Chef Talk

By Joanne Purnell

I’m stepping out from the kitchen today to talk about, well, cooking! Specifically, the people who do the cooking at catered events.

As chairperson of the Culinary Council for the International Caterers Association, together with my co-chair Ken Barrett, I've spent the past year putting together the ICA's CaterArts Conference. This event is for and by the top catering chefs from all over the world and will take place July 31 to August 3 in Louisville, Kentucky. The theme this year is “Relighting Your Passion,” and for me, nothing helps energize me than meeting other chefs. I thought you might want to meet them too!

Just a little background on catering chefs in general: it’s a profession that takes a special type of person. Think about it. We might prep in our own kitchens, but we then move all that food, set up again and cook a perfect meal in a different kitchen every night. And I use the word “kitchen” very loosely! It could be a garage, a parking lot, or a tent in the middle of a field. We are in the business because we love a challenge and conferences like CaterArts give us the tools we need to be prepared for anything.

So as we all head to CaterArts, we will be packing our knives and expectations. And we will return with an abundance of resources, inspiration and passion. Here are some of the topics we'll be talking about and our fellow chefs and speakers.

Saucy!

Elgin Woodman from A Joy Wallace Catering Production and Design Team in Miami, and Ron Rando from Thomas Preti Savor in New York, make up this year's saucy pair. They will be teaching how we can bring dishes to life with sauce and accompaniments.

Found!

The vintage / recycling trend is still hot! Marla Thurman from La-Tea-Da's Catering in Charlotte, North Carolina, is going to share her canning and pickling ideas with Katie Payne from Sullivan University (not pictured). They will show us how they combine this down-home technique with the uptown marketing concept of custom branding!

And Jason Capps from Bella Sera Catering in Pittsburgh is going to tell other chefs how he's had his kitchen officially certified "green" through recycling and other sustainable efforts.

Virtual Travelers!

During a lunch and learn session, attendees will get a virtual tour of the facilities of these top three catering chefs -- David Casteel from Mitchell's Catering in Raleigh, North Carolina, Janet Woodson, owner and chef at La-Tea-Da's Catering, Charlotte, and Warren Dietel, owner of Puff 'n Stuff Catering in Tampa and Orlando, Florida.

Breaking Bread On-and Off-Line!

Whether we break bread over the internet with Facebook and Twitter chats, or over a table face-to-face, communication is key. Brent Prockert from All Seasons Catering in Winnipeg, Canada, will talk about the chef and the social revolution. Yes, Facebook is another tool we should use, just like our sieves and Robotcoupes!

And Joe Leone from Leone's Catering in New Jersey will demonstrate how to make the actual bread we will break once we come together. From artisanal loaves to custom breads, it's all about making dough!

The Best Deal!

Karen O' Connor from Daniel et Daniel Catering in Toronto and Shawn Bittman, A Thyme to Cook in Connecticut, are going to relight our passion for food costing. This is a huge issue in catering as we are often costing out menus months in advance of a season and want to bring our clients the best deals!

Hot and Hauter!

Indian events and weddings are hot and haute! Locke Johnston, Catering By Design in Philadelphia, and Adam Gooch from the Purple Onion Catering Company, Vienna, Virginia, will spice up a lunch and learn program. I love the lunch and learn concept -- perfect for us busy catering chefs who make the most of every part of the day -- even working through lunch!

Cawffee Talk!

Our favorite East Coasters -- Andrew Alexander-Crossan and Lisa Teiger from CuisinEtc. -- are back and this year they are telling us how to wake up and smell the profits in breakfast catering! Breakfast is a great meal to have catered for tenant parties, office events or conferences and in this economy it's certainly enjoying it's wake up call!

Plus Andrew is running all the educational round table discussions -- great ways to connect with colleagues face-to-face and hash out a variety of important food, business and marketing topics.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T!

Its about getting and creating respect, y'all. Brian Palazzolo from Classe Catering in New York, will be talking about how servers are the face of your business so training and communication are key.

Frank Lombardi from Catering By Framboise, also in New York, talks about the respect he's earned from doing mega-events such as the Olympics and what we can all learn from the logistics angle, whether an event is for 100 or 100,000!

The Master Blend: The Co-Chairs!

And lastly, there is myself and Ken Barrett, from Different Tastes. Ken has been my co-chair both this year and last. I've so enjoyed our friendship! Even though he's in Boston and I'm in Los Angeles, we talk every day about different techniques, menus, food presentations and more. It's what CaterArts is all about -- creating relationships that allow us to grow together!

Ken and I are doing a new, ambitious three-part class this year called "The Knife" that will enable the participants to conceive, plan and then produce the final night party for 150. Now that's what I call a busman's holiday!

In fact, the entire CaterArts Conference is sort of like that and that's what I love about it and these chefs. We work year round over hot stoves only to take a week off to come together and collaborate around more hot stoves! The sharing of ideas and the camaraderie that is forged are absolutely priceless to us.

By the way, if you are a catering chef (and even if you are not!) and want to attend, there is still time. CaterArts starts July 31. Hope to see you there!

Click here for more information on how to register.