Archive for October, 2011

Dude…Office Food?

Tuesday, October 25th, 2011

With the holidays right around the corner, many companies will have catering brought into the office. Finding the balance of what you want, where you will put it, and if it can be produced and served properly is not always easy. Start by looking at the number of guests in attendance. As a general rule, you need one buffet line for every 50 to 60 guests if it is served as a full meal. Do you have this kind of space? Do you have a kitchen, oven, or sink? Throwing the caterer in a back hallway or supply room and hoping for the best does not always work! Remember that action stations create lingering aromas and can quickly fill an office enviroment. Try to stagger you staff so they are not all hitting the buffet or station at once. Are you allowed to have open flame or sterno on your property? Do you have the proper electrical outlets? Remember, industrial coffee makers blow fuses easily!
What looks great in the magazines does not always translate into an office space with no kitchen facility. Keep things simple, abundant and beautiful and you will save on food costs, labor and decor. Good looking ideas do not always have a practical application!
A focused meal or culinary experience that is plentiful and artfully displayed always garners good results. Delicious breakfast pastry with some type of egg casserole, hot coffee and juices is crowd pleasing and cost effective. Sandwiches with hot soup, an afternoon cookie and cocoa station, wine and cheese with antipastas, or even happy hour munchies will make your employees feel special.
Start by taking a focused menu such as a Dessert Buffet Station and make the display stellar with a few specialty linens and buffet enhancements. If there are grids or beams above the table, hang candles or lanterns, beads, snowflakes or wreaths. Use a color story that enhances the food and beverage and works with things you might already own. Make your event an experience rather than a deli tray on the employee lunch table.
If you need some suggestions on how to make your employees feel appreciated this holiday season, call us! We have extensive menu ideas and decor to help you celebrate in SBFD style. What is the best culinary item you have ever had at a work function? We would like to know!

Rob Schaefer
Holiday Cheer Provider and St. Louis Wedding Professional Hall of Fame Inaugural Inductee

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Fall Open House This Thursday!

Monday, October 17th, 2011

Fall Open House at Coronado Ballroom Benefiting Food Outreach

Missouri Meetings & Events and Steven Becker Catering would like to invite you to attend an Open House & “Familiarization” tour at Coronado Ballroom and Meeting Facility

When: Thursday, October 20, 2011 • 4:30-7:30 p.m.

Where: Coronado Ballroom and Meeting Facility 3701 Lindell Boulevard | St. Louis, Missouri 63108 – (next to St. Louis University)

Why: Learn how to improve your holiday company party while keeping under budget. Also…
* Unique behind the scene KITCHEN tour of the Coronado
* Sample food STRAIGHT from the oven and enjoy signature cocktails
* Special presentation by Rob Schaefer that will include tips for planning an event with displays for both holiday and non-traditional themes!
* Every attendee will receive a parting gift

WIN BIG! The company that donates the most cans will win breakfast for up to 10 people delivered to the office, courtesy of Steven Becker Catering.

Think a company holiday party is too frivolous this year? Or maybe, YOUR COMPANY IS PRACTICING “The Fear Of Cheer” Learn how to party for a cause while helping others this holiday season!

Cost: Admission to this event will be in the form of donating canned goods for Food Outreach.

What to bring: Food Outreach is able to immediately incorporate the following canned foods into its nutrition center: Tuna Fish, Turkey, Chicken, Salmon, Corn, Green Beans, Mixed Vegetables, Mandarin Oranges, Pineapple Chunks, Peaches and Applesauce

Parking: is available on the Scottish Rite Lot for $1 per hour and the Moolah Garage (maximum $3). Street parking is also available.

Please RSVP by Tuesday, October 18, 2011. Space is limited to meeting and event planners, so call or email today! Vikki Matthews, (314) 781-8880, ext. 103, vmatthews@meetmags.com

Check the label! FRESH goods only, please. For more information, visit www.FoodOutreach.org

Join us for this special FAM & open house to help Food Outreach stock their shelves!

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Internship Opportunity at The Coronado Ballroom

Thursday, October 13th, 2011

Trying to break into the event coordination or wedding planning business and need experience? Looking for a little extra for your resume?

Steven Becker Fine Dining and The Coronado Ballroom, a premier event facility and catering company in St. Louis is looking to hire an Events Coordinator Intern. We are currently looking for a talented, motivated, independent thinking and creative student or recent graduate for internship opportunities in our office. Internship days and hours are flexible, and can be worked around class, extra-curricular activities and work schedules.

Intern duties include, but are not limited to: answering phones, learning Caterease event management software, assisting with processing corporate catering delivery orders, assist with the planning and execution of all aspects of events and wedding receptions, marketing and eblast promotions and assisting Catering Managers at event sites. Candidates will work directly with the Director of Sales and Vice President of Catering and Design, along with the client, from first contact all the way through their event day to ensure that the details of their event go exactly as they dream. Applicants should be able to listen to instructions and carefully and correctly follow directions.

Please send resumes to kathy@stevenbeckerfd.com. Your resume should demonstrate the following qualifications:

Strong Interest in Industry ~ Applicants should have some previous event planning experience.

Personality ~ Applicants should be detail oriented, personable, assertive, motivated, independent, resourceful, quick moving and able to multi-task, good at handling objections and issues, have a great work ethic, and of course enjoy events!

Availability ~ Applicants must be available to work weekday evenings and up to 12 hours on Saturdays and/or Sundays during the event.

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SECOND ANNUAL “BLISSFUL WISHES” BALL TO BE HELD ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2011 AT THE CORONADO BALLROOM!

Friday, October 7th, 2011

Fundraising Gala to be Emceed by Former Blues Enforcer, Tony Twist. Retired Hockey Player is “Taking His Gloves Off” in the Pursuit of Love and Marriage for One Glamorous Evening.

WHAT: The St. Louis Chapter of Wish Upon a Wedding, the world’s first non-profit wedding wish granting organization is holding its inaugural “Blissful Wishes” Ball to benefit its programs and mission. Monies raised during the evening will allow the organization to continue its mission of granting weddings and vow renewals to couples facing terminal illness and other serious, life-altering circumstances. Local wedding industry professionals and founding board members, James Robert Schaefer and Nancy Slade are co-chairing the event.
Tony Twist, former left wing player for the St. Louis Blues and one of the heaviest NHL punchers of his time, will serve as the event’s emcee. Twist retired from the St. Louis Blues in 1999 after an eleven-year playing career. He is now a co-host of post-game shows after televised Blues games and is known for his charity and community work in the St. Louis area.

WHO: The St. Louis Chapter of Wish Upon a Wedding is one of more than two dozen local chapters of Wish Upon a Wedding throughout the United States and was founded in March, 2010. The chapter granted its first wish on September 1, 2010 by making the dream of walking down the aisle and marrying her fiancé come true for a young Fenton women suffering from end-stage cystic fibrosis. The chapter has since granted two additional wedding wishes.
Nationally, the organization was founded by wedding planner Liz Guthrie of San Jose, CA, founded Wish Upon a Wedding to celebrate the courage, determination and spirit of these couples by granting dream-wedding wishes, with the intention that chosen recipients will inspire others facing similar situations. Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, and officially launched in January, 2010, the organization currently has more than two dozen chapters nationwide, and has granted approximately 20 wishes since its inception Wish Upon a Wedding is organized as a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization.

WHERE: The Coronado Ballroom, 3701 Lindell Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63108.

WHEN: November 20, 2010 from 6:00 to 11:00 p.m. Tickets to the event are $100 per person and may be purchased on-line at: http://wuwgalasaintlouis.eventbrite.com/. Ticket price is $100 per person. The chapter is also seeking event sponsors and auction items. Please contact Nancy Slade, fundraising chair at stlouisfundraising@wishuponawedding.org. For more information on Wish Upon a Wedding, please visit: www.wishuponawedding.org.

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Finding Your Perfect Something Old, New, Borrowed, and Blue

Thursday, October 6th, 2011

One of the questions I love to discuss with brides is what their something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue will be. Yet sometimes, this tradition can cause more stress than necessary, as brides try to find their perfect items. Below is a little bit of background on each, and a few examples to get your creative juices flowing to help you find your perfect items.

Each item represents a good-luck token for the bride and it is believed if she carries all of them on her wedding day, her marriage will be happy. Something Old symbolizes continuity of the past and moving into the future. This item can be an antique, an heirloom object, or a sentimental piece that represents the bride’s past. You could use a childhood pillow for the ring bearer’s pillow or wear a childhood treasure (like a ring, bracelet, rosary, or locket), borrow a friend or relative’s handkerchief, or wear heirloom jewelry or a veil that has been handed down. You can also go vintage: carry a vintage purse or compact mirror, wear a vintage headpiece, or wrap vintage ribbon around your bouquet. You could also take some of your mother’s or grandmother’s wedding gown fabric or lace and sew it inside your gown or simply place a sentimental picture in a locket and wrap it around your bouquet (could be of you and your groom as children or your parents or grandparents on their wedding day). What I love about the “Something Old,” is it could also be as simple as wearing your signature perfume scent.

Something New traditionally means optimism and hope for the bride’s new life ahead. This one should be the easiest and can be as simple as your new wedding dress or veil, but you could also carry a new purse, wear new jewelry, the perfect new shoes, or new lingerie. Another idea is to carry a custom-made handkerchief with your new initials embroidered on it.

Something Borrowed has traditionally been an item from a happily married friend or family member, whose good fortune in marriage is supposed to carry over to the new bride and it represents borrowed happiness. It can also be something borrowed from a friend or relative and reminds the bride that she can depend on her friends and family. A lot of the something old items mentioned can also be translated into something borrowed, but you could borrow a handkerchief, headpiece, jewelry, or veil, or simply borrow a wedding cake cutting set or cake topper. Make sure it’s something you want to return the owner, as traditionally is should be given back.

Something Blue traditionally represents love, good fortune, and fidelity. It can be as simple as a blue garter, blue shoes, or blue lingerie, but also consider incorporating ice-blue into the mix: a simple sash to compliment your gown or paint your toenails ice blue. You can also use blue ribbon to wrap your bouquet or on the groom’s boutonniere or wear sapphire, tanzanite, opals, or aqua marine jewelry.

There are so many other examples and the lists are never ending. I hope that you find whatever fits you perfectly and you can find inspiration in these examples. Wishing you happy planning!

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