Previous Results: You choose a Caterer based on Quality of Food.
Holiday celebrations especially in December are varied from culture to country but one thing is the same and that is fellowship with friends, co-workers, and family and always involves food. I love the Holidays because it is this one month out of the year that everyone seems to feel joy, excitement, and caring for each other. Think back when you were a child and the excitement you felt leading up to Christmas morning. As you watched the Christmas short stories on TV the excitement built until finally Christmas Eve you crawled into bed and tried to sleep. Then the next day it was presents being ripped open and family and friends visting and bringing more presents and food. As the day continues you feast on a variety of snacks leading to the final meal of six courses of your favorite Holiday food. So no matter how busy you are this special season take a moment listen to a Christmas song, help a local charity, smile to all you meet, and above all bring the child who is excited for Christmas Eve out of you and let him or her play just for December and maybe for the rest of your life. Happy Holidays and a playful New Year.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Catering Pet Peeves
Results from last month poll: You eat a homemade meal every other day.
Pet Peeves:
Pet Peeves:
- Hiring a Caterer who does not have a Catering Permit from the local Health Department. Caterer who does not have a Food Handlers Certificate. Do you not understand that the health of yourself and guest are at extreme risk.
- Calling a Caterer to request a quote and place a temporary hold on a date and then never contacting them back to let them know you have chosen to go with someone else.
- Placing a food order and just before the event making changes to that order.
- Food is ready per stated agreement and guests have not arrived yet.
- Arriving at a location and nothing is ready for us to set up (tables, kitchen, etc..) our food items on.
- Treating Catering Staff as if they are servants. We are there to serve but we are also human beings too.
- Not placing a order on time so we have to scramble and adjust our schedule. Follow up is a two way street as you are the one requesting our services.
As you can see we as a food industry business deal with lots of the same issues as other businesses. I believe that if you request a service follow up is essential, when you set a time you commit to it with the understanding that "things happen" and compromise is essential to a perfect event. So the next time you hire someone check there creditials, get it right the first time, keep your committment to specified time and food choice,think of your guest, and above all treat the server with the dignity of a person who is there to help make your event a "painless"and easy function.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Children's Learning
Results from previous poll: American/Italian/Spanish Wines are your favorites.
Now to Children's Learning....
I am amazed to learn that the Home Education program I grew up with as a child has left today’s classroom. When I grew up I remember making peanut butter cookies (hard as a rock) and was taught how to sew a pillow by hand (tiger pillow) that should show my age! Today the average child has no understanding of how to cook and I believe this account to the large number of obese children as they have no choice in what to eat, can’t cook if their parents are busy, and are barraged by the fast food industry advertising. Don’t get me wrong an occasional burger and fries are fine but some children that is all they eat everyday. Yes, children have a fast metabolism but your body can absorb only so much of these complex carbs. Well we as a company want to make a difference and so therefore we are launching cooking classes designed for age specific learning. When a child reaches the age of 7 there are basic skills that they should know and when they finally enter their final teenage year of 19 they will be well equipped with knowledge and practice to prepare their own meals or at least have the option to choose to cook or not.
As the family dynamic of both members working grows and the American family is not able to gather around the dining room table to enjoy a home cooked meal lapses, the health of our nation suffers and unfortunately our children the future generation becomes the victim of our fast paced, high energy, get to the top idea of the American Dream.
For those Mom’s and Dad’s who have taken the step to teach, share, and embrace the value of cooking to their children I applaud you for you are the reason family recipes and tradition remain a part of our culture.
Now to Children's Learning....
I am amazed to learn that the Home Education program I grew up with as a child has left today’s classroom. When I grew up I remember making peanut butter cookies (hard as a rock) and was taught how to sew a pillow by hand (tiger pillow) that should show my age! Today the average child has no understanding of how to cook and I believe this account to the large number of obese children as they have no choice in what to eat, can’t cook if their parents are busy, and are barraged by the fast food industry advertising. Don’t get me wrong an occasional burger and fries are fine but some children that is all they eat everyday. Yes, children have a fast metabolism but your body can absorb only so much of these complex carbs. Well we as a company want to make a difference and so therefore we are launching cooking classes designed for age specific learning. When a child reaches the age of 7 there are basic skills that they should know and when they finally enter their final teenage year of 19 they will be well equipped with knowledge and practice to prepare their own meals or at least have the option to choose to cook or not.
As the family dynamic of both members working grows and the American family is not able to gather around the dining room table to enjoy a home cooked meal lapses, the health of our nation suffers and unfortunately our children the future generation becomes the victim of our fast paced, high energy, get to the top idea of the American Dream.
For those Mom’s and Dad’s who have taken the step to teach, share, and embrace the value of cooking to their children I applaud you for you are the reason family recipes and tradition remain a part of our culture.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Wine Tasting 101
First, results from our last pole shows 58% eat Italian food and 28% of you eat Chinese. Now to our lesson.
Tasting Wine for Beginners
· Look – Hold the glass in front of you and examine the color of the wine (this is best done against a white background like a napkin or table cloth). Tilt the glass slightly to see how the color changes from the center of the glass to the side. Is the wine clear or cloudy? Transparent or opaque?
· Swirl – Give the wine a swirl. This releases the esters, ethers and aldehides that combine with oxygen to yield the bouquet of the wine. Also look to see if the wine has “legs” (narrow streams of wine the run down the side of the glass), this is a good indication of the density or “mouth feel” of the wine.
· Smell – You have only four tastes – sweet, sour, bitter and salty – but the average person can smell 2000 different scents and wine has over 200 of its own.Place the glass up to your nose (don’t be afraid to stick it inside!) and take a deep breath. Close your eyes and try to focus on what you smell. Take a few more whiffs to reinforce your impressions.
· Taste – Taste the wine. Allow it to wash around your mouth for 3-5 seconds before you swallow. Then breath in through your mouth after you swallow. You are looking for the following:
o Texture – Is the mouth feel of the wine. Is it light (like skim milk), medium (like whole milk) or full (like cream)?
o Sweetness – Found at the tip of your tongue. This will be noticed in the first 15 seconds of tasting the wine. Remember most wines have no residual sugar.
o Acidity – Found on the sides of your tough, the cheek area and the back of the throat. This will also be noticed in the first 15 seconds of tasting the wine. White winesand some lighter reds usually have a higher degree of acidity.
o Fruit Characteristics – Found in the middle of the tongue, this will become apparent at between 15 and 30 seconds. All the flavors should be in balance. You shouldhave a good sense of the fruit flavors of the wine and the acidity in the wine should be balanced with the fruit.
o Tannin – Apparent between 15 and 30 seconds, Tannin is a substance found in red wine (and tea) that gives the wine an astringent quality. It is not a taste – it is a sensation. You will sense this first in the middle of your tongue as dryness and it may spread to the whole mouth blocking off the fruit flavors.
o Oak – When a wine is aged in oak, various chemical substances enter the wine from the wood. The most important of these is vanillin that tastes like vanilla. A wine high inoak will have a vanilla aftertaste (often confusing the palate to think it is tasting something sweet). Some wines are so heavy in oak that they almost taste like vanilla ice cream!
o Aftertaste - By about 60 seconds, the wine’s flavors should fade. After 30 seconds, concentrate on how long the flavor lasts. It is the tannin and fruit balance you should be focusedon in the last 30 seconds. If you still sense tannin after 60 seconds, the wine probably needs to age more. Some great wines continue to show balance well past 120 seconds.
Tasting Wine for Beginners
· Look – Hold the glass in front of you and examine the color of the wine (this is best done against a white background like a napkin or table cloth). Tilt the glass slightly to see how the color changes from the center of the glass to the side. Is the wine clear or cloudy? Transparent or opaque?
· Swirl – Give the wine a swirl. This releases the esters, ethers and aldehides that combine with oxygen to yield the bouquet of the wine. Also look to see if the wine has “legs” (narrow streams of wine the run down the side of the glass), this is a good indication of the density or “mouth feel” of the wine.
· Smell – You have only four tastes – sweet, sour, bitter and salty – but the average person can smell 2000 different scents and wine has over 200 of its own.Place the glass up to your nose (don’t be afraid to stick it inside!) and take a deep breath. Close your eyes and try to focus on what you smell. Take a few more whiffs to reinforce your impressions.
· Taste – Taste the wine. Allow it to wash around your mouth for 3-5 seconds before you swallow. Then breath in through your mouth after you swallow. You are looking for the following:
o Texture – Is the mouth feel of the wine. Is it light (like skim milk), medium (like whole milk) or full (like cream)?
o Sweetness – Found at the tip of your tongue. This will be noticed in the first 15 seconds of tasting the wine. Remember most wines have no residual sugar.
o Acidity – Found on the sides of your tough, the cheek area and the back of the throat. This will also be noticed in the first 15 seconds of tasting the wine. White winesand some lighter reds usually have a higher degree of acidity.
o Fruit Characteristics – Found in the middle of the tongue, this will become apparent at between 15 and 30 seconds. All the flavors should be in balance. You shouldhave a good sense of the fruit flavors of the wine and the acidity in the wine should be balanced with the fruit.
o Tannin – Apparent between 15 and 30 seconds, Tannin is a substance found in red wine (and tea) that gives the wine an astringent quality. It is not a taste – it is a sensation. You will sense this first in the middle of your tongue as dryness and it may spread to the whole mouth blocking off the fruit flavors.
o Oak – When a wine is aged in oak, various chemical substances enter the wine from the wood. The most important of these is vanillin that tastes like vanilla. A wine high inoak will have a vanilla aftertaste (often confusing the palate to think it is tasting something sweet). Some wines are so heavy in oak that they almost taste like vanilla ice cream!
o Aftertaste - By about 60 seconds, the wine’s flavors should fade. After 30 seconds, concentrate on how long the flavor lasts. It is the tannin and fruit balance you should be focusedon in the last 30 seconds. If you still sense tannin after 60 seconds, the wine probably needs to age more. Some great wines continue to show balance well past 120 seconds.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Why Are We Here?
Good question. Our focus, as Gourmet Food Company, is to share our culinary knowledge and experiences, and maybe a few recipes along the way, with the community at large and especially our customers and friends in Corona, California.
So what is gourmet? People ask us that same question all the time . To us, gourmet is passion for great food, both creating it and eating it. Anyone can be a cook and anyone can eat food, but the true gourmand views food as more than just sustenance. Food is something that excites all the senses. It is something that can be bring back memories and create new ones. It can fulfill a need far beyond the question "What's for dinner?"
We are proud to be offering a gourmet service company with the hopes that the people who eat (that's all of us) will think about what they are putting in their body and who is preparing it.
Imagine one day we can go to our kitchens and understand what all those utensils are for, what to do with all those seasonings, and oh yeah, can somebody tell me what to do with all those items in the produce section? And if you don't know, but want to know, then we are here to help.
So what is gourmet? People ask us that same question all the time . To us, gourmet is passion for great food, both creating it and eating it. Anyone can be a cook and anyone can eat food, but the true gourmand views food as more than just sustenance. Food is something that excites all the senses. It is something that can be bring back memories and create new ones. It can fulfill a need far beyond the question "What's for dinner?"
We are proud to be offering a gourmet service company with the hopes that the people who eat (that's all of us) will think about what they are putting in their body and who is preparing it.
Imagine one day we can go to our kitchens and understand what all those utensils are for, what to do with all those seasonings, and oh yeah, can somebody tell me what to do with all those items in the produce section? And if you don't know, but want to know, then we are here to help.
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