We had a great time working with the Town of Holly Springs and the 12 Oak community development and golf course to cater most of the events at their 12 day extravaganza.

The events included:

• The Town’s Annual Banquet
• The 12 Oaks Golf Club Golf Tournament and reception
• The Annual Partners Event with the Town’s Economic Development Department
• An Open House at 12 Oaks with activities for children
• An event for realtors and
• A private 12 Oaks Golf Club Member Appreciation Dinner Reception

The Town of Holly Spring Annual Banquet was a formal affair with the mayor and town officials.

The Golf Tournament breakfast and lunch were casual, ham and biscuit breakfast and BBQ for lunch. The Tournament Reception was formal.

The Annual Partners’ event was also formal.

For the Open House we provided all the children’s rentals, including face painters.

The Realtor’s Event included a 4 piece Jazz Band which we arranged. Some highlights of the menu were:

The Carving Station with Black Pepper and Coriander Crusted Filet Mignon and Mustard and Rosemary Baked Pork Loin.

Beef Wrapped Portabello with Sesame Ginger Sauce, and Crab Relish on Sun Dried Tomato Croustade

The 12 Oaks Golf Club Member Appreciation Dinner was again formal. Here are some highlights from that menu:

The Hors D’Oeuvres Buffet: Antipasti with Sliced Italian Meats, Marinated and Grilled Vegetables, Imported and Domestic Cheese Tray, Assorted Crackers and Sliced Breads

Pear and Brie filled Mini Pastry Cups

The 12 Day event series was an indoor outdoor event, with many of the events served without kitchens or running water.

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Catering by Design – 919-481-2366.

What kind of events would you like to host? What’s your budget? Talk to us and let’s see what we can do for you. Call Chef Greg Lewis.

When there’s a special event that you want to host in your own home, and you want to fully enjoy it, instead of running around taking care of all the details, consider hiring your favorite caterer.

Here’s a note from one of Catering by Design’s customers, saying so clearly, what the benefits are of using a caterer for that special event in your own home.

Dear Catering by Design:

I couldn’t let today go by without dropping you a note expressing my deepest thanks!

Last night really was amazing…from your food to the service, a few words come to mind: Elegant, Professional & Delicious!

Everything went off without a hitch. The Bride and Groom and their families were blown away.

Bottom line, I couldn’t have done it without you and your staff.  Steve, Cheri & Albert were simply wonderful. I will definitely request them again at our future functions. I didn’t have to raise a finger. They wanted to please not only me, but everyone at the party. They did you proud!

Finally, I was able to enjoy an event at my home, without being totally dead by the time it was over.

After the hours they put in last night, I know Steve, Cheri and Albert can’t say the same…they worked so hard.

I enjoyed having this party so much, that there is no doubt we will do many more…for our personal and business needs. Rest assured I will ONLY use Catering By Design.

Regards,
Donna
Donna Sich
Manager, Floorazzo Tile, LLC
Siler City, NC 27344

This is the Catering by Design difference!

If you’re meeting with the staff at Catering by Design to discuss your upcoming event, review choices for menus, table settings, decorations or more, you’ll want quick and easy directions to their restaurant location in Cary at 132 Kilmayne Drive.

When Catering by Design hosts wine tastings and dinners, these are usually held at their restaurant location as well. Put in your address and get step by step directions from your location to ours. Safe driving. (No texting please.)

Web site: www.catering-by-design.com

Our Facebook Page:  www.facebook.com/CateringbyDesignRTP

A festive wine tasting and fancy dinner will be held on Friday April 23, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. at Catering by Design’s dining room in Cary, North Carolina.

Wine connoisseur, Bill O’Neil will be entertaining and informing guests about the selected wines and their compatibility with the fine dinner menu. The price for the event is $50 per person before tax and gratuity.

The event will start with champagne in recognition of Catering by Design’s 10th anniversary!

The menu follows:
Champagne

–Appetizer–

Grilled Eggplant and Goat Cheese Napoleon
Sundried Tomato and Basil Coulis
Roasted Sweet Pepper Relish
Wine Selection

–Salad–

Baby Spinach
Citrus Vinaigrette
Sliced Strawberries, Orange Segments and Toasted Pine Nuts
Toasted Montrachet Croustade
Wine Selection

–2nd Appetizer–

House Made Lobster Ravioli
Saffron Cream, Wilted Mushroom and Herb Confit
Charred Tomato
Wine Selection

–Main Course–

Pan Roasted Pork Medallions
Gorgonzola Risotto and Mushroom Cigar
Marsala Rosemary Espresso Sauce
Wine Selection

–Dessert–

Lemon Mascarpone Mousse with Sweet Honey Biscuit
Seasonal Berries Chantilly Cream
Minted Rum Anglaise
Wine Selection

Reservations can be made at 919-481-2366. Join us for a delightful evening.

March 6, 2010 marks Catering by Design’s 10th anniversary.

We’ve had ten good years. We’ve been part of very important events in people’s lives. We’ve helped businesses take care of their employees and customers with meals and break food. We’ve served lunch to hundreds of school children.

We’ve worked with thousands of customers through Weddings, B’nai Mitzvah’s, Conferences, Annual Banquets, Picnics, Anniversaries, Awards Dinners, Fairs, Business Meetings, Annual Parties, Birthdays, you name it, and we’ve probably done it.

We are proud to have reached this milestone, proud also that some of the staff who started with us ten years ago are still working with us. “Chef Luis Compos, for example,” said our owner, Greg Lewis, “started washing dishes. He was interested in the business and because we cross train, he had the opportunity to work just about every job there was. When he showed a strong interest in cooking, he trained with me to become a chef. I’m very proud of him and his work.”

Catering by Design’s Operations Manager is Steve Zapadinsky. He arranges the events, orders everything, handles all equipment and oversees loading of the vans.

Jen Hernley is Catering by Design’s Sales Manager. When you want to talk with us about a catering event, Jen is the one you’ll make an appointment with and then meet in person. She handles the event budget, the selection process for the menu and anything else we are asked to do, including any special needs.

We have a number of event coordinators who actually manage the events on site: Cheri Matisuf, Steve Gade and Steve Lombardo. They are reliable and thorough, and take care of Catering by Design’s customers at the event sites.

Earlier this year, the Holly Springs Chamber of Commerce selected Catering by Design as their Small Business of the Year Award for outstanding service to the community and chamber.

We’re thankful for the past ten years, for our team and our customers. Here’s to the next ten!

Choose the wedding caterer who gives you the most confidence that they will deliver

• What you asked for
• On budget
• On time, and
• With ease

On your wedding day you need to focus on your wedding party, your family, greeting the guests, saying your vows and remembering everyone’s names. You do not need to worry about whether your vendors will deliver on time. You need that handled.

Choosing a recommended caterer from a friend or family member is a great start.

Feeling very comfortable with your caterer is next. It’s part of what gives you peace of mind. If you don’t feel comfortable talking with the caterer in your first interaction, don’t imagine it will get better, find another caterer. A lot is resting on their ability to work with you.

Are they paying attention to what you want? Do they have suggestions you find helpful? Are they hearing what your budget is?

Are they forthcoming about all the costs? Did you review the contract ahead of time and understand all the clauses? Are they giving you options, so you can make an informed choice?

And for the ultimate peace of mind, work with a Full Service Caterer so you can turn over all the coordinating of vendors to the caterer, and you can feel like a guest at your own party.

Catering by Design is a Full Service Caterer who can handle all the arrangements, simply deliver the food, or anything in between. Tell us your budget and what you’re hoping for and we’ll show you what is possible.

The Fall is packed with events, peaking in October with weddings and continuing through the holiday season.  With so much going on, it’s not the best time to make appointments; experienced and popular caterers will be busy.

So if you want to have a relaxed talk with a caterer about your event, wait until after the new year.  January is a good month to start, except…

…except in the case of Catering-by-Design, in Cary. This year, Catering-by-Design’s owner and head chef, Greg Lewis took some off to be with family, and now he’s venturing out to El Salvador.

Hope Chapel has a team participating in a medical mission trip to El Salvador; Greg will be among them. They will brave the language difference, water you can’t drink and conditions very different than in Cary and the Triangle.

If you’d like to read about the work in El Salvador, see pictures and follow the Hope Chapel team, here’s the link to their blog:  http://hopechapelmissions.blogspot.com/

Here are a few ways you can get the most value from your caterers for your business.

Make an easy-to-read list of the caterers you use and their phone numbers.

Give them a call to make sure they’re still in business, and find out if any terms have changed.

Have a file for each one that includes answers to these questions.  

1. Do you have billing arrangements with them? What are they?
2. How late can you request food and still get it? 
3. Can they handle special requests?
4. What is their average cost per person?
5. What kind of presentation do they have?
6. Are there certain orders that different groups prefer?
7. Find out who to talk with if something goes wrong, someone who can make things right.
8. If there’s something else you need, ask for it.

Take notes on your experience with the caterers.

Lastly, consider calling some peers within your company and at other companies to expand your list of good caterers.

While you may know all of this because it’s part of your job, sometimes someone else has to fill in when you’re out. The more you have organized and written up, the more likely you can continue business without interruption, even exceed expectations.

Catering by Design has hosted many wine tasting dinners. With hundreds of wines available to choose from, guests really enjoy the chance to hear about and taste specially chosen wines.

A number of restaurants in the Triangle currently offer monthly wine tasting dinners and guests really like these dinners.

Consider having a wine tasting dinner for your next party or event.  At Catering by Design, we even chose to have a wine tasting dinner for a benefit event in December. We invited wine expert Bill O’Neill to introduce the five wines chosen to match each of the five courses. 

Wine tasting dinners are both fun and informative.

Delivery service for pizza lunch on Fridays at high tech firms is one kind of catered meal, but that’s not what we’re talking about. We’re talking about attractive catered meals for business customers. We’re thinking of coffee and pastries for a breakfast meeting; croissant sandwiches and gourmet cookies for a working lunch, or your choice of three salads with French bread; and hot and chilled hors d’oeuvres for an early evening reception.

A nicely catered meal, with an attractive display, makes a simple meal an event. It inspires people, lifts the mood, gets people excited and talking about it, and changes the spirit in the room. When you want to make a good impression on your customers, your caterer can carry the day.

How are businesses affording catering these days? Flexibility.

Businesses are working with smaller budgets. If you’re flexible in working with them during these times, they’ll keep bringing their business back.

Talk to your caterer about your budget, generally they can customize a menu that will fit within your budget.

Here are some of the alternatives that people are asking for.

• Having the main part of the meal catered, while the employees bring desserts to share. (This is fine in one’s own business setting, but may not work in public venues)
• Having employees set up the event, decorations, tables, chairs, table cloths and place settings. The caterer brings the food and displays it, and then employees help with serving.
• Ordering less food.
• Ordering less expensive food.
• Not serving alcohol.