Lowcountry Cuisine Spring 2018

lowcountry cuisine LC 15 www.LowcountryCuisineMag.com | www.CharlestonRecipes.com W hile catering dates back to the 4th millennium BC in China, the culture of grand eating and drinking is more popular today than ever before. The success of the food served is an enormous challenge and can make or break an event. When making plans for a special occasion, one of the many and most important decisions is the menu and whether you want to hire a caterer. Because catering goes beyond simply preparing and serving food, the benefits of hiring a professional often outweigh the burden of handling it alone. While it may seem easy to throw together some appetizers and tidbits, much more goes into catering an event. “The last thing anyone wants to do is worry about all the details and miss out on enjoying their guests,” Anja Stief, owner of Dish & Design Catering in Mount Pleasant, said. “People often get wrapped up in planning an event, then try to overreach and come up short.” In the catering business since 1999, Stief has handled her share of events. “I’ve seen and heard it all,” she said. “Having a professional handle all the details will help eliminate a lot of stress and give the client peace of mind.” Hosting anything from a small dinner party of 10 to a large wedding of 500, many people believe they can save money by handling the food themselves. “Honestly, they end up spending more time and resources than they would have otherwise,” Stief added. “There are so many things people don’t consider when doing it on their own.” Catering isn’t a matter of just feeding people. There’s shopping, preparation, serving and clean up to consider. “Some events run on a certain time frame,” Stief said. “You have to think about how long it takes to set up, what’s a reasonable amount of time to get people fed, how By Diane Pauldine Set the Tone for the Occasion Hire a Caterer