An Editable Auditing : A Tasting Event

15 May 2012

roomforty edible auditing wedding catering tasting los angeles vibiana We had the pleasure of working with Alex Rembac of Sterling Engagements last year on a beautiful winter wedding for our clients Tracy and Kramer. Following the wedding, I (Steve) followed up with Alex and asked if she had any ideas how we could widen our client base. When she suggested doing a tasting for event planners, I didn’t realize that she would orchestrate a comprehensive extravaganza, leveraging her network of industry partners and bring together a full scale presentation of event services, coordinated to the last detail, facilitating a backdrop for our food and service beyond any we could have imagined. I don’t think the event planners realized that we were hi-jacking the better part of their Tuesday and serving them ten courses, three craft cocktails and wine, and calling it “lunch.”
roomforty edible auditing wedding catering tasting los angeles vibiana florals wedding invites
While the word “audit” conjures images of auditions and the word “audition”, conjures images of American Idol hopefuls queued up around the rose bowl—our “edible auditing” with some of California’s top event planners was one of the more enjoyable events we’ve served. The opportunity to serve people who share our passion for facilitating memories heightened the excitement in the room—and we all left with a renewed inspiration for our industry.
roomforty edible auditing wedding catering tasting los angeles vibiana
A massive thank you to Shawna Yamomoto Event Design for a floral program that was epic; Prim and Prixie for invites and menus that blew us away; Designer Specialty Linen for custom made linens for the event; Vibiana for providing us with a staggering host venue; Roger Espinoza with live classical guitar; Maureen Harkness of Classic Party Rentals for a killer rental portfolio; OCAVS for A/ V Support; Beverly Hills Valet; to MStetson Design for a graphic design and branding program that keeps us coming back for more; and, as always, to Ryan Garvin Photography for capturing images that make us want to e-blast photo links to the world. As for Alex Rembac of Sterling Engagements, we don’t really know what to say to accurately articulate our gratitude. So, we’ll just keep saying it over and over… for years to come.

Thanks everyone… here’s to a great next season of memorable events.

Thank you, as well, to Summer Watkins of Grey Likes Weddings for featuring the event on her blog. roomforty edible auditing wedding catering tasting los angeles vibiana

Mother’s Day Brunch with Mindy Gayer

Resources & Inspiration

8 May 2012

Here’s our thought about mother’s day. Sure you can take her to some restaurant for a crowded, pre-fixe brunch experience, but take it from a crew that cooks for a living—cooking for the people you love is the way to the heart, no matter what your skill level. We’ve been doing our service to the men of southern California for the last 5 years in throwing Valentine’s pop up dinners. We’re thinking next year we may expand our assistance program and do a Mother’s Day pop up brunch. BUT, in the interim, we are excited to continue our “resources and inspiration” category with another inspired soiree by stylist Mindy Gayer for some Mother’s Day D.I.Y inspiration. So….make an i-tunes play list for Sunday late morning (you can do that from your desk), take some notes from below, thank Mindy Gayer for making your life easier, and get it done. You’ll be glad you did.

Happy Mother’s Day Moms! Thanks for making a lifetime of meals for us, and making the table one of our favorite places.

Cheers!
mother's day brunch inspiration with stylist mindy gayer

Our moms are bright and beautiful and ever rays of sunshine, deserving of a jubilee every day. What better way to celebrate and shower these beloved ladies than with a cheerful Mother’s Day brunch. And best of all, they aren’t allowed to lift a finger (thanks roomforty!).

This Mother’s Day, let’s celebrate their endless joy and optimism, and how dearly treasured they are to each of us.

To all of our sweet moms, we love you! Let’s go celebrate. xo

mother's day brunch inspiration with stylist mindy gayer orange yellow flowers stripes calligraphy tarts

01 event inspiration : orange modern wood sign by OhDierLiving
02 event inspiration : bright side print by vaporqualquer
03 event inspiration : she’s my anchor : illustration by MTCarey
04 florals : by Sarah Winward of Honey of a Thousand Flowers
05 place setting : backyard wedding via once wed
06 plates : galerie royale orange stripe dinnerware
07 favor : bespoke calligraphy stamp by besotted brand
08 custom calligraphed love letter for mother : Mr.Boddington’s Studio
09 food : open-faced egg sandwich photography by ditte isager
10 food/dessert : rhubarb tarts by dessert for breakfast
11 a scoop a day keeps the doctor away : jeni’s ice cream base via Saveur
12 centerpieces : citrus bowls : photograph by Sang Ang
13 a proper entrance : citrus wreath
14 signature cocktail : greyhound with rosemary and sugar
15 words of encouragement : The You Are Awesome Ribbon via The Small Object
16 gift : apron + tea towel set by studiopatró

Sneak Peek : Los Angeles Spring Pop-Up

Sneak Peek . The Latest

24 Apr 2012

On Saturday night, we celebrated 5 years of business with a festive group of clients, friends, family, and industry partners. Libry executed 6 courses of spring goodness, (menu to come with full blog post) and we paired up the courses with 4 wines from Sans Liege and 4 craft cocktails from Luke Ford. Indulgent? Maybe a little—but we’re all pretty excited to have a growing business in today’s market, and are so grateful for all of the support and business we’ve had from our community. A full photo essay to follow, but huge shouts of thanks to Studio 1342 for providing the venue, Ryan Garvin for providing the photos, for all of liquor sponsors and most importantly, all of you that joined us. Here’s a taste of our evening together.

Cheers!

dinner party at your house with Mindy Gayer

Resources & Inspiration

10 Apr 2012

This month, we launch our “resources and inspiration” category on the blog. In conjunction with our community of event industry friends, we’ll be providing monthly content that helps you facilitate memorable meals with those you care about.

If one were to ask: “how do you throw a great dinner party?” here’s what we’d say.

1. Odds are, unless you’re really weird, you won’t be inviting the judgmental “dinner party police”, so relax. If you don’t enjoy the process—your friends won’t enjoy the evening, so make sure you are having fun while you’re doing it.

2. THE most important factor in a great dinner party, is the communication among the attendees–the more people share of themselves, the more memorable the evening. As the host—you set the stage of “sharing yourself” by seeing to the details. When your guests can see you’ve cooked with love, and you’ve thought about the table, the wine, the dessert, the music—when they can see you’ve poured your soul into this—they’re disarmed by your care, and a great night is at hand.

3. Soar with your strengths, outsource your weaknesses. We do! That’s where our friends come in. We’re good at cooking, but when it comes to how the table looks, we know it will look a lot better if we partner up with our friends, like Mindy Gayer. Mindy has a knack for knowing who’s coming to dinner, and consequently figuring out what details will make them cared for by the creativity that’s expressed.

In the spirit of minding the details, we asked Mindy to give us some tips to share with the roomforty crew.

Learn more about Mindy and her prop styling : website : blog : twitter

Cheers to your next great night with good friends.

Without further ado… Mindy.
mindy gayer black and white table decor guest post roomforty

Who doesn’t love an unexpected, just-because dinner party with dear friends? I would love to host a monthly supper club for all of my favorite people – each month a little different than before. A way to celebrate the people in my life, and bring us all together to cheers + laugh the night away.

The tablescape, details and styling of the event are my favorite part. And roomforty would come to the rescue to keep all my guests oohing and ahhing after each course. Simple, seasonal, thoughtfully prepared – this is their specialty. I’m a firm believer in doing what you do best, and outsourcing the rest. Whipping up a yummy meal for large groups simply isn’t my specialty, and it gives me the perfect excuse to collaborate with a particulary talented group of artisans.

For my inaugural supper club, a black & white fête…
mindy gayer black and white table decor guest post roomforty catering

01 event inspiration : House of Orange via Remodelista
02 event inspiration : The Electric EAT by Robert Indiana
03 flowers : Tania da Cruz’ White Ceramic Head Vases
04 cutlery : Core Bamboo 3 Piece Modern Cutlery Set Snow & Onyx
05 plates : kate spade Larabee Road Black Tidbits Plates
06 placecards : Scout’s Honor Co. Kraft Tags
07 favors : terrain Black Hawaiian Sea Salt & Organic Grey Sea Salt
08 plates : K by Keaton 6 1/4″ Round Canape Plate – Yum
09 wine : saldo wine
10 dessert : espresso + vanilla bean gelato (Piccolo Affogato al Caffe) by sunday-suppers
11 sweet treat : Dark chocolate sea salt lollies from Sweet Confections by Nina Wanat

office lunches : new menu item

Sample Menu

3 Apr 2012

Repeating common scenario:
roomforty caters a special occasion. Special occasion client says: “that was awesome!” Special occasion client goes back to work, (a very un-special occasion). Special occasion client daydreams about their special occasion cuisine, calls us and says: “Do you guys do lunches?” The answer: “Yep, we do!” What’s our take? Same approach that applies to our events: if you’re eating it—we made it: from pickles to pesto aioli, chips to chipotle vinaigrette, house made cookies to house smoked cheese (ala smoked buratta on our beet salad).

We understand the role the almighty turkey sandwich and chicken caesar play in lunch cuisine—so for those of you that want to “keep it standard”, we think you’ll like our take on the standards. For those of you that want to mix it up, try our new bibb lettuce salad with pickled farmers vegetables and blonde raisin vinaigrette, or our take on the Italian Sub.

The logistical stuff:
Some of you might know our lunch product by the name: L.A. Bento, which was always roomforty’s lunch line. We realized quickly that with the volume of catered events for roomforty, the small lunch orders for L.A. Bento wasn’t sustainable—so we kept the same menu, added some new items, folded the lunch branding back into roomforty, and do have some minimums for lunch orders—but we’re flexible, so if your office is planning a lunch soireé, or you’re all piling up for a morale-building-off-site field trip and need some killer lunch, call us at 323.221.1060 or email us.

Below is our full menu for reference.

Sneak Peek : Urban Penthouse Wedding : Aaron & Stacey

Sneak Peek . The Latest . Weddings

27 Mar 2012

roomforty Los Angeles wedding caterer penthouse reception loftSEVEN downtown urban wedding venue Rain on your wedding day never worked so well as this past weekend’s penthouse reception. Something about a 360-degree view of downtown Los Angeles and seeing rain midway on it’s journey, made the perfect backdrop for Aaron and Stacey’s urban wedding reception at LoftSEVEN.

They opted for a hearty winter menu consisting of New York Strip with Butternut Squash Panna Cotta and Chicken Confit with Cassoulet. We’ll have a full post when pictures arrive, but here’s a peek of a few views from the plate.

Cheers!

Jennifer & Robert’s Spring Wedding

Private Events . Sample Menu . Weddings

20 Mar 2012

Who says Southern California doesn’t have seasons? Spring was in full effect with the perfect setting for an indoor/outdoor spring wedding for Jennifer and Rob. A huge thanks to enLuce Photography for the beautiful images, and to Craven’s Estate in Pasadena, for providing a beautiful backdrop to a beautiful wedding. (The all new Craven’s Estate, thanks to the Pasadena Showcase’s re-model). When Jen approached us, her menu input was: “I’m from Philadelphia and Rob is meat and potatoes!” On hors d’oeuvres, we tipped our hat to the city of brotherly love with our signature miniature Philly cheesesteaks, reached out to Rob and his friends with the waygu beef mini corn dogs with violet mustard, and added a touch of spring with the spring soup shooters.

While chicken isn’t always our first “go to” for weddings—we understand the place the chicken has in appealing to the masses. When Jen asked for a chicken option, we suggested some cool interpretations on the almighty protein. We proposed either a chicken confit with cassoulet, or a roulade stuffed with goodness, wrapped in thick cut apple wood bacon, garnished with beautiful farmers market produce, and dressed with a garlic jus. She went for the roulade. For Rob’s crew—red wine braise prime beef short ribs with parsley root puree and nante carrots was the call. They both looked amazing—and we loved the timeless magical feel of the whole day. Congratulations Jen and Rob. Thanks for letting us be part of your memory.

Winter Pop-Up Restaurant : Los Angeles

Sample Menu . The Latest

13 Mar 2012

We gave you a little sneak peek into our Los Angeles winter pop-up. Well, here is more as promised…

Our buddy Steve Jones from bettershelter (see COVER of this past Sunday’s L.A. Times!!) came to our last pop-up and said, “You’ve got to call my buddy Shane Brown at Big Daddy’s Antiques, and do one of these at his place.” Cut to: Saturday, March 3rd—one of the raddest (yes—raddest) backdrops to our pop-up dinner phenomenon we’ve ever had. For the first time in roomforty history, the Tuscan Tables stayed in the truck, and we set the Big Daddy tables for a great evening of great food, great wines, great furniture, and as always—great community. Guests started the night with a Southpaw (see Luke Ford of SevenGrand for the recipe), and then sat down to five courses of goodness in the Big Daddy’s antique showroom. Highlights were the Cedar Planked Artic Char—and the homemade butternut squash ice cream on dessert.

We’ll be popping up again on April 21st with a night you will not want to miss: including winemaker Curt Schalchlin of Sans Liege Wines, mixology from Luke Ford of SevenGrand, five courses of roomforty goodness—and an environment we PROMISE you’ve never had a meal in. More info on April 21st can be found on our upcoming events page. Thanks to everyone for a great night!

Huge thanks to Ryan Garvin for capturing these incredible images.

Sneak Peek : Winter Pop Up

Sample Menu . Sneak Peek . The Latest

6 Mar 2012

Our quarterly pop up this past Saturday was a night to remember. We’ll do a full post when the photos arrive, but here’s a sneak peek at a few shots from Ryan Garvin and the menu. A huge cheers to Shane Brown and Big Daddy’s Antiques for providing one of the best vibes we’ve had at a Pop Up to date.

More to come!

In the kitchen : agnolotti

In the Kitchen

2 Mar 2012

In the roomforty catering kitchen how-tos and recipes DIY agnolotti pasta recipe catering private events weddings fine dining corporate lunch alinea providence ink Yesterday we walked you through the steps to create homemade pasta dough. Today we highlight how to fill the pasta for agnolotti (pronounced anne yo lo tee) or ravioli.

agnolotti pasta recipe catering private events weddings fine dining corporate lunch alinea providence ink

STEP 1: Place filling in a pastry bag. (For ravioli filling, you can use an ice cream scoop as your filling vessel.) Pipe filling down bottom edge of pasta, making a 1/2″ bead of filling along the entire bottom edge.

STEP 2: You’re going to be folding the pasta onto itself. The egg wash is the glue. Mix 3 egg yolks and 1 tbsp of water to form egg wash and brush egg wash on the “landing strip” side of the pasta that the filling will be folded onto.

STEP 3: Using a the tip of a knife to get underneath the filled pasta side, fold over the filled pasta side one time the entire length of the pasta rectangle. Once folded, fold a second time the entire length of the rectangle.

STEP 4: Working length wise down the pasta rectangle place hands vertically 1” apart and press the edges of your hands into pasta roll.

STEP 5: Trim the excess of the pasta strip off.

STEP 6: Hold a knife upside down (blade side up) and cut the agnolotti in the creases. The upside down knife crimps and severs at the same time.

STEP 7: If you’re cooking right away, place agnolotti into boiling salted water for 4 minutes or until just al dente. If you are saving for later, spread semolina flour (or corn meal) onto a baking sheet, and dry agnolotti on baking sheet for 15 minutes before placing into the fridge or freezer. ***Frozen pasta needs to completely de-frost before cooking. Do not drop frozen agnolotti or ravioli into boiling water.

STEP 8: Simple sauces rule with filled pasta… a little butter, fresh shaved reggiano and chives are killer.

Buon Appetito!
The roomforty family
agnolotti pasta recipe catering private events weddings fine dining corporate lunch alinea providence ink