Vanessa & Travis Wedding

Another beautiful Wedding at Riven Rock Ranch, thanks to the combined talents of Viridian Design Studio, Marquee Rents and CarteWheels Caterers. The georgous tent was done by Marquee Rents of Austin, and the chandelier was provided by the Mother of the Bride along with many other decorative touches.

Smoked Turkey & Poblano Quesadillas

Shrimp Campechana Cocktail

Bruschetta Bar

Fruit & Cheese Display

Viridian Design Studio

The Menu

Fresh Fruit & Cheese Display

Accompanied By Crackers

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Bruschetta Bar

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Shrimp Campechana Cocktail

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Mini Crabcake Station

w/ Spicy Remoulade & Apple Salsa

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Chef Carved Beef Tenderloin

w/ Dinner Rolls and Horseradish Sauce

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Tuscan Shrimp & Rice Salad

Caesar Salad

Chilled French Bean Salad

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Smoked Turkey & Poblano Quesadillas

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Coffee Bar

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Wedding Cake

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Olive Harvest at Orchards of Santo Tomas

This past weekend my husband, 3 year old granddaughter and I got to help harvest olives at my brother-in-law's orchard. They have over 200 trees but this harvest was from 13 trees and yielded almost 900 lbs of olives! I have to admit that I was not much help picking; I was worn out from 3 long catering days. But I did take lots of photos to share.

Madi got right to work!

It was easier for Madi to scoop them up from the tarp.


Everyone was involved, even the little ones. There was a real sense of community.



As you can see, some of the trees were tall, needing a ladder to get to the tops.








They did a demonstration on how to make small amounts of oil. First, the olives were ground in a gizmo made from a new garbage disposal, the ground olives were then placed in a ice cream mixer (sans ice) and left for about 30 min. From there the emulsified olive paste was put on filters on top of a plastic square with channels. They made a stack of the filters on the channeled plastic, which was on a sheet pan with a hole in one corner. The sheet pan with the stacks was then placed in a press. Once the press extracted all of the oil, the solids were removed from the bottom of the bucket.What remained was the pomace oil. I didn't actually see the final step, but I think you get the idea.

The bulk of the harvest ready to go to the processors.

ICA Regional Education Day

I got away for an inspiring day of learning and sharing with caterers from the International Caterers Association. The workshop was held in Long Beach CA, hosted by Jay's Catering in Garden Grove and Good Gracious Events from LA. The day was so filled with information and ideas that it is hard to focus on any one aspect.
Good Gracious treated us to a "Cocktail" Breakfast with fabulous cocktail style breakfast foods!

How fun is that!

There was Yogurt with Granola, Fried Deviled Eggs, Bacon Wrapped Sausage, Mini Muffins, Nutella French Toast Bites, Smoked Salmon, Melon Skewers, Very Cute Doughnuts and the cutest Juice Bottles w/ Black Straws.

Jay's Catering facility was most impressive and awe inspiring. We were able to tour the whole space including their huge warehouse and wonderful kitchen. They are so busy that they have crews working 24 hours a day! They catered 17 events on Saturday; we were there on Monday and everything was back on the shelves, neat & tidy.

Right before lunch we were divided into teams and each team decorated a table. My team grabbed the gold chairs with orange velvet seats first, so from there we got a great green table cloth and it all just came together. It was great fun!

Jay's served us a delicious lunch.

I took over 200 photos in this one day, but many of them were of slides and did not turn out well. Needless to say there was plenty of creativity crammed into one day, and we were being fed every time we turned around. The afternoon break was catered again by Good Gracious Events, and consisted of a Black & White Quinoa Salad, BLT Soup Sip and Petite Strawberry Shortcakes.

The afternoon sessions included a trip to the pastry kitchen to learn from Joanne Purnell, ICA Chef of the Year, about French Macaroons, Gelees & Marshmallows.

The final session of the day was an over the top tented mixology event with ambiance provided by Rriver Davies of River Works Designs.

Summer Cocktail Party in Hunt

The ultimate summer cocktail party, in Hunt Texas on a shaded patio with a view of the Cypress lined river below.We served a fun menu with cool summer favorites.

MENU

Texas Caviar

Offered w/ Tortilla Chips

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Chicken Caesar Salad Cones

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Peppered Tuna Skewers w/ Wasabi Aioli

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Smoked Pork Tenderloin on Corn Biscuits

Accompanied by Green Tomato Chutney

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Chef Carved Beef Tenderloin

Offered w/ Yeast Rolls and Horseradish Sauce

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Mini Baja Fish Tacos

w/ Cilantro Crema Slaw

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Bar Cookies and Pecan Tartlets

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Stablewood Spring Resort Wedding

CarteWheels catered a beautiful event at Stablewood Springs Resort despite the extreme heat! Food stations were placed in direct sun while the guest seating was inside a tent with fans. The resort is still very much a construction site where the staff had to traverse rock and dirt trails in order to service the stations and bus seating tables. Despite the difficult working conditions the guests were pleased to find fun food stations with something for everyone.

MENU

Waiter Passed

Caprese Skewers

Mini Crab Cakes w/ Spicy Remoulade & Apple Salsa

Sundried Tomato Risotto Cakes

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Asian Delights Station

Shrimp & Vegetable Summer Rolls

offered w/ Ponzu Sauce

Asian Noodle Salad in Pink and Green Takeout Boxes

Assorted Sushi

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Nuevo Lation Station

Smoked Brisket Quesadillas

w/Tomatillo Salsa

Gordita Bar

Featuring Blackbeans, Carnitas and Shredded Chicken Mole

Guacamole & Pico de Gallo

Chips and Salsa

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Go Green Salad Station

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Mashed Potato Martini Station

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Midnight Snacks

Waiter Passed

Mocha Frappacino Shooters w/ Mini Biscotti

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One of the Stablewood Springs Resort Pools

With a gorgeous view !

Mashed Potato Martini Bar with our cute Artichoke Lamp

The tent was lit with lacy gobo lighting
The Asian Delights Station



Viridian's Candy Bar

The Groom's Cake celebrated their dogs

The resort view was spectacular!

Signature Cocktail Station

Mashed Potato Martini Station