Every year around the holidays, my company provides lunch for the entire operating room staff, and…read moreeach year my company asks for someone to volunteer to make all the arrangements. For the past 10 years, I have successfully avoided this onerous task because I really don't know the first thing about arranging a luncheon for 90 people, during work hours, in 2 separate locations, with food everyone will like, taking into account the need for leftovers for the evening shift. Can you see why I avoided this for so long?! This fateful year, I was stuck with the task and only had 3 weeks to schedule, coordinate, and execute. I had seen what a good job Girard's did catering another function I attended, so they were the first catering company I called.
Thank God for Linda - she literally took the reigns and delivered in incredible fashion. When I was distressed to hear that all of her pre-Christmas workdays were already reserved, she suggested the Thursday a couple days after Christmas. I explained how little experience I had dealing with meal plans, and suddenly she describes a whole menu:
Smokey Paprika Rubbed Chicken Breasts~drizzled with a Maple Mustard Sauce; Basil Pesto Cavatappi Pasta~served hot~with Sun Dried Tomatoes, Sweet Peas, & Fresh Chopped Spinach; Caesar Salad~with shaved Parmesan, Shredded red cabbage & Our Homemade Rosemary Garlic Croutons; Quinoa & Kale Salad~with Turmeric Roasted Caulifower, Butternut Squash, Brussel Sprouts & Dried Cranberries~with an Orange Zested White Balsamic Vinaigrette; Sliced baguettes~butter; Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream; Cranberry Bliss Cookies; Chocolate Cupcakes crème de Menthe Buttercream; and Salted Caramel Chip Cookies.
Plus, she and her team bring it all in, set it up and take it all away?! SOLD!! They arrived on time, set everything up beautifully, and cleaned up. everyone raved about the food - "best lunch ever", "amazing food", etc...
The Good: ALL THE FOOD WAS INCREDIBLE. Not just "good for a catered lunch" but really individually tasty and enjoyable. The chicken was cooked perfectly and had a terrific mix of sweet, savory, and spicy I would never expect out of a chafing dish. The pasta was toothsome and had the textures and flavors of the sun dried tomatoes and peas to really set it off. My favorite, to my infinite surprise, was the Quinoa and Kale salad. I hate kale and am not very fond of quinoa either, but the delicately spiced, deliciously roasted vegetables and just the right amount of dressing on this salad changed my mind. I at two plates of the stuff! The caeser salad was presented nicely but how much can you really do with a caeser? Well, theirs was a huge hit because of the homemade dressing they made that everyone raved about. It was almost as good as mine, and I'm really picky about caeser dressing. And every one of the desserts were flavorful and perfect. The set up was tasteful and pretty, and they didn;t leave a mess when they cleaned it all up.
The Bad: nothing
The Mediocre: nothing
Overall: I can't speak highly enough of Linda and her staff. Not only are they very nice people in general, but they also deliver with some extremely tasty, imaginative food that will satisfy even the pickiest guests. If you are looking for catering, look no further!