Catering for a Bar or Bat Mitzvah

As 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.

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.

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. 

Winter in Bloom Series at Tower Hill Botanical Gardens

    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 175^th 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.

   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

  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.

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

Unique Floral Designs : Suspended and Inverted

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.

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!

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.

Tuscan Themed Bridal Shower at Tower Hill Botanic Garden

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!  

The Team

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

Peach 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. 

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.

 Foodies of New England Spring Edition

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!!

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. 

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. 

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

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

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. 

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. 

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 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

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! 

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!

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. 

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! 

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!