Meet Karon McGrath, partner in boutique advertising agency, Tibet Advertising in Chippendale, Sydney.  When Karon commissioned Chairman of the Breadboard to cater a Melbourne Cup lunch for her clients, I suggested a grazing plate as an option – no horsey pun intended!

“Kellee’s suggestion was a good one not only for the horseracing theme but because we wanted to hold the lunch in Tibet’s boardroom which only has one long table,” said Karon. “Apart from looking sumptuous, the grazing plate stretched from one end of the table to the other which meant every guest had easy access to the food.”

That also extends to guests with special dietary needs.  We had three vegetarians in the group and they were all within easy reach of delicious fare. In fact, a grazing plate is the ideal way to cater for many different dietary needs without making a big deal out of it.

Karon certainly let me have my head with the whole grazing plate thing and I’m pleased to say that both of us were thrilled with the result.

“Our guests thought it was an innovative idea for a lunch, very well executed, which really fits Tibet Adverting’s business image,” said Karon.  “I never worried about the food because when you’re using Kellee, you just don’t need to.  The spread was incredible and the lunch, which started just before the big race, kicked on well into the evening. Our clients loved it.”

Seem like my work here is done.

Yours in good food and great events,

Kellee

 Call Kellee : 0412 577 323

 Email Kellee : kellee@thebreadboard.com.au

Connect with Kellee and Chairman of the Breadboard – LinkedIn, Facebook and Pinterest.

Meet Tony Blackie, who’s run PR outfit Blackie McDonald for almost thirty years.  “Christmas can be tricky,” Tony said to me recently. “We want to celebrate and show our appreciation, especially to our employees, but the time it takes to organise an event, and the cost of even a modest function, can be a real pain.”

Blackie McDonald is a small, family-run organisation that made a conscious decision to stay true to its values, both as a business and personally, when it comes to celebrating Christmas. In a nutshell these values are:

1. Be authentic – If you’re a small business, don’t try to act like a big business at Christmas time. Throwing an expensive party and giving lavish gifts  to clients might actually send the wrong message!
2. Be inclusive – It takes a village to run a small business and there are lots of people who contribute without ever showing up to the office – like lawyers and accountants, for example. Christmas time is a great time to thank the wider small business family.
3. Look at it as good marketing – Most small business people resent the fact that they have to spend time and money on Christmas. But like it or not, the kind of Christmas gifts you give and the event you put on, says a lot about you and your business. Why not use it say the right things?

So how did the folks at Blackie McDonald apply these ground-rules to their own Christmas efforts?

For employees and loyal suppliers Tony and his partner in life and the business, Jen, hold a relaxed Christmas dinner at their home. Employees can bring their partners, and suppliers that Blackie McDonald works with all year, usually without clapping eyes on them are also invited.

Christmas 2017 will be the third event Chairman of the Breadboard has catered for Blackie McDonald.

“Kellee’s involvement has taken the panic out of organising our staff Christmas party and helped us keep the costs down while still putting on a lovely celebration.  The food’s pretty good too!” said Tony Blackie.

Tony reckons the best dish on the buffet last year was the king prawn, mango and macadamia salad. It’s one of my favourites too.

Great people, great food and an atmosphere of warm, collegiate Christmas cheer – what’s not to like?

Yours in good food and great events,

Kellee

 Call Kellee : 0412 577 323

 Email Kellee : kellee@thebreadboard.com.au

Connect with Kellee and Chairman of the Breadboard – LinkedIn, Facebook and Pinterest.

When interviewed about his forthcoming ‘big 5-0’ Ian confessed to not giving it much thought until about a month prior to the day. He knew he wanted to have something at home for 35 or so people and while he has been a vegetarian for nigh-on 32 years, Ian also knew he’d have to cater for a variety of tastes.

Enter Chairman of the Breadboard, three weeks prior to the party.  Ian asked me for suggestions as to how the food part of the event would pan out, throwing us a few curved balls with the inclusion of vegan and gluten-free options.  Buffets are usually best for medium-sized, in-home events like this. I find they serve a dual purpose by not only feeding everyone in a timely fashion but providing an opportunity for the variety of guests, usually from different walks of the birthday-boy or girl’s life, to mingle in the buffet line.

To get the party started we served substantial appetisers as guests arrived including lime and coconut arancini balls, vegetarian kebabs with hommus and Chilled Rockmelon & Mint Soup Shots .

The main meal dishes included, vegetarian ricotta, spinach and pine nut tart; vegan cauliflower and cashew nut curry, and gluten free baked stuffed mushrooms, all neatly labelled so everyone knew which was what.

Ian told me afterwards that the entrée arancini balls had been his favourite of the night. I love those too but if I were to choose an Oasis-inspired ‘wonderwall’ it would be the gluten free/vegan chocolate mousse dessert made with avocado and vegan dark chocolate, arranged in individual shot glasses topped with fresh raspberries.

Thanks, Ian, for the opportunity of stretching the Chairman’s skills with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free food. I was very happy with the result and glad you were too.

Yours in good food and great events.

Kellee 

Trust and mutual respect seems to be the constant in these client relationships and I’ve always strived to be flexible and accommodating when circumstances change – as they sometimes do.  I consider it ‘good housekeeping’ to be clear about things like deposits, cancellation and payment terms when speaking to clients, whether or not they’re prospective or repeat business.

Until now, I’ve never encountered any problems with this approach. But a recent, unfortunate experience leads me to think that I need to restate our ‘terms of engagement’ and even adjust them a little to ensure I can continue putting food on my own table!

So here’s what we’ve done – ‘Our Terms’ now feature more prominently on the Chairman of the Breadboard’s website homepage, making them more accessible to prospective and current clients. Click here for a read.

I’ve also adjusted the deposit amount and introduced a progress payment system. The deposit is now 40 percent of the quote-cost of the event and this is due as soon as the client accepts the quote. This enables me to lock in the date, book staff and forward plan the menu.

A progress payment of 30 percent is then required seven days out from the scheduled event. If things like the style of the function or guest numbers have changed since the deposit was made, this can be taken into account and the progress payment renegotiated if necessary.

The final 30 percent of the full amount is due on the day the event takes place, when you will no doubt be deliriously happy with the result .

I do hope the Chairman of the Breadboard’s adjusted terms make sense and are acceptable.

And now the business end of the discussion is out of the way, let’s get back to what I really love talking about – the food!

Yours in good food and great events

Kellee

Meet Dr Janet McDonald who just turned 50. She’s an Associate Professor (Ass.Pro for short) of Theatre Studies at the University of Southern Queensland’s School of Arts and Communication. Janet is married, the mother of two boys and the youngest of four McDonald sisters.

With a surname like McDonald and Janet’s chosen career, her 50^th birthday party was guaranteed to be suitably theatrical and tartan. The guests were entreated to dress in highland garb and the entertainment line-up included Janet’s three older McDonald tartan-clad siblings performing musical numbers in the style of The Kranski Sisters.

The birthday girl was serenaded to renditions of ‘Your little sister’ (Paul Kelly), ‘You can close your eyes’ (James Taylor) and ‘Like WOW – Wipeout!’ (Hoodoo Gurus) performed with the help of Janet’s own dear husband, Richard, resplendent in a kilt and tartan leggings. Like wow, indeed!

Canapés were served as the guests arrived with the main meal and dessert set-up buffet-style. Each course was unobtrusively delivered to the buffet table while the entertainment and speeches were going on and guests enjoyed the fare during the breaks.

 
I can’t say the food for this event was Scottish-themed (until now I’ve never considered adding haggis to any of my menus) but I can say that Janet’s guests enjoyed one internationally-themed dish in particular.

This was Italian beef, a rib fillet roasted at a low temperature for four and a half hours until medium rare, sliced thinly and served with capers, shaved parmesan and drizzled with balsamic vinegar. Och aye – delicious!

Yours in good food and great events.

Kellee

I’m not sure how long the lady who engaged us as the caterer at this event (originally billed as an engagement party) had been in on the secret. My guess is a lot sooner than we were told about it, which was pretty much at the last minute.

I can’t say I blame them for late notice, though. It seems any time one mentions the words ‘bridal’, ‘wedding’ or ‘marriage’ the price of everything jumps by at least 30 percent. And the fact that this was to be a wedding instead of an engagement party really didn’t change the menu or the serving scenario at all. All we had to do was keep mum and not spoil the surprise for the guests.

It went off without a hitch – the guests were suitably taken aback yet delighted at the surprise and the happy couple were clearly more interested in getting married than staging an expensive, stressful wedding. And as I watched the brief but love-filled ceremony I was reminded of Billy Crystal’s line from the movie When Harry Met Sally:

“I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”

Here’s to more surprise weddings, I say.

Whenever someone says, “Christmas is coming”, I always think of Ferdinand the duck from the movie Babe, who frequently yelled, “Christmas is carnage!” from the roof of the barn in the lead up to the festive season. While most of us aren’t actually being sized-up for inclusion in the Christmas dinner table spread as poor Ferdinand was, many of us are the little black ducks that get handed the task of organising the office Christmas party. Right about now you’re probably thinking the description ‘carnage’ doesn’t quite cover it!

I am here to tell you, dear friends, that with a little forward planning carnage at Christmas can definitely be avoided. Here’s a few tips from the Chairman of the Breadboard to show you how:

1. If you’re planning to book a venue of some kind to accommodate a number of people – do it now. Trust me by mid-October, all the good ones will be gone.
2. If the whole idea of trying to find a venue (and the associated costs of hiring) leaves you cold, why not consider a catered event in a private home, or in a park or picnic area outdoors? This way you’ll have more control over food choices, décor, theming and, most importantly, the cost. You’d be amazed what can be achieved with a marquee and party equipment hire these days. This approach to Christmas functions is taking off so again, it’s best to get in early and start booking public spaces and hire equipment now to avoid disappointment.
3. And as it’s such a frantic time of year for pretty much everyone, perhaps you might consider alternatives to holding lunchtime, evening or weekend events. One great idea is a Christmas breakfast! Guests love the timing of such functions because it doesn’t cut into the work day or precious weekend time during the festive season.
4. Another great idea is to organise a festive platter of assorted sweeties and seasonal fruit to be delivered to your client’s workplace for them to enjoy with their colleagues. It’s a wonderful way to say ‘thank you’ for their business throughout the year and I guarantee, your clients will be thrilled!

I’d love to help you duck the ‘carnage’ and put the ‘cheer’ back into Christmas – particularly if you’ve been tasked with the organisation of the staff function or client gifts. Call or drop me an email and we can talk it over.

Yours in good food and great events,

Kellee

 Call Kellee : 0412 577 323

 Email Kellee : kellee@thebreadboard.com.au

Connect with Kellee and Chairman of the Breadboard – LinkedIn, Facebook and Pinterest.

Ingredients: 

• 1 Egg
• 150 ml of Thickened Cream
• 1 cup of Golden Syrup, warmed slightly (microwave for 30 seconds)
• 1 1/2 cups of Fresh Breadcrumbs, finely processed
• 1/2 cup of Almond Meal
• 1 Lemon, juice and zest
• 1-2 sheets of Shortcrust pastry, (depending on size of tin) – 1/2 packet of Careme Vanilla bean shortcrust may also be used.

Method:

• Whisk egg and cream together in a medium size bowl.
• Whisk warmed golden syrup into egg mixture, along with bread crumbs, almond meal and lemon zest and juice. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Line tart tin (with a removable base) with pastry.
• Pour treacle filling into the pastry case and place in preheated oven (180°C). Cook for 50 mins.
• Cool a little in tin before removing, and serving with either fresh cream or vanilla ice cream.

 Serves 8-10

I saw something else this time too – the young Indian chef’s (Hassan’s) willingness to break with tradition, not just those of his family and homeland but the almost sacred traditions of French cuisine as well.

The best example of this to my mind is the exchange between Hassan and Helen Mirren’s character, Madame Mallory, the stitched up restaurateur bent on obtaining two Michelin stars.

Madame Mallory: What is this flavour that is fighting against the chicken?
Hassan: I added some spices for flavour to the sauce, and coriander for garnish and freshness.
Madame Mallory: But why change a recipe that is 200 years old?
Hassan: Because, madam, maybe 200 years is long enough.

Long enough indeed. And with that, Madame Mallory turns away as if no other explanation is necessary.

Relive the moment here.

Yours in good food and great events.

Kellee

That may not be as crazy as it sounds. I get asked all the time if cocktail food is going to be enough to satisfy hungry guests, particularly when the function is in the late afternoon or evening and alcohol is being served.  How many times have you attended a cocktail party when the trays of drinks are brought around more frequently than trays of food?

There are various subliminal signals an invited guest receives about whether or not there’ll be enough to eat – such as the timing of the event, for example.  A 5.30 to 7.00pm timeframe definitely indicates that this is technically a ‘cocktail’ function with a drink or two and a nibble on offer, as opposed to a meal.  You’d expect that guests would heed that signal and limit their alcohol intake at such a function, knowing there won’t be too much in the way of food.  But how often does that not turn out to be the case?

My view as a gourmet caterer is that if you are serving alcohol you need to vary your cocktail menu to include some substantial items in addition to the light nibbly pieces.  This can be done very easily and cost effectively with items like:

• Cocktail sandwiches
• Chicken tandoori or vegetarian skewers with bocconcini, tomato, spinach leaves and olives
• Mini quiches or tartlets
• On the sweet side almond cake and ricotta cheesecake slices are light yet filling so guests are able to balance their food and alcohol intake.

You don’t have to put on a full meal for your guests just because you’re serving alcohol – a clever selection of light items and more substantial cocktail food will do the trick. You will have done your part as a responsible event host/hostess and no one will ever suspect that you may, like Mrs Flax, feel that a full meal is too much of a commitment.

Yours in good food and great events.

Kellee

 Call Kellee : 0412 577 323

 Email Kellee : kellee@thebreadboard.com.au

   Connect with Kellee and Chairman of the Breadboard