Made from Scratch or Nah?
We enjoy sharing our story with clients and industry partners when we have events. Often times they've never heard of us (crazy right?) or they're impressed by our level of professionalism and delicious made from scratch menu items. This past weekend we catered our first event at the International African American Museum (IAAM) in Charleston, SC.https://iaamuseum.org This was monumental on so many levels. The museum has only been open a few months and it took more than 23 years to complete! It's an amazing place if you ever have the chance to visit please do so. We were elated to be in a space on Gadsden's Wharf where we knew our ancestors had been brought through before being sold. It was like being on holy ground - literally.
When I was sharing with our industry partners about the menu we had prepared I heard myself and thought this was a lot of WORK. Lol. Most people have no idea the preparation that goes into catering even the smallest of events. From the sourcing of the ingredients to storage, preparation, the logistics of safely transporting the food to the final destination of consumption requires logistical intelligence. Sometimes I second guess myself and think we should rethink the whole made from scratch angle. Then I'm reminded that it's what makes our company and our food unique compared to some of the biggest names out there in the city.
What do I mean by made from scratch? Let me give you a few examples from our most recent event.
Petite Buttermilk Biscuits - not frozen but instead hand mixed, rolled and each one cut out using a biscuit cutter.
Pimento Cheese Tea Sandwiches - we shred the cheese and make the pimento cheese using our own recipe. Then each sandwich is made and cut by hand
Petite Crab Cakes - using our own recipe we mix and make each crab cake by hand then sear each one
Macaroni & Cheese - we shred the cheese and mix by hand. NO BAGGED CHEESE
Pulled Pork - a special rub created by the UndercoverBBQBoss is applied then each Boston Butt is smoked for at least 6 hours then hand pulled
Brown Sugar Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites - chicken tenderloins are cut into nuggets then wrapped with hickory smoked bacon, dredged in a house made brown sugar and chili mixture then baked
These are just a few of our most popular items and the LOVE that goes into preparing each of them for our clients.
What are your thoughts on made from scratch food versus pre packaged or frozen items? Does it matter to you? We would love to know what the people say!
Be sure to tune into our LIVE next week for a discussion on Catering 101.