red white and blues @ CKA Ranch Willets, California

Classic Kitchen Associates, 
Healdsburg, California 

CKA Ranch Red White and Blues 

Lisa Teiger, caterBuzz photographer

lamb sliders with minted yogurt cheese,  CKA Ranch Red White and Blues, 
caterbuzz photographer: Lisa Teiger

lobster mac and cheese in mini crock pots,  cka ranch red white and blues caterbuzz

    RED  WHITE  + BLUES   
a humdinger of a  birthday bash for America celebrating the 4th of July and our cultural diversity.   Friends, family and clients of all ages from around the world gather at a private ranch in the foothills of Mendicino to celebrate the bounty of life and listen to fantastic live music while eating delicious food all weekend long.

                          

the CKA staff rocked the casbah! and the bands played and sang all night long!

the CKA Ranch, 

a stunning work in progress culinary center, nestled in the foothills of scenic Northern California, 10 miles north of Willets, is the brainchild of Ron Edwards of Classic Kitchen Associates. Ron and his wife, Cecilia, have built the 120 acre CKA Ranch from the ground up, planting organic herb and vegetable gardens, including aromatic California lavender and some of the most delicious sage ever.  

The garden planted basil was not quite ready this year however, growing pots of live basil from the farmers market were an acceptable standby. 

New CKA signature hors d'oeuvre "Italian Splash" pipette featured local Sonoma County SMOKED olive oil distributed by Hop Kiln Vineyard, fresh grown basil off the plant at right, local sweet farmers market organic cherry tomatoes and house marinated cherry sized fresh mozzarella balls.

CKA signature hors d'oeuvre for 2010

Italian Splash, Red White and Green - Smoked EVOO Pipette,

 CKA Ranch Red White and Blues 2010

caterBuzz photographer, Lisa Teiger

red white and blues chicken quesadilla horns

Ron Edward's forward vision includes planting a small grove of olive trees in the hopes of being able to produce their own signature Extra Virgin Private Reserve olive oil in the future.

photos:   red white and blues @cka ranch, willets , california,  caterbuzz photographer, Lisa Teiger

olives nestled into downtown bakery artisan bread  

CKA Ranch, Red White and Blues 2010

caterbuzz photographer, Lisa Teiger

Picture a gorgeous northern California setting, the craggy hills are alive with blossoming  flowers and lush fauna, where the grass has just begun due to the extreme summer heat to turn  the beautiful golden from the intense mountain sun.  It almost never rains in Northern California in the summer so blue skies, and outdoor living makes your heart sing and soul fly and being able to walk to the garden to pick salad greens, herbs and heirloom tomatoes is quite a joy to any chef and foodie.

Jalapeno Pie, CKA Ranch, Willets, Ca,  Red White and Blues 2010

caterBuzz photographer: Lisa Teiger

closeup, octopus cerviche, CKA Ranch, Willets, Ca,  Red White and Blues 2010

caterBuzz photographer: Lisa Teiger

Classic Kitchen Associates host an annual red white and blues 4^th of July event for clients, family and friends to come together to celebrate the year and to showcase musical and food talent and new offerings from their catering company, Classic Kitchen Associates.

CKA Catering’s newest 2010 station offering ...

Gourmet Sausage and Mustard Tasting Bar

there were over 8 types of mustards available   Caterbuzz photographer:  Lisa Teiger

Ron also runs a consulting business focusing on organic farming – he studied viticulture class at UC Davis as well as working with various vineyards through the local grape grower organizations in Napa and Sonoma Counties and has many years of experience under his belt. So the array of guests run from foodie sophisticates to "plain jane" meat and potato fans.

bountiful platters of grilled house marinated tri tip, 
flanking platters of ribs, brisket, chicken + more,  
set the tone for good eats

CKA Ranch, Red White and Blues 2010, Lisa Teiger, Caterbuzz Photographer

Most of the Red White and Blues Event is focused on Saturday when an estimated 100 - 200 guests visit the CKA ranch throughout the day and evening, to eat, drink, dance, party, swim in the creek and just have a lot of fun.

something for everyone 

      VEGAN SPOKEN HERE      

organic red quinoa with chicpeas (vegan)  

CKA ranch red white and blues 2010

caterbuzz Lisa Teiger

the Elegant Touch imparted on Duanesburg, New York's hottest new market: Hannaford

 

A few months ago while the caterBuzz blog team was in Santa Cruz, California with Kimberly’s Catering, blogging the Bill Geisreiter Memorial, one of our caterBuzz members reached out to us  for help to gussy up a proposal for a large grand opening event they had been asked to bid on.

caterBuzz offers our members a variety of services from the private forum, to on site catering photography and catering blogging,  to help with putting proposals together with the buzzie member’s ideas and our creative writing skills. 

A catering proposal is like a resume that we give our clients, it speaks to who we are as caterers and what we can do for each client – and tailored specifically to the event, is often the tool that creates the relationship between the caterer and the client that allows us to represent our clients and build relationships for not only the current event, but beyond.

Kim Lauria of Elegant Touch Catering, Altamont, New York, is a wizard and magician at designing and producing amazing décor and delicious events but writing proposals with her busy catering schedule is not Kim’s favorite part of the job.  Having worked with Kim and her team, and knowing the unique and eye catching work they produce, caterBuzz was happy to take her ideas and shape them in to a proposal that came alive, so that the client could envision the creative process that was whirling around in Kim’s head and would ultimately make the client’s event a complete marketing success. 

Having been involved in the initial proposal, caterBuzz wanted to see the vision come alive and are happy to promote Elegant Touch’s work on the caterBuzz.  We spent the day photographing the Hannaford Market grand opening, allowing Kim and her staff to focus on the business of producing an event while we focused behind the camera to capture the moment.

caterBuzz is thrilled and honored to share with you the stunningly creative results of the marketing event produced and catered by Elegant Touch Catering and Special Events, Altamont, New York for Hannaford Supermarket Grand Opening in Duanesburg, a suburb of the NY state capital of Albany.

the perfect salad starts here...

Hi, I'm Lisa Teiger, co-founder of caterBuzz, owner of CuisinEtc Catering and Special Events,  a boutique NYC catering concern, a food stylist, culinary fashionista and roving caterBuzz catering reporter, coming to you from NYC but always going beyond !!!  

We hope that you will consider caterBuzz as your traveling eye for the inquisitive professional catering guys and gals around the globe.  Sharing and learning from each others as only like minded professional caterers can do, through pictures, stories, questions and answers, available here on www.caterBuzz.blogspot.com and also on our facebook caterBuzz group page, a private forum for the catering community.

Today caterBuzz is coming to you from upstate New York and the grand opening of the Duanesburg, NY, Hannaford Supermarket, where caterBuzz member, Kim Lauria, of Elegant Touch Catering, helped the Hannaford Supermarket chain promote their range of fantastic products such as salad dressings, harvest fresh fruits and veggies, juices, Italian fruited sodas, beautiful cakes,  baked goods, deli offerings and freshly butchered meats.

eat your colors...
the choices were bountiful + refreshing!!

no surprising that 

this photo is blurry,

Kim Lauria, Culinary Artist 

and Event Designer

never stood still long enough 

to get a clear shot of her with her fabulous displays

yummy fruits and veg came 

directly from the Hannaford market

BBQ chicken pipettes

tony preps the sliders

Kim Lauria, owner and executive chef

 of Elegant Touch Catering, Altamont, NY,

 shared recipes of that outlined how Hannaford customers 

could make delicious dips to accompany 

the fresh fruit and veggie crudite offerings.

These recipes are slatted to be posted soon

on the Elegant Touch website

and include

Red Raspberry Dip

xx

Chunky Blue Cheese Dip

xx

Roasted Red Pepper Aioli

xx

Sun Dried Tomato Dip

French Lemonade

and 

Pomegranate Ice Tea 

were dispensed with style and a sense of humour

GIANT MARSHMALLOWS - OMG...

fresh salads

from the deli counter at Hannaford Market

informatively displayed by culinary designer,

Kim Lauria of Elegant Touch Catering + Events

chef Kim Lauria's hand carved melon artwork...

fire it up... burn baby burn...

toast those lovelies...

"caterbuzz" "elegant touch catering"  "cuisinetc nyc catering" 

culinary fashionista 

and caterBuzz founder, Lisa Teiger

rivers of chocolate and raspberry ganache

with strawberry + vanilla marshmallows

toasted coconut, colored sprinkles,

and graham cracker/Hersey chocolate

fixings for that traditional or not so 

traditional s'more goodness..

this boy wanted lots of s'mores please!!

Chef Andrew Alexander-Crossan,

caterBuzz culinary representative

KIDZ of ALL AGES ENJOYED THE S'MORE STATION

Lisa Teiger, Culinary Fashionista and 

caterBuzz Founder + Queen Bee

enjoys a giant toasted marshmallow.

caterbuzz elegant touch catering  cuisinetc nyc catering 

what a fun idea to toast that 

kindergarten or elementary school graduation,  

sparkling apple juice with a graduation cap!

Good Food - Great Catering - Tampa Bay Wine and Food Festival 2010

Good Food Catering,Tampa, Florida is a young and upcoming catering and event firm  started  by a post Katrina, New Orleans transplant, Kevin Lacassin, Owner and Executive Chef.  Kevin's mission statement  explains that "Good Food Catering Company was founded on the principle that every great event begins with good food" and the Bertolli Olive Oil Company, one of the sponsors of the Tampa Bay Wine and Food Festival 2010 would certainly agree with that premise and thus began a culinary journey for Kevin Lacassin of Good Food Catering, Tampa, to create eye appealing, appetizing + delicious hors d'oeuvre and short plate style offerings that highlighted the good food taste of Bertolli Olive Oil brands including offerings from CARAPELLI and BERTOLLI brands.


Kevin Lacassin,  one of the earliest members of the caterBuzz facebook group, turned to his defacto advisory board on the caterBuzz forum on facebook, to bounce around ideas that Good Food Catering, Tampa could offer attendees on behalf of Bertolli that  would appeal to a wide range of tastes yet obviously showcase the various olive oils from the Bertolli and Carapelli Brands ranging from "Bertolli Extra Light Tasting Olive Oil" to "Bertolli Classico Olive Oil" to "Bertolli Extra Virgin Olive Oil" to "Carapelli Il Numerato Olive Oil" to "Carapelli Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oil "to "Carapelli Organic Olive Oil" . 


This and many other cutting edge events produced by Kevin Lacassin and his team, has gotten Good Food Catering, Tampa, recognition in the Tampa Bay event community for redefining the way Tampa eats.  


The folks on the  Lucia Events blog wrote up the Good Food Catering, Tampa, Caprese Skewers stating: 


One of the most popular of the dishes was the Good Food Catering Caprese Salad, skewered on a pipette filled with Extra Virgin Olive Oil. When the guest eats the salad, they simultaneously squeeze the pipette of olive oil into their mouth. This creation caused quite a BUZZ at the Tampa Bay WIne and Food Festival,  and Good Food Catering, Tampa has already begun to use them for these innovative Caprese Salad Skewers on events from here on out.

Hi, I'm Lisa Teiger, co-founder of caterBuzz, owner of CuisinEtc Catering and Special Events,  a boutique NYC catering concern, a food stylist, culinary fashionista and roving caterBuzz catering reporter, coming to you from NYC but always going beyond !!!  

We hope that you will consider caterBuzz as your traveling eye for the inquisitive professional catering guys and gals around the globe.  Sharing and learning from each others as only like minded professional caterers can do, through pictures, stories, questions and answers, available here on www.caterBuzz.blogspot.com and also on our facebook caterBuzz group page, a private forum for the catering community.

Today caterBuzz is coming to you from Tampa Florida and the 2010 Tampa Bay Wine and Food Festival  where member and co-founder of caterBuzz, Kevin Lacassin, of Good Food Catering, Tampa helped the Bertolli company promote their range of Olive Oil products from Carapelli Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil to Bertolli Light Olive to the participants of the festival.  See the full photo essay here on the Good Food Catering photo gallery.

Good Food Catering Tampa,  Kevin Lacassin

Tampa Bay Wine and Food Festival 2010
olive oil offerings
created for Carapelli
and Bertolli
by Executive Chef Kevin Lacassin, 
Good Food Catering, Tampa

bZzzzz... this is one of the most innovative caterbuzz 

member created hors d'oeuvre we have seen in 2010

Caprese Salad on a Skewer

Olive oil marinated baby mozzarella and grape tomato 
skewered with a pipette containing Bertolli Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 
served on a black square mini tasting plate

Creamy Polenta with Spicy Italian Sausage and Roasted Red Pepper

  Sautéed in Bertolli Classico olive oil

Served on a contemporary round black plate

Tuscan Olive Oil Cake Squares

with lemon glaze

made with Bertolli Extra Light Tasting olive oil

served on a white square mini plate

Gamberetti all’ Olio e Limone

(Poached shrimp with olive oil and lemon juice)

Featuring Carapelli Il Numerato

Presented with a basil leaf on a skewer

in a miniature bamboo boat 

Cannelini (white) Bean Puree

Piped onto a fresh toast crisp with olive oil drizzle and cherry tomato wedge

Featuring Carapelli Premium Extra Virgin olive oil

Tampa Bay WIne and Food Festival 

celebrity guest  Marilu Henner 

enjoyed Good Food Catering's Panzanella Salad

made with Carapelli Organic Olive Oil

Panzanella

(Tuscan Bread Salad)

A Tuscan summer salad including bread,

ripe fresh organic tomatoes and cucumber 

tossed in a vinaigrette 

made with Carapelli Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil