Eric Michael
Photo: Courtesy of Occasions Caterers
For the last six years, Occasions Caterers owner Eric Michael has produced the Corcoran Ball—coming up on April 18—at the Corcoran Gallery of Art with the museum’s women’s committee. This year’s ball, chaired by Nancy Smith, is expected to draw some 1,200 guests who will dine in 15 of the museum's gallery spaces, ranging in capacity from 20 to as many as 400. This 53rd edition of the ball will pay homage to the current exhibition “The American Evolution: A History Through Art” and the museum’s permanent collection of American art.
The event is an operation that takes months of preparation and a small army of staffers (210 waiters, 30 bartenders, 35 kitchen workers, and about 10 coat check and restroom attendants). In a countdown to the event, we talked to Michael about his waitstaff “war captains,” his Americana decor motifs (without red, white, and blue), and how he only gets one crack at making an impression.
The Corcoran Ball is just two weeks away. What are you working on now?
At this point, everything’s been chosen, the tastings are done, the orders are in, and we’re now working on logistics. This morning we had our final walkthrough with the curators, where we went through the entire museum and looked at what art would be hanging on walls. In certain sensitive places, the museum will have to remove artifacts to keep up the flow of 1,200 people.We do some last-minute decor changes in the next two weeks now that everything else has been sorted out and we've seen what colors are on the walls. We’ll go back and tweak—just minimally—a tablecloth or napkins to make sure that it’s really tailored to the space. I also have a guest list at this point, and I know certain clients who prefer specific waiters that have been in their homes, so we work very hard on pairing them up.
How is this year's event going to differ from last year's?
We’re going with an exclusively American theme, but it’s not particularly patriotic. We’re showcasing the American aesthetic in at least three very different ways. One will be absolutely contemporary, with linens that are custom-printed with scenes from American parks. Others will include a very sumptuous White House dinner look and an eclectic Victorian-Americana style. There will not be any red, white, and blue, or stars and stripes.
And the food?
The menu is usually suggested by the theme. This year it is very American. I’m not going to give that away, but we updated some American classics.
When were the final themes confirmed?
We start working in September and had discussions throughout the fall on what the art would be. Then we had our first decor meeting in early December, where florist Jack Lucky and I met with the women’s subcommittee on the decor and talked about possible themes. We ended up with 13, and we probably pitched about 20. It was all finalized about a month ago.
How do you keep the event fresh year after year?
The goal at this event is always to have each room be a standalone experience for the guests, so every time they come through a doorway, they say, “Wow.” We go very far out of our way to make sure there is no overlap with previous years, with color themes and certainly with the tabletops. [Equipment vendor] Perfect Settings buys a lot of new rentals to showcase every year at this event. All the linens are custom-made and new each year.
How do guests' expectations affect your planning?
The ball is the most glamorous party in Washington, and because we’ve now done it for six years, we have a very keen sense of what the expectation is. We build a lot of added service into this event. In addition to waiters, we also have both a floor captain and a supervisor in each room. They are there to do nothing but to be available for anything a guest might want.
My floor captains, who are the ones working out all of the logistics, are truly the unsung heros, because it’s a tremendously difficult dinner to serve. I have a group of 12 men and women who work out of multiple kitchens and coordinate the timing to make it seem like an easy event.
You come up with a dozen different themes in one venue in one night. What's the hardest part?
One of the unusual aspects of this party is the setup. We load in on Wednesday, and then on Thursday and Friday as many as 60 members of the women’s committee volunteer their time each day to set up the entire event. I have about 10 of my staff there to direct them. We have a lot of time and a lot of hands, which is why it looks as good as it does.
The most challenging part is the logistics. We have learned by careful study how to best serve this dinner so that everyone has a great experience. We have lots of time to think about the tabletops and all of those things, but once the party begins, you only get one crack at it.
The event is an operation that takes months of preparation and a small army of staffers (210 waiters, 30 bartenders, 35 kitchen workers, and about 10 coat check and restroom attendants). In a countdown to the event, we talked to Michael about his waitstaff “war captains,” his Americana decor motifs (without red, white, and blue), and how he only gets one crack at making an impression.
The Corcoran Ball is just two weeks away. What are you working on now?
At this point, everything’s been chosen, the tastings are done, the orders are in, and we’re now working on logistics. This morning we had our final walkthrough with the curators, where we went through the entire museum and looked at what art would be hanging on walls. In certain sensitive places, the museum will have to remove artifacts to keep up the flow of 1,200 people.We do some last-minute decor changes in the next two weeks now that everything else has been sorted out and we've seen what colors are on the walls. We’ll go back and tweak—just minimally—a tablecloth or napkins to make sure that it’s really tailored to the space. I also have a guest list at this point, and I know certain clients who prefer specific waiters that have been in their homes, so we work very hard on pairing them up.
How is this year's event going to differ from last year's?
We’re going with an exclusively American theme, but it’s not particularly patriotic. We’re showcasing the American aesthetic in at least three very different ways. One will be absolutely contemporary, with linens that are custom-printed with scenes from American parks. Others will include a very sumptuous White House dinner look and an eclectic Victorian-Americana style. There will not be any red, white, and blue, or stars and stripes.
And the food?
The menu is usually suggested by the theme. This year it is very American. I’m not going to give that away, but we updated some American classics.
When were the final themes confirmed?
We start working in September and had discussions throughout the fall on what the art would be. Then we had our first decor meeting in early December, where florist Jack Lucky and I met with the women’s subcommittee on the decor and talked about possible themes. We ended up with 13, and we probably pitched about 20. It was all finalized about a month ago.
How do you keep the event fresh year after year?
The goal at this event is always to have each room be a standalone experience for the guests, so every time they come through a doorway, they say, “Wow.” We go very far out of our way to make sure there is no overlap with previous years, with color themes and certainly with the tabletops. [Equipment vendor] Perfect Settings buys a lot of new rentals to showcase every year at this event. All the linens are custom-made and new each year.
How do guests' expectations affect your planning?
The ball is the most glamorous party in Washington, and because we’ve now done it for six years, we have a very keen sense of what the expectation is. We build a lot of added service into this event. In addition to waiters, we also have both a floor captain and a supervisor in each room. They are there to do nothing but to be available for anything a guest might want.
My floor captains, who are the ones working out all of the logistics, are truly the unsung heros, because it’s a tremendously difficult dinner to serve. I have a group of 12 men and women who work out of multiple kitchens and coordinate the timing to make it seem like an easy event.
You come up with a dozen different themes in one venue in one night. What's the hardest part?
One of the unusual aspects of this party is the setup. We load in on Wednesday, and then on Thursday and Friday as many as 60 members of the women’s committee volunteer their time each day to set up the entire event. I have about 10 of my staff there to direct them. We have a lot of time and a lot of hands, which is why it looks as good as it does.
The most challenging part is the logistics. We have learned by careful study how to best serve this dinner so that everyone has a great experience. We have lots of time to think about the tabletops and all of those things, but once the party begins, you only get one crack at it.
