And what happens in Vegas comes back to Cape Cod, in the form of tips, trends, cutting-edge education, innovative resources, and the best of what’s available in catering.

I am in Vegas! As you can guess, it’s not to hit up the black jack table, but to attend the Catersource conference and tradeshow. This is the biggest convention of caterers in the globe, with more than 2,000 participants.  This year will mark the 16^th time I’ve attended the conference.  It’s a chance for me to attend dozens of educational presentations and a great opportunity to network with friends and colleagues in the industry.  I always come home with so many new ideas.  Carla Hall, owner of Alchemy Caterers in Washington, DC and a finalist on Top Chef, is the keynote speaker this year.  Hootie Hoo!

I’ll also be presenting two seminars: ‘Men Buy, Women Shop,’ based on new research about the buying power of women, and another on ‘Destination Weddings.’   It’s a thrill and an honor to speak in front of so many catering professionals I admire.  We’ll put pictures up when I get back!

These first few days of March have certainly been ‘lions’, with wind, rain, snow & slush. It seems like winter isn’t ready to let go. But despite the weather outside, spring is in the air inside the Casual Gourmet.

We’re ready for St. Patrick’s Day with bakery cases splashed in green. Treat your inner leprechaun with some shamrock cookies, or perhaps your pot of gold is some of our freshly baked Irish Soda bread. We’ll also have traditional Corned Beef & Cabbage dinners the week of March 17th.

Easter Sunday on April 4th is just a month away, and we’re now taking orders for everything you’ll need for your holiday dinner. As always, we are featuring a wide array of entrees, side dishes and mouthwatering desserts. See the complete list of what’s available by downloading our Easter Holiday Flier here.

All our Easter cakes are available in yellow, chocolate or marble

We’re thinking spring. Are you?

This Easter Bunny is hopping along in a field of flowers and Easter candy on our Easter Basket Cake.

We are proud to announce that we have been added to the uber exclusive ‘Little Black Book‘ on StyleMePretty.com.

Style Me Pretty’s Little Black Book is a highly edited collection of wedding service providers – from mom and pop boutiques to A-Listers. Bottom line, these vendors are the best of the best.

We like to think of ourselves as an A-List mom and pop boutique so we feel right at home among the premiere wedding vendors in the country. It really is an honor to be invited to join the Little Black Book!

Our inclusion comes after Style Me Pretty featured a wedding we catered (and a peacock cake we baked) this past summer in their post ‘Cape Cod Wedding with Serious Style.’

Kudos to the team at Style Me Pretty for building one of the best wedding blogs out there!

Below is a copy of the review Casual Gourmet Express at the Cape Cod Mall received last week!!  We wanted to share it with everyone….

Casual Gourmet Express brings creative touch to takeout

By Gwenn Friss

STAFF WRITER

October 15, 2009

Sometimes lunch hour involves doing errands and grabbing something to eat — either on the run or at your desk.

The Casual Gourmet Express recently opened by founder Olive Chase and her crew in the Cape Cod Mall’s food court is a reminder that you don’t have to sacrifice taste and freshness on those days.

The Casual Gourmet Express

Cape Cod Mall food court,

769 Iyannough Road (Route 132), Hyannis

508-775-4946

thecasualgourmet.com

Plus, it’s kind of intriguing to try the informal offerings of a popular catering company whose food is often found at corporate gatherings and weddings, such as a recent weekend when our friends Jane and Joseph got married at the family’s summer home in the Chapoquoit section of West Falmouth. The wedding food — passed hot hors d’oeuvres and a buffet of beef tenderloin, seafood kebabs, bowtie pasta and crisp green beans with baby carrots — was fancier, of course.

But the catering did share some of the touches you’ll find at the mall — namely, amazingly good bread, vegetables so crisp they spray juice when bitten, and the ginger slaw, which came on ahi tarts as a wedding appetizer and is also part of the Thai Chicken Wrap ($6.49) at the Express.

The Express doesn’t have a huge menu, but there’s enough choice to make it a regular stop. It offers four panini, three specialty sandwiches on hearty seven-grain or focaccia bread, six wraps, four salads, quahog chowder, a soup du jour and chicken pot pie. There is also breakfast panini, quiche, pastries and — and this is big — an “Express-o Bar” that makes espresso ($1.75) and related hot drinks.

Drawn by both the ingredients (tuna, feta cheese, Kalamata olives, green beans, yellow peppers and red onion with lemon Dijon) and the name (French Kiss), I chose one of the wraps. The first bite offered a burst of fresh lemon and set the tone for a sandwich that tasted farm-fresh and just a little unusual. Wraps at the Express are fine and come in different flavors, but I’m not a huge wrap fan. Next time, I think I’ll see if this sandwich ($6.49) can be put on seven-grain bread or atop a salad.

I added a bowl of the soup du jour ($3.25 for a cup, $3.95 for a bowl), which was beef minestrone. There were, maybe, three bites of tender steak and every vegetable under the sun — just the way I like it. The broth was light with a complex flavor that said the ingredients had been simmering together for a long time. I wasn’t surprised to find what appeared to be a small sprig of fresh rosemary in with the veggies.

My companion tried the chicken pot pie ($5.95). It was a generously sized pie shell, maybe six or seven inches, filled with chicken and vegetables and topped with mashed potatoes that were piped on and perfectly browned. My friend said it was good, but a little bland. She thought it could use a little more gravy with a bit more spice in it.

We didn’t have enough appetite for dessert (although those huge whoopie pies at $2.50 each looked worth sharing!), but having — as I mentioned earlier — encountered Casual Gourmet’s offerings at many functions, I feel confident that you won’t be disappointed with the homemade cookies (89 cents,) cupcakes ($1.79,) or bars and brownies ($2.25-$2.95.)

Next time I go to the Express, I’m having the Thai Chicken Wrap ($6.49) — grilled chicken breast, jasmine rice, ginger slaw, peanut sauce and scallions on a tomato tortilla — and the time after that, the Pesto Chicken With Peppers ($6.99).

This is not the Casual Gourmet’s first outing into takeout — it runs a cafe at Cape Cod Hospital and formerly operated the cafeteria at Heritage Museums & Gardens in Sandwich. Its decision to keep the menu small with unusual touches is a good one. The fresh ingredients in creative combinations will bring me back whenever I visit the mall.

The Casual Gourmet was honored to be selected Business of the Year by the Hyannis Area Chamber of Commerce for 2009.

On Wednesday, October 7^th, Olive, her husband Dave and eighteen of her employees celebrated at annual Chamber dinner which took place at Willowbend Country Club.

Casual Gourmet Employees

Sarah & Sarah

Mary & Ollie

Olive accepting her award

During her acceptance speech, which was a showstopper I might add, Olive thanked everyone who worked for her, asking employees to stand and be recognized as see did a roll call by department.  (We even had a pre-meeting to go over the game plan of how the speech was going to go!)  She also thanked her family, particularly her husband, who she happened to meet through the Chamber 25 years ago.

It is such an honor to be in the company of the incredible businesses that have been chosen for this award in the past. And from all of us at the Casual Gourmet we want to say thank you for all the support we have been receiving.

Many little girls dream of their wedding day and there is nothing more satisfying to us then bringing that dream to life. This past weekend we had the honor of doing so for Stefania Palladino. Stefania and Justin, high school sweethearts, were married September 26th at Nauticus Marina on a gorgeous fall day with the sun shining and a gentle breeze coming up from the water. Their tent, provided by Sperry Tents, was positioned at the edge of the lawn overlooking the gorgeous marina filled with boats, and the lighthouse provided the perfect backdrop for the cocktail hour filled with guests milling around the property.

Stefania’s dream included a gorgeous gold and white themed event where no attention to detail was spared. Her linens, a Natural Botela fabric, that is actually made from recycled bottles, set the tone for the tablescape which included gold rimmed china and crystal glassware, gold flatware, and etched gold votives. Lilacs provided flowers in a mixture of white orchids, hydrangeas, and roses all arranged in crystal glass.

Elaborate Table Setting

The guests dined on scrumptious hors d’oeuvres that included garlic rubbed lamb chops and warmed goat cheese toasts with rosemary, walnuts & honey. They were also treated to an elaborate cheese table and raw bar.

Italian Cheese Table

For dinner, the bride and groom selected a four-course meal that started with a Caprese salad and moved on to a traditional risotto course to highlight the bride’s Italian heritage. For the entrée, they enjoyed a traditional Cape Cod ‘Surf and Turf’ with Beef Tenderloin and Lobster Tails.

For the Grand Finale, Stefania’s dream also included an elaborate five-tier wedding cake filled with lobster cream and decorated in gold leaf paint with her new monogram as the centerpiece of the cake. Guests were amazed by the detail of the cake and our pastry chefs did an excellent job fulfilling this part of Stefania’s dream. A candy bar and Viennese table completed the meal.

Five Tier, Gold Accented Wedding Cake

We were truly honored to have been a part of creating Stefania’s dream wedding, but the dream was truly realized when Stefania and Justin met and fell in love. Stefania, Justin and both of their families were wonderful to work with during the entire planning process and we wish them a lifetime of happiness together.

Casual Gourmet Express at the Cape Cod Mall had it’s Grand Opening this morning!!!

Although we have been serving up a variety of fresh salads, pastries and panini sandwiches over the past few weeks, we made it official at 11:00am this morning with a ribbon cutting.

Joined by her husband, Dave, State Representative Jeff Perry, State Senator Rob O’Leary,  Chairwomen of County Commision  Sheila Lyons, Mall Manager Leo Fein and long-time friend & WQRC radio personality Cheryl Parks, Olive spoke about how CG Express came to be at the Cape Cod Mall before cutting the ribbon.

Olive cutting the Ribbon

We also debuted our new travel coffee mug by handing them out, free of charge, to the first 50 people who stopped by to see us this morning.  You can now purchase the mugs at any Casual Gourmet location.  Once you have one, if you bring it with you and purchase a large coffee (at any of the locations) you will receive $.50 off your cup of coffee!

So, stop by and say hello to us the next time you are at the Mall!  And while you are there, try one of our amazing baked goods, fresh salads or delectable sandwiches or paninis!

Last Wednesday we donated the food for a fundraiser at Heritage Museums and Gardens to benefit their latest addition, Hidden Hollow. The event had a unique theme that certainly made our book of cutest parties ever! The theme was from Alice in Wonderland and no detail was spared! Take a look at the menu:

Un-Birthday Mini Cupcakes

Queen of Hearts Tarts
Heart-Shaped Raspberry Tarts

Cheshire Smiles Shortbread

Jam Tomorrow Scones

Rabbit Treats
Ginger & Carrot Cream on Date Nut Bread
Cucumber & Mint Tea Sandwiches
Curried Chicken & Apricot Puffs

House of Cards
Diamond, Heart & Spade Shaped Tea Sandwiches
Peanut Butter & Jam, Egg Salad, Ham & Cheese

Lemonade, Iced Tea & Brewed Tea

And take a look at the decor!

Here is some more information about Hidden Hollow:

Proceeds from the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party went to Hidden Hollow, Heritage Museums and Gardens’ Family Adventure Garden. Specifically designed for families with children ages 3-8, this new space will open to the public on April 1, 2010 and will feature several activity areas, including a tree house, large outdoor instruments, a nature art table, block building, sand play, a worm farm, fort building, an amphitheater, and places to climb, crawl, play and learn while enjoying nature together.

Research shows that children benefit greatly from experiencing the natural world and that these benefits have a lasting impact, especially when positive outdoor experiences come at an early age. You have likely noticed yourself, however, that children in today’s world are growing increasingly disconnected from nature. The mission of Hidden Hollow is to reconnect children with the natural world by making developmentally appropriate nature education an enriching part of the lives of our visitors. In addition to being a lot of fun, we are hoping that Hidden Hollow will be the first certified Nature Explore Classroom in New England. This national initiative, sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation and Dimensions Educational Research Foundation, recognizes organizations that have made a commitment to providing outdoor spaces and programming to help children use the natural world as an integral part of learning.

Congrats to Heritage Museums and Gardens on a successful event!

I just had to share this thank you note from Jamie & Darius, a couple I worked with a few weeks ago. In fact, I talked about them in my post about making your wedding yours, they were the adorable couple who played rock, paper, scissors to decide who would say their vows first!

Dear Olive,

We can’t believe it’s already been a whole month since our big day, but from the moment it was over, we haven’t stopped thinking about how perfect our wedding was and how much of that is attributed to the amazing efforts of Casual Gourmet and, in particular, to all the work you did to make the evening flawless – for this we are extremely thankful.

Sure we were “extra organized” in our planning process (probably to the point of being certifiably insane!), but what we needed from the get-go was true expertise and experience in Cape weddings. We couldn’t have asked for a more thorough or more knowledgeable expert and we were honored to have you run our event. From the nuances of menu choices to the considerations for “Plan B’s”, you never missed a detail. We knew we were in good hands from the moment you drew the Heritage Estate Lawn’s water drainage patterns from the top of your head!

You also had amazing instinct for the strengths and shortcomings of other vendors assisting in our event, going completely above and beyond what either of us would expect from a typical caterer. You were effectively our wedding coordinator and, without hesitation, synced efforts to make the planning process as well as the wedding seamless.

Looking back, it seems like all of this work alone would have been worth the cost, but the quality of food and service from the Casual Gourmet completely blew our expectations out of the park. We heard countless times from our guests that this was easily the best food they had tasted at a wedding and that they were astounded that salmon served buffet-style could be as moist and tender as it was. Regarding your service, one of our guests commented that he had never attended such a “guest-centric” wedding. Even though we had planned and planned and planned before the big day, we were still surprised by Casual Gourmet’s “special touches”, including the forethought to serve guests wine and refreshments while waiting in the receiving line as well as the consideration to serve prepared plates to the head table in an effort to save us time.

The details and coordination of the evening was immense and the grace with which everything was carried out was nothing less than impressive. We cannot thank you enough for all you did to help make our wedding as special as it was – everything truly turned out perfect in our eyes. Finally, we wanted to say how much we enjoyed working with you – all three of us are “detail-oriented” and we think it helped us click from the beginning. As glad as we are to have the wedding behind us, we will definitely miss our meetings in Centerville. Who are we kidding, we’re stopping by for a baked treat the next time we’re in town…

Olive, thank you again so very much. Please also extend our warm thanks to your incredible staff, without which we could never have pulled off our perfect wedding.

Warmest regards,
Jamie & Darius

Every weekend we help people celebrate the beginning of new families. Well this past weekend, we took some time to celebrate our family!

Each summer we get the whole gang together to remember what’s important. And let me tell you, there is no question that we are a BIG Italian family!

That’s me right down front with the kids. And it seems like we have a growing number of the Fam working here at The Casual Gourmet. My sister Mary (right in the center) is my Operations Manager and my son Dave (taking the picture) is my IT & Marketing Manager.

And in case you have ever wondered who caters the caterer’s party… well it’s the caterer, of course! We had a fabulous meal of fresh fruit, orzo salad, roasted vegetables, shrimp salad and roasted tenderloin. All topped off with strawberry short cake!

It was a great day and we got lucky that the sun came out! Although the food was great, the people even better, everyone agrees that the best part was watching the little ones having fun!