Spring Bridal Show Inspiration

With spring right around the corner, we went in to designing our latest bridal show booth ready for something fresh, clean and fun. The Sunday show held at the beautiful ‘The Mill at Lebanon‘ was great and we were thrilled to give Nashville brides a glimpse at something different from anything we’ve ever done before.

Photo Courtesy: Johnny Miller

If you’re an avid pinterest fan like me and the rest of the staff at Chef’s Market, you may have seen this photo before.

Ombre has been so huge in everything from fashion to hair color and home decor that once we saw this picture, designing our booth around this concept felt like a no brainer!

We loved the simple elegance of an ombre palate in shades of pink and decided to keep the rest of the look very clean and organic so as not to take away from the color scheme.

Our designer, Ricky Carroll brought our vision to life and we had an absolute blast seeing it jump from pictures to reality!

We hope this look stays around awhile, it would work so perfectly for a super girly bridal shower/brunch or pink inspired reception. What do you think? Do you like the ombre look for weddings, bridal showers, etc? Leave us a comment and let us know!

Genna

The Smart Bride: Workshop Your Way to Your Wedding with Ashley’s Bride Guide & Chef’s Market!

For any bride who has “pinterested” her dream wedding to death but doesn’t have a clue how to make it a reality The Smart Bride Workshop this coming March is a MUST attend! The fabulous ladies over at Ashley’s Bride Guide have but together a bridal bootcamp that will kick your wedding planning into serious shape and we couldn’t be more excited to announce that Chef’s Market will be apart of it!

We’ve been asked to be an expert speaker at the workshop, which will give engaged couples all of the education needed to effectively plan the wedding of their dreams and avoid common mistakes and pitfalls. As Nashville’s only wedding planning workshop this is something couples will not want to miss out on. Another huge plus? The workshop will be full of talented Nashville wedding pros offering much sought after advice!

Did I mention registration for the three week workshop which takes place March 13th, 20th and 27th is FREE for brides & grooms who register here before February 25th?! Cost for registration after the 25th is $25 for all 3 weeks or $10 per session. So click on over and let go of all your wedding planning stress!!

Photo Courtesy of SB Childs Photography

The Smart Bride is a once a year workshop and we’re hoping this year’s brides will take advantage of this incredible opportunity. You’ll have the chance to meet other engaged couples, hear from Nashville’s finest wedding vendors and learn how to enjoy the entire planning process not to mention the big day.

For any of Chef’s Market’s current brides, we’ll be more than happy to provide you with complimentary tickets to the workshop! Email your Catering Sales Manager and they’ll get those to you right away.

Genna

Food Ideas for your Giants VS. Patriots Super Bowl Party

Okay I admit being a caterer isn’t the manliest of professions.  Event planning, tablescaping, menu development, and recipe tweaking are not topics guys sit around discussing.  With one exception…the Super Bowl!  This is the one time of year when guys are into party planning.  So here are a few tips for you on food from a pro who knows.

* First of all, keep it simple.  Select menu items you can prepare ahead of time.  You want to be in the game and not in the kitchen.

*  Mobile food.  Remember: nobody wants to miss any of the game or  commercials so design the menu so your guests can move between the kitchen and the TV quickly. That means saying no to a “build your own sandwich” buffet, yes to grab-and-go wraps or mini burgers.

Wraps make perfect easy snacks for the super bowl

Cheeseburger, Crab Cake & BBQ Sliders are perfect for a Super Bowl party!

*  Unhealthy is best for the Superbowl, dude!   If you must, add some crudite and hummus as a healthy token gesture.

*  Forego the china and glassware.  Go disposable  all the way!

This year’s match is going to be an exciting one between the Giants and Patriots.  Boston and New York are incredible food towns. For the Patriots, why not serve mini lobster rolls,  Boston baked beans, or mini turkey rolls with cranberry aioli?  For the Giants, feature mini New York Style Hot Dogs or New York Strip Steak Sliders.

For fun, have a Clam Chowder Showdown:  Manhattan VS New England. Or try a Dessert Dual between Boston Cream Pie and New York Cheese Cake.

Individual crudite cups w/ ranch or hummus make healthy eating at Super Bowl parties much easier!

Other than the game, the food is what your guests will remember most.  With a little planning you won’t miss a play and your friends will be asking for an invite in 2013.

Jim

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

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

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

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

What’s Happening at Chef’s Market

Happy first week of summer everyone! Although Tennessee summers can be brutal as far as the heat and humidity are concerned, they also bring us beautiful weddings and of course, we love a good wedding at Chef’s Market! So, with an upcoming weekend that’s sure to be packed with pretty, we thought it would be a great idea to fill you in on all the happenings around the shop…including a BIG wedding that we couldn’t be more excited for!

Tuesday, June 21st – We had the opportunity to present our catering services at Vanderbilt this week along with several other great Nashville catering companies. We had so much fun putting together the display and the menu, which included Applewood Bacon wrapped Halibut and Mini Savory Herb Waffles with TN Cheese Straw Chicken Bites & Red Pepper Jelly. We’ll have a full post on the event and the fabulous food soon!

Thursday, June 23rd – We had a packed house for lunch today with three separate groups in to enjoy our food along with our regular lunch crowd! Chef Kathy did an AWESOME  job making sure all the food was spectacular. Don’t forget to call us for any upcoming birthday/anniversary/graduation parties, baby/bridal showers, group luncheons and more. Our dining room is the perfect spot for everything from a lunch for twenty to an intimate dinner for two.

Friday/Saturday, June 24  & 25th – You’ll have to wait until tomorrow for our full weekend menu, but here’s a sneak peek: Chicken Bruschetta stuffed with Rosemary Pork and Feta Cheese…YUM! We hope you’ll be stopping by for dinner!

Saturday, June 25th – We have two weddings this Saturday, including the wedding of Financial Guru Dave Ramsey’s Daughter! We’re thrilled to be putting together her wedding and can’t wait to share all the details!

What are your weekend plans?!

Genna

What’s Happening at Chef’s Market

Memorial Day is quickly approaching and while the upcoming weekend  is sure to be filled with relaxation, vacations, cookouts  and more it’s also important for us to honor the day for it’s true meaning. Before the weekend gets underway,  we want to send our BIGGEST thanks to the servicemen and women who have fought for our country, we will be forever thankful for their sacrifice.  Read on for a list of our weekend activities, including FREE giveaways, weddings, graduation parties and more!

Memorial Day Giveaway – We’re kicking off the weekend with FREE sweet treats for those who stop by our restaurant this Friday! We’ll be giving away mini pecan pies, so be sure to make a trip in for lunch or dinner and pick up a free dessert!

Graduation Parties – We’re catering a super fun Ole Miss themed graduation party tomorrow. One of our event coordinators even came up with the idea mark each table with a picture of a famous Ole Miss Alumni, such a fun concept. We can’t wait to see how it all turns out and we’ll be sure to get pictures for the blog!

Chef’s Tips for Grilling – If you’re planning on grilling this weekend then tomorrow’s blog post is for you. We’ll be covering our own Chef’s tips for grilling, yep that’s right, straight from the professionals at Chef’s Market! Trust us, their unique ideas and tricks will make grilling even more tasty and fun!

Weekend Weddings – It’s a great weekend for weddings and with three on Saturday and three on Sunday, we’re pretty booked around here! We want to wish all our brides and grooms best of luck as they prepare for their special day!

Chef’s Weekend Menu – While Chef Kathy’s still working on our weekend menu, we can give you a small sneak peek into what we’ll be serving this coming Friday and Saturday. One of our main entrees will be Spinach and Stilton stuffed Chicken Roulade with a Blueberry Mornay Sauce…yummm!!! We hope we’ll see you at Chef’s for dinner!

What are your plans this weekend?

Genna

What’s Happening at Chef’s Market

Whew, how is it Wednesday already?! This week is really flying by and as we start gearing up for the weekend, we thought it was the perfect time to fill you in on our latest news! So, what’s Chef’s Market been up to this week? Get all the info below!

photo via glitters123.com

Starting tonight, we’ll be catering the Tennessee NEXT Conference for the Tennessee Technology Development Corporation (TTDC). We’re super thrilled to be apart of their conference! If you’re big on technology and all of the latest tech information and how it will affect the TN economy, this is the place to be!

Cinco de Mayo: We’ll be serving up delicious Mexican food in honor of Cinco de Mayo tomorrow. Expect Chicken Tortilla Soup and some of our homemade tortilla chips to be on hand!

In House Parties: Our restaurant is going to be booked with plenty of in house parties this month. You can host everything from graduation parties, to baby/bridal showers, rehearsal dinners and more at Chef’s Market. For more information on pricing, contact information etc read our in house party post from last year!

Mother’s Day: Sunday is going to be all about celebrating the special women in our lives who have loved and supported us throughout the years! If you’re looking for a nice gift or a sweet dessert be sure and stop by our restaurant! You can read all about our newest merchandise right here!

Business Card Drawing: If you stop by for lunch be sure and place your business card in our box to win a FREE lunch/dinner at Chef’s Market! This month’s winner is Hydratech Irrigation, next month’s could be you!

Have you been enjoying the first week of May?

Genna