food stall

Tales of Food Origins by Pauline Parry Thanks to chefs like Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsey, traditional British cooking has certainly been elevated to new heights. And yet, there remains the stigma. For instance, when Top Chef Masters did an episode where the chefs had to make pub food one of them remarked that he was certain pub food had been invented on a dare! I get that, but there�s a reason, and a story, behind this food. A lot of this type of rough and ready fare (think kidney pie) was a necessity. Our little island was besieged by war for years and certain resources became very scarce. The British learned to be very resourceful on a budget. So you could say that our food heritage is a lot like us � hearty, colorful, and enduring. Yet still, what about those names?! When a new book came out called What Caesar Did for My Salad by Albert Jack, even I learned some new things about our most well-known food. I share it with you here! PLOUGHMAN�S LUNCH Doesn�t the name of this lunch co...

By Pauline Parry Playa del Carmen I met Susan De Lima through a mutual friend and a few months ago she visited us here in Los Angeles. Susan is originally from Canada but six years ago, wanting to change her life and reinvent herself, she moved to Playa del Carmen, a gorgeous destination in Mexico about 45 minutes south of Cancun. Susan has the perfect disposition and fabulous outgoing personality which is great for her business -- Latido de Mexico Vacation Service , a division of Playa Carmen Rentals and Property Management . Susan is the �go to� person to find clients houses, villas, condos, and apartments. Her services go a step further and she becomes a personal concierge for her clients before they get there � setting up the house and stocking it with the food they love, then creating a complete itinerary for them during there stay. Inevitably, Susan found herself involved with couples who wanted to get married in the area and began helping with wedding planning as well. Here in L...

By Jean Campbell How did we get from this... To this? --> Our inspiration comes from so many different places -- art direction and costumes from feature films, fashion magazines, museums, nature or just a fabulous color. We are always on the lookout for great ideas and they can come anytime, anywhere. That was exactly what happened as we were all brainstorming on a tabletop for a bridal event produced by the magazine, Your Wedding Day . After an initial meeting at the office, I was thumbing through a fashion magazine and came across the ad for Dior that you saw at the start of this blog post. The next day I brought it to the team and we instantly knew what do. We all loved the color and saw the tailored pleats of the dress re-imagined as a tabletop. And here are the results... The event was outside and each tabletop was created within an area. We framed our creation with a black-and-white-striped canopy which allowed us to hang a chandelier of mirrors. From there we built on the th...

By Pauline Parry Catering chefs are truly the unsung heroes of the culinary world. They can create eight-course gourmet meals in a closet. They are just as comfortable with Sterno as a heat source as they are a Wolf oven. They have been known to carry food into exotic locales on foot, cook a memorable romantic meal for two, then pack it back out. And they do it all happily, for the food, the fun and the love of it! An Example of Catered Food Art: Yellow Beet Basil Stack Created by Chef Joanne Purnell Every year many of the world's top catering chefs come together at CaterArts , a conference produced by the International Caterers Association (ICA). From August 8 to 11 they'll be at Sullivan University (a large culinary institution) in Louisville, Kentucky, and will attend classes taught by the best in the business. They will get demonstrations of new techniques, get hands-on experience working side by side and most important, continue to elevate the profession as they forge new...

A lot of companies talk about giving back to the environment or to needy causes, but talk is not enough. Action is what is needed. At Volt, the BizBash After Party, we worked with and supported two very innovative and action-oriented beverage purveyors: Tru Organic Vodka from the Greenbar Collective and ONEHope Wine who are raising the bar, so to speak, on drinking for a cause. About Tru... Tru is the first certified organic vodka made from American wheat AND made in Los Angeles by Modern Spirits, an acclaimed artisan vodka maker. From field to bottle TRU is free of chemicals that can contaminate the land and leech into ground water. The makers limit ecological impact in a variety of ways. They also, and this is our fave, plant a tree for every bottle sold working through organizations such as Sustainable Harvest International. What we can tell from the Volt event, event professionals are now responsible for an entire new forest! About ONEHope... In a short period of time, ONEHope ...

A day that sparkled with energy. There are some days that are electric and this was one. It began with opening educational sessions at the BizBash LA Expo and Event Awards at The LA Mart , continued on to a tradeshow floor packed with industry professionals and awards show and ended with Volt! , the first-ever BizBash after party! Co-produced by Good Gracious! Events and kool. Party Rentals , the event was held at The Pacific Electric Lofts . The 1905 building, a former utilities company, was our inspiration for the name of the party -- Volt! The event was held in the penthouse of this live-work building that is fast becoming one of LA's hottest new event venues. You can see why. When our Good Gracious team (led by myself and Dan Smith) and Anthony Griffin and Jack Weiner from kool. Party Rentals first saw the space a mere two weeks from the date of the event we knew it was perfect. Along with the stellar team we assembled (for full list, please see end of this post) Los Angeles...