Category News & Events

How To Save Your Holiday Party from Getting the Ax

0 comments By The Kitchen Whisperer Filed in Entertaining, General, News & Events Tagged with affordable holiday party, chicago, cooking class, cooking party, downturned economy, holiday party, parties that cook, san francisco, save money November 18th, 2008 @ 1:58 pm

Holiday spirits have hit an all time low with many companies choosing to slash holiday party budgets, opting for small potluck gatherings or canceling the party all-together.

While immediate cutbacks make sense from a financial standpoint, canceling the end-of-the-year celebration can be short-sighted… hard-working employees will leave for the holidays disgruntled and unmotivated for a new year that seems equally dismal.

Fear not, we’re here to help with a smart alternative that will save this year’s company holiday party. We call it our “Appetite Stimulus Plan.”

At a fraction of the cost of a traditional dinner with free flowing wine, you can host a do-it-yourself cooking party, where guests attend a cooking class, create a gourmet meal, then sit-down to a dining celebration.

5 Insider Tips for Low-Cost Holiday Cooking Parties:

1) Host the party in your office or home versus renting a professional kitchen. Saves over $600.

2) Opt for our Sumptuous Small Plates appetizer party, instead of a full meal. Saves $20+ per person.

3) BYOB the alcoholic beverages (example: Two-Buck Chuck wine). Stick to just beer and wine only. Saves $5+ per person.

4) Skip traditional employee gifts and order party favors like logo chocolates or logo mint tins for as low as $2.55 per person. Saves $10+ per person.

5) Take advantage of our monthly SideDish Special. From $200 off your event, to free party favors and complimentary champagne toasts, the special varies from month to month. Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to get the scoop on the current offer! Saves a bunch.

Save your holiday party from cancellation now! We can help you plan a cost savvy cooking celebration that will be fun, memorable, build morale and best of all taste delicious! Contact Parties That Cook’s event planners at info@partiesthatcook.com or 1-888-907-2665. Or just fill out our simple online form for immediate assistance.

Small Town Values: Garlic and Arts Festival

1 comment By The Kitchen Whisperer Filed in General, Menus & Recipes, News & Events Tagged with aioli, cloves, food festivals, garlic, Garlic and Arts Festival, hummus, ice cream, katherine hunt, local farmers, Massachusettsm, North Quabbin, Orange, parties that cook, tapenade October 21st, 2008 @ 4:05 pm

Contributed by Guest Blogger Katherine Hunt

“Main Street” has received a lot of attention these days. On a weekend in late September, I made my own investigation into small-town life, but not to find out how the people there plan to vote, or whether or not they’ve started saving their pennies. Instead, I went to eat.

During my trip to the North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival, in Orange, Massachusetts (population 3,950), I concluded that small town folks value delicious food. Maybe urbanites like me have more in common with that constituency than recent news reports would have me believe. At this year’s festival, visitors could sample garlic ice cream, hot pepper relish, chai tea, pickles, honey, apple cider, doughnuts, bread, maple cotton candy, and, of course, cloves of garlic. Farmers from around New England sold fresh vegetables and herbs, and displayed their animals, including ducks, rabbits, geese, and alpacas. Artists, weavers and woodworkers also peddled their wares.

The Garlic and Arts Festival attracts around 10,000 visitors each year, according to Brian Eno, one of the festival organizers. Amazingly, the previous year’s festival produced only two bags of trash – nearly everything, from silverware to water bottles to food leftovers, ends up as compost.

The Friday night before the festival gates officially opened, about one hundred volunteers and vendors enjoyed the culinary apex of the weekend: a dinner on the festival grounds to celebrate their work. Brian Eno prepared homemade hummus, tapenade, and a potent aioli featuring local garlic. At an outdoor bread oven, he baked loaf after loaf of wheat bread to accompany his spreads. And for a smaller group of his personal guests, he baked a stew-like concoction of feta and vegetables, and a pot of rice and venison.

As the evening started to cool off, people took their fresh bread and beer and circled around the fire that had been built nearby. They talked about what they wanted to eat the next day – the maple cotton candy and the pepper relish came up often – and they talked about people from previous festivals they were excited to see again. A handful stayed until late at night, drinking, putting more wood on the fire, and watching many, many stars blink overhead. Which you just don’t get to see in the city.