Palmares

Palmares is a cycling term for a list of great accomplishments.  Our version of palmares.  A letter we received today from Ted who puts on the Columbia County Grain Growers Annual Meeting. 

"I just wanted to drop a note and thank you for the wonderful dinner you provided us on June 24th.  We have received numerous compliments on your behalf.  They began during dinner, after dinner, and several times since the meeting a week ago.  More kudos than any other meal we have provided our patrons.  Your staff was very punctual, courteous, and especially professional.  I wish you a great summer and look forward to working with you again.  Sincerely, Ted"

So we have been really busy the last couple of weeks.  And this letter just sums it up for me.  The day of this event we served 140 other guests at a winery.  These fine wheat farmers and a large group at Watermill Winery, and both were super happy.  And neither had any idea we were doing the other event because everything came off without a hitch... and this was in the final stretch of 23 events in 14 days.  

It has been the busiest last two weeks in Graze Catering history.  We will get you an update on what we have been doing soon.  The wedding parade begins for real this coming weekend.  At least one a weekend for the next two months. 

Cheers

Stealing, Lending, Appropriating

My father gave me some sage advice when I began substitute teaching.  "Steal whatever you can" he whispered.  He did not wish for me to steal copy paper, number two pencils, or text books.  What he was suggesting I steal were ideas.  Any lesson, child management technique, room arrangement, roll taking system... etc etc.  It was good advice.  Good teaching isn't magic, it is really a set of skills most anyone can employ, and pretty much everything has been done before.  What my father was telling me really boiled down to "there ain't much new under the sun and no sense in beating your head against a rock trying to invent everything yourself."

When a local business called and said they had guests from China, no seafood, and they weren't too fond of our American Diet (and I make pretty horrible Chinese food)... I remembered my brother and his wife.  They both lived in China for nine months and they make some great Chinese food.  It is always light, fresh, clean, and wholesome.  I immediately recalled a dish they made for us the last time they were in town, lionshead meatballs.  A perfect blend of ground pork, ground shirmp (omitted for our seafood phobics), garlic, ginger, green onions, soy, and chili flakes, simmered in chicken stock with sauteed napa cabbage.  Here is a picture (yes its blurry, yes it looks gross, and yes it is very difficult to photograph a dish of this nature with a shaky camera phone... and my brother and his wife would have been proud.)

The rest of the stuff we made was non-chinese, but chinese-friendly.  Sauteed broccoli raab and garlic with hot peppers, beautiful green salad with soy ginger dressing, fresh fruit spiked with mint, and steamed rice. 

Its been a pretty chill last few weeks here.  Mom and Dad and Grandma have been in town.  And we have had some time to play in the home kitchen.  My latest obsession has been ribs.  And as always, pizza. 

Cheers

Are You a Localvore?

Here is a teacher joke this pretty terrible teacher I worked with used to say "What are the three best reasons to be a teacher?... June, July, and August. 

Here is my lame Walla Walla joke riff.  What are the three best months to live in Walla Walla?... May, May, and May.  Not that there aren't plenty of other great months, but May really is our crown jewel.  May begins with Spring Release weekend (where we practiced our trade at Leonetti, Le Ecole, and Mannina Cellars), which is followed by The Balloon Stampede (where we cooked outdoors on a hill overlooking the valley), which is followed by a weekend of little importance excepting it is the third weekend of the best month of the year (where we cooked a beautiful localvore dinner for visiting Land Trustians), and is completed with the much ballyhooed graduation of Whitman Seniors (which saw us feed most all of them at the sandwich shop, or at least if felt that way, and run all over town doing backyard graduation parties). 

Lots of really solid work by Team Graze this last month but here are our two favorite parties.

Bogin Bogin Bogin.  Thats his name. 

I met this guy playing poker.  He had this weekend rental loft apartment he was in the process of building on a hill just outside of town.  He made his own vinegar.  We traded stories.  He lent me some vinegar mother.  The wife and I stayed at the rental for a couple of nights and in trade cooked for some of his friends at the loft apartment.  Paella... a big beautiful local greens salad... wine... a lone table for 16 and lots of green wheat.  A thunderstomy day turned perfect... a perfect May perfect.  Here are some photos.

Landtrust Berkenstock Wearing Crazies Invade Walla Walla.

A really fantastic lady called me from Georgia and asked if we could do a "localvore dinner" for visiting Land Trust trainees from three Pacific Northwest states.  She said she wanted everything we served to be from the Walla Walla Valley.  So we did.  The only items we used that were not grown proper in Walla Walla were: bay leaves, olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon.  I think I went a bit beyond what she was expecting in adhering to the local theme by being so hardline, but it was a blast, and she and the guests loved it.

Here is the menu:

- Thundering Hooves roast pork shoulder stuffed with sage, dried chilies, thyme, oregano.

- Thundering Hooves tri-tip with chimichurri of sage, oregano.

- Calypso beans, sauteed garlic shoots and broccoli raab shoots.

- Grilled walla walla spring onions.

- Blanched asparagus, bechamel.

- Salad, heirloom radishes, oak leaf lettuce, pea shoots, arugula, spinach, walla walla vinegar vinaigrette, feta cheese.

- Baguettes and butter (which we made from a local dairy's cream)

- Patisserie dessert (which Dave conjured miraculously from local products)

During the summer/fall wedding season we buy probably about 90% of our produce from local farmers.  Just about every Saturday you can catch me at the farmer's market loading up the Graze Truck with boxes and boxes of produce, most of which we cook and serve that day at our wedding receptions.  But this localvore dinner was different because we couldn't cheat (or at least we felt like we couldn't cheat) and add that one thing like garlic cloves or lemon zest to a dish.  The food felt so authentic... and we felt so tied to Walla Walla... and our farmers... and the land.  (Boy that sounds really cheesy, but it's the truth.)

Thank goodness Emily and Andy had these Calypso beans in dry storage.  They filled in our starch component for the meal (absolutely no potatoes, root vegetables, this time of year).  The only bean I have had in my life better than these Calypso's were the fresh Coco beans we had in Italy.  Stunningly good.  Beg and plead with Welcome Table Farm for some when they harvest them later this summer.

Cheers

Here... There... and Everywhere

The best part of catering (and the worst part) is how varied the cooking experience is.  Breakfasts, luncheons, dinners, simple appetizers, fancy appetizers, drop offs, plated meals, family style, sandwiches, greek, italian, 'merican, vegetarian, mexican, spanish, asian... and then we cook at our kitchen, off site in a great commercial kitchen, in bad kitchens, outdoors in the sun, rain, wind... the list goes on and it is never boring, never.


Here is what we have been up to the last two weeks.  Played for two nights in the kitchen at Walla Walla community college, cooked up an evening of appetizers for the visiting aauw conference, and the following night served the same 150 ladies a plated three course meal.  And that same day we served appetizers to a group of WSU vetrinarian grads at Cougar Crest Winery.

The following week we did breakfast for the Baker Boyer Milton Freewater branch, breakfast for some nurses at the hospital, breakfast for the Baker Boyer main office, lunch for the Baker Boyer main office, a few really large sandwich deliveries, and then put our party hats on and did some awesome appetizers for the Whitman Class of 1970 in the Dunham Cellars Hangar Lounge. Two days later we did a vegetarian buffet for the Walla Walla Valley Academy, while the same night we made dinner for Desales High School's graduating seniors and parents.

If you are coming to Walla Walla for Spring Release we hope you can make it to these fine establishments to sample our wares, Le Ecole, Mannina Cellars, and Leonetti... and of course GRAZE - a place to eat, for a pleasant lunch or light dinner.

Cheers

Let The Fun Begin

March was kinda busy, or at least it felt like it... until I looked at the calendar and realized there were lots of empty white days and only a few blue bars.  Maybe having both my wife and I's parents visit for an uninterrupted 17 days made March seem a bit busier than it really was.  (parents and visitors have a way of doing that don't they?)

But now the real show begins.  That google calendar is filled with all blue bars now.  Tomorrow we do five caterings (seriously), today we did three... and they just keep coming. (note to potential clients, please call us, please)

 Last week we had the priveledge of cooking up some Lostine Cattle Company Beef for some folks at the Leonetti Upland Vineyard Site.  Chris Figgins has started a grass fed beef business.  And here is the shocker, it is incredibly good, not "for grass fed" but incredibly good "beef". (We did some test cooking with all kinds of cuts from their first few animals harvested... and being a huge skeptic... and having poor grass fed beef experiences prior... I was not exactly thrilled about being the cook being led to slaughter (so to speak).  The beef was fantastic, clean tasting, tender, and alltogether wholesome and satisfying.  So for this group of visitors we fired up three mini slider burgers (goat cheese and caramelized onions, chipolte adobo and avocado, and blue cheese and bacon) along with a few tasty sides. 

And to finish things off, Heidi, uber-consultant said she wanted to end lunch with a giant chocolate chip cookie... which we don't make.  So we made our regular cookies and then glued two together with bittersweet chocolate.  Oh man, that was heaven.  Not as heaven as the Walla Walla Hills on a perfect Spring day, or the taste we had of the Figgins Family Estate wine, kind of a lower level heaven... if you catch my drift.

And last but not least... meet the new Graze Trailer complete with its brand new grills.  Coming to a Walla Walla wedding reception near you soon!

what we have been up to...what have we been up to?

Its been busy around these parts.  Since we last checked in we made a lovely little meal for 160 or so folks who listened to the Walla Walla Academy Orchestra play some lovely tunes.  Served a charmingly large group of couples a vegetarian pre-valentines day meal.  Ran ourselves ragged with sandwich shop deliveries.  Did a fun and quite enlightening test cooking for the Lostine Beef Company (really yummy grass fed and aged beef... really.)  And hosted our (almost) first dinner at Graze (the sandwichy shop the doubles as a pretty cool private dinner place).

And to make things even more fun Lifestyles Magazine did a profile on me and GRAZE - a place to eat.  Here is a shot from the article.

Also had a few great comments passed on from previous wedding clients of ours.  Here is a shot from Seth and Cindy's Reception held in Dayton, about which Cindy opines "Thanks again for such a fantastic feast for our wedding reception."

And these kind words come from Diane who organized the Orchestra party. "Thank you so much for the very professional and exceptional service you provided our orchestra.  The food was fabulous!  I will not hesitate to recommend your fine company.  Thanks again."

And starting Thursday we begin a stretch of nine events in eight days... highlighted by the Showcase Dinner for 300 or so Walla Wallans.  Cheers.

Dinner at Graze

Dinner at Graze.  Sapere Consulting rented out our eatery a couple of weeks back.  Twenty one Sapere principals and employees enjoyed our hospitality and food.  We had such a good time we have decided to do it again.  So February 27th we kick off our (almost) first ever dinner party.  Email our super secret email for more info at info@grazeevents.com

Cheers

Palmares

Palmares is cycling term for a list of great accomplishments.  Our version of Palmares.

We just received this email from a wedding this past summer at Mill Creek Gardens.  Happy thoughts for the cold and grey January weather.

"Dear John and the Graze staff:
I thought you might like a few pictures of the lovely food at Michael and Leah Simon's wedding this past July. You did such an amazing job -- not only was it beautiful, but it was absolutely delicious, and the service was impeccable. We were so happy with how it all came together. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for being a wonderful part of this special day.
Best...  Deberah"

Cheers!

Why Not?

GRAZE - 'a place to eat' is officially open Monday through Saturday 10am to 7pm starting Monday, January 18th.  The wife and I were planning on this little expansion for the Spring.  But after a moment of reflection we figured if March is good, why not January? 

So here is the deal.  Now you can get our just better than decent food all day long.  And wine and beer prices are downright silly.  $2 domestic beer, $2.50 micros (terminal gravity esg), $5 and $6 glasses of wine.  Bottles for $16 and $20.

Catering has been a hoot as well.  Served up 311 hungry Cattleman's Association Dinner Patrons the other night.  What did we serve?  200 pounds of prime rib of course.  And all prospective Walla Walla Wedding clients, we seem to be getting ready to send out menus and the whatnot... maybe... sooner hopefully than later.

Cheers

2009 Year in Review

2009 was a busy year for Graze Catering.  The collective "we" of Graze, grew from me and whomever I could get to work on an on call basis, to me, Tracy the Event Manager, Brian the Cook, and our previous list of part time servers and cooks.  Now when I say "we" in reference to Graze it really means "we", a group of people, not "we", John as cook, server, dishwasher, and event manager. 

We also added a downtown eatery.  It is pretty good... you might like it.

In honor of 2009, I present you with the Graze Catering Index (with apologies to Harper's Index).  All totals are Graze Catering only, and do not reflect numbers from Graze 'a place to eat'.


Guests served in 2006 --- 604
Guests served in 2007 --- 3,319
Guests served in 2008 --- 8,053
Guests served in 2009 --- 12,166

Number of events 2006 --- 17
Number of events 2007 --- 66
Number of events 2008 --- 83
Number of events 2009 --- 176

Number of events 150+ guests 2006 --- 0
Number of events 150+ guests 2007 --- 2
Number of events 150+ guests 2008 --- 11
Number of events 150+ guests 2009 --- 16

Number of events 500+ guests 2006 --- 0
Number of events 500+ guests 2007 --- 0
Number of events 500+ guests 2008 --- 3
Number of events 500+ guests 2009 --- 3

Number of weddings/rehearsals 2006 --- 0
Number of weddings/rehearsals 2007 --- 6
Number of weddings/rehearsals 2008 --- 18
Number of weddings/rehearsals 2009 --- 22

Thanks to all our past and future clients and guests. We look forward to serving you again.

Cheers