The first thing that most remember and often talk about after an event isn’t who was there, the entertainment or location, it’s the food and beverage. And finding a balance between wow-factor and tasting great isn’t always easy.
The team at D’Amico Catering has been doing both for over 30 years in the Twin Cities area.
D’Amico has executed events from intimate dinners of 20 to banquets for 20,000 and everything in between. Recently, the team orchestrated a 12-course molecular gastronomy menu for 200, which was planned and served as an event in and of itself. The food, preparation, service and music combined to create the meal while providing interactive entertainment for the event.
This out-of-the-box format required the planners, chefs and serving staff to work as a team not just behind-the-scenes, but throughout the event to create a complete dining experience that the guests got to be a part of as well. The staffing included 27 chefs, 26 service staff and six event management team members.
The chefs were on the stage preparing all of the food in front of the guests and had selected a play list of music to accompany the event, including pairing songs for specific courses. Some even broke out into dancing during their food preparations.
The chefs weren’t the only ones doing the dancing. Serving staff also had moves that engaged and entertained the crowd with service for each course carefully choreographed, and guests were encouraged to get up and participate. For a palate cleanser, attendees walked up to the stage where the chefs were lined up and, equipped with a spoon in hand, each chef would add an item to the spoon to complete the item.