October 27, 2007 Wedding Pictures

Here are some pictures from the October 27th wedding from last year.
How times flies!
All pictures are from Once Upon a Time Pictures.

My Wedding Album by Terry Clark

Terry Clark has completed my wedding album and I'd love to show it to everyone.

Click on the picture to see:

Congrats Mark and Larissa!

Congrats on the engagement Mark and Larissa!

You can't beat Italy for an engagment location!

600 Starbucks to Close in the US This Year

I took part in a poll online a few days ago that said:

Which sector of the restaurant industry will be most affected by the economy's downslide?

The poll went like this:

60% Fine Dining
16.67% Fast/Casual
13.49 Coffee Shops/Cafes
9.52% Quickservice


I picked Coffee Shops/Cafes because I thought the easiest item to eliminate from spending is Starbucks!

I've worked in a coffee shop, so I know that this type of specialty store is a luxury more then a necessity.

600 Starbucks will close by the beginning of 2009. Nationally, the state with the most Starbucks to close is California with 88, followed by Florida with 59, Texas with 57 and New York with 39. Pennsylvania is losing 21 stores.

The closures will affect about 12,000 employees. Starbucks says some will be offered positions at nearby stores that remain open. Those who aren't, both full and part time, will receive a severance payment based on job title and current pay. Starbucks stores average about 20 part-time employees.
The 600 stores represent about 8.5 percent of the company's U.S. total.

Starbucks stock closed in trading Thursday at $14.39 a share. A year ago the stock was trading at $25.87, and in mid-2006 was near $40 a share.

The Politics of Catering

Here's a story i found very interresting...

No Fry Zone? Food Fight in Denver Continues

Councilman Says the Proposed "Green" Convention Catering Initiatives are Prejudicial Against Southern Fare

By JOANNA JENNINGS July 11, 2008

The heated debate in Denver this summer is not about Obama versus McCain. Rather, it is about old fashioned Southern fried food versus lean and green lighter offerings. The controversy surrounding the food selection for the 2008 Democratic Convention continues, with one councilman claiming the Denver Host Committee's catering proposal is discriminatory toward southern specialties such as fried chicken, fried green tomatoes, and fried okra.

"The host committee's food police are going too far," said Denver Councilman Charlie Brown. "They've turned into food control zealots."
The North Carolina-born councilman said the catering proposal not only includes a ban on fried food, but also a mandate for colorful, organic food. He also speculated the host committee's catering requests could be harmful to the Democratic Party's image, especially in the South.
"We need to work together to keep convention costs down, but officials seem more concerned about the green on the table than the green in party coffers," said Brown. "I don't believe this is the fiscally responsible message the party wants to send to America."

(ABC News Photo Illustration)

He likes to perpetuate myths and put out erroneous comments," said Chris Lopez, Communications Director for the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee. "Denver is one of the healthiest cities in the nation, and this proposal was not an outrageous one."

Lopez said the catering Request for Proposal, or RFP, which was distributed to local caterers in May, was not an actual contract, and did not in any way forbid fried fare.
"There is not a ban on fried food, and there never was," said Lopez, who refused to provide a copy of the proposal to ABCNews.com.
But the proposal was obtained by ABCNews.com and it indeed does say that "no items are to be fried". Not only should fried fare be prohibited, says the proposal, but preference will be given to vendors who comply with the "Lean and Green Criteria."
Page nine of the proposal states: "In support of the DNC's "green" mission to planning an environmentally responsible convention, preference will be given to vendors that have a proven commitment to green practices and that consider and minimize the life-cycle environmental impacts of catering."

Top Chef: The Tour!

Top Chef contestants, Spike (season 4) and Josie (season 2) hosted a live interactive show, covering everything from cooking demonstrations, gourmet pointers, show secrets, and of course, perhaps the most anticipated part of them all, the food sampling on Wednesday July 9th at the Whole Foods in Shady Side.

Here are some pictures from the event that were all taken by Terry Clark.

Poultry Increases

Poultry Market Update


With corn where it is and no end in sight, our poultry suppliers believe there will be more cutbacks forthcoming, at least until we hear some solid crop numbers. The belief is that some of the larger companies are going to have to get boneless to the mid $1.90's just to break even. If everything stays the way it is today the only way to do that is to take more birds off the market. The bottom line is the corn crop is going to determine everything and unless someone steps in and changes mandates on the ethanol numbers, we will have to see cutbacks and a higher market, or suppliers will be forced to cutback by closing plants.

The weak dollar has kept dark meat up on the export side and if for some reason that was to change (which we do not see in the near future) it would obviously compound the problem and probably lead to more and quicker cut backs.

The uncertainty associated with grain and fuel has created caution in the industry for the execution of long term pricing.


Ed Gorrell
Category Manager Protein
SYSCO, Pittsburgh

Ice Sculptures

Not all Ice Sculptures are the same.
Functional Ice Sculptures can really make a big impact...especially at the bar.

Here are a few examples of ice being used to enhance the bar.
Let me know if anyone is interested in any of these ideas for their events.

These were designed for an event we were at in Miami last year...

Or you can take it a few steps further...

Privilege Ultralounge - 6-21-08

Check out these photos by Terry Clark from the June 21st, 2008 wedding we catered at the Privilege Ultralounge in the strip!

For more information on the wedding and more photos, check out Terry's Blog!

June 14th, 2008 Wedding Photos

Here are some great photos from a wedding that took place at Bella Sera on June 14th, 2008.

This wedding was a real PARTY! Congrats again to Anita and Adam.

All photos are from Laurel Mountain Photography.

The Manjito

Here’s a drink that our Executive Chef Drew Hebson and I have created. It is a great hybrid cocktail for the summer…The Manjito.
Combining the best aspects of the summer favorite, The Mojito, and the classic cocktail, The Manhattan, this drink is easily recognized but remarkably different.

To make 1 Serving:

Muddle the following:
3 fresh mint sprigs
2 tsp of sugar
1 tsp of lime juice
2 fresh lime wedges
.5 oz of tonic water

Pour into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Pour 3oz of Bourbon into the shaker and a dash of sweet vermouth. Add .5oz of Cherry Juice. Shake thoroughly. Pour over ice into a rocks glass.

Fusion gets a lot of press in the culinary world but here is a good example of Cuban/American fusion in the mixology arena. There is a drink with this name found in Scandinavia that is a another mojito variation but it’s nothing like our American variation!
Remember, there’s nothing feminine about the MANjito!