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Great,BigCATERERS

2525The catering business is really cooking. In our annual look at the biggest caterers around, the trends run from high-tech tools—how about menus matched to your personality via RFID?—to old-fashioned favorite foods. Wine dinners are coming back, Mason jars may be going away, and get ready for the reinvention of the cheese ball—in a good way! Edited by Lisa Hurley

8TH ANNUAL

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50th wedding anniversary, and an elaborate, annual out-of-town dinner for 850 guests. The China operations saw a week-long contract for the first Formula E Race for electric Grand Prix cars in Beijing, and a dinner for 960 for a major international corporation on the Great Wall.SIGNATURE STYLE The company’s specialty is contemporary West Coast cuisine combined with attentive personal service, management says.TOP TRENDS “Local and sustainable remain at the forefront for food, wine, decor and floral in our market,” the Culinary Capers team says. “Chef-presented action stations are still popular. Extravagant dessert displays are another ongoing hot trend. Rustic service with style in unique industrial and rural locales is a frequent current request for event settings.”

DESIGN CUISINE, ARLINGTON, VA.www.designcuisine.comCEO Kathy Valentine2015 EVENT COUNT FORECAST 2,5002015 REVENUE FORECAST $24 million to $27 millionON SITE Union Station, Washington, and the George Washington estate, Mount Vernon, Va.NOTEWORTHY EVENTS Galas galore over the past year, including the National Trust on the Mall Gala, Wolf Trap Ball, Lone Sailor Awards Dinner, and WPA Art Auction Gala.SIGNATURE STYLE Management credits its growth from a small boutique caterer to a leader in the Washington marketplace to three big strengths: the development of a knowledgeable, responsive sales staff, the creation of a highly organized professional kitchen, and the acquisition of an extensive collection of unique rental equipment and linens. “Now, after 30 years of leading the

Brae Loch Golf Club, Grayslake; Banner Picnic Grounds, Lake Forest; and Tamarack Picnic Grounds, Lincolnshire—all in Illinois.NOTEWORTHY EVENTS Busy this year with NFL Draft Town, Lollapalooza, University of Chicago Alumni Weekend, Subaru National Business Conference, Grainger and Siemens corporate picnics, and Mariano’s Fresh Markets grand opening galas.SIGNATURE STYLE “We continually create and deliver exceptional service, presentation and cuisine that is customized to reflect our clients personal taste and style,” management says. “We believe strongly in sustainable practices. Since our industry is one of extreme excess and waste, we feel a great responsibility to help impact change and do our part to forge a greener future.”TOP TRENDS “Brides are finally willing to step away from the Mason jars but ‘DIY’ is still thriving for weddings,” management says. “Beverage programs are huge right now. The craft cocktail scene has made its way into events and catering in a huge way. Ethnic foods seem to be of less interest to clients this year, and they are choosing more modern takes on traditional favorites.”

CULINARY CAPERS CATERING AND SPECIAL EVENTS, VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIAwww.culinarycapers.comCEO Debra Lykkemark, CEO; Michael Harries, COO; Billy Kawaja, president/Beijing2015 EVENT COUNT FORECAST 1,500 to 2,000 staffed; 1,000 to 1,500 drop-off2015 REVENUE FORECAST $12 millionON SITE Waterview, Vancouver, British Columbia.NOTEWORTHY EVENTS Highlights of the year have included three “spectacular days” of events in Canada for a client celebrating a

BUBBLE FOOD, LONDONwww.bubblefood.comCEO Michael Collins2015 EVENT COUNT FORECAST 5002015 REVENUE FORECAST $20 million to $25 millionNOTEWORTHY EVENTS Bubble’s event roster has included the Chivas Royal Salute 21 Experi-ences Dinner at Kensington Palace, American School in London dinner at Guildhall, Flight Centre Christmas party at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Telegraph Media Group Spark launch featuring personality-matching menus facilitated with RFID technology, and the Unilever awards dinner at Indigo at The O2.SIGNATURE STYLE How to describe Bubble menus? “Creative, contemporary, innova-tive, vibrant, luxurious, stylish, bespoke [custom],” management says. Sample dishes include starters such as a risotto of nettles and asparagus with a poached quail egg and bergamot confit, an entree of dashi-poached guinea fowl with tempura leek seedlings and langoustine caramel, and a dessert of chocolate ganache with griottine cherries, crystallized walnuts and rum/raisin sabayon.TOP TRENDS Bubble’s clients look for “clean,” raw foods on event menus today, manage-ment notes. “Budgets are slightly better, but clients still want a lot more for their money. There is more confidence in creative events, and clients are more regularly looking to push the boundaries.”

CATERING BY MICHAEL’S, MORTON GROVE, ILL.www.cateringbymichaels.comCEO Stewart Glass2015 EVENT COUNT FORECAST 625 off-premise, 7,300 drop-off, 350 on-premise2015 REVENUE FORECAST $14 millionON SITE Independence Grove, Libertyville;

Passion food: From Culinary Capers Catering, Dungeness crab tapas with watermelon and passion fruit (at right). Photo by Clinton Hussey.

Best bites: (On the opening page) Culinary Capers Catering offers potato crisps topped with tuna niçoise. Photo by Imagemaker Photographic Studio/imps.ca.

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