Hurrah its here!

The time has come friends! The Spitfire Rotisserie, Williamsburg's newest and most amazing take-out chicken hut is now open! Today marks the first official day of the new business and there were already customers lined up at 11 o'clock this morning, which can only be taken as a sign of great things to come! There was a preview party last week and everyone had such a blast. The food was great and the atmosphere makes you want to sit right down in the middle of everything and have a picnic, which while it sounds fun in theory I would not recommend because you would totally be in the way:) Locals should head over there immediately, and if you are one of my out of town readers (i.e. my family) then you must come the next time you are here. When you stop in check out the chalkboards, they are an E. Greene original. Who knew sorority lettering would come in handy for my future career in chicken? Not this kid that's for sure. Congratulations again to the Reeves and Rose families, in six weeks they made an eight year long dream a reality and I cannot wait to see what the next step is....

actually its kinda a terrifying thought but I am sure I will grow to embrace whatever is concocted....as long as it does not involve shrimp because I hate shrimp. Oh well que sera.

Check out the pictures from the opening party!

Check out our bangin' website!

bahahaha

This is why I completely and totally love my job:)
Oh and there is always free cheese.
That is definitely a plus.

A very good omen....

I spent the better part of my morning today trying to figure out why three out of our four XM Satelitte radio subscriptions no longer worked. The process involved several phone calls back and forth and while they put you on hold they play holiday music samples for you from their radio stations. The first time I was put on hold I heard Bruce Springsteen's 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town'. The second time I was put on hold (yes there were several calls made) I heard Mariah Careys holiday hit 'All I Want For Christmas is You'.
I for one choose to take this as a sign that tomorrow will be the official kick off of what I can only imagine will be the most amazing Christmas season ever.
No for real. Good things are coming. I can just feel it:)

About darn time...

Sorry that I have been such a slacker of late friends. This catering wench has been rather busy. Lets catch up shall we? For pretty much the entire month of November... again I am v.v. sorry.
First off I took a short break from the wondrous world of Williamsburg events to travel north with my father to see the creator of all that is good and right with the world, Mr. Bruce Springsteen. We saw him play an amazing two and a half hour concert at the Verizon Amphitheater in D.C. I finally got to see him play 'Born to Run' (the anthem of my entire life) and my father and I both returned back to reality with matching concert t-shirts and a new lease on life.
Secondly, my partner in catering crime Lauren received her Christmas present early this year and the Catering Company now has a new mascot named Doc. He is a 3 pound teeny tiny dachshund who comes to visit daily in the office and makes everyones day just a little happier. All who visit the office automatically fall in love with him and he has achieved model status at the tender age of 11 weeks old. Renowned Williamsburg photographer Monica Sigmon had a personal photo session with Doc recently but as talented as she is it would be incredibly difficult to capture how cute this puppy actually is.
Thirdly, the chicken hut is a go but it is actually going by the name of the Spitfire Rotisserie. It will be opening mid December and there is much preparation afoot for the grand debut. There is a website in the works and the menu is being planned literally as I write this. It is actually going to be the perfect place for anyone to just stop by and get a really great, warm and yummy home style meal. After all of the extensive research Lauren and I did we discovered that Williamsburg is completely devoid of such an establishment, so the timing is perfect. Stay tuned for updates and pictures, I have no doubt that it is really going to be a great success.
Finally, it is almost December which means that the chaos and insanity are finally upon us but I for one am ready for the Christmas season. We spent Monday decorating the Williamsburg Manor Bed and Breakfast and nothing gets you quite in the spirit like untangling lights and singing Christmas carols. This Sunday will be the 'Grand Illumination' in town which I have never gotten to see and I am really looking forward to. What better place to get in the yuletide spirit than a town that has real life carolers and Taverns that actually serve figgy pudding.
Yes, turns out that it is a real food. Who knew?

I have realized the error of my blogging ways and I will stay much more vigilant about posting in the future. *pinky swear*.
Cheers!

The things you can learn from the young.

As today was election day the lovely Reeves ladies were able to spend some time in the office. I have learned several things from them today, first of all I would look fantastic in a Hannah Montana wig. I actually did not learn that from them it is just a personal belief that I hold...

Anyways, I did learn how to make a rubber band ball and some very intriguing dance routines for High School Musical songs.... these are skills that I am sure will come in handy at a later date:)

Like later when I go home to practice my moves and try not to throw my new rubber band ball into traffic... hey, life's what you make it.

The Blue Box Blues

Sometimes the types of things that I ponder due to the nature of my work both confuse and entertain me. As I have mentioned in past posts the Catering Company is going into the chicken business and I have been acting as a guinea pig in the quest for the ultimate poultry experience. My research was not limited to chicken however, it also included testing the elusive 'side dish'.
I for one am a huge fan of the 'side dish' in all shapes and forms. As someone who is attempting to be much more health conscience I should be telling you that there is nothing I love more than a side salad and broccoli. In all honestly I do love my veggies, however my ultimate all time favorite side is macaroni and cheese. Sometimes mixed with ketchup. There I said it. Let the judgement commence.
I don't even like classy mac and cheese..... my favorite is the blue box. Kraft dinner or bust. Somewhere my grandmother is shaking her head at me :) Apparently I am not alone in the world though because Kraft sells a million boxes of Mac and Cheese a day. A million boxes! So I think it is safe to say that this particular cheese does not stand alone, I am such a nerd.
As a true fat kid I am automatically inclined to like foods that include any one of the following, fake cheese, pasta, butter and milk. Macaroni and cheese has a healthy dose of all four. I think it could be classified as the quintessential fat kid food.
Anyways, there is nowhere to get good mac and cheese in Williamsburg. Except for the Blue Talon bistro and then you feel silly because you are ordering mac and cheese in a fancy french bistro. Of course I have done it... I am just saying you feel silly:)
So the quest will continue for the perfect mac and cheese recipe that is not too bourgeois and not too blue box. A compromise must be reached. Until that happens though I am going to go to town on some Easy Mac, and maybe throw in some carrot sticks for good measure, we shall see.

What the? Really? I mean come on now...

It is Halloween and someone has stolen Scrawny the Skeleton.
He has lived at the Catering Company for months and then on All Hallows Eve, his one day to shine he is kidnapped. That is just not right. Who would do such a thing?
This is most distressing.
I am going to need some answers pronto.
poor Scrawny...... if I listen hard enough I can almost hear his girlish cackle:(

Operation "Plucked Up"

As if the owners of the Catering Company were not busy enough running any one of their three successful businesses they have decided to add a fourth venture to the collection. This venture will here forth be known as Operation "Plucked Up". A former cafe in the area has recently gone up for sale and there is a distinct possibility that it will soon be owned by some of the most brilliant masterminds in Williamsburg. However, you did not hear it from me:) As part of the research for the new business Lauren, my faithful partner in catering crime and I have been given the task of mystery shopping local rotisserie chicken selling establishments and reporting back to headquarters.
Now before you get all jealous and huffy that I am being paid to eat massive amounts of chicken consider this - rotisserie chicken, every night. For a week. It sounds amazing in theory but the reality is much more well lets just say greasy. Lauren and I have so far eaten a chicken at the Fresh Market, Food Lion, and not one but two Farm Fresh Supermarkets. Still on the list are Ukrops, KFC and Wal-Mart. In our trench coats and tinted glasses we survey the atmosphere making notes with ninja like stealth and then report back on our experiences. Not really though. We have been asked to go at peak chicken traffic time, between five and six so essentially we are dealing with exhausted soccer moms and screaming children. Eww. I cannot really complain though, I for one am awful at making decisions and my dinner choices have been predetermined for me all week which has been very convenient. Hurray for a lack of choice:)
The research will continue for the remainder of the week and formal reports will be typed up and submitted, but ultimately I have great confidence that whatever the masterminds at the Catering Company come up with will be a massive success and will set the standard for all the other chicken mongers in town. Can you be a chicken monger? Or is it only a fish monger....hmmm. I should add that to my research. Stay tuned for more updates on the developing rotisserie business and Operation 'Plucked Up' :)

Well BOO on you too!

A new phenomenon is sweeping the Williamsburg community. It is a blend of doorbell ditching, a chain letter and a fun Halloween gift basket and its called getting 'Booed'. This is when a neighbor (who has been previously Booed) leaves a basket of fun Halloween goodies on your doorstep, rings the doorbell and then runs away. Once you have been Booed you in turn 'Boo' two other people and the cycle continues. It is all anonymous although it is often very obvious who the Booer is based upon the contents of the basket. I had never heard of this practice and I for one think that it should be instituted at random times of the month, not just for seasonal holidays. Imagine if you received an 'office supply basket' and you had to go and 'staple' two other people within the week. Or if you were 'graped' and received a big basket of wine. I should totally try to get this trend started in the Burg. I think that it has infinite possibilities:)

Congratulations are in order :)

This past weekend another wonderful wedding was held at the Williamsburg Manor Bed and Breakfast. Erin Coppenheaver and Lonnie Dorsey were married on Saturday in a really gorgeous outdoor ceremony. There was some initial concern because on Friday it rained for the first time in um, like three months. Luckily they had gotten a tent but still icky humid weather would not be fun to get married in. On Saturday though everything cleared up and it was the most gorgeous Fall day. Erin and Lonnie had a 'destination' wedding and all of their guests had come in from out of state some from as far away as California. The Manor was filled with their friends and family who were all incredibly fun and entertaining. It is always so much enjoyable when families stay because it makes a wedding much more personal and intimate. Plus they always bring tons of food, and they share. Which is amazing. You have not lived until you have had leftover wedding cake for breakfast:)

They held their reception on the outside patio of the Manor with a tent and chandeliers and had a massive family style dinner served. The reception looked like something right out of a Pottery Barn catalogue. Erin had the vision in mind of what she wanted everything to look like and it was perfect for the setting and the house. She chose fall colors and used pumpkins and tons of votive candles to make everything incredibly warm and inviting. I for one think that you could make anything look pretty with votive candles. She also had hanging lanterns which made the tent glow. Basically it was gorgeous. I may or may not be stealing one or all of her ideas for events in the future:)

The Manor and I miss them already and I cannot wait until the new Mr. and Mrs. Dorsey come back to celebrate their first anniversary!

Here are some pictures from the wedding! Enjoy:)

http://picasaweb.google.com/thatgirl804/ErinAndLonnieSWedding

holy head injury Batman!

So over the weekend this catering wenches family suffered a major scare when my younger brother (and world) was in a bike accident. Not a motorcycle accident, as he would like me to lead you to believe but rather a bicycle accident. He also did not injure himself by diving off of his bike to avoid hitting a bus full of orphans as he would like you to believe but rather by hitting a pothole at very fast speeds. He was taken to MCV and placed in the ICU Neuroscience unit for two days under crazy intense surveillance. After much waiting and bureaucracy Jonny was finally able to come home last night. He is currently back home with a bruised brain and broken collar bone but he is going to be alright. Thank you to my family, friends and the Catering Company for all of their support and prayers this weekend. Jonny has learned his lesson and in the future will utilize a helmet, and/or caution. But certainly a helmet.
While anxiously awaiting news from doctors and nurses my parents and I passed time eating random hospital foods and playing Mad Libs with Jon who was on massive amounts of morphine making his Mad Libs all the more entertaining. It should be noted at this juncture that for a hospital the size and magnitude of the Medical College of Virginia they should have more varied and healthy food options. It seems like a walking contradiction to see doctors vying for a better position in the McDonald's line and nurses bitch slapping each other for the last Chick Fil A chicken sandwich. Alright there might not have been any actual bitch slapping but there were some unnecessary sucker punches. You would think a hospital might offer some more salads and less fries, maybe they are just trying to keep themselves in business longer. Those doctors are a clever bunch. They ought to be they are in school for long enough. Despite all the junk food and human drama playing out at a hospital it is a very scary place and I hope to not have to visit one again for a very long time. Unless you know someone has a baby or something happy, no more head trauma. That is so three days ago.
Thank you for all the love again, BroJo appreciated it and my family needed it:)

going to the chapel, or the Manor whichever....

Weddings, weddings everywhere and plenty of sparkling cider to drink! This weekend I had the honor of hosting another wonderful wedding at the Williamsburg Manor Bed and Breakfast. I really love having weddings at the Manor, instead of a bed and breakfast it becomes a place where before God and their families amazing couples decide to spend the rest of their lives together. They are much more casual and relaxed, no bridezillas or coordinators running around with walkie talkies and duck tape. Manor weddings are short and sweet and remind you that a gorgeous and special wedding does not require a dress that cost more than the down payment on a new car. They really are refreshing. The ceremony is done by Mr. Douglas Johnson of Williamsburg, the sweetest older gentleman who despite performing numerous weddings every week always brings a personal touch to each one. Did I mention that they are short? Amazing. Don't get me wrong I will get as much use out of my wedding dress as possible, we are talking full Mass and a reception that lasts until dawn, but it is much nicer at other peoples weddings when they are concise:) The funny thing about Manor weddings is that they are usually for people who have been married before and want something smaller, but despite the fact that they have been through it all before they need some guidance as to the traditions involved with the event. I think its cute because they are just so focused on the actual marriage that the wedding and all the trappings involved don't even really seem to matter. They smile for pictures, and I get a super hot professional camera and full reign to go totally paparazzi on them so of course I love that. Then they cut the cake, their guests make a toast and then they are off. Much more personal and obviously Colonial than Vegas, but its a similar situation. I refuse to dress like Elvis though, although in his later years his ensembles were very bedazzled..hmmm...

Anyways congratulation to the new Mr and Mrs. Davenport I know that they will be crazy happy together and I feel blessed that I was able to witness the beginning of their new life together. Eww I am so cheesy. True story.

a rose is a rose is a ....strawberry?

Just a small personal observation. Our old neighbors at the shop recently received one of those 'edible' arrangements that are just fruit cut out into crazy shapes, stabbed with toothpicks and positioned in a head of lettuce. The problem with this concept is that the arrangement had been sent to the wrong location and all of the fruit was covered in chocolate. While it is early October and easing into Fall it is still relativly warm outside and not suprisingly chocolate melts. Upon discovering their error the sender of the basket asked if I would return it to its rightful owner. This would have been less traumatic if the poor basket was not half melted, and very topheavy.
The basket did reach its final destination but not without some manuevering and it did not arrive looking very attractive or appetizing. Leaving me to deduct that it would make much more sense to send either a flower arrangement, a fruit basket, or a box of chocolates as opposed to a combination of all three.
Keep this in mind for future reference:)

the stride of pride

So I sat in on a meeting this morning with one of our lovely Manor brides ( whose name is also Erin :) and we were discussing what kind of music, if any at all , she would like to have playing as she walks down the aisle.
Now as a compulsive downloader I have already prepared an entire compilation disk of potential 'bridal marches'. You would probably be very shocked and/or appalled to know how many varieties of that one song exist in the universe. Anything from a techno version to what sounds like the largest organ on earth. The c.d. I made has nearly 17 tracks all of the same song just done in veeeeeeeeery different ways. Which really makes one think that there may no longer be a 'traditional' wedding march, and if that is the case what do you walk down the aisle to?
I really enjoy the processional song from the hit Adam Sandler comedy, The Wedding Singer. As it takes place in the 80's his fiancee has chosen to walk down the aisle to an instrumental version of Journey's 'Don't Stop Believing'. As this is my timeless go to karaoke song and also a cherished classic I think that would be an amazing song to kick off a lifelong journey. Get it journey/Journey... oh I crack myself up:)
That might not play out to well in the massive, traditional cathedral where my mother anticipates my nuptials will take place but a girl can always dream.
So that shall be the question of the day. If you have yet to take the plunge, or you had it to do over again what would you walk down the aisle to? Choose wisely apparently it is an important day:)

our little friend

This is Scrawny the skeleton. He was placed in the office to scare the deposits out of people unwilling to pay for their food... not really though.
He has been here for about two weeks staring at us with judgement and hunger everytime we eat anything. Occasionally, when plugged in his eyes light up and he yells things at us in a very whiny voice.
I got him an eye patch so he would look cooler amoung the other skeletons. Pirates are really in this year. I don't know how long he will stay but he has been embraced as just another one of the Catering Company staff, one who makes you feel bad about eating cheez-its.
I will not be that sad to see him go. Skinny punk.

storytime....

So, lets go back for a hot sec. I have explained why the blog has been created, but have not told you anything about myself really. First of all let me preface this blog by stating that I have a loose grasp of grammar at best, to me it has always been much more of an abstract concept. Please do not judge.

I have recently returned from Galway, Ireland where I lived and worked for nearly eight months. I did not go to school there, I did not know anyone in the country, and I had no money, job, or place to live. Basically it was a crazy ass dream that I actually went through with. Bananas. I eventually did find a job working at the uber posh five star G-Hotel (check it out the pictures are really pretty http://www.theghotel.ie/g/ ). I began my career at the G-Hotel in their super fancy restaurant serving breakfast. My parents were very proud that I was utilizing my college education:) During my time spent in the restaurant I gained an intimate knowledge of Irish breakfast foods. If someone asked you for 'brown sauce' they do not mean A-1 sauce they mean a sauce that comes from an actual honest to God bottle labeled 'Brown Sauce'. It really does exist. I should not have been too surprised as this was coming from the country that devours black and white pudding, a meat dish that is named after its inclusion or exclusion of pigs blood. After months of serving 'rashers' (bacon) and 'kippers' (smoked raw fish) I was ready for a change.

I was moved to the spa within the hotel called 'ESPA at the g'. obviously there was little interaction with food within the spa. The therapist who worked there existed on a diet of cigarettes and scones and the guests in for treatments were all trying to 'cleanse' their bodies of the massive plate of fish and chips they had devoured the night before. It was decided then that if I wanted to explore the culinary side of Ireland I would have to do so on my own.

My culinary journey started off a wee bit biased however, due to the fact that the entire country of Ireland does not acknowledge the existence of ranch dressing. They have no idea what it is, Cooler Ranch Doritos are even called something else. I really felt like it was a big nation wide conspiracy to deprive me of my go to food staple. I believe strongly that anything edible can be improved by Ranch dressing, anything. Ireland did have Diet Coke in abundance though so I was able to survive, and did not immediately purchase a ticket back to the land of sour patch kids and Taco Bell.

Don't get me wrong the Irish do have some notable delicacy's, however most of them are stolen from other countries. When you are drunk and wandering the streets searching for your 'fourth meal' you go to a Kebab shop, not McDonald's or Chanellos. Whenever you order ANYTHING it automatically comes with a side of at least two forms of potato, and there I was thinking the Irish had trouble growing potato's. Silly me. Galway did have amazing fresh fish and I actually began to develop a certain appreciation for lamb, so I suppose that my horizons were broadened in the process. The only ethnic group not represented in Irish cuisine was Mexican food, you could not find a taco to save your life in that country, it is probably for the best though because they would probably find some way to put a potato into a tortilla shell and sell it.

It's totally fine though because Ireland is so expensive that you really have to choose between eating and drinking and I am sure you can imagine which usually wins out on the Emerald Isles. They are very proud of the beer and spirits produced in Ireland and are resigned to being a little lacking in the culinary department. You don't hear very many complaints about it though, after enough pints potato's tend to look amazing:)

Needless to say I am overjoyed to be back home in the land of Hidden Valley and enchiladas.
While I enjoyed Ireland, serving breakfast at seven a.m. and selling four hundred euro treatments to desperate Irish housewives was not the creative outlet that I was hoping for and I am very glad to be back at the Catering Company. There is nothing like being surrounded by all the crazy randomness that I have grown to know and love.

viva la Williamsburg!

the start of something new....

Hurray for the fabulous world of blogging! There are so many times during the day that the most surreal and random things happen and all you want to do is share them with everyone, realizing full well that no one will believe you or understand the true scope and hilarity of the situation. I am convinced that it is for these moments that blogging was invented.
So with this in mind I have decided to dedicate this space to the interesting and odd events, conversations, moments and people that regulary come in and out of the Williamsburg events scene. A glimpse if you will into a world where the right linens can make or break a party and everything is garnished. Welcome to the life and times of a catering wench, honestly you can't make this stuff up:)