Hi, it’s Wendy Werner here, and I am so delighted to be asked to be a guest writer for Jean’s Good Food blog. Of course would I prefer to be tagging along on that trip to France with Jean? You bet I would. But since I can’t make it this time, like the rest of you I will just have to wait until she returns to see the images and hear the stories of her food adventures. That is something we can all look forward to.
It’s Labor Day and that means that it should be a day when none of us is at work. It just never seems to turn out that way. By day I am a career and executive coach, and I also work to help organizations function more effectively. At night and on the weekends I am a home cook. And like most home cooks I am always looking for good ideas and new things to make. I have an advantage over most people. My office is located upstairs in a building owned by a caterer, and not just any caterer. This is Something Elegant Catering, owned and operated by Linda Pilcher.
The good news about the location is that day in and day out the kitchen downstairs is making fabulous food. That’s the bad news too. Can you imagine working in an environment where the aromas of mini chocolate cupcakes are wafting upstairs, or some later afternoon when you are getting a bit hungry that you can tell that the beef tenderloins just came off the grill? Linda has always been focused on great flavors, local produce and excellent service. And she shops the farmers markets to get as many things as possible right off the vine.
Well, welcome to my world. The really good news is that sometimes I am invited to Linda’s home for dinner, and I have also been involved in a number of photo sessions here at the kitchen. In addition to my work in the business world, I am an avid photographer, and find that taking pictures of food is a lot of fun, particularly if you get to take a bite when the photo shoot is over. And better than that I get to be around the ‘world of food’ without having to do all of the work. I get to ask questions of a very knowledgeable professional, and learn about all of the newest trends in food and cooking.
One of the things that I have learned by my geographic “affiliation” with Something Elegant Catering, is how much better food tastes if you eat what is in season—and if you can—what is grown in your own region. One of the other things that I have learned is that knowing your food supplier can help you when it comes to food quality. Attention to detail helps, too. So take your time and your food could look like this.
When people think about having a celebration – they often decide to go out somewhere. But it can be more fun to have an event catered at your home; so when the party is over you don’t have to go anywhere. And you can count on the Something Elegant staff to leave your kitchen in tip top shape. I know that, because I often run downstairs to see what’s been cooking and I know how great the kitchen looks here at the end of the day.
So if you are considering hosting a party at your home, or having an event. You may want to decide that it’s your own Labor Day, your day not to labor and have someone else provide the food. You will have a great guide to help you decide what to have and it will be prepared to your tastes. So that is my thought about Labor Day; tomorrow it’s back to work for sure.
