Tasting Event Tips Chapel Hill NC

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To be honest, we kind of hate going to tasting events. Sure, you get to sample dishes from lots of different chefs in one place. But you usually have to fight through a herd of guests for each nibble, then balance your food and drink as people nudge past you, all while noshing on dishes that were not originally intended to be eaten together. It can be a recipe for stomachaches and stained clothes. But lots of people like to go to these things, so here are some tricks for doing them right.

Be Prepared
With the participating chefs doing all the cooking, it's easy to think that the catering work—and expenses—are already taken care of. But that's a mistake. "The philosophy of these events is that they shouldn't cost money," says Joan Steinberg of Match Catering and Eventstyles, who works frequently with organizers of tasting events to help coordinate the back-of-house operations with the chefs, restaurants, and other vendors. A tasting that runs smoothly requires lots of plates, utensils, cooking and serving supplies, and people to clean it all up. So Steinberg says she often has to remind organizers to devote extra resources to items like staffing and rentals

Chefs who cook dishes one at a time in their restaurants aren't necessarily used to replicating something quickly in mass quantities, and they don't always remember to bring the equipment they'll need. So Match sets up a behind-the-scenes commissary with supplies like mixing bowls, serving utensils, heating equipment, and garbage bags. (The preparations leading up to the event can prove to be extensive, too. Citymeals-on-Wheels director of special events Heather Gere and her team also found themselves tracking down obscure Italian ingredients when they brought in nine chefs from Italy for their annual benefit at Rockefeller Center.)

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