On Site Saute Catering

This weekend Chef David and Chef Chris catered a Christmas party for the Warner Estates community in Tempe, Arizona. What we offered for this event was a pasta bar in which we sauteed fresh dishes right in front of the guests. We offered different pasta choices with 3 sauces (Garlic cream, a vodka sauce and marinara). As well, we offered a variety of veggies such as peas, artichokes, sauteed mushrooms, fresh basil and fresh parsley. This was our first event offering an on-site-saute/pasta bar and our guests were awed by the uniqueness of this style of catering. So much so, that we felt it necessary to tell people about it.

The concept is most definitely in it's infancy and as any good caterer will tell you, every event is a lesson in which you grow and better yourself as part of the staff, and as a company. We will be offering this to our future event hosts and simply can not wait to do it again.

We had a great time working this event and were very happy with how it turned out. Our staff showed up to the in the requested 30's Hollywood theme attire slinging cocktails at the bar and our severs carried party trays with fresh bruschetta served on freshly baked crostinis drizzled with a balsamic reduction. Vodka and wine lit the pans up in flames with these delicious Italian dishes which over and over again were received in the highest of gratitude.
   
         "I grew up in this neighborhood and I know it's people well. I feared that it would be
          difficult to please them as their taste is exquisite, refined and well established. However,
         to my honest surprise, they loved every bite of what we gave them. It was beyond a 
         relief, a success, it was why I love what I do." -Chef Christopher 

Thank you to the community for having us and we very much look forward to doing more events like this in the future. If you would like to talk to the chef about an on-site-saute for your event, visit the website and call us today. www.arizonaeventcatering.com.

Welcome Chef David Keithline

Arizona Event Catering would like to welcome aboard Chef David Keithline, a twenty year veteran of the restaurant industry and a gentleman with a pure passion for the culinary arts and quality products.

Dave is a familiar face for founder Chef Chris as they worked together in his families Italian Cuisine for a few years. Dave was the Sioux Chef for Giardano's Italian Cuisine for 7 years, pulling a great deal of influence from owner/executive Chef Ron. Giardano's closed it's doors for personal reasons and soon afterwards, Dave was taken aboard as Executive Chef of Va Bene Italian Cuisine and has been there ever since.

Chef Dave and Chef Chris share the same passion for using only the finest quality of products prepared with the utmost care. Now that Chef  Dave has been working our events with us, he now equally shares Chris' love for bringing that restaurant experience to special events.

"It's like a new restaurant adventure within each and every event. As the food heads off to the site, I feel like I'm sending the first table of plates off on opening day." -David Keithline


Exactly Dave.....that's why we do this and that's exactly why we love what we do. Welcome aboard and we very much look forward to exciting things to come.

Catered Event In October - Gilbert, AZ

October events are my personal favorite because October in Arizona is a month which spells relief from the summer heat, direct sunlight and moody drivers. Yes, it's a proven fact that drivers in Arizona are far more irritable when temperatures raise above 100 degrees!

However, as a chef and events specialist, it's a time to embrace the cooler air and the fall harvest which is full of great produce with magnificent colors. And I like Halloween, it's just a fun time for everyone.

As our culinary delights are event based, we like the idea of using the season to carve our menu and decorate our banquet tables. Something we have never tried before but like the sound of. However, what sounds good to me, does not sound good to everyone and I would sure love to hear what anyone has to say about it.

Catering and Culinary Arts in Phoenix

Catering is a business where the culinary arts are carefully orchestrated from kitchen to your special event. Not an easy task considering the many obstacles to overcome.

First there is the issue of creating menu's which stand apart from local restaurants, yet offer the same variety and quality. Then we must consider that we have to create a menu which will appeal to all guests. Can you imagine having one to three entrees in a restaurant full of 150 guests expecting that all guests will be completely satisfied with one of three choices? Our approach is simple, satisfy the host and don't worry about the rest. However, any chef will tell you that a smile on every guest is the ultimate reward for the hard work put into this business.

Next, there is individualized shopping and ordering of food for your event. Most caterers do not own their own kitchen where items on your daily menu can be prepared in larger amounts and sent off to your event. We use our distributors, local restaurant clubs and grocery stores to shop for food only days before your event. Then we have to carefully consider prepping your food while minding the window of freshness each product will allow us in order to provide a great meal. Personally, I try to buy all my produce the day before the event and shop local farmers markets first because I like to go local as often as possible.   

Next, you have the hard learned and hard earned issue of meal freshness. We have a professional kitchen that we work out of, but sometimes that can be up to 50 miles away from our event. How do you get that chicken to be so tender without overcooking it and still achieve food safety measures? A task that any chef will tell you is simply complicated, and those who don't....may opt to overcook just to save the hassle. It would be nice if every event venue had a commercial kitchen but were only dreaming for now.

Regardless of your approach, catering for a party can be difficult but there are many resources online for recipes and creative ideas to wow your guests. Or, you can call a professional and allow them to worry about it for you. 

Thanks for listening to the first real ramble of Chef Chris

Yours Truly,
Chef Chris
Arizona Event Catering
Portable Pubs, LLC
www.arizonaeventcatering.com

Catering in Phoenix for the summertime.

As June brings us warmer temperatures we are looking for more ways to provide menu's and services to Arizona weddings and events happening in the heat. WE NEED SUGGESTIONS!

Tell us what kind of catering you look for in the summer time.