Squash Gratin with Leeks and Tomatoes
Made with Fresh Indian Head Farm Squash and Maple Leaf Gouda
Lilac Hedge Crispy Pork Cutlets
Prepared with Local Eggs, Lemon and Arugula
Baron of Grass Fed Lilac Hedge Beef
Served with Sauce Perigueux
Honey Roasted Carrots
With Tahini Local Yogurt and Coriander
Corn Pudding
Made with Fresh Indian Head Farm Corn
Bean and Potato Salad
Made with Fresh Indian Head Farm Beans and Vermont Crème Fraiche Dill Dressing

 

Dessert
Lemon Poppy Cake
Local Blueberries and Lemon Curd

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We love any opportunity to partner with local farms and suppliers in our area to host farm to table events. As a Certified Green Caterer we understand the importance of environmental stewardship. 

 Subscribe to our Newsletter
*Subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about future Farm to Table events. 


 

Featured Venue: The White Room at Crompton Collective

Posted by Peppers Team on Tue, Oct 10, 2017

VENUE FEATURE: THE WHITE ROOM AT CROMPTON COLLECTIVE

crompton collective weddings

The White Room at Crompton Collective is a spacious 5,000 sq. ft. space in a historic, beautifully renovated building located in Worcester's vibrant Canal District. The space can accommodate up to 200 guests providing an ideal setting for weddings, social events, photoshoots, corporate events and more! With a sophisticated industrial feel inside and a beautiful brick patio outside, Crompton Collective’s White Room provides a unique and memorable location for any event!

Weddings: Ceremonies take place in a beautiful lush green courtyard with cocktails to follow on the brick patio. Guests then enter the white room for dinner and dancing, a large open space that lends itself to many unique styles and themes. Included in your rental are fun amentities like a rustic white bar, vintage wood chairs and couches, unique wood tables to be used for cake and cards, and string lighting.

 wedding catering crompton collective

white Room catering wedding

The White Room Worcester


Crompton Collectives White Room is also an excellent space for product launches, corporate events, holiday parties, baby and bridal showers. Contact a member of our Events Team to learn more!
Photo Credits: Joseph Gonzalez-Dufresne Helloimjoe.com (first, third, fourth image), Amy Lynn Imaging (second image)

 Contact Us



 

Oystering in Wellfleet With John Lawrence

Posted by John Lawrence on Thu, Oct 05, 2017

Oystering with John Lawrence, Co- Owner of Pepperscape cod oyster catering

One Sunday afternoon while sauntering down the path to Mayo Beach in Wellfleet with fellow chef and friend,  Mark,  I was suddenly struck by the spread of oyster cages as far as the eye could see. Imagine - 250 acres of pristine ocean with fast churning tides and wire racks spread out like rows of corn. Oyster nirvana for us oyster guys.

Wellfleet’s shellfish industry brings in over $5.8 million to the local economy. Although, 250 acres would make one wonder, is it sustainable? Well great news, Wellfleet and its farmers are all about sustainability. Each and every oyster is primed, sorted, and looked over at least a half dozen times before it goes to the market. During one of our recent visits, tour guide Alanna McGovern explained that the waters in and around Wellfleet are consistently tested to stay on top of any potential anomalies before they become an issue. The town of Wellfleet is also very careful to not introduce any bacteria to the waters, and the entire area is unspoiled and simply gorgeous.oystering cape cod

Mark and I look forward to getting out in Bourne to rake for oysters when the Sunday tides line up come November. It’s an inexact science; like many who do foraging, sometimes you hit it right and sometimes it just doesn’t happen.

During one of our recent tours we visited Andy Cummings at his “Wash-AShore Oyster Ranch.” It was quite a sight to watch Andy and his assistant go through hundreds of oysters.  Each one was scraped clean of anything attached, a little rounded trim at the hinge, and then sorted by size and beauty. It was such a smooth and careful operation.

Also joining us on this tour was, Michelle Insley, Executive Director of  S.P.A.T. Michele was terrific in her correspondence prior to our visit, and it was lovely to chat it up about the Wellfleet oyster industry.

I’ve tried to visit most farms and suppliers which we support.  Without a doubt, the hundreds of Wellfleet farmers and hundreds of aligned businesses have my support as they complete this long journey from a spat hatchery to bringing the oyster to your table. They earn every dollar spent on such terrific Massachusetts oysters.

My hat’s off to those in Massachusetts who give it their all raising oysters and to Wellfleet for arguably some of the most distinct oysters in our fine state.

By John Lawrence


 

Venue Feature: Five Bridge Inn

Posted by Peppers Team on Wed, Sep 06, 2017

VENUE FEATURE: FIVE BRIDGE INN

Five Bridge Inn wedding

Five Bridge Inn is a hidden gem in Southern New England. The Inn sits on 80 acres in a nine hundred acre preserve with miles of trails through pastures, woodlands, and bogs. Set back from the road providing an intimate and private setting for your event. A perfect venue to host weddings, corporate and social events, company picnics, and other outings. 

The Inn offers several locations for your event- a four season tent, outdoor patio and pavilion, sprawling lawns, a barn and a dining room within the inn. On-site amenities include a Bed and Breakfast, ample parking, a lap pool, tennis court, fitness center, fire pit and more!

Weddings

weddings rhode island

Five Bridge Inn provides a stunning backdrop for your New England wedding. The venue is completely yours for the big celebration. Your event booking includes accommodations for 14 in beautifully decorated guest rooms, a bridal suite, a hair salon, and a make-up room. Your guests will enjoy a delicious complimentary breakfast and after they can enjoy the fitness center, play a game of tennis, or go for a swim and relax poolside.

The Inn has 3 onsite ceremony locations- a wedding chapel, Greek pergola, and a birch arbor on the lawn. Following the ceremony, guests will head to the poolside patio and pavilion to enjoy cocktails and hors d' oeuvres. Dinner and dancing take place in the four season tent with built in flooring that has both heating and air conditioning for your guest’s comfort. An after party at the fire-pit with your friends and family will cap off your celebration. A Five Bridge Inn wedding will ensure the most amazing memories of a lifetime.

catering five bridge innfive bridge inn wedding
event catering five bridge inn

 Corporate Events, Outings and Social Events

The inn offers several locations to accommodate lunch or dinner meetings, annual company outings, receptions, bar/bat mitzvahs, picnics, fundraisers, concerts and holiday parties! A new barn being built on the property is ideal for parties in the winter months. It is scheduled to be opened on November , 2017 and it will be an ideal venue for holiday parties and more intimate celebrations.  The property is equipped with enough space for parking, staging, lawn games, trail discovery, fitness center, tennis courts and more!

Five Bridge Inn is one of the most versatile event sites- a must see! Check out their website to learn more

Photo Credits: Angela Greenlaw Photography (top 4 images) & Black Thumb Studios (last image)

Hungry Hungry Catepillar First Birthday

Posted by Peppers Team on Wed, Aug 30, 2017

A Very Hungry Hungry Caterpillar First Birthdaycatering birthdays massachusetts

The Hungry Hungry Caterpillar book was brought to life for Harrison's first birthday at Tuckerman Hall in Worcester. The party was nothing short of colorful. Our design team filled garden style baskets with wheatgrass for the centerpieces. Handmade cookies shaped like the caterpillar, cheese, ice cream cones, cupcakes and other delicious items the caterpillar ate --- doubled as decor and favors for the guests. Bright colored linens with polka dots mimicked many of the color themes in the book.

The menu consisted of a large buffet with an array of breakfast items, a chef-active omelet station, bloody mary bar, and a dessert bar. Our stations were fun and festive incorporating design elements from the story. From a large tree decorated with moss, butterflies, and hanging lights to our omelet stations with handmade fondant objects from the book and brightly colored flowers, the whole room had something to see.

We hope Harrison had as much fun at his party as we did planning it!

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The Team

Venue: Tuckerman Hall 
Photographer: Shannon Power Photography
Catering & Design: Peppers Artful Events
Linens: BBJ


 

Venue Feature: Tower Hill Botanic Garden

Posted by Peppers Team on Tue, Aug 08, 2017

VENUE FEATURE: TOWER HILL BOTANIC GARDEN

 Tower Hill botanic garden wedding
Samantha Melanson Photography

Tower Hill Botanic Garden (Boylston, MA) provides a unique and beautiful backdrop for your special occasion with lush manicured gardens, mountain views, and amazing architecture. The venue can host celebrations up to 150 guests from Mid-May to Mid-September and celebrations up to 70 guests from October through April. Between the Limonaia, Orangerie, Great Hall, Auditorium, and various classrooms/meeting rooms you are sure to find the perfect space to host your next event whether planning an intimate bridal shower for 30 or an elegant wedding reception for 150.   

Allegro_photography_towerhill_170429_025-1
EC6A5451

Weddings are breathtaking at Tower Hill. Your day will start with a beautiful ceremony either in the Secret Garden, Lawn Garden or the Limonaia Conservatory. Following the ceremony guests will make their way around the gardens to the Great Hall with adjoining patio or the outdoor Winter Garden with fountains and inviting architecture for cocktails and appetizers.  

Dinner and dancing take place in the 18th century glass conservatory. With brick accents and glass windows this space can be transformed to meet your own unique wedding style. 

wedding ceremony tower hill botanic gardentower hill botanic garden weddingtower hill botanic garden weddinggarden wedding massachusettsPhoto Credits (top:Jill Markley Studios, Middle Greg Brett Photography Inc., bottom: Henry + MacSean Gallery Photography)

To top it off the photo opportunities are endless..

weddings tower hill weddings tower hill botanic gardentower hill botanic garden wedding Photo Credits: Top: Dan Aguirre Photography, Samantha Melanson Photography. Bottom: Dan Aguirre Photography
From weddings and showers to corporate receptions and holiday parties, Tower Hill provides an unforgettable location for your next event. Contact us to learn more about hosting your next event at Tower Hill. 

Michelle & John's Mechanics Hall Wedding

Posted by Peppers Team on Tue, Aug 01, 2017

Michelle & John's Mechanics Hall Wedding

   Michelle and John were so much fun to work with. Their vision was anything but ordinary, yet so very approachable, and incorporated many details that expressed them as a couple. With everything from a legends of zelda themed cake and a surprise stage performace from the Bride this was certainly a memorable and personable celebration. Here is an inside look at their magnificient Mechanics Hall wedding. 

mechanics hall wedding
wedding mechanics hallmechanics hall catering wedding
   The evening started off with a ceremony on stage under a custom floral arch.  Following the ceremony, guests enjoyed a cocktail hour complete with a raw bar with stone crabs from the Florida Keys, a ceviche station, and a grand antipasto presentation with imported salamis, local cheeses, olives, bruschetta’s and roasted nuts. The delicious food didn't stop there as a 4-course dinner awaited them in the great hall. 
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weddings mechanics hall

Michelle and John's wedding style was bold and elegant with a black, silver and dark purple color pallette. We used a beautiful black and silver herringbone table linen and a black water glass for that extra pop! That, combined with the striking tall centerpieces dangling with crystals created the wow factor.

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No evening would be complete without something sweet! Our team designed an elaborate dessert bar with assorted sweets and cake accompanied by an espresso bar from Black Tie Espresso. 

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VENDORS

Photographer: Love Days Photography
Band: Sweet Tooth & The Sugar Babies
Cake: Cake Art at Peppers Artful Events
Florist: Jeff French
Catering: Peppers Artful Events
Ice Sculpture: Brookline Ice
Espresso Station: Back Tie Espresso



 

English Garden Chicken Salad Recipe

Posted by Peppers Team on Mon, Jun 26, 2017

English Garden Chicken Salad
4 Servings

Our English Garden Chicken Salad is one of our most popular salad dishes that has been eliciting oohs & awes for over 20 years. It is a perfect summer salad combining delicious seasonal vegetables with tender chicken and a light lemon dressing.

English Garden Chicken Salad cateringChicken Marinade
1 1/4 lbs. boneless chicken breast
1.5 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp dijon mustard
Salad Ingredients
6 asparagus spears - blanch in boiling water for 10 seconds then cut on a bias into 1'' pieces
1/2 red pepper julienne cut
1/2 orange or yellow peppers julienne cut
1/2 red onion julienne cut
2 tsp fresh rosemary coarsely chopped
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes softened in warm water for 10 minutes
4 oz. stilton or local aged blue cheese crumbled *see note below
3 oz. premium ham cut into 1/2 inch pieces
Dressing Ingredients
3 oz. extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 lemon - zested and juiced
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
Dash of salt and pepper

1. Mix ingredients for the chicken marinade and toss in a bowl with the prepared chicken breasts. Let marinate for 30 minutes then grill the chicken breasts until they reach an internal temp of 155 degrees. Set aside to rest before cutting into bite size pieces.
2. Prepare all remaining salad ingredients and combine in a bowl.
3. Make the dressing by whisking together the olive oil, lemon zest and juice in a bowl. Then pour over salad ingredients.
4. Set over a bed of fresh greens and enjoy with a crisp dry white wine!

*When Peppers began in 1987, we didn't have a local cheese industry so we chose English Stilton blue cheese. Nowadays, Great Hill Blue from Marion or Berkshire Blue from our Western MA neighborhood provides terrific local options.

 

FEATURED VENUE: THE GARDENS AT UNCANOONUC MOUNTAIN

Posted by Peppers Team on Mon, Jun 26, 2017

FEATURED VENUE: THE GARDENS AT UNCANOONUC MOUNTAIN

garden wedding new hampshire

Tucked away just outside the quaint, New England village of Goffstown, New Hampshire, you will find The Gardens at Uncanoonuc Mountain nestled halfway up the southern slope of North Uncanoonuc Mountain. The property covers 15 acres, with extensive gardens carefully tended over its nearly 40 year history. From tented weddings with 150 guests to smaller more intimate events the gardens provide a perfect backdrop for your celebration.  

Weddings can be hosted mid-May through mid-October. Ceremonies are held by the big beautiful Pine, a majestic beauty of the great New Hampshire woods, or by the lovely Formal Rose Garden.  Following the ceremony, guests enjoy cocktails within the Pine Grove, or at the Cottage nestled in the fountain garden. During cocktail hour your guests can stroll through the gardens and enjoy all the property has to offer. Receptions are celebrated under a beautiful Sperry Sailcloth Tent, surrounded by a field of flowers. Not ready to call it a night at last dance? Enjoy a post wedding bonfire with alcohol service and s'mores! The Gardens at Uncanoonuc Mountain offer a truly unique and beautiful setting for your wedding day.

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Come experience their beloved gardens and the natural splendor of the mountainside. Now booking weddings, bridal/baby showers, corporate and nonprofit events.

Website: The Gardens at Uncanoonuc
Photographer: Lindsay Hackney 

 

Photoshoot at Tower Hill Botanic Gardens

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Wed, Jun 07, 2017

Tower Hill Botanic Garden Photo Shoot

We had the honor of participating in a styled photo shoot at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston MA. The designers at JD Designs wanted to capture two distinctly different looks for the shoot- Great Gatsby and Rustic Romance. The Great Gatsby theme reflected upscale luxury through gold sparkle and black linens paired with ivory and gold china, crystal votives, and statement floral designs. The second design with farmhouse tables adorned with vintage china, wildflowers, lace, and pillar candles created an earthy, organic rustic feel.

For each of these designs we provided a menu to compliment the look. For Great Gatsby our bakery designed a black and white wedding cake with gold and pearl accents. Our chefs created a composed plate of twin lamb chops, fried potato cup with garlic mashed potatoes, silver dollar mushrooms and a Japanese eggplant garnish for the culinary component.

The rustic romance design was complimented with a lace and floral cake and our ever popular short ribs with farm fresh root vegetables, seasonal asparagus and corn pudding. 

Tower Hill Botanic Garden is one of those very versatile venues that can accommodate a vareity of different looks from Great Gatsby to rustic and everything in-between.

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tower hill wedding catering

Shout out to the vendors!

Photographer: Pizzuti Photography
Venue:
Tower Hill Botanic Gardens
Designer:
JD Designs
Rentals:
Boston Rustic Wedding RentalsA Perfect Setting
THBG Lettering:
Your Love in Lights
Stationary:
August & Osceola
Cakes:
CakeART at Peppers Artful Events
Catering & Cheese Display:
Peppers Artful Events


 

Venue Feature: The Connors Center

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Wed, May 24, 2017

FEATURED VENUE: THE CONNORS CENTER

MegAndyWedding-007-1
The Ewings Photography Studio

The Connors Center provides a memorable indoor and outdoor settings for weddings, corporate retreats, meetings and social events—just 20 miles from downtown Boston.

Situated on 80 acres in Dover, Massachusetts this unique venue can accommodate events of all sizes.  Offering an array of spaces to include an open air pavilion, functional meeting room, elegant parlors, and outdoor gardens and terraces, you are sure to find the perfect space to host your event.

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Connors Center provides a breathtaking backdrop for an unforgettable wedding.  From an intimate garden or chapel ceremony, mahogany parlors with adjoining stone terraces, to an outdoor tent overlooking the surrounding woodlands, Connors Center provides all the ingredients for a memorable day. Sit back and enjoy your day with professional on-site staff, a bridal suite, and lodging accommodations for you and your guests.

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Interested in hosting a catered event at the Connors Center? Contact one of our Event Designers today!

Contact Us 

Photos By: The Ewings Photography Studio, Melissa Koren, George Street Photo & Video

Tying the Knot at Tower Hill

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Tue, May 23, 2017

Tying the Knot at Tower Hill

tower hill botanic garden social event

Planning a wedding is a mix of endless details, decisions, and stressful moments. Recently, we held our "Tying the Knot at Tower Hill" event to offer brides an opportunity to learn useful wedding planning tips in a fun and relaxed setting to help them begin the process of planning their dream wedding. With assistance from Brittni and Shauna at Tower Hill Botanic Gardens and Dave from Allegro Photography, this event turned out to be a big success.


Guests enjoyed brunch and mimosas while mingling with other couples. The program covered topics from maximizing your budget and personalizing your wedding to current trends in the wedding industry and how to select vendors. Guests took home a  swag bag and tiered cake cookie favors (which doubled as place cards when the guests arrived!) Most couples continued their afternoon walking around the beautiful gardens of Tower Hill on this perfect spring day.

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Photography: Allegro Photography
Venue: Tower Hill Botanic Garden
Catering: Peppers Artful Events
Cake: CakeArt at Peppers Artful Events
Florals, Signage, Design: Art & Design at Peppers Artful Events

Subscribe to our newsletter to find out about future wedding planning events!

Subscribe to our Newsletter


 

Art & Design: Spring in Bloom

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Tue, May 09, 2017

ART & DESIGN: SPRING DESIGNS IN BLOOM

Spring is here and we couldn’t be more excited! Our in-house design team has been busy crafting and designing new looks to add color and interest to our food displays.

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Tulips are a staple of spring. One of our simpler, yet classic “spring looks” includes various heights of glass cylinders filled with tulips and river rocks, accented with silver candlesticks and floating candles. Not only does this simple but impactful display read “SPRING” but it coordinates well with many settings, venues and types of events. From a modern cocktail reception in Boston to a garden-themed bridal shower at Tower Hill- the look just works!

 

Hoops of different shapes and sizes with interchangeable fabric creates a great focal point. Our lace hoops are perfect for a rustic, vintage or garden bridal shower. The patterned fabric can be coordinated to fit with the overall look of the event.

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Our newest addition "The Wall" can be customized to suit the theme of your event. This unique display creates a wall of flowers as backdrop for a buffet or dessert table.

We love wheatgrass in the spring time. It creates beautiful pops of green in our displays. Our wheat grass terrariums make a beautiful statement that boasts of spring.

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Styling all of our food & beverage tables, for any type of event, is an absolute must and comes standard with any catering or bar package. We pride ourselves in creating unique and artful displays to enhance all of our food tables, bars, etc. and incorporate coordinating props, risers and signage to create looks that will simply “wow” your guests. We can also design custom displays to fit with specific themes and looks. Speak to your Event Designers if you are interest in unique custom designs.

Look for more of our new looks at your next Pepper’s event.

 


Planning a Stellar Backyard Graduation Party

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Tue, Apr 18, 2017

Plan a Stellar Graduation Party

 Graduation parties are a great way to celebrate your recent graduate’s achievements with friends and family. Here are some tips to help you throw a memorable backyard event. Planning a graduation party during the covid-19 pandemic? Check out our blog post on planning a memorable graduation celebration during Covid-19 for our top tips.

  1. graduation partyChoose the date. You should select a date a month out to get your invitations to guests before they make their summer plans. Don't stress if there are other graduation parties on the same day, as most of your graduates' friends will hop between parties.
  2. Guest count. Determine your guest count based on budget and how many  you can comfortably accommodate. Do you want a smaller get together with close family or a larger celebration including both family and friends?
  3. farm to table9-1752Consider renting a tent. If the party will be held outdoors, consider renting a tent. The weather won’t always cooperate, and large party tents are perfect for keeping your guests dry and avoids the tough decision of rescheduling.  Rain or shine, a tent provides great shade to cool off and relax with friends. Not to mention, it also keeps your food out of direct sunlight.
  1. Catering. Booking a caterer to handle the food lets you enjoy the party and make memories. Don’t spend your time cooking and replenishing the food, or standing behind a hot grill for hours. When it comes down to style of service, buffets are a great option for a backyard graduation. Guests can eat when they would like and  you can accommodate guests that come and go. At Peppers, some of our most popular graduation menus include hamburgers and hot dogs, Texas BBQ (pulled meats, briskets, and all the sides), Mexican Fare (quesadillas, fajitas, and tacos) and flatbread pizzas - to name a few!

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  2. Stock up on supplies. Be sure you’re fully stocked up on supplies like utensils, cups, and plates.  An open-house party creates the kind of atmosphere where guests might put down a plate or cup they were using and forget to pick it up when they want a refill. A caterer can supply all of this and keep it replenished throughout the event.
  1. edited graduation cake1-0053Desserts. A sweet morsel is a must at any party.  
    How about a grad
    uation cake designed after the school’s logo or sports team? Or cupcakes topped with graduation hats?  Desserts are a great opportunity to get creativeand have some fun!
  1. Decorations. Make the party personal by incorporating school colors in the table linens, balloons, and paper products. Show off memories with a photo wall along with any trophies or awards the graduate has earned. At Peppers, our graduation buffets are adorned with graduation hats with custom tassels to match the school colors- to add a personal touch! 

    Most importantly remember to have fun planning!

    Interested in catering? The thought of planning a graduation party has you overwhelmed? Contact our team of Event Designers today. We are here to create a memorable stress-free event you and your graduate will remember for a lifetime!
     

    Contact Us

Venue Feature: Gore Place

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Tue, Apr 18, 2017

FEATURED EVENT VENUE: GORE PLACE

Gore Place

Gore Place (Waltham, MA) is a classic New England Country Estate. The mansion and surrounding landscape provide a regency style atmosphere while their newly renovated carriage house boasts of casual elegance. Gore Place hosts weddings, social, and corporate events year round. 

For weddings the lawn provides a beautiful backdrop for a ceremony or cocktail hour. Dinner and dancing can take place in their three season white peaked century tent with integrated dance floor or inside the carriage house. The tent can accommodate up to 200 guests while the carriage house provides a more intimate space for groups of 90-125 depending on event layout. There is even an on-site dressing room available to use prior to the wedding. Between the 50 acres of gardens, lawns, and farmland, the picture opportunities are endless.

Gore Place Weddings

The carriage house is the perfect space for off-site meetings, special events and corporate receptions. With many conveniences from A/V and free wifi to AC and ample parking, the carriage house can host groups up to 125 guests. In the summer the lawn provides a versatile space for company outings with tons of space for games, food and more. The historic atmosphere and alluring grounds create a unique inviting space to host your next event corporate event, whether planning a holiday party in the winter, or an extravagant company party in the summer.

Carriage house gore place
Photo credit (tent & cake): Brandin Tumeinski Photography

Contact us to learn more about hosting your next event at Gore Place

Contact Us

 

Lillet Blanc Summer Cocktail Recipe

Posted by Peppers Team on Thu, Apr 13, 2017

Lillet Blanc Basil Cocktail

Lillet blanc is an aperitif wine that is pleasantly fruity but not overly sweet. When paired
with gin, orange juice and basil it creates a balanced combination of sweetness and
herbal notes. This is the ultimate refreshing summer cocktail.

Signature Cocktail summer
Ingredients
4 oz lillet blanc
1 oz gin
2 oz fresh orange juice
¼ cup loosely packed fresh basil
splash of tonic
1 cucumber spear
Steps

 

 


Combine ice, lillet blanc, gin, orange juice and basil in a cocktail shaker- shake well!
Fill glass with ice. Strain contents of shaker into a glass.
Top with tonic water and garnish with a cucumber spear. ENJOY!

It's the Little Things in Life | Mini Desserts

Posted by Peppers Team on Wed, Mar 29, 2017

IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS IN LIFE | MINI DESSERT IDEAS

Dare to go smaller at your next event. Offer your guests mini versions of your favorite dessert. These individual size desserts are fun to eat and can also double as an edible favor. We especially love individual desserts for a bridal shower or baby shower, in which you can customize the dessert to fit the look and theme of the event.

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Heart shaped pie pops are a perfect dessert for a bridal shower. Instead of dealing with a messy pie, it’s much more enjoyable for your guests to receive their own pie pop.  Oreo pops, cake pops, and rice krispie pops can be color coordinated to fit with the baby's gender at a baby shower. Or different kinds of cake can be served in small jam jars that guests can take home.

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Individual desserts can also be enjoyed at the event. We recently served mini wedding cakes at a bridal shower. Guests could choose from 3 different individually plated and designed 3 tier cakes.

Individual desserts are cute, convenient and fun! To see more dessert inspiration ideas check out our CakeART page

Featured Venue: Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Mon, Mar 20, 2017

FEATURED EVENT VENUE: HANOVER THEATER

Hanover theater Worcester

Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts in Worcester, MA is a 2,300 seat theatre that draws over 197,000 patrons annually with world class performances and popular Broadway Shows. The Theatre combines old warm charm with state of the art technology making it a unique venue to host an event. Offering a variety of spaces to accommodate events of all shapes and sizes you are sure to find the perfect location for your event.

551 Main street, is Hanover's newest event space. Recently renovated with gorgeous hard wood floors and interesting architecture to create two contemporary and beautiful event spaces. 551 can accommodate groups of 40-250 depending on the event set-up. This is a wonderful space for both corporate and social dinners or luncheons.

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photo ©  Erb Photography

The historic lobby offers stunning chandeliers, antique mirrors, a granite bar and an iconic grand staircase. The lobby can accommodate up to 150 guests and is the perfect spot for a cocktail style event.

The grand promenade overlooks the lobby and is a large space that can accommodate up to 200 guests for a seated dinner or 300 for a cocktail style reception. This space is ideal for a pre show cocktail party.

catering Hanover Theater
Photo © Joe Dolen Photography

The stage is Hanover's most unique space to host your event. Commonly used to host large corporate dinners, fundraisers and weddings. The stage can accommodate up to 300 guests for a seated dinner. Additionally, the theatre can hold up to 2,300 guests making it ideal for a large presentation or tradeshow.  events hanover theater
Photo © Joe Dolen Photography
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Photo ©  CJ Gonzalez Photography

Interested in hosting your event at Hanover? Contact us!
For more information on renting the space or seeing a broadway show click here.


 

Bow - Tying it all Together

Posted by Peppers Team on Wed, Mar 15, 2017

BOW - TYING IT ALL TOGETHER

tower hill weddings
   At Peppers Artful Events, we have a love for creativity and design. Picking out beautiful china, linen, glassware, and flatware are part of the big picture, and can be quite impactful to your wedding. One way to make your day unforgettable is to incorporate a design element that adds a very special touch to the overall look-n-feel of your celebration. It is a great way to express your style as a couple and can become that one detail that ties it all together. We’ve seen couples use retro bicycles, vintage keys or books, parasols and food items like a favorite candy or family recipe.

   This past summer, we had the special honor of working with Steve & Josh on their wedding at Tower Hill Botanical Gardens. Their special detail was a bow-tie. This originated from their wedding invites which a friend designed with a yellow and navy bow tie. They loved it so much they decided to make it a a staple of their wedding.  The bow-tie was incorporated throughout their wedding from save-the-dates and invitations to décor and ring boxes.

   Bow-ties reflect style, elegance, confidence and attention to detail, which all represent who Steve & Josh are. Of course, each wore a custom made bow tie on their wedding day.  (knottytie.com - check them out!) Each time we saw that bow-tie, it made us smile thinking how fabulous and wonderful they are as a couple.

 Here is a sneak peek of Steve and Josh’s wedding!

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Photographer: Janelle Carmela Photography
Venue:
Tower Hill Botanical Garden
Catering:
Peppers Artful Events

To see more weddings from Tower Hill Botanic Garden follow our Pinterest board.

Catering for a Bar or Bat Mitzvah

Posted by Peppers Team on Tue, Mar 07, 2017

Catering for a Bar or Bat Mitzvah

catering bar mitzvahAs I await the assignment of my own son’s Bar Mitzvah date, I am thinking of all of the planning that goes into the big event. Where to have the party? Kids or adults? Afternoon or evening? Who sits where? One of the most important questions for me, is what will the food be? That leads to a whole other list of questions. Who will cater? Buffet or plated? Small kiddush or elaborate dinner?

As an Event Manager, I have planned -as well as attended as a guest - numerous Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. I find that choosing a menu for the kids can be more challenging than one would think. Gone are the days of chicken fingers and french fries. Kids today have much more adventurous palates. In addition, kids who go to Mitzvah after Mitzvah, weekend after weekend, grow tired of the same cuisine at every party.

catering bat mitzvah

Food stations continue to be a popular trend. More focused than a buffet, a food station not only gives the kids an opportunity to create their own meal, but also offers a deeper dive into one particular type of cuisine. In addition, food can be eaten on the run, while dancing or during games. As we all know, kids don’t want to sit for long! Here are a few of my favorite food stations. 

  • Taco Station: Soft and hard taco shells, pulled chicken, ground beef, refried beans, tomato, shredded lettuce and cheese with a variety of salsas, hot sauces, guacamole, homemade tortilla chips
  • Burgers and Dogs: Beef and vegetarian sliders, hot dogs, chili, sliced and shredded cheeses, with all the fixins, paired with seasoned french fries or sweet potato fries.
  • Mac and Cheese Bar: Creamy mac and cheese with a variety of add-ins like bacon, tomatoes, jalapenos and more.
  • Salad Bar: Assorted mixed greens with a variety of toppings. For even more intrigue serve the salad in a martini glass!
  • Asian Dumpling Station: Soba noodles paired with veggie and beef dumplings, shrimp shumai, and all the fixins. Serve in asian food containers and you have a great on the move food station.
  • Grilled Cheese: Who doesn’t love a warm freshly grilled grilled cheese? Our chef active grilled cheese station is always a hit. Pair this with a warm soup for a perfect combination.
You can turn eating into an activity for kids. Know a sushi chef? Have a make-your-own sushi bar with lessons on rolling your own. Tired of ordinary cakes? How about a cupcake decorating station for dessert? Of course, this is only the beginning! Any of these suggestions can be rearranged or substituted to suit your or your child’s tastes.

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photo by Nancy Katz Photography 
Written by Jen Shotkin, Event Manager & Bar/Bat Mitzvah Specialist 

Let these ideas be a springboard for your own creative ideas! Contact us today to begin planning your bar or bat mitzvah menu. For more inspiration follow our Pinterest page

Contact Us

Lindsey and Dave Tie the Knot at the Five Bridge Inn

Posted by Sarah Barrett on Wed, Mar 01, 2017

Lindsey and Dave's Fall Wedding at The Five Bridge Inn

It was a beautiful fall day in October, when Lindsey and Dave said "I do" under the white gazebo at the Five Bridge Inn. This was an extra special wedding for us to be a part of, as Lindsey is one of our own talented Event Managers. We couldn't be more excited to share her wedding with you.

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Lindsey and Dave wanted a casual elegant feel to their wedding that also involved hanging out by a fire with friends and family at the end of the celebration (a past time they frequently enjoy). The Five Bridge Inn couldn’t have been a more perfect venue for them.  Between the sprawling lawns, poolside cocktail hour, stunning white cloth tent, and of course the fire pit, the inn created the perfect backdrop for their fall inspired wedding. They were even able to spend the night before the wedding celebrating their daughter Mckenna's birthday outside at the inn.five bridge inn.jpgcatering five bridge inn.jpgcatering five bridge inn.jpgfall wedding cocktail cider.jpgPeppers Artful Events Five Bridge Inn

The color palette of purples, oranges, greens, and pops of yellow were incorporated throughout many details of the wedding.  The centerpiece design incorporated wood stumps from Lindsey's grandmother's backyard. Between the wood accents, moss and bunches of kale a natural elegant feel was created.

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Lindsey, naturally with her love for food being in the catering industry, wanted her guests to enjoy a wide range of tastes and flavors. Dinner was served on stations with small plates. This allowed the guests to enjoy a range of food from grilled cheese and soup, short ribs atop savory corn pudding, to a chef active butternut squash ravioli station with a maple brown butter sauce.

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Following dinner, guests enjoyed cake and an array of cookies paired with milk. The cookie bar was a joint effort from family and friends, who spent days before the wedding preparing their favorite cookie recipes. There were so many personal details incorporated into the wedding that made it truly unique to Lindsey and Dave. We couldn't be happier to have been a part of the celebration - Wishing them both a lifetime of happiness (from the Peppers team!).

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Photography: Angela Greenlaw Photography
Venue: The Five Bridge Inn, Rehoboth MA
Catering, Cake, Design and Florals: Peppers Artful Events

 

Winter in Bloom Series at Tower Hill Botanic Garden

Posted by Peppers Team on Mon, Feb 20, 2017

Winter in Bloom Series at Tower Hill Botanical Gardenswinter in bloom.jpg

    This past week our in-house Floral Designer, Katie Gaucher, was invited to participate in the annual Winter in Bloom Floral Design Series at Tower Hill Botanic Gardens. Over the course of five weekends, guests are invited to Tower Hill Botanic Garden to experience a vast array of floral arrangements, participate in workshops, and hear from industry professionals.

This years theme was, “The Gardens of Tower Hill”, in honor of the 175th Anniversary of the Worcester County Horticultural Society. Designers, both professional and amateur, were asked to create a unique floral arrangement using one of the many Tower Hill gardens as their inspiration. These arrangement could only be made using freshly cut plant material.orangerie tower hill

   Katie chose the Orangerie for her inspiration.  “When I imagine the Orangerie in the winter, I picture many varieties of plants and trees all clustered together in one space. It’s a beautiful, natural and fragrant oasis full of light and life.”- Katie

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  She designed her arrangement using concrete/stone material- a trend in the wedding industry right now, as well as a key element of design in the Orangerie and other gardens at Tower Hill. Katie incorporated plants that she had at her own home to add a more natural, personal and interesting feel to the piece. “I just like how my succulents at home have grown over the years and aren’t as perfect as the new one’s you’d find at the store”.  Between the succulents, she integrated an array of colorful Orchids and Peperomia with various potted greens and natural moss. The outcome was a thoughtfully composed, beautiful and unique piece that evokes nature and life.

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Have you had a chance to make it to Winter in Bloom yet? Don’t miss this great opportunity to get out of the cold and experience Spring before it’s here! Click here from more information

To see more of Katie's floral and design work follow our pinterest page

 

Featured Event Venue: The Pierce House

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Wed, Feb 15, 2017

FEATURED EVENT VENUE: THE PIERCE HOUSE
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The Pierce House, located in the heart of Lincoln, was built in 1900. Crafted in the Georgian-Revival style, the house and thirty surrounding acres of woodlands and rolling lawns originally included vegetable gardens, an orchard, and a carriage house. In 1964, the Pierce family left the house and extensive property to the Town of Lincoln. Since that time, this elegant estate has provided a unique and historic location for weddings, meetings, corporate and social events.

Lulu_Nathan_Ceremony-116Photographer: Leah Freeman Photography
The Pierce House provides both indoor and outdoor options for all kind of special occasions. Inside the historic estate they can accommodate up to 75 guests, while outside under the tent on the beautifully manicured lawn they can accommodate events up to 200.  

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 Weddings at the Pierce House are picturesque. With two on-site ceremony sites, near the pond under an old willow tree or in the colorful gardens, you will find the perfect backdrop to say I do. The estate house features a large wrap around porch, perfect for cocktail hour, where guests can look out over rolling lawns and charming gardens. The dinner reception can take place inside the estate for a smaller intimate wedding or outside under the large white tent for events over 80.

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Photographer: Leah Freeman Photography

Contact us to learn more about hosting your event at the Pierce House. 

ARTbar's New Draft Beer Wall

Posted by Sarah Barrett on Wed, Jan 25, 2017

ARTbar's Newest Draft Beer Wall

Do you love craft beer? Are you looking for something interesting and unique for your next event that will have your guests talking long after your party is over? Our draft beer wall is a fun and unique addition to your next event. 

This stunning new beer tap wall makes a big impact on any party-whether it be a corporate function, wedding, birthday party, gala/fundraiser- you name it! It’s classic and clean design makes it blend well with many different venues and settings. With slate gray and metal accents it coordinates nicely with a wide variety of themes and colors.

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Photos by Lindsay Hackney Photography

We designed the wall to have a mix of straight and cross shelving to allow the addition of bottes, florals or décor for further customization based on your specific event. The tap handles are updated each event to display the name of your beer offerings.

The beer wall works as a great addition for a birthday party or graduation as well. Instead of beer we can serve various sodas and non-alcoholic beverages. 

We also offer a more traditional beer tap wall featuring dark stained wood and black accents which looks great in a more rustic or outdoors setting.

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Think of how fun this could be for your next event! For more design ideas from ARTbar check out our ARTbar Pinterest page. 

Event Venue Feature: Asa Waters Mansion

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Thu, Jan 19, 2017

EVENT VENUE FEATURE: ASA WATERS MANSION

Asa Waters Mansion, located in the heart of Millbury is a beautiful estate for weddings, functions, meetings and cultural events. Whether you’re considering an intimate sit down dinner or an outside celebration, Asa Waters offers outstanding intimacy and elegance.

Asa Waters has a variety of options both inside the mansion and on their beautiful landscaped lawn. Events inside the mansion can accommodate up to 85 guests for a sit down dinner or buffet. For guest lists of a 100-150 a tent can be rented to combine the elegance of the manor while utilizing the spacious grounds.

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Planning a wedding at Asa Waters ensures a beautiful elegant event. Ceremonies can take place on their 19th century style bandstands, under stately trees or on a portico. Following the ceremony your guests can enjoy cocktails on the lawn and porches with dinner in the house or under a tent on the lush green lawn.

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For more information about Asa Waters Click Here.
Photo Credits: Rob Reiman Photography



 

Favorite Baby Shower Cakes of 2016

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Wed, Jan 11, 2017

Favorite Baby Shower Cakes of 2016

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A special day like welcoming a new baby calls for a special cake. When it comes to planning a shower having a cake that ties into the overall theme of the party is important since it is both a decoration and a delicious dessert. From monkeys to cows and sheeps to elephants these cakes are almost too cute to eat.

hello kitty baby shower cake Monkey Baby Shower cake

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 For more cake inspiration follow our CakeART Pinterest page.


 

Pantone Color of the Year 2017

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Thu, Jan 05, 2017

Pantone Color of the Year 2017 is Greenery

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We’re so excited about Pantone’s color choice for this year.

This refreshing greenish-yellowish hue is “Symbolic of new Beginnings” and has been created to “satisfy our growing desire to rejuvenate and revitalize” according to Pantone.com.

When you think of the color Greenery what comes to mind? new life? spring time? growth? nature? To us, the color and it's meaning represents an opportunity, as a company, to continue to grow and learn each day. It reminds us to always produce fresh, flavorful, wholesome food sourced from local Farms and businesses. It inspires us to continue along our path of being a certified green caterer and to remain socially and environmentally responsible. It excites us to be able to help design and execute our client’s visions, keeping up with current trends and inspire ways to use this vibrant color in many of our upcoming events.

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Photo Ⓒ Jill Markley Photography                                                    Photo Ⓒ Melissa K. Wilson Photography

Greenery is a beautiful color to incorporate in both small or big ways in the design of your event. How about a moss backdrop for placecards to create a natural garden look? Or  magnolia leaf placecards for a more subtle use of the color. Colored napkins are perfect for adding a POP of color to your tablescape.

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Greenery also works well when incorporated into floral designs. We love the impact succulants add to an all white cake.

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Photo Ⓒ Shane Godfrey Photography       Photo Ⓒ Melissa k. Wilson                        

2015’s color of the Year, Marsala, took the wedding industry by storm, inspiring brides to incorporate the deep burgundy-like color into many aspects of their big day! From bridesmaid’s dresses and cakes to centerpieces and bouquets, we saw many unique and beautiful touches of Marsala in every season that year and expect that greenery will be a huge trend in the upcoming 2017 wedding season- we couldn’t be more excited!

For more wedding inspiration follow our Pinterest page. 

 

New Year's Eve Punch

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Wed, Dec 28, 2016

New Year's Eve Punch Recipe

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Looking for a delicious and seasonal punch for your New Year's Eve celebration? This recipe is sure to delight your party guests. It can be made ahead of time and taken out when you're ready to enjoy.
 
Ingredients
4 cups Tito's Vodka
16 oz. rosemary-infused cranberry juice-recipe below
11 oz. Aperol
5 oz. simple syrup
2.5 oz. fresh lemon juice
3 cups club soda
Garnish: fresh cranberries and lemon wheels
 

Combine the first five ingredients and chill in the refrigerator. When ready to serve pour into your favorite punch bowl with ice, cranberries and lemon wedges then top with club soda.  Makes 16-18 servings
 

Rosemary-Infused Cranberry Juice
4 (12-oz.) bags frozen or fresh cranberries
8 cups water
10 sprigs fresh rosemary
 
Combine the cranberries with 4 cups of the water in a large pot. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until cranberries soften then add the remaining 4 cups of water and rosemary. Bring the mixture to a boil, remove from heat and cool for 15 minutes. Strain the mixture and discard the berries and rosemary.

Brooke and Brian's Charles River Museum Wedding

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Fri, Dec 02, 2016

Brook and Brian's Wedding at Charles River Museum of Industry

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It was a beautiful day in September when Brook and Brian said "I do" at the Charles River Museum of Industry. This was the perfect venue for their rustic style wedding. The wedding started off with a lovely ceremony in the park by the Charles River. Following the ceremony guests made their way to the museum for the reception, where they enjoyed cocktails and appetizers while exploring the museum's unique exhibits. 

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On the second floor, guests dined at farmers table adorned with wildflowers (designed by a very talented bridesmaid) and lanterns, which complemented the museum's brick walls, creating an elegant but relaxed setting.  Bistro lights from Boston Lighting made the space even more intimate and whimsical. Throughout the reception they adjusted the lighting to fit with the mood of the evening. 

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After dinner, the guests enjoyed our s'mores donut bar before dancing the night away. It was a sweet ending to a beautiful day.

The Team
Venue:
Charles River Museum of Industry
Photographer: Mark Spooner Photography
Lighting: Boston Lighting 
Farm tables & chairs: Boston Rustic Wedding Rentals



 

Honey Roasted Carrots with Tahini Yogurt

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Tue, Nov 15, 2016

Honey Roasted Carrots with Tahini Yogurt
Makes 8 Servings

Ingredients:
2 lbs carrots (assorted colors) honey roasted carrots recipe
1 oz honey clover
1 fl. oz extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. whole coriander seeds
1/2 tbs. fresh chopped thyme
2 tbs. fresh chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp. whole cumin seeds

Steps
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. cut carrots into 2.5 inch batons (sticks)
3. combine honey, extra virgin olive oil, coriander seeds and thyme then add to the carrots. Lightly season with salt and peppers
4. put in oven and roast until golden brown - about 20 minutes

Tahini Yogurt
Ingredients:
1 oz. sesame paste tahini
3 fl. oz plain greek yogurt
Juice from half a lemon and lemon zest
3 garlic cloves crushed

Mix all ingredients together & serve as a side or ontop of the roasted carrots. 

Trending in Floral Designs: Suspended and Inverted

Posted by Peppers Team on Fri, Oct 28, 2016

Unique Floral Designs : Suspended and Inverted

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A current event trend we are excited about here at Peppers Fine Catering is suspended florals  instead of, or in addition to, table centerpieces.

We recently created floral “chandeliers” at a corporate event in Boston. Because we couldn’t hang the arrangements directly from the ceiling beams in the venue, we custom-built 5’ tall frames to sit on the guest tables. The dangling flowers created an intimate, secret garden feel – gorgeous and totally unexpected.

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We heard many “oohs and ahs” when we revealed the dining space. The flowers looked great at eye level, but even more striking was the view when guests looked up from their chairs. Totally memorable!

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Another idea is to drape flowers from the top of a wedding arch or chuppah.  Imagine a bridal couple standing underneath a bountiful floral bouquet and the gorgeous photos! 

Let Peppers create the unexpected for your next celebration – with delicious food and design/ floral ideas that will simply wow your guests.

Venue: Boston Soceity of Architects
Designs and Catering: Peppers Artful Events

 

Tuscan Themed Bridal Shower

Posted by Peppers Team on Wed, Sep 28, 2016

Tuscan Themed Bridal Shower at Tower Hill Botanic Garden

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Tower Hill Botanic Garden was the perfect venue for Nick and Diana’s Tuscan themed bridal shower. Guests mingled in the spacious great hall while enjoying Italian specialties including our fabulous butternut squash and rosemary lasagna and a large antipasto presentation.

To create the Tuscan look and feel, we used topiaries, ivy plants, and branches throughout the room. We adorned the fireplace with lanterns and greens to help highlight the beautiful stone fireplace in the center of the room. Moss balls, neutral colors and wood gave the room a warm and welcoming feel that was accentuated by the blazing fire in the fireplace!  

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The Team

Photography: Joe Dolen Photography
Catering: Peppers Artful Events
Design & Flowers: Peppers Style and Design Team
Venue: Tower Hill Botanic Garden


 

3rd Annual Farm to Table Dinner at Indian Head Farm

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Thu, Sep 01, 2016

3rd Annual Farm to Table Dinner at Indian Head Farm

Another year and another successful farm to table dinner at Indian Head Farm. We are fortunate to collaborate year after year with Lilac Hedge, Indian Head and Crystal Brook Farm to offer a delicious dinner featuring great local products. Over the course of two days we fed more than 140 guests an array of passed appetizers, local beer, and a three course dinner. Music for the event was provided by The Brother Rule Band and The 19 Carter Band.

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Menu

Hors d'oeuvre

Zucchini, Lemon & Mint Bruschetta

Roasted Vegetable Croustade, Crystal Brook Chevre Boursin

Pissaladiere Tart with Honey from Peppers own Bee's

Eggplant Caviar, Bloody Mary Pearls, Basil Crust Cornet

First Course

Chilled Local Corn Soup, Basil Chantilly Crema

Field Green & Herb Salad, Shaved Radish, Beets & Herb Vinaigrette

Second Course

Nicoise Potato Salad, on Rocket Lettuce, French Tarragon

Farm Fresh Vegetable and Spelt Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette Honey Roasted Carrots with Tahini Yogurt

Braised Cabbage with Raspberries Zucchini and Summer Squash Potatoes au Gratin

Smoked Lilac Hedge Ham

Spit Roasted Baron of Beef from Lilac Hedge Farm

Third Course

Fresh Basil Pot d' Creme

For More Information about the farms:
http://www.indianheadfarm.com/
http://www.crystalbrookfarm.com/
http://lilachedgefarms.com/

We are proud to be a Certified Green Caterer by the Green Restaurant Association. Click here to learn more about our green catering program.  

 

 

Cheryl and Craig's Summer Wedding at The Five Bridge Inn

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Mon, Aug 08, 2016

Cheryl and Craig's Summer Wedding at The Five Bridge Inn

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Cheryl and Craig had a beautiful wedding reception at the Five Bridge Inn located in Rehoboth Massachusetts. Upon arrival to the inn guests enjoyed drinks and hors d'oeuvres under the tented patio. Following cocktail hour everyone made their way to the dinner tent. Seating cards were strung across a beautiful book backdrop adorned with moss and flowers. String lighting created a starlight atmosphere inside the tent that fit perfectly with the tablescapes. The remainder of the evening was filled with laughter, dancing, surprise improv, yummy food and a late night food truck appearance. Here is a sneak peek into their amazing wedding.
 

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The Team
Catering: Peppers Artful Events
Photographer: Black Thumb Studio
Videography: LMV Productions
Wedding Planner:  Fetching Events
Venue: Five Bridge Inn
Florals: Lyndsey Loring Design
DJ: Southshore Entertainment


 

Our Favorite Sweet & Savory Late Night Wedding Snacks

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Tue, Jul 05, 2016

Sweet & Savory Late Night Snack Ideas

Dinner has been served and the dancing has started but the food service doesn't need to come to an end just yet. Keep your guests energized and the party going with delicious late night sweet or savory snacks. Servers can pass on fun trays through the dancefloor as a nice surprise and quick pick me up for your guests. Here are a few of our favorite late night passed snacks that are sure to be a hit! 

Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches are perfect for your summer wedding. Mix and match your favorite cookie and ice cream flavors for fun combinations your guests will enjoy. 

Wedding Ice cream sandwiches

Photo Credit: Simi Rabinowitz Photography

 

Mini Filled Cones are a great quick two bite passed sweet. They can be filled with mousse, ice cream, sorbet and more! 

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Photo Credit: The Imagery Studio

Cookies and Milk Shooters are one of those all-time favorite comfort foods. Serve mini cookies with a shot glass of milk for a delicious sweet to end the night. 

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Dessert Pops - Think cupcake pops, cake pops, pie pops - the options are endless. Dessert Pops are easy to grab - plus they are so adorable and fun!

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Late night passed snacks don't need to be sugary and sweet. If you tend to lean towards savory and salty we've got you covered. 

French Fries or Chips- Pass these salty snacks in paper cones that match the theme and look of your wedding or event. Guests can easily handle the cones while busting a move on the dance floor. 

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Photo Credit: The Imagery Studio

Mini Sliders- Looking for a heartier late night snack then these sliders will be the perfect pair for you. 

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Sugared Bacon Planks- Bacon is delicious any time of day! They can be a wonderful mix of savory and sweet when dusted with our whiskey sugar blend. 

Popcorn- A fun snack that can be easily passed in miniature bags. Flavors can go either salty or sweet or pass both to please all of your guest’s taste buds. 

We hope these inspire you to start thinking about the many late night snack options you can offer your guests. 

More Menu Ideas

Group Bridal Tasting Sneak Peek

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Mon, May 09, 2016

Group Bridal Tasting Sneak Peak

Thinking of attending a complementary group bridal tasting at Peppers? You’re one step closer to experiencing all that Peppers has to offer….and it’s not just exquisite food!

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While we're most-known for our fresh, flavorful and locally-sourced cuisine, we provide so much more than just a delicious meal.  Consider us a “one stop shop” for all of your wedding needs, from cuisines to cakes, and drinks to decor. Let us bring your vision to life through other custom special details like edible favors, stationery ( invitations, menu cards, place cards, etc.), florals, and more.

When you walk through the front door you will step into an experience. You’ll be greeted with a passed seasonal cocktail, escorted to your seat and then encouraged to look around- and there’s a lot to look at! 

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Our style and Design department will have expertly designed a few different tablescapes for you. The tables are ever changing from rustic to industrial to glam and spring inspired. Even if they are not the specific look you want for your day- we hope they start the process of envisioning how you can change the look of your wedding with a unique tablescape.

You will be seated at a table with other excited couples.  At each table there will be placecards, a menu, and table numbers that have been specially designed to show you examples of what we can custom create for you. As a thank you for coming, there is an edible favor adorning each place setting, which we welcome you to enjoy or save for later!

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Tastings include a variety of our most popular hors d’oeuvres followed by a sample of some of our favorite entrees. Typically a beef duo plate, fish and chicken dish and vegetarian selections are served- each featuring a starch and vegetable that pairs nicely with that particular course. Our chefs will circulate the room, explaining what you are enjoying and answering any questions that you may have. We welcome you to take notes directly onto your custom menu for you to review following the tasting. Have a particular allergy? No problem! Let us know prior to the tasting and we will happily accommodate.  Throughout the tasting, some of our Senior Event Designers, Event Managers and Waitstaff will be available to talk and answer question for you, as well.  Following the main course, you will be invited to indulge in some delectable desserts and will receive a few slices of cake to take home and enjoy.

 Our goal at these tastings is to allow you to not only taste our food, but ignite all of the senses in one inclusive experience. We want you to leave feeling excited and inspired for your one of a kind day. Once you experience Peppers, you’ll see why we we’re so passionate about what we do and why you won’t regret having us cater your special occasion!

 


 

Dancing with Cars

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Mon, Apr 25, 2016

Dancing with Cars at Larz Anderson Auto MuseumLars Anderson Auto Museum Wedding

Looking for a unique event venue that boasts both expansive outdoor space and one-of-a-kind exhibits for guests to enjoy? Then check out the Larz Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline – the oldest car collection in the United States.

We were pleased to be a part of the Larz Anderson Event Expo to help promote this gem of a museum. We love to see people’s faces light up when they enter and see the many vintage cars on display. Museum staff is well versed in the details of the autos, so guests feel like they get a personal tour. And, you are surrounded by the cars as you dance, socialize and enjoy a meal. How’s that for a memorable celebration?!

There are so many ways to use a  car theme for an event at Larz , such as “ Match Box” type  cars for place card holders, naming tables after classic cars, car drinks (ie Sidecar)  and much more.

And, with two natural locations outside to hold a wedding ceremony or put up a tent for large groups, Larz Anderson exudes warmth and charm for anyone who enjoys being a part of  history.

Check out their website for more information: http://larzanderson.org/ of follow our Larz Anderson Pinterest Inspiration Board

Peach Mint Julep Recipe

Posted by Peppers Team on Wed, Apr 13, 2016

peach julep cocktailPeach Mint Julep

A delicious twist on the popular Kentucky Derby cocktail, the Mint Julep. 

Ingredients

1 oz. fresh lemon juice
1 oz. simple syrup
4 mint leaves
1 ½ oz. bourbon whisky
½ fresh peach pureed in food processor

Muddle mint leaves in shaker glass. Add all other ingredients and stir together with ice. Garnish with fresh mint and enjoy. This makes for one yummy cocktail! 

Fun Fact: Every year around 120,000 mint juleps are served over the course of two days during the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby weekend at Church Hill Downs Racetrack. 



 

A Tasting Combination to Remember

Posted by Peppers Team on Tue, Mar 22, 2016

What a fun night filled with tastings, delicious food, laughter and learning at Julio's Liquors in Westborough. We had the pleasure of being a part of a unique Grand Marnier and food tasting this past fall. Guests enjoyed 5 courses each paired with wine or Grand Marnier Liquor. As the servers passed each course, Master Distiller Patrick Raguenaud explained the background, history and flavors. We especially loved his enthusiasm and knowledge for the trade. Below are some of the fantastic moments captured by Erb Photography.

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First Course
Eclectic Beets, Beet Juice Reduction, Arugula Sprouts and Grand Marnier White Balsamic Syrup
Paired with Grand Mariner100
 
Second Course
Grilled Local Shrimp, Fresh Pickled Herbs, Shaved Bok Choy, Baby Field Greens with Light Champagne Vinaigrette 
Paired with Château de Sancerre Blanc
 
Third Course
Cocoa Dusted Short Rib of Beef, Demi Glace with Frizzled Leeks over Local Corn Pudding with Zucchini, Summer Squash & Broccoli
Paired with Clos Apalta Red 
 
Fourth Course
Blue Long Goat Cheese & Vermont 5 Year Cheddar 
Paired with Quintessence Served with White Gloves
 
Fifth Course
Ying & Yang Chocolate Dipped Fig Stuffed with Mascarpone Infused Grand Marnier
Served alongside a homemade Grand Marnier Salted Caramel
 
The final course included a demonstration of a dipped chocolate smoked cherry by our talented Executive Pastry Chef Lisa. 
 
Check out a great read featuring this event in Foodies of New England Magazine 

 Foodies of New England Spring Edition

 



 

Talk DERBY to Me

Posted by Peppers Team on Wed, Mar 16, 2016
 Kentucky Derby Themed Party

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With the 2015 holiday parties in our past and winter on its way out, its time to start thinking about a fun spring get together with friends! How about.....a Kentucky Derby Party!!?There’s no time like the present, so call up your friends, dial up the fun, and Run for the Roses!

What a great way to celebrate the Derby with some dazzle, a dash of Southern Charm and a great mix of music and friends to get your party going. The Kentucky Derby race tradition dates back many years, are steeped in fun, parties, hats and mint julep drinkers. You can bring some of that tradition and fun right into your very own home with some helpful party tips:

  • Encourage the women party-goers to wear big hats, and men bowties. You could even ramp it up a bit by offering a horseshoe pin to your guests upon arrival. Red roses are popular when decorating your home. The more equestrian, the better!
  • Bring the South to your home by offering some traditional Derby Favorites. Think Ham Biscuits, Kentucky Hot Browns, Deviled Eggs Tea Sandwiches and Burbon Balls. 
  • Go like-the-pros in Special Event Catering and offer a signature cocktail or two. This will help simplify your menu and ease the amount of items at your bar. Try Mint Juleps, Bloody Mary's and Mimosas!  

And finally, Be sure to have the race on television, or go softer and throw on some Southern Jazz Music. Entertainment is a very important piece to an event!

To wrap things up, be sure to design your menu and evening so you aren’t spending the whole time in the kitchen heating things up. Most people plan terrific parties, but don’t spend time with their guests because of this.  So develop a good plan, a great menu and be sure to HAVE FUN!!

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Embracing a Blank Canvas

Posted by Peppers Team on Thu, Mar 03, 2016

We love having the opportunity to work at so many unique venues and being able to create different looks and feels at each. Some venues lend themselves naturally to a particular style- rustic, futuristic, old fashioned, glamour and more. Raw space is always interesting to work with because you can turn it into virtually any type of venue that you like. It essentially is a blank canvas.

Mass Ballet in Framingham, is an old mill with old office cubicles running down one side, fluorescent office lights, and a rough unfinished interior look. We had a client that had grown up in the ballet school through all her years of lessons and wanted to celebrate her Bat Mitzvah in this space that meant so much to her. We jumped at the opportunity to transform this blank canvas into her dream vision. 

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She wanted a glamourous festive and lively evening. We brought this vision to life by tranforming the space by bringing in many new elements and details. String lighting and purple uplights gave a whole new feel to the very industrial space. Monochromatic purples and pops of gold brought color and fun throughout the room. We even added in modern lounge furniture to create an inviting and comfortable feel. High cocktail tables with bar stool chiavari chairs helped create a cocktail style party where the guests opening mingled and socialized throughout the night. 

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It took a little creativity with design in creating a look for the room, but our finished product was a great representation of the style of our client. We showcased the parts of the room that were unqie and interesting and carefully draped and lit the rest to create a inviting and fun atmosphere. 

Photo Credits: Barry Alley Photograph Barry Alley Photography Website

One of Boston's Newest & Unique Event Venues!

Posted by Peppers Team on Wed, Feb 24, 2016

 Boston Harbor Distillery: One of Boston's Newest and Unique Event Venues

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It was a cold and gray day when I went to The Boston Harbor Distillery for the first time.   Fortunately, as soon as I opened the front door to Boston’s newest event venue, located in the port of Boston Harbor, The BHD was the exact opposite of the weather outside…it is cozy and so inviting.  There is warm rustic wood everywhere in the post and beams, in the built in seating along the perimeter, in the built in bar and tables and in the gorgeous tall sliding barn doors which separates rooms that can be used for a small group’s dining area or as break out rooms for a corporate meeting.  To add to the warmth, there are skylights set in the pitched roof that allows a lot of light to filter a soft glow into the space.  The furniture was perfectly chosen for the space with big, comfy, leather and upholstered chairs and soft pillows. 

Boston Harbor Distillery EventsBoston Harbor Distillery Boston Harbor Distillery Bar

This building is steeped in Boston history as it was built in 1959 and first served as the home of the inventions of Silas S. Putnam, then as a the George Lawley & Sons shipyard and later for the creation of the Seymour Family’s ice cream.  Today, the building is home to the Boston Harbor Distillery and its creation of craft spirits with one entire side of the space featuring floor to ceiling windows so while you are sipping your spirit, you are watching the entire distilling process!   Tours of the distilling room are available and you can purchase bottles to take home on your way out.

This wonderful new venue is perfect for groups of up to 70 guests for a seated dinner and 75-100 for a reception. Book your next corporate reception or party here!  For more information on this unique new venue check out their website at http://bostonharbordistillery.com

Our Top 5 Ways to Incorporate Signage in Your Wedding!

Posted by Peppers Team on Tue, Feb 16, 2016

One way to make a statement at your wedding, party, or gala, is through custom signage. We love creating signage that makes an impact, ties into your design, and imparts valuable information to your guests! Maybe you just need a fun sign for your bar, directional signage for guests, or maybe it's something MORE. Here are a few of our favorite areas to incorporate unique signage into your wedding! 

Ceremony

Ceremony signage is a perfect way to make your guests feel comfortable where to go upon arrival. There are many unique and fun seating arrangement sayings that take the guess work out of where guests are to sit during the ceremony. Directional signs are great for outdoor weddings where there may be various locations for the cocktail hour and reception. This is the first impression your guests will have of your wedding so be sure to tie it in with the look and theme of the wedding. 


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     Photo © - top: Joseph Gonzalez Dufrene, bottom left: Katie Hall Photography, Bottom right: The Imagery Studio
Reception Welcome

Whether your reception takes place at the same location as the ceremony or a completely different space- having a welcome sign with the couple's name is a nice touch. Guests will feel welcomed and know they are in the right location. Some venues host more than one wedding a day so this is also a great way to ensure your guests are at the right reception! Believe it or not, guests have ended up at the wrong recepeption and only realized during introductions of the bridal party! 


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Photo ©: Eric Limon Photography

 Buffet Menus

If you are having a buffet or station style dinner reception, why not add in a custom designed menu sign?  Larger style menus make it easier for guests to see the delicious dishes they will be tasting. Fun colors or unique artwork add to the appeal of the menu!

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Photo credit right: Matthew Brooks Photography

 Bar Cocktail Signs

Another opportunity for signage is at your bar! Showcase a signature cocktail with a fun sign and saying. We especially love when couples each have their own cocktail with a unique name. 

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Photo ©: Top Left: Sandra Costello Photography, Top Right: The Imagery Studio

Mr. & Mrs Signs

Mr. and Mrs. or Bride and Groom signs make for a great photo op! 

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There are many great opportunities to tie in fun and unique signage throughout your wedding reception. Our in house design team can help create custom desinged signage for all aspects of your wedding or event! 

 

A Heart Picked Event

Posted by Peppers Team on Wed, Feb 10, 2016
We had the pleasure of helping Sarah Crutcher, a young and talented author, host a book signing for the unveiling of her children's book about adoption called, Heart Picked: Elizabeth's Adoption Tale. 

The tile of the book served as all the inspiration we needed to delight the guests throughout all the details of the party. 

Hors-d'oeuvres and pastries - All were heart-shaped. From canapés to macaroons, our chefs were able to truly capture the magic of this touching story with these delicious bites. Even the displays, all of varying heights, were made using covered books to match the theme and colors of the party.There's no more fitting way to celebrate a book than to recreate it's cover on the cake, which took center stage on the table where Sarah autographed books for her guests. 
 
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Our host was thrilled we were able to capture her vision and execute it with all the finishing touches that make each of our events special. She asked for an elegant book signing for a small group and we delivered in big way! We wish Sarah tremendous success in 2016!

Bright and Beautiful Summer Wedding

Posted by Peppers Team on Tue, Feb 02, 2016
 

Looking for creative and colorful New England summer wedding ideas? Here’s how a recent bride collaborated with Peppers to make her special day memorable.

Crisp navy linens and white chairs created a classic but casual look. To jazz up the color scheme we added pops of chartreuse in various display linens and in the gorgeous floral table centerpieces that Peppers designed.  The visual appeal was refined, yet relaxed.   

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An oyster bar was an important stationary hors d’oeuvres menu item for this couple. Instead of a basic table set up, we used a moving cart with striped awning and attached chalkboard signage to create their  “AW SHUCKS” seafood display with a touch of nautical detail.  Talk about the wow factor! We custom built the cart and yes its available for rent! 

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And her wedding cake was an understated design with a bit of a twist – literally. We turned the square tiers on an angle to give it some sass and tied in navy blue and chartreuse with a ribbon on each tier and floral garnishes.   

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Each design element complemented the others to bring the Brides wedding vision to life. This was an elegant and fun reception that truly reflected the couples’ personalities. 

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We couldn't help but share some more amazing images of their day!

Venue: Tower Hill Botanical Garden
Photographer: Joe Dolen 

A Stunning Transformation

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Tue, Jan 26, 2016
We had the pleasure to help coordinate the many details to completely transform the hall at St. Spyridon Greek Church into a stunning wedding reception. This was accomplished by softening the space with gorgeous colorful linens, adding drapery and lighting, and incorporating beautiful place settings. The florists stunning centerpieces were the final touch in transforming the space. 

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 Hidden behind sliding divider walls was our large display of delicious mini sweets adorned with gold and purple embellishments. At the end of the evening we created a "big reveal" as we opened the doors to present the guests a sweet finish to what was an absolutely magical day.

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When you start with a blank slate you can create a completely custom and unique design for your wedding or event!

Photo Credit: John Lenis Photography http://johnlenisphotography.com/

 


 

Impress Your Guests With Mini Cheesecakes

Posted by Peppers Team on Tue, Jan 19, 2016

If you love sweets as much as we do it can be difficult to choose just one dessert to try! This weekend we served a trio of our most popular cheesecakes to give the guests a variety of different flavors. We artfully plated three mini cheesecakes- banana foster, citrus and dark chocolate for their pleasure. Try this new york style cheesecake recipe at home or for your next party!  

New York Style Cheesecake

Makes 14-16 Bite Sized Cheesecakestrio_cheesecake3-1.jpg

Ingredients 

Make sure all ingredients are room temperature 

2.5 cups graham cracker crumbs 
1/4 c melted butter 
1/8 c sugar 
1lb of cream cheese 
1 cup of sugar 
3 eggs 
1 cup of sour cream 
1TB vanilla

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350°. 

Mix 2.5 cups of graham cracker crumbs with 1/8 cup of sugar. Pour the melted butter into the graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Mix with a fork. Scoop mixture into bottom paper lined muffin tins. Push the crumbs down with a flat object. (Ex. Bottom of a glass).

In an electric mixer with the paddle attachment mix the cream cheese until smooth. Then add the sugar until smooth. Add eggs one at a time mixing until each is incorporated. Add vanilla. Add the sour cream until the cheesecake is smooth and creamy. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the whole cheesecake giggles all at once. Cool until room temperature. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours and then pop out of the pan. Decorate as you like and enjoy! 

Backyard BBQ Wedding Celebration

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Tue, Jan 05, 2016

Backyard BBQ Wedding Celebration

This past August one of Pepper’s very own tied the knot! Morgan & Jon we’re very DIY with their wedding. For the ceremony, Jon built a birch arbor which was decorated with a giant elk skull and pretty pink roses to add a soft touch. The bridesmaids all wore cowboy boots with their light pink dresses. The Maid Of Honor was swiftly escorted down the aisle by the couple’s pitbull mix, Diesel. Followed by Morgan herself with her father, donning a handlebar mustache. For guest seating there were hay bale benches covered in blankets which were later turned into couches for guests to sit back and rest their dancing feet.

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 The reception took place under a beautiful sailcloth tent that looked stunning next to her parent’s red colonial home. There were no seating assignments except for the bridal party who dined at a large farmers table in the middle of the tent.  

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Jon, being the handy-man he is (who spends his weekends at the farmers market with his builds for Johnny Appleseed Designs) built a bar using wine barrels and a curved wooden top set in front of a large, fully bloomed hydrangea bush. Off to the side was an actual horse trough that was used to ice down the beer on this hot summer day.

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To bring the theme full circle, the one thing Morgan really wanted at her casual, but elegant backyard BBQ wedding was Pepper’s infamous copper boot. Filled with straw, and bright sunflowers the boot made a big statement piece on the buffet.

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The birch frosted cake on a custom made stump stand, centered on a wooden market cart was displayed throughout the night. The fun loving Groom, who usually can be seen dressed like a lumberjack, did not hold back from shoving a little bit of the Salted Caramel Devil’s Food Cake (which was a Pepper’s favorite this year) into his bride’s face when it came time for the cake cutting. 

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Even though it was raining cats & dogs by the end of the night, that didn’t stop anyone from having a great time, devouring the cake and mini sweets and dancing up their own storm under the beautifully lit tent. The combination of the Pepper’s touch and the Bride & Groom’s do-it-yourself this wedding was both perfect and personalized.  

Photographer: Joseph Gonzalez Dufresne HelloImJoe

 

This Holiday Cocktail is a hit

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Thu, Dec 24, 2015

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Try this delicious Pomegranate and Rosemary Gin Fizz cocktail this holiday season. The rosemary scents speak to the holidays while the refreshing nature of this cocktail make it perfect for the warmer December weather. 

Ingredients

2 oz. Gin

1 tbsps. Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice

1 tbsp. Rosemary Simple Syrup (Recipe Below)

2 tbsps. Pomegranate Juice

Splash of Club Soda

Pomegranate Seeds

Rosemary Sprigs

 Rosemary Simple Syrup

  1. Boil 1 cup water with 1 cup of sugar
  2. Once the sugar dissolves remove from the heat and add 1 sprig of rosemary
  3. Let sit for 15-20 minutes
  4. Remove rosemary and keep cool 

Drink Instructions

  1. Mix gin, lemon juice, simple syrup and pomegranate juice in a shaker with ice and shake vigorously then pour over ice in a lowball glass
  2. Top with club soda and stir gently
  3. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary and large spoonful of pomegranate seeds.


Caroline and Rob's Equestrian Inspired Wedding

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Tue, Dec 01, 2015

Caroline and Rob's Equestrian Inspired WeddingEquestrian Wedding

We had the honor of being a part of Caroline and Rob's equestrian themed wedding this summer. Caroline’s parents beautiful farm in Berlin, MA set the stage for a memorable celebration.  Caroline wanted to include her love and passion for horses in her wedding day.  From blue trophy ribbons and horseshoes to farmer’s tables and horse drawn carriages the theme was intertwined throughout all the details perfectly. 

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The Team

Caterer: Peppers Artful Events
Wedding Planner: Nancy Sitta
Photographer: Channing Johnson Photography. 

Homemade Cinnamon Hot Chocolate

Posted by Peppers Team on Fri, Nov 27, 2015

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Homemade Cinnamon Hot Chocolate Recipe

Directions

STEP 1: Place milk and half-and-half in a saucepan and heat to a simmer over medium heat.

STEP 2: Meanwhile, sift together the cocoa powder, sugar, and cinnamon.

STEP 3: A few teaspoons at a time, pour the hot milk and half-and-half into the cocoa mixture-stirring continuously to form a smooth paste.

STEP 4: Scrape the cocoa mixture into the saucepan with the milk and simmer 2 minutes; do not let it boil.

STEP 5: Stir in the vanilla

STEPG 6: Top with Whipped Cream, Fluff or Marshmallows and ENJOY! 

The Farm at SummitWynds Tasting Showcase

Posted by Peppers Team on Wed, Nov 25, 2015

This past weekend we hosted an exclusive wedding tasting event at the Beautiful Farm at SummitWynds in Jefferson, MA. The historic fieldstone ski lodge, turned horse barn has been converted to a rustic style event venue that is perfect for weddings, rehearsals, and other social events. 

Any brides looking for a rustic style farm wedding should be sure to look here. The stone barn with white washed walls, fieldstone fireplace, rustic chandeliers and beamed wood ceilings is a perfect location for a small ceremony or cocktail hour. Couples can also get married outside on the lawn with panoramic views of the rolling hills.  Dinner receptions take place in a large tent with removable walls to allow the stunning natural surroundings in. Above the stone barn, there is even a cozy bridal suite for the wedding party to get ready in prior to the festivities. For any guests looking to kick back and relax during the reception they can find their way out to the fire pit!  

This sought after venue is truly remarkable and offers so many benefits. 15 minutes from local hotels for guests and an on-site honeymoon suite available for the couple to rent are among some of the numerous advantages.

The owners have tied in beautiful details around the venue from rustic benches to a wooden cart and vintage style furniture. We were able to seamlessly incorporate many of our own rental items into the space for the tasting. Check out some photos from the event below!

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Our design team created all the signage, florals and decor for the tasting. Items seen above that are available for rent include our light up beer wall and wine barrels with wooden top.  Looking for more inspiration? Follow our Barn and Country Wedding Pinterest Page. https://www.pinterest.com/pepperscatering/barn-and-country-weddings/

Interested in SummitWynds? Visit their website here http://thefarmatsummitwynds.com/ or schedule a tour!

 

 

Thanksgiving Inspiration: Pumpkin Pie

Posted by Peppers Team on Wed, Nov 18, 2015

Fresh Pumpkin Pie

(9” pie) 

 

Ingredients:

Favorite Pie Crust Recipe

1 Sugar Pumpkin

2 eggs

1 C. brown Sugar

1 TB All Purpose Flour

½ tsp salt

2 ½ tsp pumpkin spice

12 oz evaporated milk

 

Directions:

Cut pumpkin in ½ and remove the seeds. Place cut side down on lightly greased pan. Bake at 325 for 30-40 mins. Or until the flesh is tender. Cool until warm. Scrape pumpkin flesh out, mash or puree. Beat eggs, add brown sugar, flour, salt and 2 cups of pumpkin puree, spices and milk. Stir well after addition. Pour mixture into unbaked crust. Place strip of foil around edges. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes, reduce temp to 350 and bake for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick is clean. Remove foil 20 minutes before taking pie out. Cool, chill overnight for best results.



It's a 40 under 40 Fiesta!

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Mon, Nov 16, 2015

Pepper’s recently catered Worcester Business Journals 40 Under 40 event at Mechanic’s Hall in Worcester. This yearly event celebrates the best and brightest leaders under 40.

This year we offered Mexican inspired cuisine to accompany the celebration. Our passed appetizers consisted of avocado and roasted vegetable quesadillas, beef empanadas and spicy tequila shrimp. We also featured a large stationary display of homemade chips and fresh vegetables served with warm fondue and various toppings like sour cream, diced tomatoes, and goat cheese crumbles.

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We love the opportunity to get creative with our displays and showcase delicious cuisine in a fun intriguing way.  Sombreros, cylinders filled with brightly colored vegetables and maracas added visual interest and appeal to our display. We even filled a sombrero with chips! To finish off the event, we passed Mexican Wedding cookies, Mexican Hot Chocolate cookies and Mexican Sugar Cookies on colorful platters. What a fun fiesta! 


 

Think Green, Live Green, Cater Green!

Posted by Peppers Team on Mon, Nov 09, 2015

Pepper's Catering was recently certified as a 2 Star Certified Green Caterer by the Green Restaurant Association, a national nonprofit organization helping restaurants to become more environmentally sustainable. 

We have taken great steps to become a leader among catering companies by maintaining several sustainability initiatives.  As more information has become available about the importance of maintaining our environment and preserving our natural resources, Pepper’s has chosen to make sustainability a key corporate value.  Over the past year Pepper’s has been inspired to take steps to limit our energy consumption, increase our recycling initiatives, and source many food and floral products from local farms and vendors.

Water Reduction:

As a provider of off premise catering, water is a critical component of our ware washing and event preparation.  By installing a state of the art energy efficient ware washing machine, Peppers has been able to reduce ware washing related water consumption by nearly 50%.  Furthermore, Pepper’s has taken steps to become mindful of wasting water in our day to day operations by installing flow regulating aerators on prep and hand washing sinks.  Flow regulating aerators have allowed our team to become more mindful of how much water they actually need to use in day to day tasks.

Electrical Reduction:

Peppers has begun to take several significant steps towards reducing electrical consumption during day to day operations.  This year a Solar Panel array will be installed on the roof of our facility.  The array will be large enough to generate 20% of our annual electrical needs, all from the sustainable energy provided by the Sun’s rays.  Peppers has also begun the process of becoming an entirely LED lit facility.  By switching to LED based lighting fixtures, Peppers is able to reduce lighting based electrical consumption by nearly 50%.  Our electricity saving initiatives extend to our culinary team as well.  Our kitchen convection ovens were recently upgraded to energy star rated models that are able to offer our chefs improved cooking performance by utilizing less electricity.

Waste Reduction:

Since April Peppers has been utilizing a single stream or all in one recycling program.  Single stream programs have revolutionized recycling by simplifying the disposal process and reducing the number of trips vendors need to make to pick up products.  Our current arrangement allows for us to recycle all paper, cardboard, glass, aluminum, and select other recyclable products with great ease.  Since inception Peppers has significantly reduce the amount of waste the company has sent to the landfill and the volume of product recycled has increased by 100%.

Sourcing Local Produce and On Site Composting:

Peppers culinary team take great pride in being able to source product, herbs, and florals directly from the company’s on premise, all organic garden.  The success of the organic garden, has been further enabled by Pepper’s on site composting system.  Our culinary team has diligently been contributing all eligible food waste into two rotating compost drums that help the food items to break down and become a natural, sustainable source of nutrients for the plants in the organic garden. Furthermore, we continue to support our local farms by sourcing our meats and produce from them. Each year we par take in a farm to table event in which all product from flowers to food is provided using local farms. 

Fuel Efficiency:

Pepper’s has taken great steps to be mindful of the impact that an off premise caterer can have on carbon emissions.  Since May, Peppers has taken delivery of three fuel efficient Mercedes Bluetech diesel powered catering vans.  Utilizing our new fuel efficient vans has represented a decrease in fuel consumption, and cleaner burning emission into the environment.  Pepper’s has been able to travel significantly further distances, while using less fuel than our former gasoline powered catering vans.

 

Cater green with us!

 

You Will "Fall" in Love with this Wedding!

Posted by Peppers Team on Mon, Nov 02, 2015

There is so much to love about fall weddings in New England. From the beautiful changing leaves to all the natural rustic elements, the outdoors creates such a picturesque backdrop. There are many venues to choose from for your Fall New England Wedding. 

Thayer Homestead is a fantastic location for weddings all year round but we especially love this location in the fall. It was newly restored last year by the town of Medway and they created a truly magical rustic venue.

With this wedding, the bride and groom took their vows under the old oak tree in front of the house.  The grounds made a gorgeous backdrop for photos which picked up the beautiful changing colors of the outdoors.

The dining room was perfect for an intimate dinner for 50. The bride is an artist who made a beautiful sculpture for the fireplace in the center of the room and created specialty lighting with the same dramatic look hanging from the ceiling. The couple set up the special lighting and décor early so that it could be shared with the group that was hosting a fundraising event the night before.

 The shades of whites and ivory were accented by beautiful fall colors in the flowers and the flickering candlelight on the tables. The menu had wonderful fall accents with a roasted butternut squash salad and delicious regional flavors like Nantucket scallops and Block Island swordfish. It was a lovely and memorable celebration!

From guest tables adorned with orange dalias and succulents to white pumpkin accents at each place setting there are so many details to love about this wedding.

We hope this weeks blog will inspire you for your fall event!  

Photo Credit: Meghhan Gregory Photography http://meghanngregory.com 

 

 



 

Real Wedding: Agatha and Thaddeus at Quonquont Farm

Posted by Peppers Team on Mon, Oct 26, 2015

 

Quonquont Farm in Whately, MA is a stunning location for a wedding. The farm has quite the history, starting as a wayside tavern in 1759 then later a sucessful dairy farm. In the 1970’s, the propery was planted as an orchard which it remains today. There are fields of blueberries, peaches and apples for picking. The farm  has a renovated barn that can accomodate 200 guests along with a lovely adjacent stone patio that makes a great spot for cocktails. Ceremonies take place in front of a large tree overlooking the farm. Anyone looking for a country, barn or farm wedding should be sure to take a trip to Quonquont farm!

We were honored to be choosen to be a part of Agatha and Thaddeus's wedding at this beautiful location. The couple was married on an absolutely perfect June day. After the ceremony, the guests enjoyed a fun evening of dinner, dancing and drinks. The whole menu from passed appetizers, dinner, dessert and kids meals were all vegan. We even provided a vegan lemon raspberry sweetheart cake for the couples cake cutting. Accompanying the cake were vegan mini sweets provided by a family member that we artfully displayed on birch wood stands. All the guests vegan and non throughoughly enjoyed the entire menu! The wedding was captured perfectly by the talented Sandra Costello.

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More amazing images of Agatha and Thaddeus's wedding day can be found on Sandra Costello's blog at the link below. 

http://sandralovesyou.com/rustic-barn-wedding-at-quonquont-farm-agatha-and-thaddeus/

Fantasy Themed Wedding

Posted by Peppers Team on Tue, Oct 13, 2015

As a designer, there is nothing I love more than a couple who has a serious passion that we can tie into the design of their wedding. Sam and Sarah are LARPers or "Live Action Role Players" for those of you who don't know the term. Which means they love fantasy worlds and bringing them into their every day lives. We were able to tie that design direction into every aspect of their wedding.

We created custom crests for Sarah and Sam and each of the "Lands" that would designate the tables. We then used these crests on the place cards, each set up as a mini crest of the "land" just like you would see on a medieval battlefield. For the place cards table, thats exactly how we set it up. With a field of moss, each place card stood on its own waiting for the guests to find there land and alliances for the night!

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We were then able to carry this look through all the elements of the wedding, from the programs, to the reserves seating cards, to the buffet decor and even for a game of Minglo. Minglo is "Minglin Bingo" which encourages the guests to get to know one another during cocktail hour by sending them on a search for guests with different histories and interests, perfect for the couple who loves games! They even wanted to have a game as opposed to the clinking of glasses to make couples kiss, so each guest was invited to challenge the bride and groom to a roll of the die to see who would be victorious! The decahedron die, most well knows in Dungeons and Dragons, was even recreated by our talented pastry chef Lisa as a favor, all tied together with the couples new family crest.

 

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With a night full of LARPing, zombie dancing and time warps, everyone had a ball at this Tower Hill wedding!

Venue: Tower Hill Botanical Gardens Caterer: Pepper's Fine Catering Design: Pepper's Fine Catering 

 

A Victorian Garden Party at Gore Place

Posted by Peppers Team on Mon, Oct 05, 2015

Recently, a corporate client asked Pepper’s to cater a period Garden Party at Gore Place, in Waltham.  The venue was the perfect setting for this as the mansion, where guests toured and enjoyed a cocktail reception, surrounded by gardens, beautiful hedges and a small farm. The carriage house, where the multi-course dinner was served amid the wonderful sounds of a jazz trio is a little bit removed from the gardens.  So, we decided to bring a garden inside the Carriage House! 

A seven foot tall tree was built onsite in the center of the room, with guests enjoying dinner right alongside it.  From afar, the tree branches and flowers glowed from the twinkly lights woven throughout the branches.  As you got closer, you could see china tea cups hung from the branches with lace ribbon.  Toward the base of the tree, moss covered logs and tree stumps held tons of colorful, gorgeous flowers and greens.  And at the very bottom, antique books, wooden mushrooms, nests with blue eggs and candles were nestled in with even more flowers. 

 

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It took a little over 3 hours for the tree design to be completed. See how this beauty started from the beginning stages in Peppers prop room to a gorgeous 7 foot tree build on-site!

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The finished design was truely something to look at. Guests took photos of the tree all night long and said they really felt like they were in a garden paradise! I would say this was a sucessful design!

Think Pink

Posted by Peppers Team on Mon, Sep 28, 2015

We are seeing more and more brides choose a soft, blush pink for their table linens and napkins.  It’s become almost a neutral tone to compliment lots of other accent colors in all four seasons.

Some combinations to consider:

Blush and Mint Green
Blush and Brown
Blush and Gold

A recent bride paired blush with silver and champagne for a sophisticated summer palette that played off the natural elements of her outdoor ceremony and tented reception.  We especially love the use of mercury glass vases to add a pop of silver! Check out some photos from this beautiful wedding below. 

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So look beyond basic white and ivory for your linens.  Be bold and make a color statement that shows off your unique personality!  For more color and floral ideas follow us on pinterest at the link below. 

https://www.pinterest.com/pepperscatering



 

Creative Wedding Favors

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Fri, Sep 18, 2015

 

"Thank you for celebrating with us!"

Favors are a wonderful way to add a personal touch to your wedding and show appreciation to your guests. They can be tied into the theme of the wedding or show your unique personalities as a couple. We especially love the trend towards fun edible favors. How about a backyard wedding with a smore's kit or a jar of homemade jam for a lovely fall wedding? The possibilities to share something you love with your guests are endless.  Check out some of our favorite edible favors below!


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At Pepper's we're big fans of favors your guests will NEVER leave behind at a table. Which is why our favors are edible! With the pairing of our Bakery and Style & Design department, We can come up with custom tasty creations and the packaging and tags to make them a perfect ending to your party!  For more wedding favor ideas please check out our pinterest page at the following link ...

 Fabulous Favors Pinterest Board

 Let us design the perfect wedding favor for your guests - Contact us at 508-393-6844

 



 

Bar Mitzvah: Take Me Out To The Ballgame!

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Thu, Jul 23, 2015

Rosenfield Bar Mitzvah
Pepper's had the pleasure recently of creating the Style and Design package for Sammy's baseball themed Bar Mitzvah at the Framingham Country Club. We wanted to create an environment that took guests right into the ballgame! That feeling started with custom designed place cards that looked like baseball ticket replicas, each with a different team and "game" to lead people to their tables. We set the cards up on a table with turf, a miniature sand baseball diamond and custom Red Sox signage (the favorite team!). Next we brought in the centerpieces, glass vessels full of peanuts, wheatgrass, custom printed baseballs and the team pennant to designate the table.

 

Rosenfield Bar Mitzvah

 

The biggest "WOW" factor we created, was the concession stand by the virtual baseball game. We made a custom Fenway Park 8x8 foot backdrop and brought in grass and wooden crates to create a stunning and realistic vignette. We made a table top awning (which is available to rent through Pepper's!) for the drink station, and kids could help themselves to fresh pretzels, popcorn and snacks throughout the night!

 

I think this party was a home run!

 

 

Hydroponic Gardening: Thai Basil & Beyond

Posted by Susan Lawrence on Fri, Jul 17, 2015
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We have so enjoyed the rewards of our organic gardens and honey from our bees, and now it is time for a new opportunity to learn about hydroponic gardening.


Hydroponic gardening refers to the practice of growing plants in nutrient solutions often under lights, and there is a much shorter growing time compared to field grown plants. For beginners it’s easy to grow many herbs, basil, oregano, mint, as well as strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, lettuces and kale.

 

The adventure has begun and we have started with growing Thai basil, and what a treat! Thai basil has sturdy leaves and a spicy anise flavor that is a stand out. Seriously it is the perfect ingredient for an endless variety of recipes as well as in beverages.

 

Want Thai basil recipe ideas – go to Pinterest. WOW what a collection of delicious and creative ideas. We recently made a Limeade with Thai basil and fresh lavender, a Thai basil pesto with cashews, and fresh summer rolls with Thai basil, avocado, kale and a spicy garlic peanut sauce.

 

Our hydroponic gardening opportunity began when meeting with Nancy Thibault from Rainbow Child Development Center, a non-profit early education and care agency in Worcester. She wanted the children to learn how to grow and enjoy healthy fresh herbs and vegetables that can be grown indoors all year round. She asked for our support and we wanted to be part of this effort. It has been a fun and rewarding experience. This photo above is of Nancy with the children from the center selling basil lemonade at the Worcester City Center. Not only did the children grow the basil and squeeze the lemons, they were also learning about customer service and running a business.

 

It’s time to start some more seeds and we think we will grow some arugula. Meanwhile it’s 80 degrees outside and I just saw a recipe for Lemongrass, Lime and Thai Basil Mojitos so I have to go for now.

 

 

Summer Fun: BBQs, Outings & Events

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Thu, Jul 09, 2015
 
Summer Fun
 
By: Dianne Stahl
Director of Corporate Events
 

Summer Outing Fun!

Summer is finally here, after a brutal winter in New England many Corporate and Family Groups are planning that one summer event or outing that brings staff and family together in a relaxing setting to explore a new location, play games, and to feast on the local farm fresh foods. Where to plan that special day that will entice your employees to break away from the office? We have a few hidden gems to tell you about that offer everything from swimming and water sports to lawn games, hiking trails, beautiful gardens, scavenger hunts and more.

The Elm Bank and Horticulture Center on the Wellesley/Dover line offers abundant and themed gardens, expansive grounds, a seasonal tent, and plenty of shaded areas for all of your planned activities. From the formal Italianate Garden to Weezie’s Garden for Children to the Goddess Garden, there is something for everyone and every age at this gorgeous property. You can utilize the grounds at this location for lawn games, bring in inflatables for the kids, plan a scavenger hunt throughout the gardens and hire Pepper’s to provide a mouthwatering BBQ or Lobster Bake for all to enjoy. Why not try our Summer Grill Menu and kick your outing up a notch with fresh, locally sourced foods prepared by our culinary team. We will even include a homemade Lemonade Stand with freshly squeezed lemons, fresh spearmint and iced tea sweetened with our own honey! Or even better, spike it with some locally distilled spirits! Now that’s a party!  

The Codman Estate in Lincoln, MA offers guests 16 acres of landscaped property that includes Dorothy’s Garden, the Italian Garden with a frog filled reflecting pool, expansive lawns for games and picnic blankets, and an old Carriage House for indoor games and music. There are numerous hiking and walking trails in the area for all to explore. A tent can be added to the grounds to enhance your day-long experience. Why not have a balloon artist or Charicaturist to provide entertaining drawings for guests to take home. Musical groups and dancing are welcome and perfect at the Codman Estate. Your fun filled outing would not be complete without a game of softball, badmitton, volleyball or croquet. Pepper’s can provide the very best BBQ you could imagine including healthy salads, entrees made with farm fresh ingredients. Top off the day with an Old Fashioned Ice Cream Stand offering ice cream cones, a sundae bar or ice cream novelties.     

Creative Cakes: Hemingway Book Replica

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Thu, Jul 02, 2015
Hemingway Cake Replica
 
by Lisa McCaffrey
Pepper's Pastry Chef

A customer came in recently and wanted to create a birthday cake for his daughter at the last minute, unfortunately he had no idea what he was looking for. We sat down and together had a discussion about Amanda and the kind of person she is, her likes and interests. I soon found out that his daughter was a huge Ernest Hemingway fan and that his birthday gift to her would be her favorite Hemingway book. This gave me a great idea: to replicate the book! Her father soon came back to pick up the cake and was beyond thrilled when he saw 'The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway' in the form of a hardcover book-shaped cake. He loved it so much that he said that they weren’t even going to eat it. Another beautiful cake and happy customer.

Happy Birthday Amanda!

Community Give-Back: Rainbow's Garden Stand

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Tue, Jun 30, 2015
Rainbow Child Development Center Community Give-Back

Rainbow Child Development Center announces Rainbow's Young Entrepreneurs - aka Rainbow’s Kidpreur$, Young Entrepreneurs with Big Ideas!

This Thursday July 2nd from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Rainbow Child Development Center will participate in Worcester's 'Out to Lunch' Summer Concert Series & Farmers' Market on the historic Worcester Common.


Rainbow’s Kidpreur$ will be selling fresh veggies from Rainbow’s garden, Basil Lemonade and energizing Fruit Infused Water. Refreshments will be served from the Center’s beautiful new merchandising cart donated by Pepper’s Fine Catering.


The Center is taking its nutrition and healthy lifestyle program to a new level……namely introducing children to Entrepreneurship while learning how to develop a career path.


For a fun way to kick off this 4th of July Holiday - stop by Rainbow’s Merchandising Cart and enjoy a refreshing glass of Basil Lemonade. (Check out the children’s outstanding customer service!)

 

 

Chef Inspiration: Creative Interests & Presentation

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Thu, Jun 25, 2015

 

chef inspiration

 

By: Chris Lawrence

As a chef at Pepper's Fine Catering for over 25 years I am passionate about food and presentation. I enjoy creating a memorable visual presentation and using different types of foods as authentically as possible.


While designing food presentations for our clients, I try to use the most creative and visually stimulating formats. I work at creating a lasting impression for our customers by arranging great food that always looks as good as it tastes. I'm left with a great deal of pride when our clients comment on my work, which continues to insprire and motivate me to research and try new ideas.


My passion extends to working in the organic garden at Pepper's and at my home. In my home garden I love to recycle and make homemade compost. For the first bed in my back yard, I made a bean crawler out of tomato stakes and rope, and in the second bed I used chicken wire and twigs to make a cucumber support. Both structures are currently working quite well, very exciting!
 

*photos (upper three) -  The Imagery Studio 

 

 

 

BIDDING FOR A GREAT CAUSE!

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Thu, Jun 18, 2015

Bidding for a cause

Looking for a unique gift while supporting a truly special organization and its mission?

How about a Napa Valley vacation,  Rob Gronkowski autographed football or an hors d’oeuvres party catered by Pepper's Fine Catering?   

Look no further !   

Pepper's is proud to support The Schwartz Center For Children’s live auction – now on-line at:

Bidding For Good  

This auction is in conjunction with their annual “Fishing For A Cause” tournament and gala dinner on June 27, 2015.

The Schwartz Center for Children, Dartmouth, Massachusetts, is a 70 year old community based provider of education, therapy and medical care for children with special medical and developmental needs.  The love and care they offer children and their families is phenomenal and truly wonderful to see.

So get ahead of your holiday and other gift-giving needs and bid on some one-of-a-kind gifts and experiences! 

Graduation Season: Mocktails Anyone?

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Thu, Jun 11, 2015

Graduation Season: Mocktails Anyone?

Mocktails….oh my!


Everyone enjoys a delicious cocktail at a party, but a “mocktail” bar can be just as fun, especially for a younger crowd! A pre-prom party or graduation are perfect events for mixing up a few “mocktails” for the teenagers. This can be set up just like a regular bar with fancy glassware, decorative signage & décor and all of the typical bar fixings - minus the alcohol, of course.


Consider mixing up an Arnold Palmer with a lemon wedge or a lovely Lavender Lemonade with a pretty fresh Lavender sprig. It’s so easy! Squeeze some lemons and limes to make fresh juices, brew a pot of sun tea and ice it down and then add some fun ice cubes to your drink with frozen berries or fresh herbs inside! Top your drinks off with a fun straw or garnish and ENJOY!  

The possibilities are endless...

 

 

Bridal Shower Season: Time to Celebrate!

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Wed, May 20, 2015

 

 

  

Bridal shower season is here once again and that means it’s time to celebrate! This cake was made for a special bride whose shower was held at Cyprian Keyes Country Club. The bride wanted something in pale pastel colors with an elegant look. We selected shades in pale pink and pale green with simple chic pearl drops and fresh flowers. The cake flavor had to be something absolutely delicious! We decided on a double tiered round cake with two separate distinct flavors. The first tier was our popular Pink Lemonade cake, a delicious three layered cake in pink ombre colors, filled with fresh lemon curd. The second tier was a hit for the chocolate lovers, an amazing chocolate raspberry fudge combination.

After the shower, the bride (Gail Arcieri) let us know how much she and her guests enjoyed the cake with this great feedback: “We LOVED it! As a matter of fact, people thought it was one of those fake ones because it looked so pretty!! We put some rose petals around it on the display table which was just enough to set it off. Thanks so much-it was a big hit and we told everyone where we got it!!” 

Riverbend Gala: Hoedown Hooplah

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Sun, May 10, 2015
Riverbend Hoedown

YEE HAW For Fundraisers!

 

Over 130 guests donned their finest western duds – boots, denim, bandanas and cowboy hats – and headed to Elm Bank for Riverbend Montessori School’s recent “Hoedown” in support of the South Natick school.   

 

Peppers Fine Catering’s Style and Design team loved coordinating creative theme details including building custom swinging saloon doors at the entrance, “cowboy and cowgirl” signs for the rest rooms, hay bale and whiskey barrel lounge seating areas, and a coordinating buffet display.

 

An old west dinner included spit-roasted pork loin cooking outside for guests to see as they arrived and to smell the flavors that awaited them at dinner.

 

Guests danced to a lively country-western band, while a caller got the crowd to participate in new and favorite line dances.

 

Talk about putting the FUN in your fundraising!  

 

 

Brighten up your table: Rhubarb Salad

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Fri, May 08, 2015

Rhubarb Salad

 

Spring?

 

What does your Spring taste like?

After this past Winter, many are saying, "Thank goodness"!

But seriously, what local foods do you look most forward to every Spring?

Ramps, Asparagus, Peas, Rhubarb, uuurrrrppp?

 

* Rhubarb isn’t on your short list seasonal Spring food sourced from local farms?

* Rhubarb only goes with strawberry and it’s in a crust !

 

Stop for a minute and ponder these rhubarb ideas...

* Made into a chutney and napped over grilled chicken

* Roasted with golden & Chioggia beets and combined with Berkshire Blue Cheese

* Pickled sweet & sour rhubarb over deviled eggs

* Wheatberry Field Green & Spelt Salad, Rhubarb Mint Dressing

 

OK, are you still with me?

We spoke with one of our favorite local food sources, farmer Tim Wheeler over at Indian Head Farm, in Berlin, the other day and he expects to see his first of the season Rhubarb in his food stand in mid-May. His asparagus is in and it is yummy. Rush on over and prepare this terrific salad.

 

We'd like to suggest trying a Spring Salad with a roasted beet combo, roasted rhubarb, local blue cheese and orange section garnish as a delightful first course for Spring/Early Summer Entertaining.

 

Beet, Blue Cheese and Rhubarb Salad

2 Lbs. Beets, peel and cut into bite size pieces

3/4 Lb. Rhubarb, cut into 1/2" pieces

1/4 cup Sugar

2 tbsp. Kosher Salt

1 tbsp. Pomegranate Molasses

1 tbsp. Sherry Vinegar

2 tbsp. Maple Syrup

1/3 cup Extra virgin olive oil

2 pinch Allspice

1 each Red Onion, peeled, cut in half, then strips (julienne)

1 cup Parsley, coarse chop

4 oz. Blue Cheese, Berkshire Blue or other creamy Blue Cheese

Salt and fresh peppers grinds

Pre-heat a 375 degree oven set on convection.

Combine the cut up beets, dust with kosher salt and 3 tbsp. of the olive oil in a bowl and toss for 20 seconds.

Place the beets on a cookie sheet and roast till softened. 30 minutes should be close.

Combine the rhubarb with the sugar and a splash of olive oil and also roast for about 10 - 12 minutes, let cool.

Place the vinegar, molasses, maple syrup, remaining oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, a

few grinds of pepper, along with the onion into a bowl and let this sit for 15- 20 minutes to soften the onion a bit.

Combine this mixture with the roasted beets and give everything a stir or toss.

Add in the blue cheese and rhubarb to the above ingredients and give it a gentle mix.

Taste, adjust the salt & pepper and serve, topped with the chopped parsley or arugula sprouts.

 


 

Wedding Table Design: The Vintage Traveler

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Thu, Apr 30, 2015
Wedding Table Design: Traveler

 

 

Sometimes a couple wants to design their wedding around something they love, so we decided to design a table around something we love, travel! To bring in some rich colors and develop the look, we decided to go a more vintage route with our triage theme. We started with a dark moody green linen and added a more classic design for our place settings.

Next, we wanted to build up our centerpiece to make a real statement. We created multiple levels with stacked vintage books and an old travel chest. Having multiple levels allows the eye to bounce between all the different design elements, which adds interest and dimension. We used two vintage silver vessels for our florals and added quail feathers for texture and height. Next we found a mini globe and painted it black and the stand gold. Then we hand-painted the table number on both sides of the globe so the guests could approach from any angle and be able to see the table number. Last but not least, we incorporated paper elements.

To tie into the vintage feel, we wrote our menu and place cards by hand in white calligraphy and then added foil to tie into the gold on the spines of our vintage books. A table like this can't help but make the special couple excited for their honeymoon!

Wedding Table Design: Quirky and Bright

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Sat, Apr 25, 2015

 

quirky and bright table design

 

Some couples want to be completely unique, and we think they should have a wedding table design that is different from the rest! Though the previous wedding tables we've talked about, Rustic Romance and Modern Romance  are beautiful and unique in their own right, sometimes, we like to do something a little... quirky! 

Bringing the Wedding Quirky Table to Life

For this table, we started with a bright chartreuse ikat and these white animal head vases. We filled the vases with bright flowers and greens to set the mood. Next we created this completely unique table number out of wood, nails and string. We think the table number is a perfect piece of graphic art! Next, to add another dimension to the table, we mixed different graphic china patterns to create a graphic place setting. Last but not least, we designed a modern and graphic menu and a place card that slides right onto the water glass, just another perfect little design detail that helps bring our quirky table to life!


Custom Themed Events: Play Ball!

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Thu, Apr 23, 2015

The Art of Baseball

 

“Play Ball!”

 

You could practically hear the umpire’s call at the Concord Museum’s recent opening party for their latest exhibition “The Art of Baseball”. With over 50 fine and folk art pieces that interpret America’s national pastime, plus many Boston Red Sox artifacts, this is a baseball lover’s paradise.

Over 200 guests arrived to enjoy Peppers Fine Catering's fun baseball-park themed menu. Delicious beef sliders, mini hot dogs, petite grilled Italian sausage subs and warm pretzel bites with Dijon crème & honey mustard were a hit amongst guests.

The beverage stations had vases filled with baseballs and baseball bats under glass for the table top. Even the staff offered flair with red and white checkered ties, khaki aprons and baseball caps.

And, of course, our homemade Cracker Jack in baseball paper decorative cones (with a mini American flag prize inside! ) ended the night with a home run!

Concord Museum's Senior Membership and Development Officer wrote us to say: " I have never heard so many compliments about food at an opening, and when our director thanked Pepper's in her remarks there was applause. Wow-what a fantastic evening last night! I cannot thank you and your team enough for helping make the baseball opening wonderfully run, successful and a great time all around."

 

*We'd like to thank The Concord Museum for the positive feedback!

 

 

 

Wedding Table Design: Rustic Romance

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Thu, Apr 16, 2015

Rustic Romance

 

In our first "Wedding Table Design" post we talked about creating a modern romantic table. This time we decided to design a table for a wedding around the idea of "rustic romance". We started with a tweed burlap linen which set the base for our rustic table, next we added heavy ceramic dishes with a worn vintage look and hammered flat wear. All these pieces set our rustic table and now we're ready for the details!


A purple crystal goblet adds our first hint of color, which we tied into all our paper goods. For a romantic touch, we added hand-painted flower details on the menu and favor tag. We used more casual and whimsical fonts for our paper goods at this table. Then with hand-painted table numbers on wood rounds, and craft paper cartons (filled with delicious macaroons from our bakery!) for the favors, we've brought in more rustic elements. Last but not least was our centerpiece, with a corrugated tin vase, purple cabbage, silver brunia berries and large white mums, we've created the perfect rustic table for your wedding!


Check out our Pinterest to see more of our creative table designs.  

 

A Magical “Starry Night” Bat Mitzvah

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Sat, Apr 04, 2015

 Starry Night Bat Mitzvah

This past Saturday (3/28), Pepper’s Fine Catering had the opportunity to transform a raw, blank space at the Mass Ballet in Framingham and turn it into a spectacular “Starry Night” themed event for Harper’s Bat Mitzvah celebration.

With the use of lots of pipe & drape, up lighting, lounge furniture, café & high-top tables with bar stools, custom, themed décor, and lots of attention to detail the space came alive, wowing guests and creating a memorable event for everyone who attended.

Bat Mitzvah Table Design

Pepper’s Style & Design team brought in many custom pieces including posters and signage, centerpieces, a light up sign- in board, bathroom baskets with all of the necessities and bandana party favors with Harper’s logo on them.

Bat Mitzvah Starry Design

Our in house baker, Lisa, created a stunning “Starry Night” themed three-tier cake featuring fondant stars, purple glitter and Harper’s very own logo! 

Pepper’s offer a wide selection of food from passed and stationary appetizers, to fun chef-active food stations including Beef & Fried Chicken Sliders served with Spiced or Sweet Potato Fries passed to guests in paper cones, a Quesadilla station with Southwestern Caesar Salad and an Asian station with Steamed Dumplings, Beef Teriyaki Skewers and Springs Rolls.

Bat Mitzvah Food

There was a large bar available for the adults with a full selection of beer, wine and liquor and a Smoothie and Soda bar for the kids. The night ended with a fun “Decorate Your Own Cupcake” station and a Candy Bar. What a memorable and successful event it was!  

 

 

 

 

"It's My Party..." - Bar & Bat Mitzvahs

Posted by Susan Lawrence on Fri, Mar 13, 2015

 

Bar and Bat Mitzvah resized 600

* 1st and 2nd image courtesy of Le Petite Studio

Dessert Displays: Shimmery Black, Gold and White

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Mon, Mar 09, 2015

Our bakery at Pepper's Catering creates stunning cakes and delicious desserts to fit any event. In our style and design department, we like to create displays that show all those delicious confections in the best possible way!

 Dessert Display

Glamorous Dessert Display

We created this dessert display for a modern glamorous wedding in a palette of black, gold, and white. We started with a black glitter backdrop, black linen, and a white gold sequin runner- I mean, you really can't go wrong when you start with sequins! We added paper flower garlands to the backdrop to add more color and interest with the different colors and lengths. The next layer consisted of glass elements, like glass cake stands in a variety of shapes and heights to highlight all the different desserts. With glass cloches on the two accent cakes, we add a little more detail and another layer of detail. With tall glass vases on the ends, each holding a single tulip, we bring in extra height to frame the entire display. Our last and most important detail: the desserts! Each one is perfectly crafted and is a work of art on it's own!

Dessert displays are the perfect way to wow your guests after their dinner and fortify their stomachs before a night of dancing! Contact us to learn how we can help you create a beautiful dessert display for your next event.

Style & Design Inspiration: Living Art

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Mon, Mar 02, 2015

Are you looking for a way to create a memorable event? Here at Pepper's Catering, we're always looking for ways to shake things up and do something new. We’ve recently created a new way to serve hors d'oeuvres, with living art!

living art

We were inspired by those “living statues” that you see in busy cities and parks (check out these great examples). We created large frames and dressed up our amazing servers as famous works of art. Here you'll see one of our servers dressed as Johannes Vermeer’s painting, Girl With The Pearl Earring, serving some of our delicious pear and marscapone tuilles.

Whether it’s a row of three pieces of "living art" serving different delicious hors d'oeuvres or just one as an added focal point, it's an impactful and memorable addition to any event! We always strive to create artistic dishes, and now we can serve directly from a piece of art!                                                                                                                                                                                                   

 

 

 

 

 

Wedding Table Design: Modern Romance

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Mon, Jan 26, 2015

by Style & Design


designing a table modern romance resized 600

  Designing the perfect wedding table can be daunting. There are so many elements to consider, the linen, the table setting and flatware, the centerpiece, your table number, menu, place card and even favors! Here at Pepper’s, our Style and Design department can design each and every one of those elements for you. This is a wedding table we recently designed for the modern romantic. We love this petal organza, it adds dimension and interest to any table. We have balanced the frilly linen with a sleek and sparkly place setting by pairing the petal organza with a modern gold flatware and bead rimmed charger.. To bring in some color, we did some blush watercolor washes for our graphic elements, here we've once again paired a romantic element with a more modern detail. By juxtaposing different styles, we keep the table from feeling over the top girly frou-frou, and instead, it feels modern and romantic. The round menu under the charger, the table number, the place cards, and the favor tags all tie into one another, with consistent fonts, colors and design. We also love the idea of "S'more love" with a to-go s'more favor, and your guests will love it too! When all the elements of your wedding relate to one another, the whole thing feels perfect. Last but not least, the centerpiece! We started with a large protea as our focal floral, then built around it with ranunculus, brunia berries and various greens. When every element is considered, you're guaranteed a wedding table to impress!

 

 

Style & Design: Custom Portable Beer Tap Wall

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Tue, Dec 30, 2014

by Style & Design

 

beer wall resized 600

One of the things that makes Pepper's Fine Catering great is our ability to serve brilliant food and create a stunning displays in any setting. From museums, to event halls, to isolated fields, we promise a perfect event. We recently added to our arsenal of decor props by building this custom beer tap wall.

With a faux brick and bead board facade, wood display shelves, and lovely beer tap pulls, this facade is reminiscent of a traditional pub. We can hook up one of our custom brewed beers, a popular seasonal favorite, a cider or even something you may have brewed yourself. With four separate taps, you have lots of possibilities! We even have mini 4oz beer steins if you want your guests to have a beer tasting experience, or, you can give your guests their own mason jar mugs that they can refill all night long! You can set it up as a serve yourself station, or as a backbar to one of our fully stocked bars so that one of our talented bartenders can serve up your guest in style. For a wedding, a gala event or house party, we've got you covered!

Learn more about our Style & Design services here.

Pepper's Holiday Magic

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Thu, Dec 18, 2014

by Style & Design

holiday magic resized 600

It's not too late to add some Pepper's magic to your holiday party! We're still taking bookings for the end of the year, so dazzle your guests with delicious appetizers, entrancing entrees and decadent desserts! With custom flower arrangements, sparkling decor, and glowing candle light, we promise you a magical end to 2014!

 


Spectacular Holiday Table Design

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Tue, Dec 02, 2014

by Caitlin Spaulding

Style & Design


pettersons1 resized 600
Peterson Party Centeris one of Pepper's favorite places to rent all of our beautiful linens, china, and flatware that can take an event from lovely, to spectacular. They have recently asked us to design a table for their show room, and we decided to embrace the start of the holiday season. With a graphic gold pattern as our starting point, we added a gold sequin runner for a little sparkle. Then there was the question of the centerpiece, when a table is set for over two months, that means fresh flowers are not an option. So we got inspired by sputnik mid-century designs and created these big impactful gold spheres as our main focal point.

pettersons2 resized 600

With a mix of white and grey graphic china, Peterson's new modern gold flatware, a striking green glass, and pleated napkins, we were almost done! To add a personal touch, we hand made calligraphy place cards (which Pepper's now does in house!) and matching tags for our delicious truffles made in Pepper's own bakery.
                      Now we feel ready to take on the holiday season! Are you?

 

Good Living & Great Chicken

Posted by John Lawrence on Thu, Oct 23, 2014

Good Living & Great Chicken

 

Recently Susan and John visited Murray’s Chicken Farm in the Amish area of PA to meet with some of the farmers who raise our chicken as well as visit the plant that prepares these chickens for our catering clients.

murrays

 

Now you may wonder:

  1. Why we would make such a trek at our own expense?

  2. How do you feel about Murray’s family farmed chicken after seeing such a “behind the scenes” look?

  1. Were the chickens given free range, great feed, treated humanely, etc.?

To see and speak with farmers and the staff at the processing plant who are as passionate about what they do each day to produce the best product they can, as we see in our staff, was very moving to say the least.

We know that Murray’s Chicken is unparalleled in taste as we've tasted 3 other well-known national & regional brands of chicken. Murray’s won the taste test, hands down. Now we have an even better grasp of their program. Murray’s chickens have plenty of room to roam (creative toys in which to romp & play), fresh air (cooled on hot days) along with pristine water and a nutritious vegetarian diet of corn and soybeans.

The farms are even inspected by the ASPCA and given their approval of ethical treatment. 

chickens

Everything that Murray’s Chicken has done has been ahead of the market.


 

 

 

They were the:

  1. First antibiotic free raised chicken.

  2. First to be approved by the American Heart Association.

  3. First to be Certified Humane.

  4. The only chicken label approved by the USDA to have the word “lean” on the labels.

How fresh, you might ask?

We observed chickens that were being processed on Tuesday that were delivered to our kitchen on Thursday. From the farmer who is raising these happy birds to the trim staff who are hand cutting our wings and other parts, we walked away from our 2 day visit with Murray’s with total satisfaction that all of Murray’s claims are factual and earn the right to state that they raise their tasty birds in a kind and humane way. We are proud that we are a Murray’s customer.

 

 

Rustic Wedding Design

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Sun, Oct 05, 2014

It’s not often that you get to design a wedding from top to bottom, but with Matt and Sandie’s wedding this past week, we were able to do just that! I met with the bride and groom to walk through the Southborough Community Center, a lovely old house set on a beautiful property, to get an idea of what Pepper’s could do to bring their wedding vision to life. As we walked thorough each room, Sandie told me her vision, of rustic romance with lots of personal touches. She had bought plenty of pieces already that she wanted me to incorporate, so I went back to the design studio and started sketching, I sent over my sketches and a proposal and we were on our way, with a plan of building special pieces, staging pretty areas, and creating lots of floral arrangements!

Photo Backdrop

We started by building an interactive photo display, which was placed on the deck by the front door. I used vintage doors to create a photo backdrop, created signage for the door and more directional signage (and you can’t forget # info for photos!) We then added hooks and family photos so that all the guests could pose with the couple even when they were occupied elsewhere! With a couple more props and hay bales to sit on, it was the perfect place for the couple and guests to pose for photos! We love photo stations because they can create some of the most fun photos a couple has of their guests!

Table Decor

Next was the welcome table in the entryway. We wanted to create a first impression upon entering the house, something that really gave the guests a clear idea of what the whole look and feel was. We built this with an old door as the top and wooden wine boxes as the legs. I then drew up a custom welcome sign and set up a little rustic-vintage vignette with old trunks, letters, and little drawers full of flowers. The bride and her kids had created these fun windows with photos and writing and wanted us to include them in the décor, so I thought the perfect place for this one was on the gift table, we paired it with their gift box, another sign made here at Peppers, and more flower arrangements, it was the perfect place for guests to drop off their gifts and cards for the couple.

Ceremony Decor

After signing the guest book, guests headed into the great room for the ceremony, which was full of design details! First, we made this custom wood marquee sign especially for the couple, with hand painted details and vintage bulb lights, it was the perfect focal point for the fireplace where the couple would say their vows. Next we created this lovely floral garland for the fireplace and filled bud vases with flowers to give it some extra impact. Then we stacked wooden apple crates and filled them with flowers to more clearly define the ceremony area. It was a truly magical place for Sandie and Matt to say “I do!”

 Bar and Buffet

Last but not least, and of course for Pepper’s, one of our favorite parts: the food & drinks! For the bar, we built another backdrop of vintage doors, and created a marquee sign to designate the bar area. This was a cocktail style party, with lots of delicious little bites and appetizers for the guests to nosh on all evening long. So along with delicious passed hors d’oeuvres, we created this rustic stationary display for the tasty morsels that would be out all night long. With apple crates, a giant vintage spool top, a hand written menu sign and plenty of floral arrangements, this food display fit perfectly with the rest of the décor!

We wish Matt and Sandie all of our best wishes and thank them for letting us bring their wedding vision to life!

Revolutionary Themed - Old Manse Gala in Concord

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Fri, Sep 26, 2014

 

Pepper’s had the great pleasure to cater and design a Gala for the Trustees of the Reservation at the Old Manse property in Concord Massachusetts this summer, and since we’re not quite ready to accept that summer is over, we thought we’d share it now! We love events like this, that have not only a delicious menu but also lots of style and design elements for Pepper’s to design, create, and set up for clients!

Old Manse Gala

The Trustees of the Reservation decided on a Revolutionary war theme, and even had a Revolutionary reenactment, muskets blazing and all!

 Rustic Cheese Display

On top of the passed hors d’oeuvres, we wanted to have an impressive cheese station for this event as there would be plenty of time while watching the revolutionary reenactment for guests to snack. With stacked wine crates for height and tea dyed reproductions of historical documents to add a historical feel to it all.

Rum Bar

We carried this look through to our a delicious rum bar with copper cups, and our own wine barrel display.

 Antique Book and Vessel Centerpieces

When guests moved into the tent for dinner, they were lead to their tables with centerpieces of antique books and vessels filled with flowers. We actually scoured antique shops for all the unique vessels and books found at each table. Complimenting the antique books with newer hardbacks that were all spray painted and then hand painted with gold accents on the spine to make them blend in with the older books. We then built some lovely floral arrangements in everything from antique teapots to vintage metal beer steins.

Dessert Display 

Last but not least was our opulent dessert display, with all our tasty treats displayed on gilded mirrors, surrounded by candlelight, with a backdrop of colonial flag bunting. We loved creating all the design elements to complement this event and the property.

Wedding Theme Inspiration: ORANGE You Glad…

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Tue, Sep 09, 2014

by Jody Boyajian

Senior Event Designer


Mango. Tangerine. Or just orange. Whatever hue you call it, this sunny color is sure to make a summer wedding original and memorable.

cake design

A recent bridal couple spiced up all aspects of their Larz Anderson Auto Museum wedding with a winning combination of navy and white chevron striped linens with orange charger plates, napkins and floral centerpieces.

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Other details included an orange slice in each water goblet, orange paper lanterns throughout the tent, orange display linens and orange imprinted sunglasses for guests to wear during the outdoor ceremony. Even the bride and bridesmaids wore bright orange shoes!

This wedding had a cohesive and fun design plan that reflected the personalities and spirt of the couple.

table designs

Here’s to coloring your wedding with creativity!  

 

 

Farm-to-Table Dinner Event

Posted by Pepper's Team Blog on Tue, Aug 19, 2014

Being Customer #1

Have you ever been the first customer of a business?


While participating and donating samples of our catering cuisine at a benefit for the Worcester County Food Bank nearly 17 years ago, I met with Ann Starbird from Crystal Brook Farm. Ann was sampling the first offering of her yummy Chevre and I was taken aback with the delightful tang, mouthfeel of her delicious cheese. Before the doors opened for the general public, I found myself placing our first order and therefor begining a long relationship, offering Ann’s local Chevre to the delight of the customers of Pepper's Fine Catering. In the first year that Ann was in business, we were buying up nearly all the Chevre she produced, which for a small business can be both a godsend and a leap of faith. While we have always sought to be the best caterer in the area, offering enjoyable cuisine crafted by a passionate culinary team, being customer number 1 to a local farm will forever remain a highlight and speak volumes to our culture.

Fast forward to this past Thursday when Pepper's Fine Catering collaborated with Crystal Brook's Chevre, Lilac Hedge Farm (grass fed meats) and our gracious hosts, Indian Head Farm in Berlin. MA to produce their first Farm-to-Table dinner. Tim Wheeler’s family has been farming on their land in Berlin for over 200 years and it is a spectacular farm in which Tim’s wife Janet has raised another generation of Wheelers to continue the traditions of farming.

Farm to Table

The setting of our 70 foot long table overlooking the berry fields couldn’t have been more idyllic. The torrential rains of the evening before had given way to blue skies.

chalkboard menu and design

The wafting aroma of spit-roasted pork steamship provide by Lilac Hedge Farm, the charming & enticing food display and table settings by Caitlin Spaulding, Stylist extraordinaire, along with set-up Chefs Tom Little and Matt Bauce together created an over-the-top cuisine experience for the 70 guests. All of the fruits and vegetables were picked within 24 hours of dinner and the creative chefs crafted a menu that showcased the nuances and tastes of the unique terroir of Indian Head Farm.

farm table setting

Imagine... fresh Kale Caesar Salad, stuffed eggs 3 ways with Lilac Hedge's fresh eggs, Vegetable Ratatouille, Corn Pudding as well as 5 other enticing dishes and a three berry desert in the Garden Shed with local musicians who popped in for the fun of it.

garden shed

It took a team effort to provide such a memorable feast, and we are so thankful for the farmers that we were able to feature and support. Also a big thank you the volunteers from Pepper's and Indian Head Farm for their exceptional help as well as the guests who didn’t hesitate to be the first to experience this amazing event. Tickets sold out in 3 days of the Indian Head Farm (to table dinner) - it is likely the dinner memory of the summer.

 

Here's to Customer number one!

 

 

 

Farm to Fork, Farm to Table - Call it what you’d like.

Posted by John Lawrence on Fri, Jul 18, 2014

Farm to Fork, Farm to Table, call it what you’d like.

We’ll call it fresh...

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Do all strawberries taste the same?

Head over to a local farm, say Indian Head Farm in Berlin and bring your sweet tooth and napkins.

Eat slowly. Savor the vibrant color, the aroma after your first bite, then the overwhelming essence of strawberry and the excessively juicy berry oozing of goodness ( this is where the need for napkins comes in ). OMG. After consuming a dry, shipped from across the country berry from a super market, you’re sure to have an epiphany.

This was my experience a few weeks back when I had stopped over to Indian Head Farm in Berlin a few weeks back and picked up a few baskets of strawberries & blueberries. I met with Tim and Janet Woodward and began chatting about the farm, their produce and their love for what they produce. The Woodward’s had shared that they would love to host a dinner in which lovers of “fresh” could experience what they do, each and every day.

Tomatoes cheese eggs

60 seconds. That’s about how long it took me to commit myself and Pepper's Fine Catering to join with the Woodward’s and cater a farm to table dinner event. We all became animated while walking over the fields. The ideas were flowing and we broadened the concept to include products for other local farms as well. No doubt that we would invite Ann Starbird to bring over some of her delicious Chevre from her Crystal Brook Farm. Eggs would come from Lilac Hedge Farm and Tim would source the Steamship of Pork from another local farmer and so began the menu considerations.

We have already began crafting a few new ideas and this past Sunday we tested out a grilled zucchini, sweet corn & goat cheese salad with a fresh rosemary, lavender salt dressing.

Having shopped at Indian Head for some 25 years makes this an easy evening to wrap our heads around and be forewarned to purchase tickets asap. We will only sell 50 at 50 dollars each. The menu, farm and the evening will far exceed your expectations and chef Lawrence will also throw in a barrel of his craft brewed beer made with his best buddy, Tim McGee to complement the tastes of the evening.

The Farm to Fork Dinner is to be held on Thursday, Aug. 14 from 5-8pm, with volunteers from the farm as well as Pepper's Fine Catering will be putting in collaboration with Indian Head Farm at their 232 Pleasant Street location in Berlin.  

Farm Fresh Veggies

Why Do We Love Catering?

Posted by John Lawrence on Fri, Jun 13, 2014

Many of our friends in the restaurant industry who are so used to having every resource at their fingertips will often ask us if we are playing with a full deck when we speak about the challenges with catering, such as:


  1. Setting up temporary kitchens in garages, under event tents, the unfinished basement or in the field with no power or running water

  2. Relying on a tent to cater a gala event for 300 guests, in 30 degree weather and rain in the forecast

  3. Packing up two truckloads of equipment for an outdoor wedding, setting up and then repacking at midnight under moonlight

Perhaps we are a little insane, but there are a number of things that motivate us and keep our catering team happy, receiving thoughtful accolades every week from our joyful clients is a key motivator. We always look forward to Mondays, as it is when we receive numerous Thank You notes of praise for “exceptional cuisine and attentive service to our guests”.

 

             Thank You Wall                Thank You Notes

 

Recently a film crew from Nightline Prime on ABC arrived to film a real estate broker open house that we were catering and the on-air interviewer went ga-ga over our Lobster BLT Salad on editable spoons as you can see in the previous link. Her expression and joyful sounds were priceless, once she gave it a try. That’s what we’re talking about.

Lobster BLT

It’s those reactions that we receive and knowing that we serve memorable cuisine and award-winning catering services to each and every event drive us to do it again and again. We never get tired of reading Thank You notes from our clients never and as challenging as catering can be, it is also one very rewarding service to provide.

Catering isn’t just about the food. While we admittedly are a food driven company, we are equally driven to service, as well as style and design. Yes we do have a style and design director who is charged with 

enhancing all of our work with panache & to best complete the vision of our client. Great food presented with style completes the efforts of all of our group.

Lastly, the third leg of the Pepper’s Fine Catering trilogy that forms the basis of our everyday is the fabulous and attentive service staff. They are the directors of first impressions and we always get a mention in every thank you note on how pleasant and attentive these key members are to a catering event experience, led by our proactive event managers who execute their well thought out plans for service.

We are so fortunate to have such a terrific “service oriented” team in our midst and offer you this question, wouldn’t you prefer to relax and enjoy your party and guests like never before by engaging the team from Pepper’s at your special event?

Thank you to all of our loyal foodies, who have engaged & challenged us to do it once again, as good or better than the last time.

Wedding Games People Play!

Posted by John Lawrence on Thu, Jun 05, 2014

by Jody Boyajian

Senior Event Designer

 


It’s so exciting to see weddings take on personalities of their own with creative design elements. 

Here’s a fun idea from a recent Elm Bank wedding for those who want to think outside of the box for their wedding entertainment: outdoor games.

Jenga Game 

 

The father of the bride and the groom built a giant Jenga game and also created a customized dart board with a heart-shaped target. The wedding guests enjoyed being out in the gardens and getting their competitive juices flowing. This relaxed vibe added to the casual feel the couple wanted for their special day. 

 

Gone are the cookie-cutter weddings of days past. Long live creativity!

 

      

 

 

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What fun games have you played at a wedding? Let us know in the comments below. For more creative wedding inspiration, check out our Pinterest boards or visit our Wedding Cake site.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Personalized Gift Giving For Celebrations

Posted by John Lawrence on Tue, May 27, 2014

by Jody Boyajian

Senior Event Designer

 

Graduation Gifts

Graduations. Bridal and Baby Showers. Weddings. We are now in the midst of full-blown celebration season! And with that comes gift giving.

Everyone wants to offer a present that is memorable and reflects the recipient’s taste and style. And, we just heard of a most unique bridal shower gift that we wanted to share.

The bridesmaids for a June bride created a personalized “Date of the Month” organization file. Some of the items included a gift card to the ice cream shop where the couple had their first date (for the month that they met), sports tickets to a team that they both root for, seasonal activities that they enjoy for the appropriate month and more – 12 in total for a year full of memories.

What a clever idea that can be customized for so many celebrations! And with many bridal couples already owning most of the “stuff” they need, this is a fabulous alternative.

Love, love this idea!  

 

Wedding Inspiration: What’s Your Sign?

Posted by John Lawrence on Thu, May 22, 2014

by Jody Boyajian

Senior Event Designer

 

Looking for some inspiration and ideas for your wedding? Personal touches are one of the ways to make a wedding extra memorable.

                                 Card Gifts Sign    Welcome Sign

A recent couple did just that – hand lettering, painting and framing oh-so-beautiful signs for the various elements of their Elm Bank wedding: welcome and direction signage to the ceremony site, gift table board, bar, dinner and dessert menus.

This takes DIY wedding projects to a whole new level!

                                 Drinks Sign     Dinner Sign

But the pièce de résistance was the life-size love letter to each other in the bar/lounge area. What a great way to celebrate their union and individuality.

I Love You More Than…”

I love you more than...Sign

So sweet and heartfelt. Definitely a wedding design element their guests will remember.

Just fabulous!

Beautiful Brides

 

 

Catering for Open Houses: Champagne, Exquisite Food & Selling a Luxury Home

Posted by John Lawrence on Mon, May 19, 2014

Catering for Open Houses

catering open houses

It's no secret to successful real estate agents, who are looking to sell multiple properties or that extra special “designer showcase home”, that attracting the right prospect calls for the some “out of the box” thinking.

People seek to imagine themselves in the right home and setting the stage with furniture, lifestyle function and special activity is certainly an important strategy that many progressive developers and real estate brokers deploy to move the sales of homes.

While the depiction of Annette Bening in her role on American Beauty and her quote of “I will sell this house today” depicts a harried broker scrubbing the tiles, dusting up a storm, savvy brokers deploy numerous tactics to move a high end piece of property. 

Hosting an open house, especially a broker open house, is still a strategy that has numerous other benefits besides finding the right buyer. This is where, as in life, putting together a well thought out plan will drive a higher percentage of results. A high end broker open house should also attract sharp agents who also sell to the upper level marketplace and have a Rolodex of contacts who can expose the Host agent to a network of new contacts.

As a caterer who has been called on by dozens of agents who seek a tasteful and memorable solution for custom beverage and clever food stations that really showcase a home and its special nuances, we have achieved the highest amount of raves by placing food and matching beverages in focal points around the home and property that gets visitors to slow down and take a moment to capture a home’s unique aspects of architecture, views or simply it’s terrific and useful design. We recently catered a gorgeous open house that was featured on a segment of Nightline Prime on ABC. You can read more about it in this article in the Telegram & Gazette.

Toll Brothers, a nationwide upscale home builder employs these strategies and takes it a step ahead in some of the following ways.

1. Inviting the right guests, such as public officials, Chamber of Commerce, brokers and other “influencers” that network with people who speak with those who may be in the market for something special.

2. Schedule your open house after “working hours” for higher level of attendance.

3. Enlist local vendors who represent what is special about the area. Local craft brews (we featured Jack’s Abbey beer recently), farmers market, Spa and other lifestyle types of vendors. Everyone wins with this exposure.

4. Go digital & use social media to further boost awareness and interest. Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest are getting more powerful by the day.

So take a page from Annette Bening’s character and make the home a sparkling presentation, hire a great catering company to help you, the broker look great and with all of this advance preparation, relax and enjoy your Open House Event.

 

 

Sample - How To Post

Posted by Sample HubSpot User on Tue, May 06, 2014

INTRODUCTION:

Your “how to” blog post should teach the reader how to do something by breaking it down into a series of steps.

Begin your blog post by explaining what problem you are going to solve through your explanation and be sure to include any relevant keywords. Add in a personal story to establish your credibility on this topic. And make sure to end your blog post with a summary of what your reader will gain by following your lead.

Need some inspiration? Check out these "How-To" examples from the HubSpot blog:



BODY:

Now deliver what you promised in the first section. This is the longest part of the post, so make it easy to read. Use short paragraphs, bullet lists, and bold headings to set different sections apart. 

Some common section headers include:

Step 1: Getting Started

Step 2: Do Your Background Research on…

Step 3: First Steps for…

Step 4: Analyze and Repeat

Step 5: Wrapping Up

You can use bulleted lists, numbered list, or multiple headings. Include as many steps, numbers, or bullets that will allow you to discuss your topic thoroughly.

Here are some pointers to make the best possible body of your blog:
  • Include visuals
  • Include short explanatory phrases in your headers
  • At the end, transition into your conclusion


CONCLUSION:

Now it’s time to say goodbye and wrap up your post. Remind your readers of your key takeaway, reiterate what your readers need to do to get the desired result, and ask a question about how they see the topic to encourage comments and conversation. Don't forget to add a Call-to-Action to turn your blog post into a marketing machine!

Congratulations! What a lovely how-to post you've created. 



 

VIEW OUR SUMMER CELEBRATION MENU

This Is Eggs-actly What The Customer Ordered

Posted by John Lawrence on Sat, May 03, 2014

By Heidi Bouchard ~ Head of Style and Design

Our menus at Pepper’s Fine Catering are always evolving. We recently debuted a new station, Deviled Eggs. This was the brainchild of Senior Event Planner Jody Boyajian. During frequent trips to D.C., her family often patronizes a local hotspot called The Founding Farmers where the first thing they order is a platter of deviled eggs.

She brought the Deviled Egg Station idea to the attention of the culinary team who added their twist with flavors like Buffalo and Sour Cream & Chives. She then sold the concept to two customers with corporate themed parties.

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One of the more recent events was for an Audi Vehicle Debut Party, located at a Boston area car dealership. The client’s ideal design was for an upscale, sleek, modern and night-club aesthetic. Their chosen colors were shiny red, silver and gold.

To achieve the look we started with spraying eggs metallic red. The light bulb went on for added glitz.

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Rolls of chicken wire behind one of our storage buildings would frame our vessels.

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Old tarnished wire was sprayed with adhesive and coated in silver glitter.

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10 dozen plastic eggs were sprayed gold.

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Raffia/Hay was sprayed gold and added to the bottom of the vessel.

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One vessel was layered with Hay and Eggs.

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A glittered chicken wire column was filled with eggs and the slipped into a glass vessel and then addedto the Deviled Egg Stations for that finishing touch. 

 


“In Season” and Saving Some Green on your 2014 Wedding?

Posted by John Lawrence on Tue, Apr 15, 2014

It may come as a complete contradiction, to wrap your head around saving money and booking a prime wedding venue during the high season. Asking the right questions and being opened minded, can help you capture a gorgeous and memorable site.

How so, you ask?

1.)    Dates are booked and on occasion a date is cancelled, leaving the venue eager to fill the space.

2.)    Friday evenings and Sundays create a unique opportunity both in savings and unique menus.

3.)    Wedding vendors may be inclined to offer a break or value add-on to fill these time spots.

If you consider a traditional wedding: it’s 5 hours with a cocktail hour, 90 minutes for dinner, leaving 2.5 hours for the fun, dessert, dancing and cocktail.

Ponder this, begin your Friday evening wedding a little later than usual, have an enhanced cocktail hour with both hors d’oeuvres & chef active stations going on at the same time. Then morph into traditional Toasts, First Dance etc. and phase right into the “party”, giving you plenty of time to thank attendees and enjoy your guests. You transformed your 5 hour reception into a paced 4 hour reception saving on the food, staffing and perhaps the Venue rental. It starts to add up to some serious green when you hit multiple areas that affect your overall budget.

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As for a Sunday, think about a Caribbean Brunch and take-off on an island theme. You can have some real fun with this and it’s a perfect lead into your Cancun or Bahamas honeymoon.

In Central Massachusetts, the stunning Tower Hill Botanic Garden is booked up for their Saturdays this season but has further discounted their Friday and Sunday events quite a bit, offering a great value for this one-of-a kind venue.  Pepper’s is taking an additional 10% off our normal costs for this terrific venue. Tell your friends about this deal!

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Likewise, Gardens-at-Elm-Bank, located in Wellesley, also has a few open dates to fill and they are open to meeting prospective couples and showing the gorgeous grounds of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.

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Ok, so you see an opportunity to save a few greenbacks on a venue, what else you say?

Yes, to seasonal flowers? Many wedding flowers travel thousands of miles, increasing the cost and carbon footprint. Mixed media bouquets are both clever & contemporary, but can also save you considerable amounts of money. Speak to your floral professional and have an honest dialogue on their knowledge and recommendations. Our style & design specialist often mixes in vegetable, limes & herbs in her floral displays for a unique & seasonal look that really “pops”.

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Gifts for your attendants?

Etsy.com for those one-of-a kind and special gifts for the ladies.

For the guys, consider moneyclam.com as they have monogramed (or wedding date etched) money clips as well as one that has a built in bottle opener.

 

 

Icelandic Memories and Chevre Dreams

Posted by John Lawrence on Tue, Feb 11, 2014

Looking out over our snow covered landscape brings back memories & visits to the charming landscape of Iceland. It’s such a special place, unlike any other food exploration trips we’ve taken.

I can picture the geothermal pools shooting up wafts of steam, surrounded by glacial ice and snow formations, the sturdy Icelandic ponies and the rugged culture of the locals who live life to the fullest. Exploring the glaciers in the middle of the winter in tricked out SUV’s & pick-up trucks with hideously oversized tires is a hoot, to say the least and a must during this time of the year. Snowmobiling in Iceland is unlike any NH trail, trust me.

Icelandic pony

Our good friend, Ann Starbird, goat farmer, Chevre maker extraordinaire is currently on a working sabbatical trip to Iceland and studying with an Icelandic goat cheese maker. Ann has made trek’s to Ireland and France in recent years to broaden her repertoire of goat making experiences and no doubt is being reflected in the wonderful cheese that she produces in neighboring Sterling MA with her husband Eric.

I had recommended to Ann to be sure that she visit my friend, the eclectic Chef Gunni from Vin Barin, the hip Wine Bar located in Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital. Ann reported back that she stopped on her first night and spent 4 hours with Gunni who was a very amiable host & connoisseur of wine & Icelandic cuisine.

Thinking of Ann and her wonderful Chevre, we’d like to share a recipe for a terrific Roasted Beet, Chevre & Pistachio for your enjoyment.

 

Beet & Radicchio Salad, Goat Cheese & Pistachio

Yield 6-8 portions

 

2 lbs. Beets, peeled & cut into ¾ inch pieces

½ cup EVOO

2 ½ tbsp. Red Wine Vinegar

½ tsp. Kosher Salt

To Taste Fresh Ground Black Pepper

1 each Garlic Clove, large (smashed)

2 tbsp. Tarragon, freshly chopped

1 head Radicchio, chopped into 1 inch pieces

½ cup Parsley, coarsely chopped

4 oz. Fresh Goat Cheese

2/3 cup Pistachios, toasted & coarsely chopped

 

This is easy.

Marry the beets: ½ of the olive oil & kosher salt in a bowl and toss until beets are coated and roast in a 375f degree oven until done. Could be 20-30 minutes. Let cool when done. Using a convection oven is best, as it pulls much of the moisture out of the beet, concentrating the flavors.

Dressing: Add garlic, herbs & vinegar to the bowl you used for the beets and slowly whisk in the remaining EVOO and adjust seasoning of salt & pepper. You might add a pinch or two of sugar if you’d like to take some of the end off of the vinegar.

Marry all of your prepped ingredients with the dressing, give it a toss and plate up and enjoy, with perhaps a chilled glass of Sancerre.

This salad is quite attractive when presented in a Bibb Lettuce cup as a base. Enjoy!

bibb lettuce

 

 

 

 

 

Cake Design, How To

Posted by John Lawrence on Wed, Feb 05, 2014

by Linda ~ Pastry Chef and Cake Designer

I have assisted many different people in designing a cake that suits their style, their occasion, or the person who will receive the cake. It’s an interesting process and one worth describing in an effort to keep it easy-going, creative and fun.

Recently a bride-to-be named Sue attended a cake tasting at Pepper's Fine Catering. While enjoying a variety of cake samples the conversation naturally turned to the design of her wedding cake. Sue brought an image of her ideal design. While the picture was of a particular cake she still wanted to add her personal touches to the deign. We spoke about the tenor of her special day, color schemes, the venue, etc. She mentioned that her reception venue was an antique car museum and she wanted something to go along with the period of the autos on display. I was very excited as the era was the 1920’s and I love that time! I suggested that I do some research, make a sketch and then view and discuss the ideas together. Sue was happy, I was happy, and off I went to investigate.

Like Sue, I surfed around looking primarily at design. This included fashion, textiles, architecture, and themes.

 

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To keep my research organized, I created a Pinterest board of interesting ideas to incorporate. Sue had mentioned that she wanted to add the color blue into the design. That went into my sketch along with the number of servings and size of the final cake. My sketch was a success! The bride liked the design concept but decided to decrease the size of the cake. We agreed on which tier to eliminate and I provided her with an estimate.

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Things to consider when creating a cake design; Preparation is key if you want to personalize your cake. Surf around, look at magazines, bring pictures, swatches and thoughts to the meeting, be open about your interests and needs. Think about the display and venue. Have a budget figure in mind, as unique designs will cost more. Expect the designer will share thoughts and advice. Speak your mind and listen too, the best cake designs come from a collaboration.

 

Winter Woodland

Posted by John Lawrence on Wed, Dec 04, 2013

By Heidi Bouchard ~ Head of Style and Design

Finding myself on a bit of a roll in the “rustic department” I’m going to go with it and develop our next collection. At Pepper’s Fine Catering we are lucky to have wetlands and woods all around us not to mention extensive gardens to draw inspiration from.  I also just moved to a farm house that sits on over 600 protected acres and I have been taking long walks in the woods every weekend for inspiration.   

The name of our second collection is Winter Woodland, not to be confused with Winter Wonderland.  And although I am not exactly sure how the elements will be used or come together, the collecting will be most of the work and fun.  I’m not envisioning using these natural elements in a contrived or overly embellished way, but more in groupings that you would experience in their natural setting.

 

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The first step started in my front yard.  I collected and dried black walnuts from a tree that must be at least 100 years old. To get the casings off I gathered them on big trays to be dried in the sunlight.  About a week later they were laid out onto our cobble stone driveway where I ran over them with a golf cart, the popping sound was fun.  I put on gloves and peeled away the casings.  They were still covered with a pulpy flesh.  I soaked them in hot water, rinsed several times but they were far from clean.  I remembered how my Mom once said that my Dad used to wash dirty golf balls in her washing machine….it was worth a shot……they came out perfectly.  

Wish I could say the same thing for my washing machine, 1 wash and 2 rinse cycles later - its fine.

 

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Next I collected literally, thousands of pine cones, in all shapes and sizes. But this project is not over yet,   still tons more to forage for, stay tuned…

 

Fall Flowers and Inspiration

Posted by John Lawrence on Sun, Dec 01, 2013

By Heidi Bouchard ~ Head of Style and Design

As beautiful as the classic look of fall flowers and greenery can be its fun to spice it up when possible. Several events each week need new table décor so working along with the Event Manager’s we get our creative juices flowing to create new designs that will excite the senses.

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Beyond the typical pumpkins, gourds and fall colored leaves this year I experimented with lots of ornamental baby cabbages, vegetables and herbs in the purple color palette.  On an early September trip into the Boston Flower Exchange I was enamored with branches of oak leaves that had been washed in a chalky faded lavender colored paint.  They were funky and unusual and I used them as the base in several buffet pieces and as accents in smaller guest table arrangements.

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The focal piece for an Apple Cider Donut Station at a recent wedding was white pine nuts with the husk peeled away and then bleached. These were used as vase fillers along with white winterberry which gave a stark contrast to the darker autumn hues of the station.

 

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Thai basil which has purple leaves from our garden, purple kale, baby eggplants, mint flowering with tiny lavender flowers along with mini peppers and even baby beets all came together in a beautiful hostess gift for a very special client.  It was wonderfully textural, sophisticated and fun all at the same time.

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Designing an Asian Station

Posted by John Lawrence on Tue, Nov 26, 2013

By Heidi Bouchard ~ Head of Style and Design


Pepper’s Fine Catering owner, Susan Lawrence, recently came to me for help in designing stations for an Asian Inspired Gala.  She had a vision with some specific ideas.  One of them would be a major focal point set in front of the huge stage at Mechanics Hall in Worcester, MA.  To say the Hall and Stage are grand would be a bit of an understatement. It would have to be big and impressive as not to look dwarfed by the majestic nature of the room.

The station was Asian inspired, 32 feet long and would have 4 Chefs cooking and serving guests. We would need 8 wok set ups.

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The MENU

~Chinese Long Beans Stir Fried and topped with Crispy Five Spice Shrimp and Hoisin Sauce

~Handmade Pork Dumplings with China Moon Orange Sauce

~Vegetable Shoo Mai with Citrus Ponzu

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Susan and I collaborated with the culinary team and concluded that guests would start in the center of the station and flank off to the right and left. Immediately I decided that the major focal point to display would be in the center. In addition to having to be large I decided to also raise the table to give the station even more presence.

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Susan and husband and co-owner John have traveled to Asia many times over the years and have collected wonderful pieces that are displayed in our Tasting Room.  I often use them for very special events. The center arrangement soared to over 10 feet high and featured a huge gold hand-painted fan, dyed red Asian willow, bamboo and an oriental lantern.  The plates were set on glass covered trays filled with green bamboo rice and across the front of the tables were glass boxes with wheat grass and bamboo ferns.

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Pin lighting was added by Revelation Productions of Worcester which brought life to the display. A culinary and visual feast!

Delicious and Beautiful……that’s what we do best.

 

 

Holiday Creative Designs

Posted by John Lawrence on Sun, Nov 24, 2013

By Heidi Bouchard ~ Head of Style and Design

 

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

As holiday event planning begins at Pepper’s Fine Catering celebrating Winter Weddings, Corporate Parties and Family & Friend Get-Togethers, it is our goal to create magic. Engage all the senses, taste, flora, scent, light, and the sound of cheerful guests.

I love helping clients with the myriad of choices available for design themes, and color palates.

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This year, I am inspired to take a natural holistic approach with just a touch of sparkle.  I began my research by digging out my collection of old home decorating magazines and reviewed some recent designs from our Country Barn Style weddings. I’m collecting everything gold, vintage, rustic and burlap to create some table displays that will include one-of-a-kind special handmade elements.

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Here are photos with some of the special handmade ornaments that we’ll be adding to our customers' holiday table displays this year. 

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I look forward to sharing with you more of our Holiday Designs for this 2013 season.

 


Sparkling Venues & Warm Apple Cider Donuts

Posted by John Lawrence on Wed, Nov 20, 2013

Sparkling Venues, Private Holiday Parties

 

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The air is crisp, leaves are blowing in the wind and time to think about holiday party plans. We are fortunate to have so many unique venues throughout the state, available for memorable & private holiday party planning.

Consider the built in décor & ambiance of venues as an added plus, making for a minimal investment to create that warm holiday feel. The Elm Bank in Wellesley as well as Tower Hill Holiday Party in Boylston both host horticultural festivals that include quite an array of decorated trees and wreaths, offering terrific eye-candy for your guests.

Speaking of eye candy. The Connors Center & Estate in Dover located in Dover pulls out all the stops when it comes to decorating for the holidays. This charming property offers warm ambience for chilly days and guest rooms to boot.   A Connors Center Holiday is a terrific holiday choice for a private & personal event.

The Russian Icon Museum in Clinton offers a world-class collection of priceless icons, displayed in a unique space that includes former jail cells. Perhaps a wreath set upon the doors of the two cells for a whimsical touch?

Tuckerman Hall in Worcester has been fully restored to its original 100 year old charm with copious gold accents and a full well positioned poinsettia would clearly set a tasteful holiday tone.

Décor ideas, you say ?

Peppers event designer, Heidi Bouchard recommends natural colors, classic décor, candles and birch wood accents. Let a monochromatic use of red or green simply pop among the natural background. She also loves to add hearty herbs such as rosemary & thyme and the juxtaposition of artichoke, petite decorative squash and fruit in her floral displays.

 

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Cuisine plays such an important role in the memory of the great holiday gatherings. Go for abundant tastes & textures  and focus on small plates and hors d’oeuvres. Your guests have a blast with the choices and full control over how little or full they desire to be, but leave room for those petite squash tart Brule’s or classic chocolate or pumpkin buche noel’s prepared by our pastry Chef, linda Labarge. Recently we catered a wonderful wedding at the Worcester Airport and in lieu of a wedding cake, the bride chose simply, warm cider donuts.

Should you offer a theme cocktail ?  This goes without question. Have some fun. Eggnog & Rum, nah you can do better. Try this Pear and sweet spice cocktail offered from the NY Times: NY Times holiday cocktail recipe

Most of all, plan to have a relaxing time with your guests and put a little extra time into the pre-plan. You’ll be pleased with the outcome. Make Peppers part of your celebration planning, should you choose to relax and enjoy your guests.

 

 

 

~Happy & joyful holiday season to all of you from all of us~

 

Lululemon Event

Posted by John Lawrence on Mon, Nov 11, 2013

By Sarah Blakeslee ~ Senior Event Manager

We recently had the pleasure of working with high-end Yoga and Fitness Apparel Company Lululemon to take their vision for their customer appreciation event and bring it to life. The exciting event took place at the Tower Hill Botanical Gardens, the perfect setting for a rustic fall garden look.

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After the guests enjoyed yoga in the open air great hall they made their way into the reception room to be greeted by staff members presenting fun and healthy appetizers.  

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Guests also got to snack on granola from the Granola Bar. They could choose from Homemade Cinnamon Sugar Granola or Chocolate Chipotle. All accompanied by various nuts and candy mix-ins. The Granola Station was truly a hit!

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A Cider Station provided the beverages for the evening. Offering both cold and hot apple cider served in Irish coffee mugs. Wine Barrels provided a unique table to display the glassware for the station. Note:These can be rented from Peterson’s Rental Company.  

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Before guests departed for the night they took with them Seed Bomb Favors presented on hanging branches by the exit.

70's Themed Wedding Event

Posted by John Lawrence on Tue, Nov 05, 2013

By Sarah Blakeslee ~ Senior Event Manager

Choosing a theme for your wedding can be a big decision. You really want to pick a theme
that lets your personality shine through.

One of our most recent brides decided on a fun 70’s themed wedding. They transformed a
hall into a disco dancing 70’s club decked out with colored lights, fun linens and disco balls.
The guests enjoyed cocktails and Hors d’oeuvres in another room while having no idea what
they were about to walk into behind closed doors.

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When the doors opened you could see the excitement on all of the guests faces as they
walked into the room. They picked up their cassette player escort cards and followed the
floppy disk table numbers to their tables. These were just a few fun touches made by the
bride and groom.

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Pepper’s Catering own in House Designer adorned all the tables with colorful Gerber
daisies and created a truly spectacular blinged-out bar. Black spandex linens created a
unique look. Behind the smiling bartenders were Swarovski Crystal stands with various
shaped vases showcasing flowers and disco balls.

After Dinner was served, guests enjoyed the custom-designed hand painted flower cake.
Then danced the night away underneath the disco ball.

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  Images by 'Le Petite Studio'

Dr. Seuss - 'Cat in the Hat' Themed Party

Posted by John Lawrence on Tue, Oct 01, 2013

By  Amanda Yano-Litwin 

Pepper’s had another great event on Saturday! Working with repeat clients is always a pleasure, especially when our staff is allowed some creative freedom in putting together an event, and Saturday was no exception!

Saturday’s event was a Bar Mitzvah with a Dr. Seuss, 'Cat in the Hat' theme.As many of you can imagine the topsy-turvy world of Dr. Seuss brings out the inner child and imagination of everyone. 

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For the event, we at Pepper’s wanted to ensure that the playfulness of Dr. Seuss was evident, but also had a refined, understated look that went along with the Client’s needs. The end result was a bright, beautiful scene which had class, and the playfulness one would expect from Dr. Seuss.

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Our team at Pepper’s is always looking for ways to stretch our imaginations and bring a client’s vision to life, and I think our Cat in the Hat evening was a great success!

 

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 Images by 'Le Petite Studio'

 

 

 

 

 

Carnival Themed Birthday Party!

Posted by John Lawrence on Thu, Sep 19, 2013

By Liz O’Neil ~ Senior Event Designer

At Pepper’s Fine Catering, we have the pleasure of continually developing custom, creative menus for our clients, as each and every event is unique.  Some of our parties have themes, and as true culinary artists, our Chefs have put together some terrific catering menus for such special events.

Keep in mind, just because a party has a theme, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to wear a costume (but that didn’t stop us, clown noses anyone?) Success can be achieved easily with some simple and tasteful themed décor, creative menu planning and some of our favorite catering recipes.

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Recently, we had a client who was throwing a Carnival Themed Birthday Party for her daughter’s 6th Birthday.

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Together with our Chefs and Style & Design department, we put together a fabulous event with fun décor that didn’t break the bank. The menu was simple and delicious, incorporating Carnival Themed Food with some heartier options to appease all palettes.

~Sweet Potato Fries and Seasoned Potato Fries in a Specialty Cone

~Pop Corn in Carnival Themed Boxes

~New England Clam Chowder

~Hot Dogs

~ Mac & Cheese

~Pulled Pork Sandwiches

~Murrays’ BBQ Chicken

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Remember, themes can come from anything—movies, culture, television, eras and trends. Just about anything that interests you or the guest of honor can make a great theme. So have fun and let Pepper’s help you plan a terrific themed catering menu for a memorable event.

 

 

Brush Embroidery Wedding Cake Design

Posted by John Lawrence on Tue, Sep 17, 2013

Brush Embroidery Wedding Cake

I started cake decorating using the technique of brush embroidery when it was coming into style. As with many techniques, it was very popular for a few years and then faded away. Imagine my surprise when a bride came to my tasting with a picture of a lovely embroidered cake. Hooray!

The technique is somewhat time consuming, as you can see by the pictures, but the end result is very delicate and duplicates the look of needlework, a favorite hobby of mine.

Brush embroidery cake


The flower is etched onto the cake using a paper pattern. I use a pin to outline the pattern. Royal icing is piped along the outline and pulled into the center with a damp paintbrush. If you want additional depth you let the first layer dry and repeat.

Brush embroidery cake

This cake incorporates the brush technique with copious, fun miniature butterflies in a swag pattern. The lavender shades really compliment the stark white of the fondant. The final result is a lovely elegantly designed cake.

Brush embroidery cake

To see more unique and creative cake designs check out our CakeART gallery page. 

CakeART

Styling a Wedding

Posted by John Lawrence on Fri, Sep 13, 2013

By: Heidi Bouchard
~ Head of Style and Design ~

As Head of Style and Design at Peppers Fine Catering much of my time is spent helping couples bring the vision they have for their wedding day to fruition. Sometimes it’s helping them hone in all of their ideas and other times it’s making suggestions to help them expand on them.


Susan Lawrence, owner of Peppers, came to me to help with the June wedding of a friend and longtime business colleague. After meeting the bride I saw that she dressed in a style that was modern, feminine and sophisticated. For her wedding dress she chose a very elegant all lace dress. Her invitations, which she designed and made herself, were a soft shade of purple, shimmery, with a lace embellishment. I listened intently to her ideas for some of the DIY things she was planning. I had a much clearer picture of what she was hoping for. I built a design board for her with some of my ideas. She loved it and at the end of that final meeting I asked her to trust me and let me run with the feel of what I had outlined. She gave me 2 thumbs up and creative freedom.


describe the imageThe setting was magical; the reception for 160 guests was outside under a canopy of branches from huge old trees that were lit up with soft white lighting. Along with passed hors d’oeuvres, guests were welcomed to a beautiful cheese and crudité table which I designed to be a major focal point for the cocktail hour. Instead of the typical flowers most often used to embellish a stationary hors d’oeuvre table,  I used only fruits and vegetables to build arrangements, old Iron Gate pieces added to the natural rustic charm I was trying to achieve. I decided on slate and stone to serve the cheeses, all locally crafted from here in Massachusetts. As I was putting the final touches on the display, I overheard a couple who arrived early, comment that it was “way too pretty to eat.”

 


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When the bride and groom visited Peppers for a cake tasting, they immediately decided on the Lemonade Cake, a new flavor for the 2013 season. After an exchange of pictures and sketches it was decided that the cake would be 4 tiers, covered with a soft pink fondant and would have lace trim. When I created her design board I included a vintage rhinestone brooch which we decided to use on her cake along with several others she collected and borrowed from family and friends. There was an adorable new gazebo on the property that sat up on a hill overlooking the patio where the guest tables were, the perfect setting for the cake.      A beautiful tone-on-tone pink patterned table cloth was chosen and the cake was set on top of a huge mirror and rhinestone covered riser I had built for another event.

 

 

 


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In contrast to the soft pinks and whites that were featured on guest tables and the cake table, for the bar, a bit of juxtaposition was in order. I went with purples and used large single bloom flowers anchored to the bottom of tall, varying size, glass column vases that were filled with water and lit with submersible LED lights. The groupings were displayed on mirrored risers covered in twinkling candles. The look was clean, contemporary and visually striking. 


There is no greater reward than to be part of a couple's special day and help them to create wonderful memories that will last a lifetime.

 

Rocheleau Tool & Die 75th Anniversary

Posted by John Lawrence on Mon, Aug 19, 2013

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By Lindsey M. Dugan ~ Event Manager 

Rocheleau Tool & Die is a family owned and operated company since 1938, specializing in blow molding machinery and automation equipment for the plastic and packaging industry. Located in Fitchburg, MA, the company decided to have a party in celebration of their 75th Anniversary on August 3rd, 2013 at the Fitchburg Art Museum. Pepper’s, with years of experience working at the museum, was thrilled to be asked to cater this event and really wanted to help Rocheleau Tool & Die make their event extra special.

Playing off of the company colors, Pepper’s brought in beautiful linens in Orange, Yellow, Silver and Royal Blue in various patterns and textures. With added décor and florals created in-house, Pepper’s worked closely with Rocheleau Tool & Die to enhance the “feel” of the event and take it to the next level of spectacular!       

The event took place in three different locations of the museum, in a sense, creating 3 different smaller events in one. As guests entered the event, they walked through the entrance of the “Old Building” and were offered a glass of Champagne as well as a few passed appetizers. Two stationary food displays of cheese, savory cheesecakes and a Mediterranean table full of various vegetables, dips and spreads were available for guests as well.    

After sampling the food in the 1st room, guests were welcomed down a long hallway lined with art into the second room-the upstairs galleries of the Simmonds Building. This room featured a beer & wine bar, a pasta station, a “Having a Ball” meatball station and a larger selection of passed Hors D’Oeuvres.  

DSC03236 (2) resized 600The last location, the downstairs level of the Simmonds building, created the largest impact as far as the décor and food, featuring a chef-active carving station of tenderloin and potatoes, a large beer & wine bar, a coffee station and a large dessert display. Again, a variety of hot passed appetizers were offered here as well. Desserts were created with the company colors in mind, including yellow and blue Whoopie Pies, chocolate dipped marshmallows and mini cheesecake pops! 

Overall, the event was a definite success! The guests left very happy and Pepper’s received many compliments, including follow-up phone calls and emails, from both employees and family members of Rocheleau Tool & Die. One guest even called to say that “this was the most spectacular event (he’s) ever been to” and that he was “blown away” by how wonderful the staff, food and décor were! The ambiance was unique and inviting and the location of food and drinks enticed the guests to mingle throughout the museum.  The added attention to detail and the wide variety of food options really helped to showcase what Pepper’s can do when given the opportunity to shine!  

Pepper's Catering is Serious About Volunteer Work!

Posted by John Lawrence on Thu, May 16, 2013

5 16 13As we celebrate our 25th year in business, we spend a lot of time reflecting on the many pieces that make up the Pepper’s Pie. We’ve created and worked thousands of fabulous events over the years, including everything from baby showers and weddings to large scale galas.

We understand that every single event is important and unique, which is why we put our very best into creating memorable experiences for hundreds of thousands of local community members. The diversity of our jobs and clients positively affects every member of the Pepper’s team. By working closely with so many different people, we have come to value our community and pledged to work hard to strengthen it. At Pepper’s, we remain committed to supporting many local charities, by donating our cuisines and resources to both non-profit and community organizations.

Over the years we’ve supported Massachusetts Veteran’s Inc, Worcester County Food Bank, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Rachel’s Table, Dress for Success and Shrewsbury Youth & Family Services, among others. This past week we dropped off a healthy and delicious lunch to the “Women in Build” group of volunteers who were helping build a home with Habitat for Humanity in Lowell, MA.

We take pride in working with these groups, knowing that we’re connecting with our community to make it a better place. The satisfaction received from making a difference is absolutely priceless. We look forward to continuing our commitment to the community through our volunteer work with you.

Catering Another Spectacular Event

Posted by John Lawrence on Thu, May 09, 2013

yeeeLast weekend we catered and designed the biannual spring gala event, “Above and Beyond” for 250 of Worcester Academy’s parents, faculty, alumni and friends.  It was held at a new venue of ours– the Cotsidas Hall at St. Spyridon’s Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Although the event was inside, we couldn’t have been luckier with the weather, it was a beautiful spring day for an auction! In a nod to spring and the freshness it brings, Pepper’s created a beautiful and happy atmosphere using décor of yellow and white monochromatic linens, white whimsical chair covers, and tables adorned with mercury glass vases.  The vases held springtime flowers, designed and prepared by volunteers from Worcester Academy.  The bars announced springtime with huge bouquets of forsythia, a popular early spring bloom.

The décor was enhanced by the tactful lighting. White draping on the walls set the backdrop for the audio visual projection of the live auction items provided by Shoreline AV.

The evening began with guests being invited into the cocktail hour to view and bid on silent auction items, while enjoying the event’s signature drink—a lemon drop martini, as well as an array of passed hors d’oeuvres.

Guests were then invited into the dining room, which comfortably accommodated all 250 attendees, to enjoy a delicious first course of baby spinach, frisee and endiga salad.  The salad was topped with a goat cheese croustade with red cranberries, spiced walnuts, shaved asiago cheese.  It was served with lemon herb vinaigrette accompanied by a basket of artisan rolls and sliced bread with infused oil for dipping.  (Is your mouth watering yet?)

Following the excitement of the live auction led by the Zekos Group, Pepper’s Catering served an entrée of rosemary crusted beef tenderloin with bordelaise sauce served over roasted vegetable couscous, or a roasted vegetable stuffed zucchini and tomato herb ragout.

During dinner, the cocktail and silent auction area received a transformation from Pepper’s pastry chefs and design specialists.  A bevy of desserts, enticing to every sweet tooth, were displayed alongside a collection of whimsical, covered books (used as risers) that showcased the meaning of “Above and Beyond.”

After dinner, doors opened and guests were welcomed to the grand finale.  They were overwhelmed!  The added bonus was the to-go offering of any dessert that had not been eaten.

What a night! It was the perfect celebration from beginning to end—a financial success for Worcester Academy, a culinary delight for guests, and a great experience for Pepper’s to work at a new venue.

If you’re considering an event that requires a venue, either large or small, the Cotsidas Hall could be the place.  Contact Pepper’s for more details.

 

 

Dessert Buffet Makeover

Posted by John Lawrence on Thu, May 02, 2013

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By: Linda LaBarge

It seems like we have been doing Dessert Buffets here at Pepper's Fine Catering, well forever.  When we first began serving desserts buffet style, we weren’t sure what to expect.  But soon after we started, we noticed a growing interest in Dessert Buffets, and we knew it was time to give them the kind of menu makeover that would make the interest even greater. 

When choosing desserts for each station, everything including the color, flavor, and size of each dessert must be taken into account so that they fit in with the rest of your party.  Each dessert at Pepper's must pass the taste testing staff’s approval of deliciousness to earn a place on the menu, and they can be harsh critiques! 

There are many benefits to having a dessert buffet at an event or party.  If you're holding a large function, they're great guest pleasers.  Your guests will enjoy the option of more than one dessert and will be able to move about, schmoozing after speeches or meetings.  This goes for weddings, too!  Rather than going with the traditional wedding cake, a dessert buffet can add a unique touch and a variety of flavor.    

Almost anything can be included in a buffet: from simple desserts like brownies, dipped fruit, and cookies, to the more sublime--dessert custards, seasonal mousse cups, and unique mini sweets. Over the past year I have experimented with our items and am now offering four buffet options.  Each is given their own name, all with delicious foods included.

Recently we catered an anniversary event for a local company hosting their top customers.  They chose "1970s Movies" as their event focus, and we went wild creating a Willy Wonka dessert experience for their dessert buffet.  We had so much fun with our golden ticket garnish for the cupcakes and our giant lollypop props. The design perfectly evoked the whimsicality of the movie and the DayGlo colors of the 70s set. The best looking part was definitely the 15 pounds of chocolate in one of the display vases! 

If you're curious to see more of our work, take a look at some of our dessert pictures and check out our Dessert Buffet Menu online as well.  Happy eating!

BBQ Catering Ideas

Posted by John Lawrence on Thu, Apr 25, 2013

kaWith summer approaching, we are all excited for some outdoor fun.  BBQs are among many people’s favorite warm weather activity. When it comes to having a BBQ, the options are endless for creating a unique and memorable event. 

Start by choosing a menu that provides crowd-pleasing items. Rather than serving the traditional BBQ food we have all grown up with, give it a fun twist to make it original and stand out to your guests.  At Pepper’s catering, we have created a dip bar with house made chips including flavors of classic, ranch, curry, and brown sugar.  This range of flavor provides guests with traditional options as well as the chance to try something new.  Also becoming popular, are chef-active slider stations. These stations offer a variety of mini burgers such as black bean, turkey, and sirloin which are prepared by the chef in front of guests guaranteeing freshness and great taste.  Guests are welcomed to get involved by customizing their sliders with their favorite toppings.

At Pepper’s, we can customize items to meet your needs.  If you are looking to serve classic favorites at your BBQ, our menu can provide you with everything from pasta salads and veggies, to hot dogs and burgers. This type of menu serves as a good starting point and is flexible for interchanging items as you like. 

When it comes to drinks, hiring a bartender will allow you to enjoy your party and focus attention on your guests. Here are Pepper’s, we have all of the necessary equipment to set up a well-displayed and fully functional bar. You have the option to purchase your own sodas, beer, wine and alcohol, or our sales team is also happy to do the bar stocking for you.  We also offer delicious house-made lemonade and ice tea as non-alcoholic alternatives for adults and refreshing, healthy options for kids.

You’ll also want to think about where guests will sit. Providing some seating is a good option. A few high and low cocktail tables will promote mingling while still giving your guests a place to eat. If hot, sunny weather is expected it might be beneficial to rent a tent to escape the heat. Our Pepper’s sales team has relationships with many venders and we’re happy to coordinate any rental needs for your event.

Ready to get friends and family together for some fun this summer? Let us create a spectacular BBQ event that you and your family will remember! Contact Pepper’s.

 

Bar and Bat Mitzvah Party Planning

Posted by John Lawrence on Thu, Apr 18, 2013

Bar and Bat Mitzvah Planning

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Bar and Bat Mitzvah's are an important milestone for Jewish children and their families. Reading from the Torah marks a child’s passage into adulthood. What better way to commend a child’s transition and hard work than with a celebration?  At Pepper’s, we understand that a Bar or Bat Mitzvah party, is mostly about two things—food and fun. Whether you want a small family gathering or a big party with friends, there are many elements that must be thought out and executed flawlessly in order to meet the approval not only of mom and dad but discerning thirteen year olds, too.
 
Most children want their party to say something about who they are. In fact, many will already have ideas about what they want their celebration to look like—either according to color schemes or elements of design, such as adding movie memorabilia as table centerpieces for a child who loves films, or introducing a color palate to the table linens and decorations reflective of a child’s favorite sports team or school colors.
 

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 When choosing a venue, be sure to factor in the number of people invited and their average age. Will a celebration that skews younger warrant space for a dance floor?—something you may not need if your child is having an adults-only party. There are other considerations for space, too. A kid’s party may not need much in terms of lighting, but if many older adults will be in attendance (grandparents, great aunts, etc.) then a well-lit banquet hall may be best to avoid potential hazards.  

Menu choices are important, too. It’s your child’s party, but that doesn’t mean the menu has to be full of French fries and chicken fingers. You can satisfy both kids and adults with menu options geared towards both. Consider two separate menus and go for finger foods so that children can try more adult fare without committing to a full entrée.

There are many ways to celebrate and lots of food to choose from! Pepper’s offers diverse Bar and Bat Mitzvah Catering Menus to include plated, buffet or stations, depending on which serving method you prefer.  All of our menus include both kosher and non-kosher items as well as classic Jewish dishes everyone will love. 

Learn more about our Bar and Bat Mitzvah Services.  

Photo Credits:
Barry Alley Photography 
Le Petite Studio 
Allergro Photography

Pepper's to be Among the Caterers at the Rhode Island Historical Society's Celebration of Film History

Posted by John Lawrence on Fri, Apr 12, 2013

What:  Spring Forward… Think Back to RIHS’s Silver Screen

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When:  Saturday, April 27 at 7:00 PM

Where: Rhode Island Historical Society, 110 Benevolent St, Providence RI, 02906

Price: $50.00

Are you a food and/or film buff?

Join us Saturday, April 27th to support the collections of the Rhode Island Historical Society (RIHS) with a night of silent films and great food! 

 Pepper’s will be among the caterers wining and dining guests at the historical and grand Aldrich House in Providence, for an evening of screenings from Rhode Island’s golden age in film—the 1910’s and 20’s.

Pepper’s, along with five other area caterers, will be offering up a taste table of culinary delights to rival the magic of the big screen.

 To purchase tickets or learn more about the event, click here

Pepper's Fine Catering Builds Inventory of Vintage China

Posted by John Lawrence on Thu, Apr 11, 2013

4 11 13 vintagechina blog USE THIS!By Heidi Bouchard
Head of Style and Design

In the wedding design industry, vintage China has become all the rage. From the bride who wants a “full-fledged vintage look,” complete with vintage glass ware, linen and chairs, to the bridal or baby shower hostess who wants to add just a touch of nostalgia to her party.  More and more customers are asking for us to source vintage pieces for their catered event.

Our collection took shape slowly at first—a few pieces from gatherings at antique shops, some beautiful thrift store finds, one or two pieces discovered on EBay. As we began to build our collection, it was clear we were onto something—each piece of china we added was in high demand with many of our clients. As Head of Style and Design, it became my responsibility to make sure we had enough inventory so that we could tell our salespeople to present vintage china as a viable option to clients.  Although off to a great start, we still needed more and better quality pieces….

Brimfield Here We Come!

Over the course of two days and with the assistance of two “pickers,” I scoured field after field at Brimfield, Massachusetts’ famous outdoor Antique Show and Flea Market last September.  We came home with almost everything we needed, completing the 1st phase of our project: 125 complete place settings made up of vintage china.

The appeal of these pieces is that every dish, every cup and saucer, has a story.   It’s safe to say that every piece belonged to someone’s Grandmother.  One dealer, whom we purchased a complete service of 8 from, told us he had bought it at an auction in Philadelphia, out of a stately old brick house that had been empty for years.  He broke the original 48 place settings into 6 sets of 8 each.  We imagined the grand parties these plates had witnessed.

Midway through our 2nd day of foraging, we stopped for lunch to have our traditional Pilgrim Sandwich (Fresh roasted turkey, stuffing and homemade cranberry sauce on a fresh bakery roll). Deciding to divide and conquer I waited in line for lemonade.  I was the last to return to our table.  There were our three Pilgrim Sandwiches served on three late 19th century green and gold Limoges plates.  The sandwiches were of course delicious, and yes, I think the plate was partly responsible for that. What fun to sit and pause a moment and enjoy the antique china ourselves!

 

Incorporating Food Stations at your Wedding!

Posted by John Lawrence on Thu, Apr 04, 2013

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When planning an event for soon-to-be-married couples, questions of unique wedding catering ideas arise.  A general concern is often “Should we have a sit down dinner, buffet, or food stations?” This is usually decided based upon each couple’s personalities, budget, and overall expectations of the event.  Food stations are a new and quickly-growing trend and they offer a fun, non- traditional approach.

Definite Pros

  • Love comfort food? How about trying a Mac N’ Cheese bar or grilling up some Mini Slider Burgers with Fries? Would prefer a more healthy approach? Try a Sushi Bar or Seasonal Kabobs with Grilled Vegetables and a Quinoa Salad. The options are ENDLESS!
  • It’s difficult to choose a meal that EVERYONE likes (or can eat due to allergies and intolerances), but by choosing food stations with multiple choices, no one will leave hungry.
  • Food stations can accommodate both the largest and smallest appetites at you wedding- allowing for some to take just a bit and some to come back for seconds or thirds without a problem.
  • Stations allow your guests to get up out of their seats and mingle with each other, even if they’ve never met!
  • Stations will “WOW” your guests with the opportunity to watch their meal being prepared and served right before their eyes. This ensures freshness & quality and will fill the room with wonderful aromas.

Possible Cons (and how to fix them!)

  • Depending on where you decide to put your stations, it can cause a bottle-neck which may minimize the time your guests have to eat and mingle. Focus on spreading out the stations and consider calling up one table at a time to ensure shorter and even no lines.                    
  • You have to ensure that each station has enough food to feed all of your guests and vendors (including those who will come back up for more) which makes portion control a bit tricky and can be a little more costly. Your catering sales representative will help you choose the correct portions and ensure that you won’t end up with too much or too little food.
  • Elderly guests may prefer to be seated during the wedding and not have to stand in lines and get their food. This problem can be resolved by asking a member of the wait staff to assist them.
  • You need to make sure that your venue of choice allows cooking indoors/in the room where your guests will be seated. This can be the deciding factor for some couples.

In the end, whatever option you choose to go with will be welcomed and appreciated by your guests. Just remember to enjoy your day and focus on what really matters- your significant other, family & friends celebrating a wonderful milestone in your life!


Graduation Party Planning

Posted by John Lawrence on Mon, Apr 01, 2013

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Graduation parties are a great way to celebrate a recent graduate’s achievements with friends and family, but planning the celebration on your own can prove difficult.  Depending on the size of your child’s graduating class, it’s likely that more than one person will be having their graduation party on the same day, causing lots of traffic to and from your home, which can dictate the type of party you’ll want to have to keep guests comfortable and entertained. Follow these tips for graduation planning and you’ll be sure to give your son or daughter another memorable senior year memory:

Aim for a casual get-together—Consider getting together with other parents and organizing a joint graduation party. This will save people the trouble of traveling to more than one party and also save you money!  By splitting the cost three or four ways, you might actually end up reducing expenses, and can often go bigger when it comes to food and/or entertainment choice.

If the party is being held outdoors, consider renting a tent.   The weather isn’t always going to cooperate, and large party tents are perfect for keeping your guests dry rather than going through the hassle of rescheduling.  Even if you end up with a beautiful day, a tent is the perfect supplier of shade to help you cool off and relax with friends.

When it comes to serving food, a buffet setup is usually the best way to feed a large group of people.  Work with your catering service to make sure you have a wide variety of foods suitable to your guests. Appetizer foods, such as salad and finger sandwiches are easy to eat on the run and not too filling so guests can keep coming back for more, or fill up on their way to another party.  Browse through some of Pepper’s graduation day menu ideas to get an idea of what Pepper’s can provide, or to gather inspiration for  a do-it-yourself party.

Be sure you’re fully stocked up on supplies like utensils, cups and plates.  An open-house party creates the kind of atmosphere where guests may put down a plate or cup they were using and forget to pick it up when they want a refill. Make sure your caterer has plenty of extra cups, plates, napkins etc. for all of your guests and then some.   

Add a little character to the festivities. Displaying school colors or incorporating the school mascot into the event design is a popular graduation party trend. If your graduate is heading off to college, why not tailor the catering menu to their school of choice?  For example if they are going to the University of New England in Maine, perhaps a New England clambake will help set the mood for celebration. Maryland? Crab cakes! With a little imagination, your graduation party can be unique and memorable.

Interested in hearing more of our graduation party ideas?  Contact Pepper’s to discuss with our staff. We would love to help you celebrate this significant stepping stone in your child’s life.

 

 

New Wedding Cake Flavors at Pepper’s: Part II

Posted by John Lawrence on Thu, Mar 28, 2013

describe the imageWith wedding season upon us, I have finalized the 2013 cake flavor menu adding four new flavors.  If you read my earlier blog, you already know that we voted in favor of the Spumoni and Chocolate Chai Tea cakes.  After trying three additional flavors, we landed on the Pink Lemonade cake and the Salted Caramel Devils Food cake. 

Our staff gave both flavors two thumbs up during our cake flavor and bridal tastings. The Pink Lemonade cake conveys our colorful theme for this season, and is perfect for a summer wedding with its bright and vibrant colors. The cake is lemonade flavored and consists of three pink shades filled with tart lemon curd and lemon mousse. 

After having Chocolate Caramel Fudge cake on last year’s menu, I can say the Salted Caramel cake has replaced it hands down.  This delicious dessert is a rich devil’s food cake filled with layers of salted caramel and dark chocolate ganache.  As one of our staff tasters put it “this is chocolate heaven!” Although I was wary about using salt, I have to admit, it’s a winner. 

The third cake was just as yummy, but more in line with a seasonal menu rather than our wedding menu.  I call it Pumpkin Gingerbread cake.  It’s made up of two layers of golden cake each with a layer of spicy gingerbread and filled with white chocolate ganache and pumpkin mousse.  I am putting it on the Holiday menu and if it’s a hit, will be available to all.  Next on the “to-do” list: a Dessert Buffet makeover...Stay tuned!

If you’re interested in a tasting with Pepper’s—Contact Us, we’d love to share our delicious cakes with you and work to create your dream wedding cake.

 

Corporate Events with a Twist

Posted by The Pagetender Team on Thu, Mar 21, 2013

By Linda Shack

Corporate Events with a Twist 3 21 13

There are many reasons to plan a corporate event: perhaps your company is celebrating an important milestone, launching a new product or service, honoring important clients and employees, or hosting an annual holiday celebration.  Whatever the reason, as full service event planners, we always try to make every event fun and memorable.

The key to that experience lies in adding a twist. At Pepper’s, we try to infuse many corporate events with a unique element that makes each event unique to your company and your cause for celebration. We think creatively about all the key elements that make events special, from the menu to the design elements—linens, flowers and even the attire of our staff.                                                              

Last fall, we were asked to plan a Halloween party for 300 employees of a technology company. The theme was “old Hollywood horror films.” Our team of planners, chefs, and style and design experts immediately went to work thinking of creative ways to execute this theme. Our collaboration resulted in several very unique twists. These came through in the presentation of the food stations, which were inspired by a classic horror movie, the design of the guest tables, and even the staff’s costumes.

One of my favorite elements was our “Frankenstein Autopsy.” Playing off the classic movie Frankenstein, we presented his body on a gurney. In the center, we offered meatloaf with “terror” mashed potatoes that were infused into his body. The chef who was serving the delicious combination “performed” the autopsy. It was quite the conversation piece as well as a culinary delight!

The staff costumes were another favorite element. We encouraged everyone representing Pepper’s at the event – from the planners to the bartenders and wait staff – to dress as their favorite Hollywood horror character and offered prizes to the top three costumes. The staff enjoyed this, and so did all the event guests!

Each station and guest table was designed to evoke a different horror movie. We used black table linens and our artistic staff used chalk to write the titles and quotes from movies, and even drew a few scenes and characters from the classics. We purposely left the chalk on the tables so guests could add their own creative touch, which many did, while others opted to write messages thanking the company for a truly special evening, one like no other.

While events like this can be challenging to execute, with careful planning and the collaboration of a creative team working together, they are fun for all involved, but especially for the guests.

The Pepper’s team prides itself on always exceeding our clients’ expectations with memorable and unique events. Please feel free to Contact Us with your idea for an event with a twist. We look forward to collaborating with you and turning your vision into a reality. 

Your Wedding Menu: Consider the Cocktail

Posted by The Pagetender Team on Thu, Mar 14, 2013

3 14 13Have you thought about offering a signature drink at your wedding? It can be a fun way to showcase your personality to your family and friends, and there are so many ways to customize your cocktails to go along with your wedding design. You can share your favorite drink with your guests, create a colorful drink that matches your color scheme, or one that is inspired by the season. You can choose a cocktail that represents you as a couple or create "his and hers" cocktails. An added benefit of offering a signature drink is that instead of paying for a full bar your caterer can offer beer, wine and your signature cocktail. 

Have fun with your drink by adding unique garnishes, colored straws, or engraved stirrers. These will sure get your guests attention! One of our wedding couples chose Pepper’s Blueberry Lemonade cocktail to offer guests at their summer wedding. It was served in a highball glass with a blue and white straw. The guests loved sipping this whimsical, refreshing drink. More than the traditional glass of champagne, the presentation added much festive charm. 

Blueberry Lemonade

2 oz blueberry vodka

4 oz lemonade

Mix with Ice

Serve with candied blueberries and a lemon wedge 

New Wedding Cake Flavors at Pepper’s

Posted by The Pagetender Team on Thu, Mar 07, 2013

3 7 13Wedding season is quickly approaching! Here at Pepper’s Fine Catering, the bakery is experimenting with exciting flavors and colors for our newest cakes.  Every year we review our most popular flavors and revise the cake list.  After lots of research involving web surfing and magazine consulting, we came up with two exciting new flavors, born out of experimentation and testing at the Pepper’s bakery kitchen.

The first flavor is Spumoni, which is comprised of tasty layered ice cream of chocolate, pistachio and cherry. The tri-layer design makes for a colorful cake, and really helps drive home a feeling of celebration. It’s filled with a bittersweet ganache and cherry buttercream. Delicious!

The second flavor, which is my personal favorite, as I am a tea lover, is Chocolate Chai. This cake consists of two layers of milk chocolate cake, and one layer of double vanilla cake filled with milk chocolate ganache and chai tea mousse. Yum!  

These flavors are put to the test—baked, filled and tasted by everyone here at Pepper’s (very tough critics). I use the feedback gathered from the internal team tasting to tweak the recipe as needed. 

We also began offering our new flavors during cake tastings. So far, several couples have been in for cake tastings since the two new flavors were instated and they have all graciously provided feedback regarding yumminess and visual presentation.  

Be sure to check back soon, as we are still working on two more flavors to roll out during this year’s wedding season!

Warm Weather Menus: The Casual (or Elegant) Ease of BBQ Wedding Catering

Posted by John Lawrence on Thu, Feb 28, 2013

Casual Warm Weather Menus

wedding BBQHere in New England we don't have the longest summers, so we have to enjoy it while we can! Nothing says summer food quite like a barbecue - especially if your planning an outdoor wedding or special event. 

I know some of you may be thinking, “barbecue and my white dress?” But trust us. Barbecue wedding catering is making a big splash on the wedding scene. Whether couples are aiming for low-key, small celebrations or a big affair with all of your family and friends, our barbecue wedding menu is specially designed to please every palate and mark a very special occasion in scrumptious style.

When we say barbecue at Peppers,  we’re talking real barbecue—cooked low and slow to produce meats that are tender, succulent and bursting with flavor. And don’t forget the options for grilled seafood—all cooked using local and fresh ingredients. Do you envision the traditional New England clambake for over 200 of your closest friends? We can make it happen! Whether it’s buffet or sit-down, we ensure that each plate is carefully thought out and constructed to please the eye as much as the palate

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Our Pepper’s Event Designers are as much a part of the menu as the food itself, looking for ways to tie your wedding day inspirations into the presentation, with special touches like the addition of bales of hay around the buffet table at your barn wedding, or beautiful plaster starfish dispersed amongst the dishes at your seaside wedding.

The options for barbecue catering stretch as long as our imaginations (which at Pepper’s is pretty long!). If you’re planning an outdoor wedding, we encourage you to take contact us to see how we can help turn your special day into something truly extraordinary.

Reach out to Pepper’s to schedule a consultation with our Senior Event Designers. We would love to sit with you and discuss your special day. 

Contact Us

The Power of Collaboration

Posted by John Lawrence on Thu, Feb 21, 2013

describe the imageA catering company is a bit like a mobile 4-star restaurant, so you can imagine the amount of moving parts involved. From our clients to the wait staff, wedding planners and chefs, it takes a lot of planning to sync these parts properly, and orchestrate memorable, inspiring events—the kind of planning that makes up the Pepper’s difference and sets us apart from the rest.

Clients return to us time and time again, knowing that we can deliver an effortless (for them), stress-free event that incorporates their vision. So how do we do it? What’s our secret? Collaboration is the key! Everyone must be working together to achieve a shared goal. In Pepper’s case that goal is an amazing catering event.

Collaboration is much more than simply communicating. To us, it means everyone gets involved. It’s a volley of ideas going back and forth, adding and taking things away, until everyone is satisfied with the end result.

Collaboration is all about asking questions and getting answers. When we brainstorm as a team, it creates a sort of synergy, where the result is often greater than the sum of the individual parts. Everyone on the Pepper’s team is extremely talented—whether it is event design or culinary arts, and when the collaboration begins, truly amazing things happen!

Collaboration is crucial to making any business work, but it is especially true of the catering industry. With so many different parts to our business, it would be impossible to get anything done without knowing exactly where everyone else involved stands.

At Pepper’s, we are open, curious, engaged, and questioning about all aspects of an event. Our event designer will often work in tandem with our chefs to ensure there is an element of cohesion between food and design, our sales reps will need to collaborate with our designers regarding the tastes and visions of potential clients, so that we can better suit your needs when you walk through our doors for the first time. It never lets up at Pepper’s, constant flow of communication is needed to make it all work.

The end result of all of this planning and brainstorming is the creation of any event that engages all a client’s senses and provides lasting memories and endless delight.

If you have an upcoming event to plan and you’re interested in learning more about our approach, we invite you to reach out to a Pepper’s team member and schedule a consultation with our team. 

Tasteful Beverage Infusions, for special occasion catering and casual entertaining

Posted by John Lawrence on Thu, Jan 31, 2013

Chilled Lime  Pepper infused CocktailWhen people think of beverage infusions, they  often think of an ice-cold Arnold Palmer, or strawberry lemonade, but why stop at crafting beverages for summer enjoyment? There are plenty of wonderful beverage infusions that can also warm you up on a cold winter’s night!

The other day we visited with friends who had an aromatic, simmering pot of mulled cider that was enhanced with nuances of star anise, cinnamon and juniper berries. Wow, it was delicious!

No matter the season, winter or summer, there are a plethora of opportunities to craft a hot or cold beverage using combinations of locally sourced herbs, fruits and spices. Any of these could be the basis of a signature drink at an event, wedding or for simply entertaining at home.

Peppers Fine Catering is often called upon to craft a signature non-alcoholic beverage cocktail for catered events. We love doing this because it gives us an opportunity to create an extremely memorable and unique catering opportunity.

By using a simple French Press coffee maker or tea pot, you can produce a delightful and aromatic beverage, too. You can also garner plenty of ideas with a quick Google search for tisanes or infusions.

Here are some examples straight from my own kitchen:

During the summer when our mint patch is bursting, I like to put a few cups of mint leaves (whole) into a French press with a few lemon slices, add a couple teaspoons of sugar and fill the vessel with boiling water. Let this steep for 3-4 minutes and then push down the strainer, for a soothing mint tea that can be enjoyed warm or chilled.

With the grocery store stocked with seasonal fruits like clementines, a particularly sweet and delicious member of the citrus family, why not try a Lemon Clementine Infusion?

Scrape the zest from 6 each clementines into a bowl using a microplane. Cut the clementines in half and squeeze the juice into the same bowl as the zest. Repeat this process with the 2 lemons as well, making sure to include the zest and juice.

In a saucepan, combine 2 tablespoons of sugar with 6 cups of water. Bring the mixture to a boil and then remove the heat and add in the zest and juice from the clementine and lemon. Let everything steep, covered for 3-4 minutes and enjoy warm or chilled.

Consider playing around with other ingredients like orange and tarragon, apple cider, thyme, ginger, celery or pineapple. Mix and match, have some fun with them. See what other recipes you can come up with!

If you try a new creative drink infusion, be sure to let us know by posting to our Facebook wall!

 

A New Recipe for the New Year

Posted by John Lawrence on Thu, Jan 17, 2013

describe the imageHors d’oeuvres are an ever popular staple at any party— they can be eaten on the move, allowing guests to easily mingle. But the same stale dishes always seem to be passed around at every party. Scallops wrapped in bacon, shrimp cocktail, and the ever popular fruit and cheese tray are all a bit overdone at this point.

As we start fresh with a New Year, we thought why not share a fresh, new recipe as well? 

One trend in Hors d’oeuvres is the desire for more vegetarian fare. Our Parmesan tuille with arugula, mascarpone and roasted pear could be considered a play on the classic fruit and cheese pairing. This new hors d’oeuvre we have been experimenting with has been satisfying guests with great reception in the past few months, ever since we introduced it at an event at the Boston Design Center.

When it comes to assembling our Hors d’ oeuvres menu, we like to keep it fresh, local, simple and visually appealing, with at least 4-5 components all adding complementary tastes and different textures.

Parmesan Tuille, arugula, roasted pear & mascarpone cheese

2              ounces                 Parmesan Cheese, fine shred or grated

2              ounces                 Mascarpone Cheese, whipped at slightly below room temperature. We like Vermont Butter and Cheese for locally produced

1              each                    Pear, nearly ripe & from local source. Split, core, medium dice

¼             oz.                      Arugula

Procedure:

The making of the tuilles is best done on a silpat mat. These can be found at better kitchen stores that are geared for cooks and chefs. Stores such as Williams-Sonoma or Sur La Table.

  1. Place 1/2 teaspoon of the grated parmesan onto the silpat sheet, forming rounded shapes. Spread so that it is an even layer and barely covering the area. This is a time when “less is more” for the grated parmesan. You can probably get 24 to 30 cheese discs to a sheet. Bake in a pre-heated 275 degree oven until the tuilles are getting golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool. Do not refrigerate or make a day ahead. This is to be done the day you plan on serving them, as they will lose the desired texture.

  2. Whip the mascarpone with a beater attachment for one minute at a medium speed. This will lighten up the texture and allow you to easily pipe it onto the tuilles.

  3. An hour or so before guests arrive, pipe out a rosette of the whipped mascarpone onto tuilles that have been topped with 2 leaves of arugula. Be aware to pipe some of the mascarpone onto the tuille to have it “stick.”

  4. Top the whipped rosette with the fresh chopped pear pieces. I will share with you that we have also done a fresh fig variation, we have roasted under ripe pears, poached apple and I’ll bet by this time next year have come up with another  half dozen variations, so please have fun and experiment with this tasty little appetizer.

Cutting the Cupcake: The ease and glamour of dessert stations

Posted by John Lawrence on Thu, Jan 03, 2013

describe the imageThe cutting of the cake has been a wedding institution for years, but many couples are choosing to ditch the traditional cake for something with a bit more panache. Today, many are going for a variety of desserts to satisfy any sweet tooth, wow guests and make a statement. The dessert station is rising in popularity among couples, in many cases replacing the towering feat of skill and frosting that is the traditional wedding cake. It has become the must-have attraction for the modern wedding.

With a variety of colors, textures, and shapes at your disposal, the station is a way to continue the theme of your big day—it’s an extension of the celebration and another chance to show off identity and personalize. Going well beyond the traditional 3-tiered wedding cake, the dessert station gives guests variety, from candies and pastries to dessert bars and cupcakes, the options are endless and your guests will appreciate the ability to choose beyond the typical sweet treat.  

If a dessert table is in the cards for your next celebration, we suggest going the extra mile to make it extra special for your guests. Why not think way outside of the box? How about freshly made doughnuts and a chocolate fountain? How about an Ice cream sundae bar? Get creative! Work with your caterer to come up with something fun and memorable.

At Pepper’s we are constantly adapting color scheme and textures to the menu laid out for your guests. The beauty of working with dessert materials such as flour, fondant, glucose and white chocolate is the verstilitie in color affording to our expert bakers. With a little bit of food coloring, we can tie in the décor of any wedding to really make the dessert station stand out.

And for all you traditionalists out there, don’t worry, we offer delicious cakes, too! In fact, a dessert station can include a small cake in addition to other treats, so the bride and groom can still take those memorable photos of feeding one another the first bite of cake as a married couple! 

Rice is really boring…or so I thought

Posted by John Lawrence on Thu, Dec 20, 2012
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For years my close friends and associates have tolerated my rants about eating locally grown foods, understanding that it goes way beyond being trendy or simply supporting a local business. My occasional waxing prophetically about eating what is grown, caught and produced locally is about taste and taste alone.

Recently Pepper’s has committed to offering only Murray’s Chicken to our clients. Murray’s Farms are located in New York and Pennsylvania. Each farm is committed to not using growth hormones or any type of antibiotics. This great care makes Murray’s Chickens particularly moist, and they taste delicious.

So where am I going with this? What do Murray’s locally raised chickens and rice have in common?

Last evening my wife and I had a hankering for Asian food. We debated ordering sushi or getting takeout. But it was Monday, and fresh fish is generally not so fresh on Mondays. Okay, what next?

Cook at home of course!

A quick shopping trip brought some fresh petit Asian eggplant, lemongrass, bok choi, Chinese long beans, ginger, cilantro and a really good looking piece of D'artanian Smoked Duck.

We figured we would make some simple rice to go along with the dish that’s taking shape. Combing through the cupboards revealed that we were out of rice, with one exception. We had been saving a bag of rice that was given to us from a local woman from the rice terrace area of Longsheng, a region of China near Gullin.

There’s a long story behind how we came upon this modest ½ lb. bag of rice, but in the interest of brevity let me just share that the indigenous residents of this area have been growing rice pretty much the same way for thousands of years. The rice terraces are an unbelievable site to be seen.

We parceled out ¼ of our stash to have with our dinner. Wow! Neither of us could believe how wonderful rice could be.  This rice has not been genetically modified and absolutely reflects the local terroir of Longsheng.  It was creamy, alive with flavor and just a delight to eat. We kept the preparation quite simple. It was cooked gently in filtered water, and at the finish, we merely added a few dashes of sea salt and a handful of diced preserved lemon Susan had made.

This rice made for yet another convincing argument for eating locally grown foods; and it is especially gratifying to have met the grower.  

susanrice

The Winner of our Delectable Date Contest!

Posted by John Lawrence on Thu, Dec 13, 2012

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We’d like to thank everyone who posted a story about how they met their significant other on our Facebook page for the chance to win Pepper’s Delectable Date Contest. We loved receiving and reading your stories!

We are happy to announce that the randomly selected winner of our contest is Eva Kolezi-Shqina, who lives with her husband of 18 years in Worcester, MA. Eva and her husband will be the recipients of a finely prepared and hand-delivered meal from Pepper’s Catering in honor of our company’s 25th Anniversary in business.

Although selected at random, we were enthralled by Eva’s story—it had all the workings of a great romance—love at first sight, separation and a serendipitous meeting! We think she tells it best. You can read her Facebook post entry below.

Congratulations to Eva and her husband for winning a well-deserved Delectable Date from the Pepper’s team, and for 18 years going strong!

“I met my husband when I was only 14 years old. He came to our house to pick up my brother to go to a soccer game. I saw him and I froze. My grandma asked me, "Sweetie, what's wrong?" And I told her, "Nana, he is the one whom I'm going to marry!" She started laughing and told me that I was very young and I would meet plenty of people on my journey. Years passed and I emigrated in Greece with my family. After a year there, I saw him again...He had also emigrated in Greece, in the city and the neighborhood where I was living. We never separated after that. We have been married for 18 years, have three wonderful children and building our life here, in Worcester, MA.”

For more information on our Delectable Date contest, and to read the other great entries, visit our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/pepperscatering.

A Sustainable Catering Company

Posted by John Lawrence on Thu, Dec 06, 2012

describe the imagePepper’s prides itself on being a responsible corporate citizen. We like to help out and giveback to the community that does so much to support us. One of the ways which we try to do this is by “going green” or reducing our carbon footprint as much as possible. A carbon footprint is defined as the amount of greenhouse gas given off by a person or company. By doing a few simple things, we can reduce our footprint drastically and make the world a greener place. There are lots of ways to reduce our carbon footprint—either by using less energy or by switching over to a cleaner renewable source.

We’d like to encourage our Pepper’s supports to think about how they can reduce their impact on the earth by sharing the “green” changes we’ve made at Pepper’s:

Renewable energy: Our Electric supplier, Glacial Energy, has a program in which we pay a premium to buy a percentage of our power from Green e-certified producers. In the past year, Pepper’s Fine Catering has purchased over 86,618 kilowatt hours of renewable energy credits through Glacial Green.

Low energy: We gave our 100 year old historic building in Northborough a facelift by switching all of the lighting to low energy lighting with the help of National Grid. Kitchen equipment can use a lot of energy. When making new equipment purchases, our number one priority is making sure the cost of energy is low. Advances in technology and energy regulation companies such as Energy Star are making a huge difference in products that are available to our industry.

Fuel efficiency: Pepper’s newest van is a highly efficient Freightliner made with the newest Mercedes Benz diesel technology. It gets double the mileage of tradition gas engines. Embracing greener technology is our mantra.

Energy conservation: In much the same spirit of someone shutting off a light bulb when they leave a room, we shut down our equipment when not in use. All of our large walk in refrigerators (seven all together) have computer monitoring devices in cooperation with a program provided by National Grid, to improve efficiency and lower the power demand for chilling of our foods. Refrigeration is further reduced in our off-season, by consolidating foods and shutting down individual walk-ins that are not necessary.

White roof: Pepper’s has a brand new white roof. In 2012 it was time for us to replace our roof. There were plenty of other cheaper alternatives, but true to our philosophy of being a good corporate citizen,  we replaced our 8,000 square foot roof with a white roof. White roofs reduce the amount of power required to air condition the building, as a black roof absorbs heat and radiates it into the building. A white roof reflects heat, sending it back into space. Learn more about the benefits of a white roof here. 

Reduce reuse recycle: In addition to reducing energy consumption, Pepper’s also reduces its footprint by recycling as much as possible. 1/3 of Pepper’s trash consists of cardboard, which is separated and recycled. All beverage containers and cans are recycled as well. 

None of our scraps go to waste either. We have our own organic gardens onsite to grow herbs, vegetables and edible flowers. We use all of our vegetable food scraps in producing organic compost that we use as a natural fertilizer in our gardens. This greatly reduces carbon emissions in the delivery of these products from regional and global suppliers.

These steps may cost a bit more initially, but in the long run they will drastically reduce energy costs. More importantly, they are an investment in the environment of future generations.


 

Disaster Relief Catering, by Pepper's

Posted by John Lawrence on Mon, Nov 12, 2012

pepworkers“Frankenstorm” Sandy wreaked havoc and tragedy on millions of people living along the East Coast. Our hearts go out to those who lost friends and love ones. There is no doubt that it will take millions of laborers of all types and trades, to assist in bringing people’s lives back to normal.

 Pepper's Fine Catering got the call the day before the storm hit for a very unique corporate catering opportunity. To help workers weather the aftermath of the storm, Pepper's dispatched and mobilized to set up a temporary kitchen that would feed over 200 linemen and tree trimmers working to restore power in Western, Mass. A team of six were deployed to Greenfield, MA by the top level of companies who provide these services, Base Logistics out of New Orleans, Louisiana. Base, as we refer to them, was nothing short of amazing--terrifically organized and committed to the task at hand.

It was equally impressive to observe the dedication and professionalism of the employees from National Grid. Often, we take things such as turning on a light switch for granted, and can’t understand why, when the power goes out, it doesn’t come back within a few minutes. We observed crews working day and night to put the power back on. The hard working volunteers that we were feeding were nearly falling asleep when they finally had a chance to have a hot dinner.

describe the imageTo date, we have been out on the road for 13 days serving over 2600 nutritious and filling meals to a very receptive audience. And these guys can eat! Double portions on numerous items are a common request.

Serving these men and women was a privilege and a pleasure. It was nice to make a contribution to the disaster relief, in our own Pepper's way. Now we are buttoning down the hatches and securing all equipment, so it will be ready for the next Nor’easter.

Oyster Alchemy with local oysters from sustainable farms

Posted by John Lawrence on Thu, Nov 08, 2012

oysteringSo here we are at the beginning of November, which means I will soon be spending a few days on the shore of the Cape, gathering my favorite mollusks to enjoy with family and friends. Nothing beats gathering and eating local foods. Oysters, along with sweet corn and littleneck clams, are a few of the top ten items on my list of favorite local fare.

I’m often asked if it’s true that you should only eat oysters in months that end in the letter R. This is simply not true, a rule of thumb dating back to before refrigeration was commonplace.  However there is one caveat in my eyes. Warm summer oysters can be of inferior quality, as they may be watery, with a much milder flavor. With global shipping now more accessible, oysters can be enjoyed year round from sources such as Europe and Canada, but generally we’re able to find great oysters from somewhere on the east coast all year long.

How do you enjoy oysters?

For me, the possibilities are endless.

Roasted? Sure! Roast them over a hot fire, topped with seaweed for a roasted and steamed combo that always works well.

Raw? Absolutely! Add some lemon, cocktail sauce or a mignonette sauce, and I’m in.

Fried? One of my favorites! If I don’t use them in a Po’ Boy Sandwich, then topped with a Thai Chili Sauce works for me. When I’m doing a slaw for my Po’boy, I vary from the creamy version with celery seed to a Fennel Slaw with rice vinegar and olive oil vinaigrette, adding just a smidge of Dijon to help bind the dressing.

Cape Cod has a plethora of oyster farms, and farmers are being awarded oyster grants every year, so keep an eye out for local oysters from your favorite seafood sources. I have seen Roche Brothers market in Westborough carry Duxbury oysters as well as Onset Bay oysters which were both very succulent.

If you’re interested in learning more about oysters, Mark Kurlansky’s The Big Oyster is a lively, historic read that captures the heady days of early New York City and the impact of its oyster trade and the global economy.

Enjoy some oysters while you read about oysters with this recipe:

Raw Oysters with Apple Cider Mignonette Sauce

2               each      Shallots                                peeled and fine minced (set into a glass or ceramic bowl)

½             each      Granny Smith Apple       peeled, cored & finely diced

½`           cup         apple cider                         

½             cup         apple cider vinegar

2              teas.      Black Pepper, fresh ground

Blend all ingredients and let them come together for about 2 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Serve over your raw oysters.

However I prepare my oysters, I always have to throw a few down with simply nothing added. It’s wonderful how little nuances of brine or cucumber show up in the taste, depending on the location of the oyster farm and how the currents are running.