In fact to show how far we have come, later this year we will be catering the 25th Pops by the Sea concert, as the world famous Boston POPS orchestrer with Maestro Keith Lockhart once again comes to the Hyannis village green. Almost fifteen thousand people are expected to attend this quintessential Cape Cod event, an event that we have participated in nearly every single one of those 25 years.

The very first year The Casual Gourmet opened we got a call from Leo Fein (currently the Manager of the Cape Cod Mall) who was organizing the Pops concert that year for the first time. Leo called to see if we could do 250 picnic baskets for the 25 VIP tables and sell concessions.

With no more than a handful of staff and some 3000 expected attendees, I did not know if we could pull it off but said yes with a mix of excitement and nervousness.

The VIP baskets were the easy part – we will be doing a version once again this year for the 150 VIP tables. But having just been in business for a few months, I had no idea what to do for concessions for 3000 people.

Leo had me sold on the idea of a Sunday picnic supper, so we decided to do fried chicken meals with the idea that it would be like a picnic. And with 3000 people expected, we assumed at least one in three would buy the meal.

Whoops….

After myself, my sister, my husband and few other staff hand sheared and fried enough chicken for 1000 meals (because of course at that point we didn’t know where we could purchase that much pre-cut breasts and legs) we sold a grand total of 6 meals.

Despite the miscalculation, out of that event came not only a great and lasting friendship with the Pops by the Sea but also with the Salvation Army – nothing like showing up with 994 fried chicken meals to donate!

A big thanks to the Cape Cod Chamber for the honor and to all of the staff, clients and, even, miscalculations that have made our tag line, Cape Cod’s Foremost Caterer, a reality!

The Casual Gourmet works with hundreds of vendors on the Cape and we are always finding and working with new vendors. However, we have some of our favorites that throughout our 20 years in catering have help put together some of the most spectacular and creative events. We thought would profile some of them in an ongoing series.

To kick-off the series, we thought we would start with one of the best photographers around: Bello Photography.

Name: Bello Photography
Phone: 508.539.1039
Email: studio@bellophoto.com
Website: www.bellowphoto.com
Blog: www.bellophoto.net

The company is run by it’s two primary photographers – Andy Beet and Christine Ferullo - a husband and wife team who truly are masters of their craft. Not only are they phenomenal photographers, they are also fun people to work with (Just look at the self-portrait they sent us above!). To give you a taste of their zeal for life, here is the story behind the name ‘Bello Photography’

Our studio name, Bello, is a combination of our last names. We considered Feet Photography, but Bello has a nicer ring…don’t you think? Bello also means beautiful in Spanish. We fell in love in Spain and we think love is a beautiful thing!! We could photograph anything, but we absolutely LOVE shooting weddings!

With so many companies choosing to follow the format of ‘John Smith’ Photography, Bello’s name alone gives you a sense for the passion and creativity they bring to their work.

We work a lot with Bello so here is a sampling of their work from a wedding we did together earlier this year.

The wedding was a classic water front reception at Nauticus Marina with a gorgeous Sperry Sail Cloth Tent (Two other favorite vendors we will soon profile!). Take a look at some of Bello’s best shots below. They could not have done a better job capturing the elegance of the event.

The mission of the Duffy Health Center is to provide caring, comprehensive health care and support services to those who are homeless and at risk of homelessness on Cape Cod, and to be a catalyst for individual empowerment and community solutions to homelessness.

The fundraiser was held at the Retrix Aerodrome at the Hyannis airport, think hanger overlooking the landing strip at sunset! The center piece of the night was a documentary about the Center entitled ‘Homeward Bound.’ Since the night unveiled the documentary, the theme was ‘An Evening With the Stars.’ With Hollywood like decorations, the hanger turned into an Oscar-like venue!

The highlight of the evening was, without question, the documentary. Produced by Visionaries and hosted by Law and Order’s Sam Waterson, the documentary showcased the important work Duffy does. From providing basic medical services to arranging housing, Duffy cares for the homeless, an often forgotten population in our society.

We were honored to be a part of such a special night for such a great cause! If you are interested in helping the Duffy Health Center, you can donate via their website here.

Also, check out some of the photos from the event that we posted to our Facebook page (And don’t forget to ‘Like’ us!):

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Last night, I had the distinct pleasure of introducing Massachusetts Senate President Therese Murray at her re-election campaign kick-off fundraiser. Terry and I have been friends for a long time and have done great work together helping improve the education system in Massachusetts. The Senator is also a strong advocate of health insurance reform, a very important issue for me, as a small business owner.

The fundraiser took place at the Brookside Club in Bourne – a truly beautiful venue. With speeches, schmoozing, great food and almost every elected Democrat in the state, the night could not have gone better!

Go Terry!

But we also love small weddings. There’s something so very special about these weddings, with their intimate guest lists, thoughtful, personalized touches, carefully crafted menus featuring the newlyweds’ favorite foods, and the tremendous warmth that surrounds the couple as they celebrate with their closest friends and family.

Just a few weeks ago we were so happy to be part of Katherine & John’s wedding in Orleans.  The unseasonably warm day, the beautiful waterfront ceremony, a buffet dinner everyone raved about and the extraordinary love shared between the couple and their guests made this wedding one of the reasons we love weddings – big or small.

Photos courtesy of Frank & Helen Coombs of Cape Cod Photo & Video

Ali & David’s wedding reception, held at the bride’s family home in Chatham, was one of the most lovely, heartwarming, memorable weddings we’ve ever had the pleasure to be  part of, and we are thrilled Style Me Pretty is sharing it with the world. Here’s a few pictures, but check out the whole post: A Cape Cod Wedding with Sweet Charm

Photos courtesy of Paul Morse & Ralph Alswang

It was one of the most memorable events of 2009: downpouring rains drenched the ‘Fiesta’- themed rehearsal dinner but parted for the wedding day itself; an incredibly personal and deeply spiritual wedding ceremony that began with a smudging ceremony; a predominantly vegetarian menu that celebrated local, seasonal produce; the infusion of hand-crafted details throughout the décor; and the dynamic venue itself.

During the cocktail hour, servers passed an assortment of hors d'oeuvres, including these Toasted Polenta Rounds with Olive Tapenade and Italian Tomato Salsa. The first course was served 'Soup & Salad' - a demitasse of chilled sugar snap pea and ginger soup paired with a roasted asparagus and chiogga beat salad. The buffet dinner featured Roasted Globe Artichokes with quinoa, leaf spinach and flageolet beans, along with an Heirloom Tomato Salad, Roasted Russian Banana Fingerling Potatoes and Wood Grilled Summer Vegetables. (All photos except top right courtesy of Lisa Rigby.)

The Overbrook House is part of the 20-acre organic Bay End Farm. The 1920s farmhouse has a traditional New England design and is located at the top of a secluded hill.  The expansive grounds that spill down from the house include large open fields, stone walls, meandering paths, an in-ground swimming pool and a charming old-fashioned dance hall nestled in the woods.

Clockwise from top left, the house on a hill, illuminated with tiki torches. The dance hall, hidden in the trees. A tablerunner made by the bride. Nicoline and Ryan take a path to the dancehall for their first dance. The cocktail hour took place under the canopy of old trees. (All photos courtesy of Lisa Rigby.)

We love that each couple who chooses Overbrook for their wedding puts their own unique stamp on the event by making different use of all the diverse elements on the property. While Nicoline and Ryan chose to hold their ceremony under an enormous oak tree by the house, have dinner under a tent in the big field, and finish the night with dessert and dancing in the hall, other clients have opted to have cocktails by the pool or host their smaller reception entirely in the dancehall.  Overbrook truly is a one-of-a-kind Cape Cod wedding venue.

Interested in Overbrook or a vegetarian wedding? Let us know! We’d be happy to talk with you!

Here comes Peter Cottontail!

Can you believe it? Easter is almost here – the bunny comes next Sunday, April 4th.

Our phones have been ringing like crazy with people ordering everything for their Easter dinner, from a mouthwatering Spiral Cut Ham with all the trimmings to our famous Lemon Angel Pie for dessert.  Have you placed your order yet?

If not, call us now!  We’ll be taking Easter orders up until Wednesday, March 31.  You can check out the menu here.

We got to see some of the newest trends in catering, including this human champagne chandelier:

Guests lined up with glass in hand for the opportunity to have the hanging acrobat pour them a glass of bubbly.  Talk about unique!  There was a lot of talk this year about total guest experience and that we need to consider all event elements, not just the food, to make an event memorable.

As usual, the ICA was out in force at the conference.  Many of the conference presenters, including myself, were ICA members.  Providing education, mentoring and resources for professional caterers is one of the primary goals of the ICA.  The ICA hospitality room was a great place to find caterers from around the globe sharing ideas and concepts with their peers.  In the end, we all went home with new friends, new ideas, and renewed enthusiasm for what we do.

Then there was The International Caterers Association CATIE Awards Gala.  This event is the Oscars of catering.  It was held at the brand new Mandarin Oriental at CityCenter.  The food and décor were absolutely cutting edge!  It will be hard to beat next year.

Check out this picture of the Signature Best Event – the award went to Culinary Capers of Vancouver –

They catered a four-course luncheon on the Great Wall of China!!  Can you imagine the excitement of catering an event of this magnitude?!  It was amazing just listening to the challenges they had to overcome.  It reminded us that no challenge is too big.  Pushing the limits is what makes us better.

This year the Casual Gourmet helped with the technical aspects of putting the CATIEs (Catered Arts Through Innovative Excellence) entry process online for the first time.  We did not submit any entries this year, but I did get to go on stage and present two awards!

Congrats to our own Sarah Biggs and Dave Chase for being presented Star Service Awards from the ICA.  They have both put in countless hours of work for the organization and it was wonderful to see them recognized!

Catering is such a dynamic, engaging industry, and this time in Las Vegas is a great time to celebrate that – with fabulous food and amazing parties, of course!

Check out our brand new Cape Cod wedding reception site map!

One of the most popular sections of our website is our wedding reception site directory. To make it even easier to find that perfect wedding site, we have now added each of the sites in our directory to a Google map so that you may visually see all of your options.

Some of the other features our wedding reception site directory offers are the ability to rate and review each reception site. If you have had an event at one of the sites in our directory, please take a moment to review (at the bottom of each site) and rate (just click the stars at the top) your site. This will help future brides and grooms in their selection process.