DO YOU MAKE THINGS FANCY AT YOUR JOB?

What’s your job and how did you start?  Before you had a job, did you think of how it would look? Can you make it fancy?  How would you describe it?

Those were the questions on the survey I filled out for Lucy Schmidt’s 3^rd grade class, who teaches at World Academy, an elementary charter school in East Oakland.

The class was doing an “investigation into imagination.”  I had so much fun answering their questions that they invited me into their class to give a presentation on what I do for my job.

“You know what I do for a living? I plan parties, how awesome is that?!  I get to be really creative and make people happy with the work I do, and I have a ton of fun.”

I divided the class of 18 kids into 4 groups. Chefs, servers, party planners, and drink makers.  The chefs wore chef hats and piped whipped cream cheese onto crostini and topped them with dried cherries, apricots, and golden raisins.  The servers wore aprons, and passed the appetizers the chefs made on trays and handed out business cards and cocktail napkins.  The drink makers mixed two types of Italian sodas, came up with names for their drinks, and decorated them with straws and umbrellas.  The party planners decorated desks with tablecloths, garlands, vases, and ostrich feathers and also flipped through cookbooks to find fun recipes.  The kids had a blast, and I was thrilled to be part of such a fun day before going back to work for some slightly more serious planning.

xx,

Marianne Jackson

marianne@leftcoastcatering.com

Please join me for my  featured 3-course dinner at Coffee Bar Cafe in Potrero Hill on Saturday, March 19. Three courses is just $35, with wine pairings by Coffee Bar for an extra $20. There are two seatings to choose from – either at 6:30 or 8:30. To make a reservation email the number of people in your party, the time you would like to dine, and your phone number to: henry@leftcoastcatering.com

Below is the invitation with the details and the menu – I hope to see you there!

And here are some notes on the menu:

FIRST COURSE: Nothing screams, ‘Spring‘ to me like Green Garlic soup. I’m going to finish this dish with herb croutons and a drizzle of Mani Olive Oil, which I believe is one of the greatest oils on the planet. Mani Olive Oil is made from the Koreneikoi variety of olive that are grown from small producers on the Mani peninsula in Southern Greece. I was introduced to this oil on Top Chef by Eli when we were cooking for Joel Robuchon. He pulled it from a box of ‘secret ingredients‘ and we used it as a finishing element for our dish – poached lobster, cauliflower puree, and sauce American. Lets just say that Chef Robuchon went wild.

SECOND COURSE option 1: This will be my interpretation of the traditional Coq au Vin. We use Mary’s Free Range Chicken from Pittman Family Farms in the San Joaquin Valley. They are air chilled, which saves 30,000 gallons of chlorinated water every day, and produces a better tasting chicken. Without the added water they produce a crispier skin.

SECOND COURSE option 2: Soft Egg, pipperade, and polenta – I learned to make pipperade when I was the Sous-Chef at Moose’s  in 1992.  After busy nights of service, feeding 250-300 hungry folks, my favorite meal was a warm bowl of polenta topped with pipperade and parmesan cheese. A real comforting dish and  one I still crave. With  the welcomed  addition of the soft boiled egg, I am sure you will be licking the bowl to get every last morsel of flavor.

THIRD COURSE: Chocolate pretzel tart – I made recently  as part of a beer dinner I hosted in collaboration with Marin brewing company for beer week. It was a crowd favorite and deserves another showing.

xx,

LW

Dear Left Coast,

Rich’s 40th party is one of our highlights of the year thanks to your thoughtfulness, care, and awesome food.  We are truly grateful for the experience and it’s a party that isstill talked about among our friends.  Thanks again to you and your staff.

Tricia, Rich and Gracie

Below is the menu from their dinner:

LEFT COAST REMEMBERS…
Erin may well have been the most mellow and decisive bride we have ever
worked with. She knew what she wanted and that made working
with her a breeze. Her color scheme was blue, red, white, and grey
without being patriotic. The linens were Wedgewood blue with white
napkins topped with simple white vases and red dahlias. The look was
stunning. Her friends and family were a delight to serve, and they loved the
entire evening right down to the fried chicken bites!

Sandwiches from Left Coast Catering on Vimeo.

The history of a sandwich by LEFT COAST CATERING. We don’t normally try to make people hungry – our goal is to feed hungry people – but if this makes you want a sandwich then give us a call: 415-934-0600 or email us at marianne@leftcoastcatering.com. WE DELIVER!

Thanks to Nick Gage for his incredible music.

Here are some photos from the event:

– smoked trout salad, shaved fennel and radish, watercress, on a house-made potato chip

– Bacon and caramelized onion savory tart

– our chefs hard at work making thousands of delicious passed appetizers

– One of the many food displays placed throughout the California Academy of Sciences

– Another buffet of tiny tasty sandwiches

THE MENU:

To see more photographs from the event click here. Here is their menu: