Chef’s Market’s Event Recap: CMT’s 70′s Themed Holiday Party

When it comes to holiday parties every company we do business with is different, but one thing is always the same: they want their employees to have fun and feel appreciated after a year of hard work. With that in mind, creating a menu for CMT’s 70′s themed holiday party this past December turned into one of our most fun events in recent months. We served retro treats like pigs n’ blankets, mini cheeseburgers & Frito Chili Pie and turned three floors of the CMT offices into a 1970′s time warp. Check out our photo recap below!

We brought in several vintage TV sets, lamps, clocks and more!

An overhead shot of our Cheeseburger Sliders

Our retro bar area complete with mixed nuts!

Pigs n Blankets

One of our food stations with vintage music themed decor

We had such a good time putting this party together and hope CMT will have us back next year for an all new theme!

Genna

Tags: 70's Party, chef's market, CMT, Holiday Parties, Retro Food, Theme Parties

Bridal Show Recaps!

Two weeks into the new year and wedding fever has officially set in! With so many newly engaged brides ready to begin the planning process and so many talented vendors ready to make it happen, we knew that both The Pink Bride Bridal Show & the Enchanted Brides Bridal Show would knock everyone’s socks off.

After catching our breaths from last week’s preparation and frenzy we can report that not only were they spectacular, but we had a blast being apart of them too!

Our booths for this year’s shows were glam, elegant, a little modern and a lot of pretty!! We served our delicious cake truffles and even made taco short plates with Mahi Mahi & Carne Asada for Sunday’s show.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We think 2012 will be an incredible year for Nashville brides and if the turnout at the bridal shows is any indication we are right on point!! A HUGE thanks to the amazing team at Ace Photography and to Mary Hagy for the beautiful photos!

Genna

Tags: Ace Photography, chef's market, Enchanted Brides, Nashville Bridal Shows, The Pink Bride

A Very Thankful Thursday at Chef’s Market

Whew. What. A. Whirlwind. To say our blog has been a little quiet over the past three months would be an understatement…dead silent is much more appropriate A summer that hummed with activity turned into a jam packed fall, something we are grateful for around here, the only downside being that we’ve had less time to share our news, photos and catering advice! As  we prepare for the upcoming holidays we’ll be working hard to keep our blog updated with our latest endeavors and adventures…starting today with a Thankful Thanksgiving List!

This past August marked Chef’s Market’s 14th anniversary and we feel so blessed to have been in such a fun and exciting industry for so long! We are thankful every day for the opportunity to make great food and present it in the most beautiful and creative way possible!

Our business would not be possible without all of our amazing staff and we are so thankful to have each and every one of them! From our Head Chef, Derek Fulton, to our restaurant staff, catering servers and everyone in between, we are beyond lucky to work with such enthusiastic and hardworking individuals!

We were thrilled to be named Nashville Scene’s ‘Best Caterer’ in their readers’ poll this year and it’s time we send out a HUGE thank you to everyone who voted for us! Your support means the world to us and it’s customers and clients like you that allow us to keep growing and push us to be even better.

This past year has brought many changes to Chef’s Market and one that we’re really thankful for is our expansion. If you’ve had a chance to stop by the back offices lately you’ll have noticed that our kitchens and offices have undergone massive renovations. We’re loving all of the new space and are thankful for the possibilities a larger work area will provide for us!

We hope all of you have a happy Thanksgiving this year, full of love, laughter, family and of course, great food!!

Genna

Tags: chef's market, Nashville Scene, Thanksgiving

Chef’s Market Celebrates 14 Fantastic Years!

This coming Sunday will mark Chef’s Market’s 14th anniversary! We’ve come a long way since we first opened our doors in August of 1997 and we’re so humbled to have not only made it this far, but to also have the chance to do what we love every single day. We’ve made a business out of food, but it’s the love and hard work that goes into making that food that has made us a success. A HUGE thanks to all of our loyal customers, clients, friends and employees, we wouldn’t have gotten here without all of you!

In honor of of 14 fantastic years in business we’ll be giving away FREE slices of our ‘Chef’s Market Strawberry Anniversary Cake’ Saturday, August 13th. It’s our way of saying thank you for your support all these years! Here’s to 14 more!

Genna

Tags: chef's market, nashville catering

Summer Salad Winner # 2: Roasted Vegetable & Orzo Salad

We’ve been having a blast this summer sifting through all of the awesome customer submitted salad recipes and today we’re sharing the recipe of our most recent winner! Kristi Gumm introduced us to her Roasted Vegetable and Orzo Salad and we couldn’t be more thankful. This fresh from the garden salad is as delicious as it is easy to fix and the kind of salad you’ll make again and again! Read on for the recipe and some extra info from Kristi.

Roasted Vegetable & Orzo Salad

This is my favorite summer salad that I make all the time.  I take it to pool parties or we make it at home and have it for dinner. It’s a great way to use vegetables from the garden and is really healthy.  Hearty, but light at the same time.  I make it from scratch and have never followed a recipe, so these are all approximate.  You know how that goes!

Slice and roast 2 of each of these vegetables with olive oil, salt and pepper:  yellow squash, zucchini, red pepper, green pepper and purple onion cut (cut onion into chuncks and shallots also work well)

Cook and drain 1 pound Orzo pasta.  Rinse with cold water until cold.

Toss roasted vegetables with orzo.
Make balsamic vinaigrette and pour over orzo and vegetables.
Top with lots of fresh chopped basil and freshly grated parmesean cheese.  Salt and pepper to taste if needed.

Ingredients for vinaigrette
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
can add small amount of brown sugar and/or minced garlic

A big thanks to Kristi for submitting such a fantastic recipe! Remember, we’re still accepting salad recipes through the end of August so be sure to email your recipes to me at genna@chefsmarket.com for your chance to win dinner passes to Chef’s Market and have your salad featured in our restaurant.

Genna

Tags: chef's market, nashville catering, Summer Salad Recipes

What’s Happening at Chef’s Market

August has already been jam packed at Chef’s Market and we’re expecting another  busy weekend up ahead. Here’s a quick run down of what we’re looking forward to around the restaurant and in our catering department!

Brittany's new baby boy Bryson with Chef Kathy and Ellis!

Friday/Saturday, August 5th & 6th: Chef Kathy is cooking up an Italian themed menu this weekend. We can’t wait to try her recipe for Chicken & Cheese Cannelloni!

Saturday, August 6th: We’ve got three events this weekend, including a 50th wedding anniversary party at Belle Meade Plantation. We can’t wait to help the the wonderful couple celebrate such a milestone event!

Our 2nd Summer Salad Contest winner has been chosen. Congrats to Kristi Gumm for her ‘Roasted Vegetable and Orzo Salad’…so good! We’ll have a recipe recap on the blog very soon so check back for details.

Lastly, we want to wish one of our awesome staff members, Brittany, a HUGE congratulations on her new baby boy, Bryson! He’s so precious and we’re so happy for Brittany and her family! Can’t to see more of him around Chef’s Market.

Happy rest of the week everybody!

Genna

Tags: Belle Meade Plantation, chef's market, nashville catering

What’s Happening at Chef’s Market

With July winding down, we’re getting ready to roll into August, but not before we finish off the month with a few more fabulous weddings! We’ll also be choosing another salad winner and serving up a fantastic feast at the restaurant this weekend. Get all of the details below!

Thursday, July 28th: We’re catering a plated dinner at Ocean Way Studios tonight and working with Destination Nashville to pull it all off. We’ve got a seriously delicious menu, including Pear & Pomegranate Salad, Bronzed Filet Mignon and Orange & Mango Panna Cotta…YUM!

Friday, July 29th: We’ll be announcing our newest Summer Salad Contest Winner and trust us it’s going to be sooo good! We don’t want to give away the winner’s name and recipe just yet, but follow us on Facebook and you’ll get all the inside info tomorrow!

Friday/Saturday July 29th/30th: Chef Kathy’s back from her vacation and she’s cooking up a Caribbean themed weekend menu for our customers…you can expect to see her famous black bean encrusted Sea Bass among other tasty entrées!

Saturday, July 30th: We have three weddings this weekend, including one at the Parthenon…such a unique, beautiful and distinctly Nashville wedding venue!

If you’re around this weekend be  sure to come by Chef’s Market for lunch, dinner or coffee & dessert. We’d love to see you!

Genna

Tags: chef's market, nashville catering, Nashville Weddings, The Parthenon Nashville

Chef’s Market’s Staff’s Summer Food Favorites!

One of our favorite things about summertime is the amount of fresh from the garden fruits and veggies that are readily available. We love the warm, rich comfort foods of fall and winter but during the hot summer months, there’s nothing like ripe tomatoes and juicy watermelon to cool you off! So with this in mind, we asked the Chef’s Market Staff to share their favorite seasonal summer foods with our blog readers…here’s what they said!

Patty (Accountant/Office Manager): Lemon Icebox Pie

Courtney (Corporate Sales): Grilled Veggies, especially eggplant, and crisp, sweet watermelon

Jim (Owner): Macerated Peaches

photo via examiner.com

Amanda (Sous Chef): Fried Green Tomatoes

Debbie (Office Administration): Macaroni Tuna Salad served with Classic Potato Chips.

Cheryl (Owner): Vanilla Ice Cream topped with fresh sliced strawberries or peaches

And my personal favorite??? It’s a tie between Bruschetta and homemade Tomatillo Salsa. What’s your favorite summer food?!

Genna

Tags: chef's market, nashville catering, Summer Food

Summer Salad Contest Winner #1 – Sicilian Pesto Bowtie Pasta Salad

Chef Kathy chose our first winner for our Summer Salad Contest last week and she picked the perfect recipe to kick off our competition! Suha Dabit submitted a Sicilian Pesto Bowtie Pasta that is absolutely fantastic! Read on for the recipe and a little inside info from Suha.

Here’s why Suha loves this salad in her own words:

I am overall a good cook (I think) but I get a lot of compliments about my baking skills & my salad skills.

I like to say that I created this salad about nine years ago along with my best friend Elli when we were bored, hungry and didn’t have any idea what we were going to eat. We pretty much just threw everything in the salad that her dad’s (who is a chef) kitchen had to offer.

We were so surprised it was eatable and so was her dad – he loved the salad and only suggested changing a couple of ingredients…ever since then, I make it whenever we are grilling out or are going to a get together and it’s always the talk of the party.

I moved from Germany to the states seven years ago and I guess what I love most about this salad, besides that it’s super delicious, is that it reminds me of my dear friend Elli and the great time I had with her the day we made the salad. I hope u enjoy it as much as I do!

Sicilian Pesto Bowtie Pasta

1 1/3 cup mini pasta farfalle

1 cup fresh mozzarella (the fresh small mozzarella balls work great)

1 cup cherry tomatoes

3/4 bag of arugula or baby spinach

3/4 cup Prosciutto

Dressing 

3/4 cup olive oil

1 1/2 tsp green pesto

4 tsp of balsamic vinegar

1 tsp of yellow mustard

1 tsp of honey

2 small pieces crushed garlic

Salt & pepper to taste

Decorate with fresh Parmesan  and 2/3 cup lightly roasted pine nuts

Serve with garlic bread

 A HUGE thanks to Suha for the delicious recipe, we’ve definitely been enjoying the salad at Chef’s Market! Remember, our salad contest is running through the end of summer so be sure to submit a recipe!

Genna

Tags: chef's market, nashville catering, Summer Salads

What’s Happening at Chef’s Market

It’s hard to believe we’ve reached the middle of July already and while the back to school coupons and advertising will be underway soon enough, we’re still enjoying the sunshine and sweet treats that summertime offers! Read on for a complete rundown of what we’re up to this summer and what we’ll be serving at Chef’s this weekend!

Grace Oromonde Weddings recently featured a fabulous Nashville wedding on their website that we provided the dessert bar for! Check out all the beautiful details right here!

Pretty summer inspired centerpiece from one of our past events!

Friday/Saturday July 15 &16th - This weekend we’ll be traveling south of the border so expect flavorful and delicious entrees! We’ll be serving Flank steak Adobo with a New Mexico BBQ sauce, Huachinango con salsa de mango (Red Snapper with mango couli, topped with a charred tropical fruit salsa), Grilled shrimp Papitas with a sweet summer corn and tomato relish,  Herb Crusted Prime Rib and Black Bean Soup…yum!

Friday, July 15th – We’ll be announcing the first winner of our ongoing summer salad contest! We’ll be rotating customer inspired salads throughout the rest of summer so be sure to send in your recipe! Winning customers will receive 2 dinner passes to Chef’s and will have their salad featured in our restaurant. For more info on the contest and how to enter click here.

Saturday/Sunday, July 16th & 17th – We’re looking forward to several weddings this weekend, can’t wait to see it all come together, look for recaps in the coming weeks!

How’s your summer been going?

Genna

Tags: chef's market, Grace Ormonde, nashville catering