Ryan LaRoche, the vice president of culinary operations for Mariano's in Chicago, presented a hearty slider filled with smoked beef brisket, truffled cheese, horseradish, and house-made pickles. The dish was served on Park House rolls.
Photo: Francis Son
Jennifer Jasinski of Roja in Denver topped Skuna Bay lomi-lomi salmon with basil, tarragon, strawberries, and macerated grapes. The appetizer was inspired by Magnum, P.I., which was set in Hawaii.
Photo: Francis Son
Jeffrey Steelman, chef de cuisine of Todd English Tuscany at Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut, looked to cop show Hawaii Five-O to inform his dish. He served spot prawn ceviche with avocado, compressed cucumber, yuzu toiko, wasabi snow, and prawn salt.
Photo: Francis Son
Naomi Pomeroy, who owns Beast in Portland, Oregon, said that her dish was inspired by the "Sam the Butcher" character from The Brady Bunch. The dish contained pork meatloaf topped with caramelized pineapple gastrique.
Photo: Francis Son
Best Floral Design for an Event or Meeting
Staro-Bruskin Wedding
Submitted by En Masse Flowers
For a wedding at Volt Restaurant in Frederick, Maryland, En Masse Flowers was tasked with creating a “big flower statement” and a holistic feel to the overall design. The company responded by taking an architectural approach to the flowers and moving the blooms to the walls, mounted on canvas like pieces of art. En Masse also created entry sentinels of tall, leaf-covered pavé vases topped with red, black, orange, and violet-toned flowers. Tables were left open for food display. Outside in the tented courtyard, flowers hung from the ceiling, creating a manzanita branch armature of low-hanging multicolored mini amaryllis blossoms that canopied the dance area. When the bride saw the result, she moved her ceremony from the outdoor patio into the tent to take advantage of the unique decor.
Photo: Nick & Kami Swingle
In June, Patina Catering catered the opening of Skyspace Los Angeles, the observation deck that also includes a glass slide 1,000 feet above the city. As part of an elaborate catering offering, Patina served late-night hors d'oeuvres that were passed as the party came to a close. The grab-and-go boxes featured cheddar beef sliders on mini sesame buns, crispy tater tots, and mini milkshakes.
Photo: Christopher Todd Studios
During the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington in May, The New Yorker hosted a cocktail party where passed hors d'oeuvres from the W Washington D.C. were presented on trays featuring previous covers of the magazine.
Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris
At a Los Angeles event hosted by Century 21 Real Estate in July with a futuristic look and feel, hors d’oeuvres—such as lump crab cakes with remoulade and micro arugula—were served on modern-style white platters that included unusual cutout forms.
Photo: Chelsea Lauren
Single floral stems framed hors d’oeuvres like mango Thai basil summer rolls from Union Square Events at the Robin Hood Foundation gala in New York in May.
Photo: Beth Kormanik/BizBash
Heinz launched a new yellow mustard last year in May, and hosted a barbecue-style event in New York to celebrate. In a bit of a meta moment—or at least a detail that clearly underscored the host’s marketing message—Heinz served mustard-topped corn dogs on trays emblazoned with the new product’s label.
Photo: Paolo Ferraris/Michael Jurick Photography
"Budgets for signature drinks are on the rise again. We are getting a lot of requests for welcome beverages for corporate events, especially with the huge cocktail craze," says Steve Sanchez, chief marketing officer at Camp Hill, Pennsylvania-based catering and events company JDK Group.
Photo: Seth Nenstiel
A chef prepared a cloud of nitrogen popcorn at the JDK Group-produced circus-inspired bash.
Photo: Samuel Costello Photography
For the Knot event, Selden created a next-level breadstick bar. Hand-rolled breadsticks were served with flavored dips like spiced butternut squash, curried cream, and ricotta and fava bean, along with carrot and ginger and truffled wild mushroom soups. "You'd never guess it's a less expensive option because of the abundance of food on the table," the chef says.
Photo: ReadyLuck
At a party celebrating the Toms for Target partnership in Los Angeles last year, colorful nonalcoholic drinks were presented in glass decanters.
Photo: David Crotty/PatrickMcMullan.com
At the How I Met Your Mother holiday party in Los Angeles at Fox Studios in December 2013, the show's cast and crew ate and played at a gingerbread-decorating station set up by Marina del Ray-based Schaffer's Genuine Foods.
Photo: Courtesy of Schaffer's Genuine Foods
Deutsch LA's Studio 54-theme holiday party, held at Hangar 8 in Santa Monica, California, in December 2014, featured a new classic—peppermint cake pops by Schaffer's Genuine Foods.
Photo: Sherri J Photography
JDK Group served fruity spritzers at a private holiday party at Linwood Estate in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in January.
Photo: Sam Costello Photography
The conference’s color theme carried through to snacks served at breaks. Cups of cantaloupe and peaches, cupcakes with orange frosting, Cheetos, Orange Crush soda, and carrots with dip are some of the orange-hued bites that are offered.
Photo: Courtesy of Content Marketing World
