Forest Lawn - Holiday Party (Hollywood Hills) Dec 2009

Forest Lawn invited us to host their annual Employee family and Friends Holiday Party. It was so exciting to get to cater for this wonderful group of 800 guests. They set up a large tent in the parking lot of their Hollywood Hills facility, which included electricity, heating, tables, chairs and large globe overhead lighting.

Each table was set with a silver embroidered overlay, floral centerpieces of enormously tall marguerita glasses, and festive poker chips spread around the base and all resting on a glass mirror.

This is the view of theRitz Caterers as we were getting our staff set up and ready for the big event. We had our own tent, to the left of the trailers, that we worked out of to prepare all the dishes being served on the 8 buffets.

In the picture to the right...are the finished buffets as we are almost ready to begin serving. Our uniformed staff is going over the last minute details. The host provided the large fresh flower dice used on the buffet tables as centerpieces.

The picture to the left shows just one of one of the entres we served this morning. We had a large menu to offer the guests. There were 4 Chef-carving stations, 3 dessert bars, 2 tall chocolate fountains, and 2 beverage stations. All while the 8 buffets are being served at the same time. The host asked that we have the guests served within a 60 minute period. So we were extremely well prepared very organized!




Our 8 Buffets each served: Garlic Mashed Potatoes, California blend vegetables with melted butter, Baked Penne Pasta with Marinara sauce, Chicken & Steak Fajitas, Mexican style Rice & Refried Beans, Pre-heated Corn & Flour Tortillas, Tossed Field Green Salad with 3 dressings, Spinach Salad with Glazed Walnuts & Feta Cheese with Raspberry dressing, Fresh baked Rolls & Butter, Chips, salsa, and guacamole, grated cheese, limes, and cilantro. Whew!

You can see the busy Ritz Catering staff all working together to make this event very successful!

Chicken & Steak Fajitas

Chef-carved Baron of Beef, served with Au jus and Whipped horse-radish

For Dessert: The chocolate fountain was a great hit. So who doesn't love Belgian chocolate? We served a variety of items for dipping.

In the picture at the top you will see one of the dessert tables. We served cheesecake squares with fresh berries for topping, cream puffs, and chocolate eclairs.

8 large buffets to serve 800 guests

As you can see we set up 8 long tables of buffet space. On each buffet there needed to be exactly the same number of items offered for all the guests at the party. This was in order to serve the guests in a timely manner within 60 minutes. The draping of the soft greys and silver colors added a dramatic touch to enhance the look of the buffets.

The theme for this event was a "Casino/Las Vegas" Christmas!

Forest Lawn is VERY good to their employees..they planned several venues as entertainment. They had a live band, a magician that went from table to table doing tricks at eye level as several raffle games were going on. There was even a Christmas tree with gifts being given out during the raffles.





As the day came to a close, one by one the guests left. This was the last picture....of the big tent!

Once again we want to thank Roger Ruth Photographers who came and took these amazing photos of the event. Please go to their website and book your next event with them.

Young Presidents Dinner "Life After You?" at Forest Lawn OCT 09

Forest Lawn, in Glendale, was the location for the Young Presidents dinner. The actual location was outside the Museum and chapel. It was a great setting to also view the valley when the sun began to set.

The evening began at 5 pm with the bar opening for cocktails. Ritz staff served tray passed Hors de houvres to the Young Presidents Organization, and their spouses, while they mingled. They were served: Herb Stuffed Mushrooms, baby quiche, and tomatoe basil bruschetta served on toasted baghettes.

Our most experienced bartenders, Lloyd and Bruce, served drinks at the open bar all evening. They also walked around and made sure the wine glasses were full at each table.

Below is a full view of the dinner tables after we completed their settings with the silver chargers under each china plate. It turned out beautiful! The chapel doors are to the left in the picture below.

We served dinner "sit-down" style. Pre-set at each table was a basket of freshly baked rolls and butter, and a beautiful plate of chilled field greens with Raspberry vinagarette. For dinner we served English Prime Rib, with au-jus and Ritz Catering's own special recipe horse-radish sauce. Roasted Red Potatoes dipped in a dill butter sauce, and Roasted Summer Vegetables with a variety of squashes, completed the beautiful plate. A few guests asked for variations due to special diet restrictions So we added some: Cocoanut Rice & Vegetable Skewers for those guests.

Accompanying each centerpiece on the tables, as you can see in the picture to the left, were small headstones with the evenings theme, "Life After You?"

For dessert! We served our famous homemade Pumpkin Creme Brulee for each guest. All in all it was a tasty hit!

As the guests finished the evening, they were invited to take a bag filled with advertized items from several vendors in the valley. I'm sure to encourage these Young Presidents to want to use their services! We want to thank our own RogerRuth Photography for taking these amazing photos for your viewing. It was a joy working with Forest Lawn and our clients at this event!