A very funny and unsuspected joy from our reception was the catering staff. The CUTE catering staff. It wasn't me who said or even noticed that they were attractive, it was my younger cousins and college friends. A few asked, "did you hand select the staff?" and "Of course she would have cute boys serving us". But I tell you, I really had no idea. I just chose the caterer based on their food! If the staff was cute, bonus!Heeheee ;)
Blog title is from song by Eric Carmen
Our caterer, Pure Joy Catering, was amazing. We were able to do a take home tasting and attend their open house tasting, both times very impressed with their food and quite excited to share this meal with our guests. Our menu was based on food we tried at the tastings, foods we like to eat, some decadence, local fare, and fresh finds. Appetizer menu:
Ocean fresh ceviche in crisp tortilla cups.
Grilled skewered prawns and scallops wrapped in maple cured bacon. (This was the crowd favorite)
Ribbons of grilled filet on toasted circles with olive tapenade, arugula, & roasted garlic aoli.Cheese table! I stood by this table and ate brie. A lot of brie.
Caught stuffing our faces ;)
Dinner was served buffet style. I don't really have photos of the buffet table. I think this is due to everyone stuffing their faces ;)
The Dinner Menu included:Local salad greens, Farmer's Market strawberries, and Hass avocados with balsamic vinaigrette.
Beautiful platters of fresh grilled fall vegetables with a virgin oil herb drizzle.Oven roasted red rose potatoes with herbes de provence. (I love potatoes and these were marvelous)
Portebello mushroom raviolis with browned sage butter. (Another crowd favorite)
Chef carved Bistecca Florentina.
Top sirloin marinated in fine Chianti, rosemary, and garlic and char grilled to perfection. Served with Chianti Jus.
Oven roasted salmon with sun dried tomatoes, pine nut crust, and fresh tomato coulis. (My favorite dish!)
Our guests went back for seconds (some for thirds). There was so much food and we enjoyed it so much. Here are various guests' plates:
My favorite bite was the salmon. I wish I had eaten more of it. The potatoes (I am a potato fiend) came in a close second. Hubs enjoyed both steak options.I sometimes wish we could have another party or something so that we could have Pure Joy cater it. They took care of our food, our drinks, and all of our ware (plates, linens, silverware, glasses). Their event planner worked with Anna to ensure we had every detail we could possibly need. Food was prepared at their kitchen and on site, and a conscious effort of green and sustainable food was present. They are a serious one stop shop and professional to boot! Now I am hungry ;)
We attended our caterer's annual bridal open house today. It's their main tasting event for this year's brides, where they served the most popular/well received dishes on the menu. With the weather a perfect, sunny 70 degrees, it was great timing for this event.
Upon entrance, there was an assortment of welcome beverages available: iced tea, guava passion fruit, icy jamaica, fresh squeezed lemonade, and berry spritzer. This would also be available to guests during cocktail hour at our reception. 
Local florist, Kaleidoscope Flowers, provided the arrangements. I was in love with every arrangement I saw :) 
Tall arrangements adorned the food tables. They provided me with great ideas for our reception.
Smaller arrangements were on guest tables. I love their use of coral into the flowers and orchids are so pretty.
Appetizers were passed around. It was a bit difficult to taste everything because they were being snapped up by guests rather quickly. We did enjoy the ocean fresh ceviche in crisp tortilla cups. It's perfect for a seaside affair.
They also had macaroni with gruyere. Totally delicious. Other appetizers included: cocktail hamburgers, grilled garlic beef with cilantro pesto, white cheddar cheese quesedillas with brie, and filo pear & gorgonzola triangles. 
The "Honey, I shrank the Chicken Entree Station" had my favorite design. Mini portions of lemon caper chicken, chicken roulade, and braized chicken provencal were placed on trays of rocks heated by tealights.
There was a chef manned pasta station that offered gnocchi, garden marinara, parmesana alfredo, fresh spinach, and the most delicious portobello mushroom raviolis. We were undecided on pasta as a side, but this may have convinced us to go for it. 
The carving station was a popular stop for everyone. Tri tip and tenderloin filet were served on bite sized bread with a variety of dipping sauces. My favorite sauce was the mango salsa. We really like this idea for our reception. Guests can choose their meat portion size and favorite sauce.
Another food we would like at the reception would be a fish dish. The seafood station provided grilled salmon with uva rosso sauce, sundried tomato crusted salmon, and parchment enveloped pistachio crusted tilapia. Salmon is my favorite fish, so we are leaning towards that. Fish is also lighter than beef, giving our guests a nice option. 
To close the day, dessert was available to take home. It was another popular station and something to consider for the end of the reception.
I love the take out boxes for the desserts :) All in all the day was a success. While we didn't get a chance to taste everything on the menu, we got a very good idea of their catering style and narrowed down our wedding menu selections. We met local vendors (florist, muscians, rentals, photobooth) to consider working with and local couples. We even saw Jeff Lewis, of Bravo's Flipping Out, and his team enjoying themselves.
I like the idea of an open house for the experience it provides. The open house showed us professionalism, the staff's enjoyment in their jobs, the quality of food, and their event management skills. With this event running smoothly, we can be confident of the same at our reception. So we are happy that not only does our caterer cater, they are a full service event specialist :)
We are also convinced about having a photobooth at the wedding :)
How has your catering and tasting experience gone? Did you attend a huge catering event or do private tastings?
Our caterer is having an Open House next weekend where we'll get another opportunity to taste their food. They will be serving a spread of their most popular options giving us a chance to sample everything and narrow down our choices. After enjoying our first tasting we are looking forward to the wider variety we will experience here. We will also get a chance to see how food is displayed, how tables are arranged, and how the staff works. I'm really excited.All of this has got me thinking about the type of service we want at the wedding: buffet style or sit-down dinner. It was easy to decide that we want our guests to be greeted with drinks, hors d'oeuvres passed around, one appetizer/themed station, and an open bar, but this whole service thing is a bit more complicated. Add the opinions from the family and the decision has been difficult.Both buffet and sit down dinners have their good points and there is definitely a distinction between the two. Buffets allow you more time to socialize and choose your own portions, and sit-downs let you relax and get pretty plates of food. To help ease the decision I compiled a list of what we like and don't like about each style.Buffet Pros:- Guests can socialize while in line allowing the photographer a chance to get some nice shots
- Guests can choose their portion size, sides, entrees, and return for seconds, even thirds
- We can have a themed table or carving station for tri-tip
- We don't have to worry about organizing who gets what entree (fish, meat, veggie)
Buffet Cons:- Some guests will get their food before others
- Not as easy as being served
Sit-down Dinner Pros:- Food arrives plated beautifully
- Easier for older guests and kids
- Everyone gets their food around the same time, less time spent waiting
Sit-down Dinner Cons:- Having to track who ordered which entree
- Figuring out a way to cleverly note it on escort cards/make it look like part of the design
- Guests could change their minds
- Portions will all be the same, leaving some people hungry
Right now we're leaning towards the buffet. We just want the food service to go as smooth as possible. Also we might compromise with sit-down service for salads, and then buffet for the sides and entrees. Of course there's also the family style service... How did you decide on your dinner service? What are your experiences with buffet and sit down dinners? Do you have a preference?Breaking News: Tom and Gisele got married!!
Blog title is from lyrics by Tegan and Sara
One unique way to experience our caterer's menu is a 'backdoor' tasting. Couples who have booked Pure Joy are invited to pick up a to-go sampling of the food served at a wedding, asked to arrive after dinner service is completed, and directed to come to the venue's kitchen entrance, hence the term 'backdoor'. We were invited to one a few weeks ago and came out with tasty results.We arrived at 8pm to Rockwood Women's Center. There was another couple that joined us as we met with the event coordinator and the chef. They had packed us each a lovely basket filled with samples of the appetizers, salad, entrees, and dessert. We also received a complimentary bottle of champagne :)
The salad consisted of field greens, feta cheese, dried cranberries, walnuts, and topped with a light orange vinaigrette. There was also a side of fresh veggies with tasty beet puree. 
One entree was tri-tip with grilled zucchini, squash, bell peppers, and peas. The meat was tender and spiced well, with tasty veggies swimming in sauce. 
Another entree was chicken and pasta. The chicken was cooked in a tomato sauce and was sooo tender. The pasta had a light garlic sauce and complimented the chicken nicely.
In lieu of wedding cake, the couple opted for a cheesecake bar. The cheesecake was scooped into martini glasses and guests could choose from an array of toppings. In our to-go container we got a little scoop of cheesecake with all the toppings: raspberries, blackberries, pineapple, chocolate chips, M&Ms, oreo pieces, and a caramel sauce. So sweet and so delicious.
Champagne was a nice treat at the end of the meal.We enjoyed this kind of tasting because we tasted food that was served at an actual wedding. It was the best example of the quality and type of food, a very honest example of their real menu. Overall, we were very satisfied with the tasting. While the menu may not necessarily be what we will choose, it gives us a better perspective of the food Pure Joy serves. I can't wait until the next tasting.
How did your tasting go? What kind of food did you enjoy?
Blog title is from lyrics by Ohio Express
Our caterer choice was another easy choice. While there are plenty of good caterers in Santa Barbara, we narrowed the choice to two and went with our gut ;)
We attended a wedding show in September at the Earl Warren Showgrounds in SB. The main reason I wanted to go to the show was to meet the people of Pure Joy Catering who had a booth at the event. I had visited their website frequently for a few weeks, and looked over their menu soooo many times that I wanted to experience what they were all about. As luck would have it we were approached by Colleen, the event planner who happens handle all Pure Joy catering at our reception venue (our location must be that popular). She gave us her card and we contacted her a bit later about their availability, contracts, menu options, etc.
Pure Joy was founded by Executive Chef Lynette La Mere, is a community staple, and even The Knot Best of Weddings 2008 Pick for Best Central California Caterer. They offer full service catering and special event planning to Santa Barbara, Montecito, and surrounding areas. With an experienced team of event managers and staff, they are able to work with you to create proposals, discuss menu items and service style, help with rentals, design a lovely space, and bring your vision to life. And I love seeing their vans parked around the city :)
Their menu is filled with variety to fit your style (meat, seafood, veggie), specialty stations (mashed potato bar, ceviche station, wok station), and a nice array of side and salad options. But my favorite part of their menu is the dessert options! More specifically the cheese cake bar and ice cream sundae bar, which would definitely delight our guests with an end of the night treat. These bars allow guests to get a scoop of cheese cake or ice cream and choose from a variety of toppings like warm caramel dulce de leche, fresh raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, chocolate chip, oreos, sprinkles, toasted almonds, coconut shavings and M&M's. Mmm mouth is watering.I love PJC's website. It's very accessible, menu items are listed so you can anticipate what you like and don't like, they provide a helpful vendor page that lists SB vendors they have worked with before, there is a photo gallery of yummy inspirations, a location source page helps brides scoute places in SB, they offer green efforts, and there is ease in contacting them. Colleen has been a great help with planning so far. We will probably meet with in the next month or so to discuss the lay out and design of our venue. We have just had our first tasting (more on that soon) and will be attending Pure Joy's Exclusive Annual Bridal Tasting and Open House in March. How did you find your caterer? Was it a simple process? What was your favorite part?****
side note cos I love the Lakers: Obama endorses Kobe :)
Blog title is from song by Ohio Express
Upon entrance, there was an assortment of welcome beverages available: iced tea, guava passion fruit, icy jamaica, fresh squeezed lemonade, and berry spritzer. This would also be available to guests during cocktail hour at our reception. 
Local florist, Kaleidoscope Flowers, provided the arrangements. I was in love with every arrangement I saw :) 
Tall arrangements adorned the food tables. They provided me with great ideas for our reception.
Smaller arrangements were on guest tables. I love their use of coral into the flowers and orchids are so pretty.
Appetizers were passed around. It was a bit difficult to taste everything because they were being snapped up by guests rather quickly. We did enjoy the ocean fresh ceviche in crisp tortilla cups. It's perfect for a seaside affair.
They also had macaroni with gruyere. Totally delicious. Other appetizers included: cocktail hamburgers, grilled garlic beef with cilantro pesto, white cheddar cheese quesedillas with brie, and filo pear & gorgonzola triangles. 
The "Honey, I shrank the Chicken Entree Station" had my favorite design. Mini portions of lemon caper chicken, chicken roulade, and braized chicken provencal were placed on trays of rocks heated by tealights.
There was a chef manned pasta station that offered gnocchi, garden marinara, parmesana alfredo, fresh spinach, and the most delicious portobello mushroom raviolis. We were undecided on pasta as a side, but this may have convinced us to go for it. 
The carving station was a popular stop for everyone. Tri tip and tenderloin filet were served on bite sized bread with a variety of dipping sauces. My favorite sauce was the mango salsa. We really like this idea for our reception. Guests can choose their meat portion size and favorite sauce.
Another food we would like at the reception would be a fish dish. The seafood station provided grilled salmon with uva rosso sauce, sundried tomato crusted salmon, and parchment enveloped pistachio crusted tilapia. Salmon is my favorite fish, so we are leaning towards that. Fish is also lighter than beef, giving our guests a nice option. 
To close the day, dessert was available to take home. It was another popular station and something to consider for the end of the reception.
I love the take out boxes for the desserts :) 
We are also convinced about having a photobooth at the wedding :)
One unique way to experience our caterer's menu is a 'backdoor' tasting. Couples who have booked Pure Joy are invited to pick up a to-go sampling of the food served at a wedding, asked to arrive after dinner service is completed, and directed to come to the venue's kitchen entrance, hence the term 'backdoor'. We were invited to one a few weeks ago and came out with tasty results.
The salad consisted of field greens, feta cheese, dried cranberries, walnuts, and topped with a light orange vinaigrette. There was also a side of fresh veggies with tasty beet puree. 
One entree was tri-tip with grilled zucchini, squash, bell peppers, and peas. The meat was tender and spiced well, with tasty veggies swimming in sauce. 
Another entree was chicken and pasta. The chicken was cooked in a tomato sauce and was sooo tender. The pasta had a light garlic sauce and complimented the chicken nicely.
In lieu of wedding cake, the couple opted for a cheesecake bar. The cheesecake was scooped into martini glasses and guests could choose from an array of toppings. In our to-go container we got a little scoop of cheesecake with all the toppings: raspberries, blackberries, pineapple, chocolate chips, M&Ms, oreo pieces, and a caramel sauce. So sweet and so delicious.
Champagne was a nice treat at the end of the meal.
