Hugh Groman Catering and Greenleaf Platters
February, 2012 Newsletter |
I wanted to take a minute to let you know that everyone loved the lunch. The woman
who is going to be our Board Chair next year asked if you had a satellite location
in LA! So thanks so much for a great spread! It was the most compliments on
any board meal I've ever gotten!
-Quote from a client who used Greenleaf Platters for their board meeting lunch
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Food Bank News
| A HUGE thank you to everyone who came out and helped at the Alameda County Community Food Bank with us in November. We had a GREAT time and it was clear how much our support was needed.
The holidays are over, but 1 in every 6 Alameda County residents still relies on assistance from the food bank. Help us continue our support by helping out at our next quarterly volunteer day scheduled for Tuesday, February 7th, 8:30am - 11:30am. Please feel free to join us and bring a friend.
If you are interested, please send an email to nina@hughgromancatering.com. We'd LOVE to see you there!
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Staff Spotlight
Nancy Marshall
Operations Director |
 If you've called our office recently, most likely you've talked to Nancy, who joined us last year and has become an invaluable part of our team. She has streamlined many of our internal processes, and is improving and speeding our responsiveness to clients and attention to detail in every area. Nancy grew up in Washington state. Her Mother and Grandmother both had restaurants, so she spent a lot of time in the kitchen growing up. She worked in construction for most of her professional life before coming to HGC. She doesn't do any cooking for HGC but loves to cook when she is out of the office. She is currently perfecting her gluten-free cookie recipe. Nancy says her favorite thing about working at HGC/GLP is "the people she works with everyday". She adds, "It's nice to work with people that you can laugh with even when the pressure is on". Nancy is incredibly professional and positive. She was sent to us by our friend Angie McLane at Lunt Marymoor Plumbing and we are so grateful!
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| THANK YOU |
Thank you so much to those of you who have reviewed Phil's, HGC and Greenleaf Platters on social networking sites such as YELP, Berkeley Parents Network and Chowhound, as they are one of the most powerful sources of new business for us. THANK YOU! |
Staff At Work
|  Here's a picture of our staff from a recent event we did for one of our wonderful clients. We are so fortunate that many of our staff have been with us since we started in 2000!
If you have a picture of our catering staff or food from your event and care to share it with us, we are always grateful to see them. :)
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Message from Hugh
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Happy New Year to all of you! I am truly excited about everything happening at Hugh Groman Catering, Greenleaf Platters and Phil's Sliders. We've been working on refinements and finishing touches at Phil's Sliders, and I feel like it finally looks and feels "finished." Business has been great, and I'm excited for a long term future for Phil's. We're planning an "old school" Thursday night beer bash on February 23rd from 9pm to 12pm ($2 draft beers!) to celebrate all the improvements and changes. Please come by!
Last year was intense, as we launched a new restaurant while simultaneously having our busiest catering year ever. I was personally challenged to my limits. Thankfully, with the help of a number of supportive caregivers and coaches, I learned some important lessons about how to run a growing business, and I'm feeling stronger and more energized than ever before. I truly believe that sometimes you have to suffer in order to be willing to grow and change--though I wouldn't have minded suffering a bit less. :)
Again, we are so grateful for the support of our clients and friends. We LOVE seeing longtime catering clients pop into Phil's, or friends who come by regularly with guests in tow to help us get the word out. It truly warms my heart.
Best wishes to all of you for a wonderful new year.
Sincerely,
Hugh
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Featured Recipe - Miniature Flourless Chocolate Cakes with Fresh Raspberries (serves 8)
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12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, in chunks
8 3/4" cubes (doesn't need to be perfect) milk chocolate
7 1/2 ounces unsalted butter (2 sticks less 1 Tablespoon)
8 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup hot water
1.5 teaspoons instant espresso, dissolved in water
1/4 teaspoon salt
24 fresh raspberries
2 pints vanilla or coffee ice cream
1. Melt butter and bittersweet chocolate together in double
boiler.
2. In separate bowl crack eggs, add sugar, salt and espresso - whisk until frothy
3. When chocolate and butter mix has cooled a bit, whisk into egg mixture
4. Pour into 8 ramekins (4 oz size) that have been greased and the bottom lined with a disk of parchment paper. Fill about 2/3 full, and make more cakes if you have extra batter.
5. Place a chunk of milk chocolate into center of each ramekin
6. Put ramekins into water bath in sided baking pan (warm water only half way up the sides)
7. Cover with a foil tent
9. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until done. Cakes should be slightly firm to the touch and puffed. You can bake these up to 1 week ahead and store in the refrigerator!
12. Before serving, warm in a 350 degree
oven for 7-10 minutes. Loosen edges with a small paring knife, and using a dry kitchen towel, dump each cake onto individual serving plates. Garnish with powdered sugar, fresh raspberries and ice cream.
For conversions from weights to measures click here.
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| A New Year's Dinner |
Finger Food Hors d'Oeuvres
Vegetarian Grand Aioli - Roasted yukon gold potatoes, roasted cauliflower, seasonal green vegetables, roasted
red peppers, radishes and baby carrots served with a traditional garlic aioli and vegan roasted red pepper cashew chermoula aioli
An elegant selection of cheeses with black olive tapenade, homemade sourdough and cranberry raisin walnut
toasts, roasted nuts, olives and cornichons
Classic deviled eggs
Picnic fried chicken drumettes with creamy fresh herb dipping sauce
Niman Ranch ham and cheddar in a gruyère puff with dijonaise, slow roasted tomato, arugula and a touch of pickle relish
Passed Hors d'Oeuvres
Homemade potato tots with organic catsup and truffle parmesan aioli
Roasted red beets with caramelized onion-gorgonzola cream on whole grain walnut toasts
Grilled chipotle marinated shrimp with honey, garlic, lime and fresh mint
Spanish lamb meatballs with tomato, onion, garlic and brandy
Blue cheese popovers with filet mignon and horseradish cream
Passed Desserts
Fresh beignets with maple glaze and crème anglaise dipping sauce
The ultimate s'mores bars served warm with
Callebaut dark chocolate
Homemade Bavarian Mocha milk shakes with freshly whipped cream
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Questions or comments?
E-mail us at nina@hughgromancatering.com
or call 510-647-5165.
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Hugh Groman Catering
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 Hugh Groman Catering is a full service boutique catering company providing the highest quality food and party planning services for events up to 1000 guests. Our customers want delicious, interesting food, served with warmth in a simple, elegant style, and they want us to make it all easy for them. |
Greenleaf Platters
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 At greenleafplatters.com we provide party platters unlike any others you may have had in the past. We offer the same quality food you've come to expect from Hugh Groman Catering, served on elegant white porcelain platters, delivered and set up at your event. This service is for those who don't need staff party planning services, but want to impress their guests with exceptional food. |
Phil's Sliders
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 Phil's Sliders is our new restaurant located at 2024 Shattuck Ave. in Berkeley. Our simple menu includes yummy sliders made from Marin Sun Farms grass-fed beef, portobello mushroom sliders, crisp potato tots made from organic potatoes, fresh organic cole slaw, milkshakes made with organic milk, and a variety of unique sodas. Inside Phil's you'll also find Hadele's Bakeshop, featuring Jennie's homemade s'mores bars and rotating daily special desserts.
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