The online magazine of travel, life, dining, and entertainment for people who love Rhode Island
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Rhode Island Roads
The online magazine of travel, life, dining, and entertainment for people who love Rhode Island |
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Rhode Island great caterers, can make a party at home a real event! By Debra Bacon You have a special event -- a graduation party, birthday, or special holiday gathering perhaps -- and you would like to bring 20 to 25 of your favorite family and friends to your home to celebrate. You even collected gourmet recipes to impress everyone with the results of your braising and baking in a hot kitchen. A quick glance around your house and in the refrigerator has you shaking your head.
If you have your own signature dish that has become a mouthwatering tradition at your events, you could supplement your dish with catered foods to save time and labor. By adding soups, breads, salads, vegetable, and desserts, you can create an impressive and savory presentation for your hungry guests. With so many services out there today, it may be difficult to decide which one will satisfy our guest's taste buds while also providing great service. First, decide on what you want to serve and how many people. Would spicy food be upsetting to some but not to others? You may want to play it safe and have a mix of traditional crackers, vegetables, and dips that can be combined with other appetizers. Having the right combination of food on people's plates will save you some space in your refrigerator at the end of the night. Service is key. Some caters provide everything from crystal to floral arrangements while cleaning up the fallen petals along with their own dirty dishes. Those catering out of their own home may offer less expensive prices on specialty appetizers or desserts, but may not have the staff or time to clean up after the party. Many licensed and fully insured caterers provide full services including a small staff to accommodate the customer's every need. Some may even provide bands to dance the night away after the fine food and spirits. Choose what's right for your occasion without becoming a distracted with superficial items you may not need. Quality at an affordable price is hard to find in a caterer if you have not sampled the food. If the service has a restaurant where you can see the staff in action and sample the menu, then the decision becomes a lot easier. Larger caters and banquet facilities sometimes have these two businesses combined, resulting in full and busy schedules. If your timing is right with a smaller caterer, you may get lucky in sampling that item or two that you had a question about. "We want the host or hostess to have a good time," says Beth Pincince of Concepts in Catering in North Kingstown. "They should not have to worry about anything. We bring everything we need.." If there is a color or holiday theme in your home, the staff can follow that theme by providing matching linens, flowers, or silk decorations. Vegetables, starters, and appetizer platters can be prepared for pickup the day before our event. Be sure to make arrangements early to ensure availability. If you're looking for a more casual approach to serving your guests, Wolf Rock Catering on South County Trail in Exeter in Exeter may be your best bet. Head chef Marty Emeno specializes in what he calls "quality food at a working man's price." Traditional American fare for a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner includes baked Virginia ham, roasted turkey or lamb with all of the fixings. For the past 20 years, many local senior citizen centers, youth organizations, and corporate groups have enjoyed their full services and down-to-earth style. Just need an extra platter to two? Then places like Geralyn's in North Kingstown and Catered to Your Whims in Wakefield offer fresh seasonal food for carry-out catering. At Geralyn's menus can be created to suit any occasion, including their most requested in-shop and catering favorites, which includes roast beef slices stuffed with crème cheese. Popular requests include high-protein, low-fat, low-carbohydrate foods for health-conscious groups, along with low-fat chowders, seafood bisque, or asparagus soup served in 8- to 16-ounce containers. Breakfast and dessert trays with assorted Danish, muffins, cakes, and cookies are all baked from scratch and require a few days to a week's notice for pickup. On the sweeter side of the menu, Sweet Temptations in East Greenwich offers many types of creame pastries, Russian tea cakes, brownies, and petit fours, ranging from $7 to $10 per dozen. Most caterers like at least few days to a weeks' notice of the occasion's date for adequate preparation time, longer if they will be providing services in addition to the food. Also, compare prices to what you could manage by buying platters of prepared food from the supermarket deli. Platters of finger sandwiches, pizza and calzones from the local grocery store could range between $20 and $40 a platter. Some local markets offer fruit, meat, and dessert trays for up to 24 people. A dessert tray with cookies, cannoli, and cupcakes for 12 to 16 people costs about $30. Check with the deli staff to place an order. So, instead of spending so much time preparing and planning the menu, consider enlisting the help of a caterer. The sooner you make your arrangements for a well-planned party, the sooner you'll be able to relax and enjoy your event. Some of RI's Best Caterer's
This list is constantly growing, thanks to suggestions from our readers.
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