Even though we are almost into the full swing of wedding season, some of you still may be searching for stellar vendors to make your event AMAZING!  With that in mind, I thought this ever-so-helpful advice from our very own Mary Crafts-Homer would be perfect for anyone looking for a top-notch caterer.  These “Top 5 Questions to Ask Your Caterer” are a good way to find out which caterer will fit your taste, style, and budget – so you can sit back and relax, knowing that you’ve picked the best fit for you and your wedding!  Check it out!

1.  Let your caterer know your budget up front and ask what would be the best fit for your event based on that budget.  You may want a 7 course plated dinner for all your guests but that definitely adds major cost to your bottom line – so unless your budget allows for it, let the caterer suggest other options – such as a gorgeous dinner buffet with similar food options to cut your cost.  If the caterer won’t work with your budget or tries to upsell you an event you aren’t sure you can afford – be wary.  Also make sure that you trust your caterer enough to give you ideas you wouldn’t have thought of yourself, but also make sure that they keep your vision at the forefront.  It’s your day, after all!

2.  Ask if there are any additional costs for labor, alcohol service, gratuity, etc. that will be added into your final total.  This is especially important if you have a tight budget and do not want to be surprised with the final bill the week before your wedding.  Most caterers will outline any additional labor costs, extra staff costs, alcohol provider’s costs, and also suggest a gratuity based on your cost.  Make sure you are aware of the costs involved and plan for your budget and there will be no surprises at the end.  Also, remember the gratuity is based on the service provided.  So your gratuity should reflect your overall happiness with the event and service.

3.  Ask if the food is prepared on-site or in a kitchen off-site.  Culinary Crafts prides itself on preparing their food at the event site (which is one of the reasons it is SO delicious and fresh).  This allows you to plan for how much space the caterer will need to prepare the food and plan a layout where they will have their “back of house” or prep area.  You don’t want to be figuring this out on the day of – you’ll have more important things to focus on!

4.  Ask if they are a full service caterer or not.  Meaning, are they just going to show up and make sure the food is taken care of?  Or are they going to make sure that the layout is the way that you (the client) have envisioned?  And that the cake shows up?  Or that the rental company has delivered the chairs and linens you ordered?  Culinary Crafts will make sure all facets of the event are taken care of from layout to set up to execution.  Of course, a wedding planner would do this as well – so if you have hired one, Culinary Crafts will work closely with the planner to make sure everything goes off without a hitch.  One less thing to worry about on your wedding day!

5.  Ask other wedding vendors and past client about their experience with the caterer you are considering hiring.  No matter what the reputation is of the caterer, you should ask vendors and clients you know and trust about their experience with the caterer to find out if they would recommend them or had any problems with them.  It’s always important to know who you are doing business with.  It’ll make sure you are happy in the long run!

Happy planning everyone!

Check out more Salt Lake City, Park City, and Utah County catering at www.culinarycrafts.com!

Photo by Logan Walker, A Pepper Nix Photographer

One of my newest FAVORITE trends for the upcoming year are the Chef’s Table dinners!  This experience is perfect for any event and really makes the meal part of the overall entertainment.  The chefs are right there, table side, discussing the food, showing techniques and plating, and serving the meal for the guests.  Guests are enthralled as they learned about everything from the importance of local products to how to extract your own vanilla. Whether you are looking to wine and dine your guests, or just looking for fabulous dinner in the most intimate of settings, this is by far my new favorite way to dine!  Check it out!

We loved this super chic and lovely event, plus the food was AMAZING!

Here Mary is letting the guests know about the meal they are about to watch Culinary Crafts’s staff prepare in front of them!

The staff plated and prepared each guests’s plate, making sure they all looked FABULOUS!

Ryan even torched the Bistecca for the entree in front of everyone which was a definite thrill.  The flame thrower is always a crowd favorite!

The ever talented Ryan doubles up on torches to bake the green beans with a parmesan cheese garnish.  SO YUMMY!

This event was held at our venue, The Tasting Room, in downtown Salt Lake City!  We loved the rustic chic look of the event!

Guests were greeted with these rack of lamb appetizers, a sommelier who educated the guests on wine pairings, and Culinary Crafts’s staff preparing the menu’s offerings.  So fun!

This event even featured Culinary Crafts’s chefs leading a cooking demonstration on the proper way to grill this GORGEOUS Utah trout.  Yum!  I love being able to go and enjoy fantastic food and then go home and replicate the techniques in my own kitchen!  Well worth it, in my opinion.

We love that these Chef’s Table events are popping up in our future events and really think that they are a great way to serve our delicious food.  At Culinary Crafts, we consider ourselves lucky to have the creme de la creme of staff members who can be out on the forefront of an event and serve in style!  Happy cooking everyone!

Check out our website at www.culinarycrafts.com!

Photos by Kelli Bramble, a Pepper Nix Photographer

We here at Culinary Crafts LOVE family style dining and we believe that whether you are planning a wedding or a corporate affair, no other serving style inspires getting conversation going and really interacting with the people around you.  The act of sharing food with your table is the type of thing that instantly brings people together.  With this in mind, we were thrilled to create a beautiful and delicious family style lunch service for the recent Women In Weddings Luncheon at the Red Cliff Ranch!  Utah Bride Blog were thrilled with this trend too and even posted a blog about it today – with some input from yours truly.  Check it out here. That you so much to Utah Bride Blog for sharing this catering trend!  If you are looking for an intimate and fun way to engage your guests, this is definitely the way to go!  Happy eating!

Check out more Salt Lake City, Park City, and Utah County catering on www.culinarycrafts.com!

Photos by David Newkirk

My, oh my, Culinary Crafts’s cheeks are ‘burning’ with the thrill of this FANTASTIC feature on Utah Bride & Groom‘s blog today!  You can see it here.  We were so excited when they asked us to share Salt Lake City’s catering trends and we couldn’t help but showing off our fantastic downtown space, The Tasting Room too!  Thank you so much Utah Bride & Groom, we love you!

For more Salt Lake City catering trends, check out www.culinarycrafts.com!

Photos by Logan Walker

Hi all!  Today, I’d like to post about one of Culinary Crafts’s favorite vendors, Scenemakers!  Scenemakers is one of the BEST event design and floral design companies in Utah.  Seriously, they are AMAZING and we love working with them!  Luckily, we have the opportunity quite often – they even did the florals for The Tasting Room’s grand opening (which were stunning, naturally).  We also did a ton of GORGEOUS weddings this summer with them, but we can’t post them just yet because many of them will be in upcoming bridal magazines, so keep your eyes out!  In the meantime, take a look at some of their stellar work!!!

You may also recognize Scenemakers’s beautiful florals from Mary Crafts-Homer’s wedding last summer!  We seriously love Scenemakers and we are so thankful to call them a vendor partner!  Scenemakers is not only for weddings, either.  They do some show-stopping corporate events too.  They are all around amazing for any event you are having, pretty much.  Keep on being wonderful Scenemakers  Happy planning everyone!

Check out our website at www.culinarycrafts.com!

Images from Scenemakers‘s blog, Logan Walker, and Pepper Nix

Today, I’d like to share one of Culinary Crafts’s newest favorite vendors, In the Event!  In The Event is a super high end, technologically wow-ing event rental company with custom rentals for the most over the top dreamer!  Ali Dempsy from In The Event says this about the company, “In The Event is a full service event design company providing the ultimate in products and services to our clients throughout the U.S.  We are the only wireless LED decor house in the Utah area, specializing in modular LED furniture, modular tables, bars, cubes, walls, towers, and dance floors.  We pride ourselves on bringing innovative event design and decor to the Utah area.  With an emphasis in corporate events, we manufacture many items in house to offer our clients custom products and design that will keep company events exciting and new each year.”  That doesn’t mean that weddings can’t use them for an over the top club feel, or a super AMAZING LED dance floor, or even a snazzy lounge area with your custom monogram to toast the newlyweds!  Here are just a few of the AWESOME events to showcase the great stuff the do.

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The also have a guarantee that every event is 100% unique, meaning that they never duplicated and get creative with their offerings to make sure your event is 100 % yours and totally tailored to you!  PLUS, they are GREEN!  We love our partners in enviromental stewardship, as if we did think they were the bee’s knees anyhow!  This company is definitely a must for the event that needs something a little bit over the top and out of this world, plus they are super nice!  If you are planning an event, definitely check them out!  Happy planning everyone!

Check out our website at www.culinarycrafts.com!

Images provided by In The Event

Recently, the Speed exhibit opened at the Utah Museum of Fine Art and we at Culinary Crafts were honored to cater the opening Gala, which was a DEFINITE highlight for the Salt Lake social scene in 2012!  What is the Speed exhibit, you might ask?  Well, the UMFA describes it this way: “This special exhibition will explore the art of the automobile, featuring antique and vintage racing cars that exemplify the beauty of vehicles designed for speed. Artistry and engineering come together in these functional yet highly crafted works of art.”  So lovers of cars and lovers of art unite to enjoy this special showing of some of the most elite and expensive cars around – but the cars almost took second seat to the beautiful gowns, jewels, and finery that came out for it’s premier gala.  So, buckle up, hold tight, and take a look at the opening gala for Speed: The Art of the Performance Automobile!

The event began with a VIP reception complete with Oysters on the Half Shell, Foie Gras, and Caviar!  YUM!

The large shrimp & crab bar with a 3D ice sculpture was made in the image of the Duesenberg masterpiece car.  How cool is that?

The main event featured festive action stations such as the Smoked Pork Shoulder with Papaya and Tomato Relish station and Basil Chicken with Grilled Rainbow Peppers station.

Guests danced the night away to our flaming desserts, macaroons, and be-dazzled bonbons.  What a showstopping night!

A gorgeous Art Deco night full of fabulous food, stellar cars, and a breathtaking venue!  And, remember, the Speed exhibit will be at the UMFA until September 16th – and you don’t want to miss it!  Happy driving (and dreaming!) everyone!

Check out our website at www.culinarycrafts.com!

Photos by Keith Westerberg

Today, I want to share another of Culinary Crafts’s favorite downtown venues, The Hope Gallery!  The Hope Gallery boasts one of the most breathtaking and beautiful collections of art around (between the 2 Salt Lake collections and one in Park City), not to mention the main Salt Lake City location is a STUNNING venue for someone wanting something a little different and appreciates great artists and their work!  Your guests will be pleased and definitely have a lot to admire!!!  Take a look!

We love the gorgeous setting that The Hope Gallery creates and you can definitely see the possibilities of an AMAZING event, like this one we did there recently.  The Hope Gallery is a fantastic choice for any wedding reception or party and it’s also just a hop, skip, and jump away from Culinary Crafts’s new downtown offices!  So you can tour the space right after meeting with us to decide on any number of fabulous linens we have that would be gorgeous there!  Happy planning everyone!

Check out our website at www.culinarycrafts.com!

Photos via Logan Walker of Pepper Nix Photography

Today, I want to share one of Culinary Crafts’s FAVORITE downtown venues, the McCune Mansion!  This gorgeous gem is in the heart of Salt Lake City and is a favorite for someone seeking the epitome of elegance, beauty, and grandeur for their event.  We are lucky enough to have done many show stopping events there throughout the years and are always amazed at the stunning architecture and gorgeously appointed rooms that the McCune Mansion boasts.  Whether you are hoping to hold a beautiful ceremony, drop-dead gorgeous reception, or one of a kind corporate event, the McCune Mansion is the perfect place for you!!!  Take a look!

What an AMAZING place, right?  We love the McCune Mansion and are simply thrilled to be able to offer such a space to our clients!  Happy planning everyone!

Check out our website at www.culinarycrafts.com!

Photos courtesy of Pepper Nix Photography and Logan Walker of Pepper Nix Photography

It’s here!!!  We are so THRILLED to share our new offices and venue with you all!  The Tasting Room had its Grand Opening on Tuesday and it was amazing – Great food, gorgeous venue, and fabulous people!  You can’t get better than that!  Without further ado, take a look at The Tasting Room, starting with the menu which was TO DIE FOR!!!

Gorgeous, right!?  We are so happy to call this space our home and share offices with the fantastic people of Events by LMG and Pepper Nix Photography!  This is truly a dream come true and we are so lucky to have such a beautiful and unique venue in downtown Salt Lake City!!!  Mary would also like to offer a special thanks to her friend, Chef Eric Levine, for his inspiration and recipes which gave her so many great ideas for this special night. Friends like Eric and The International Caterers Association are a huge part of Culinary Crafts success today, so from the bottom of our hearts, thank you! Happy Thursday everyone!

Check out our website at www.culinarycrafts.com!

Photos by Logan Walker of Pepper Nix Photography

Floral Design by Scenemakers