Dynamic Duo

Their Story: A love of good food (and each other) inspired Lauren Morfoot and Phil Rubin to create 2 Peas & a Pot, a full-service catering company, in November 2005, three years after they married. After graduating from the Institute of Culinary Education in 2002, the couple began their culinary careers working long hours in restaurant kitchens—Morfoot at Union Pacific and Tribeca Grill before becoming a personal chef, and Rubin at Café Luxembourg and the Citigroup executive dining room. “I was getting up at 5 a.m. to prepare lunch, and [Lauren] was working nights, so we never saw each other,” Rubin says. As a way to spend more time together and still cook for a living, they started their own company. In addition to catering about 50 events a year, Morfoot and Rubin also offer cooking classes.What They Do: The duo has built a reputation for preparing flavorful hors d’oeuvres and multicourse dinners, often in challenging spaces like private homes, back-of-the-store kitchenettes, or on a beach in the Dominican Republic. “Working within limited spaces forces you to be creative, but it’s really satisfying finding ways to design a menu that tastes great and also overcomes those obstacles,” Rubin says. Recent gigs include an Americana-themed dinner party to celebrate the Democratic congressional races (mini apple pies and fried chicken were on the menu) and an in-store client event for Urban Angler, a downtown fishing supply store (where they served chicken tagine with couscous and roast leg of lamb). Since opening, Morfoot and Rubin have done most of their work on-site and in private homes, but they are finishing construction on a new full-service kitchen downtown, which should be open in May.

Standout Dishes: Their menu changes with the seasons (and whenever inspiration strikes, which is often), based on the freshest ingredients available. Although a good part of their offerings are dressed-up comfort food like truffled mini grilled-cheese sandwiches with celery relish, their more complex dishes feature artfully combined layers of flavor, such as duck confit and sour cherry “cigars” with black-pepper crème fraîche, or crisp pork belly with green lentils, green-apple puree, and red-wine glazed pearl onions, topped with fried capers. Morfoot and Rubin will also tailor menus to suit dietary restrictions or special themes, like a five-course dinner for the Burgundy Society that they created based on the wines being served.