Beet tartare for 300 people? No problem... (or, a tale of Molly the problem solver) Without a doubt, catering was one of Mollys passions and an area of great strength. She loved to take on large events - weddings, fundraisers, galas, baby showers, etc. - and create a memorable experience for all. She would spend many painstaking hours putting together all of the details - budgeting, choosing menus, arranging party rentals, procuring staff and whatever else was necessary. In all honesty, she was a strict taskmaster as the event came together. I tended to be a little less organized, a little more seat of the pants. In many cases she tolerated this aspect of my personality, but when it came to catering, my laid back nonsense was pushed out the window. Believe me, this was a good thing. Anyway, in the fall of 2008 the Humane Society asked us to cater a large Prop 2 fundraiser at a private home in Bel Air. The event was for more than 300 people and was the largest event we had ever done. Prior to committing to do the event, Molly held several logistical planning meetings with the event organizers. Once the decision was made to move forward, we arranged to do a tasting at Madeleine Bistro. The tasting went very well. The food was a huge hit and everyone was very excited. After the tasting, we sat down to narrow down the selections and hash out the menu. I cant remember everything thing that they chose, but here is a sampling: For hors doeuvres, they chose smoked portobello mushroom on blini, caramelized onion and farmers cheese in filo, chardonnay cheese and poached pears on endive, portobello bacon-wrapped dates filled with tofu cheese, etc. The entree was grilled shiitake mushrooms and their puree with green beans, spinach, seared polenta and smoked paprika creme. Afterward dinner, there was a dessert buffet with assorted homemade donuts, beignets, assorted fruit tarts, red velvet cupcakes, ding dongs, etc. The final item to be selected was the appetizer. They really wanted to have the red beet tartare, which was our signature dish. The problem was the dish was a logistical nightmare, bordering on impossible for a party with so many guests. The plating of the dish involved several careful steps, including a circle of fanned out, thinly sliced cucumber and the beet tartare itself, which had to be molded on top of a tofu cheese crouton. Even worse, they were allowing us fifteen minutes to plate the course. We suggested they choose a more practical appetizer. They really wanted the red beet tartare. Then Molly had a brilliant idea. Since the event had a very generous budget and there was a lot of other food prep anyway, we would hire 30 cooks for the event. The plating would take place on a longer stretch of banquet tables than usual. About an hour before the event, we would fry the tofu cheese croutons and keep them warm in a heating cabinet. Then the circles of thinly sliced cucumber would be set up on the plates and the plates stacked in rows and columns along the banquet tables. All of this would be done ahead of time. When it came time to plate, the 30 cooks would jump into action, working on one side of the banquet tables. Croutons would be laid in the center of the cucumbers. Beet tartare would then be molded atop the croutons. Then the two finishing sauces would be drizzled around the cucumbers. Servers would whisk in and take the finished plates from the opposite side of the banquet tables. Then the cooks would start in on the next layer of plates. I hope the previous paragraph made sense. If not, suffice it to say that it was a very clever solution. Even still, I was skeptical and very nervous about the whole thing, but we committed to do it. On the day of the event, her plan went like clockwork. The plates flew out of the makeshift kitchen. The food was plated beautifully and all 300+ red beet tartares went out in fifteen minutes. Even though it happened and I was there, right in the thick of it, sometimes I still cant believe we pulled it off. After the entree was plated and sent out and we had a moment to breathe, Molly came up to me and threw her arms around me. She gave me a big kiss and then said, phew - I honestly never thought that plan was going to work! Nice job honey... I just looked at her in astonishment. Throughout the whole process she had exuded so much confidence. It was the only reason I thought we could pull it off. In truth, she was just rolling the dice and crossing her fingers. Classic Molly...
Posted on: Sun, 23 Nov 2014 04:25:57 +0000
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