Barton and Carrie's Wedding

      So back in September we had the pleasure of catering Barton and Carrie Seaver's wedding at a beautiful farm out near Little Washington VA.  Back in May I received email from Barton that didn't so much ask as inform me that I was catering his wedding.  I was flattered that our own local celebrity chef, and advocate of sourcing ingredients as local as possible, chose Eat & Smile Foods to cater his special day.  I was also terrified. 

     I had worked for Barton and know how delicious his food is.  Many of his guests were coworkers from restaurants, so chefs, and their families, who are used to good food. My saving grace was the cuisine of choice, BBQ.  I decided to stick to classic backyard BBQ and find the best local ingredients possible.

     I contacted Bruce Saunders at Eco-Friendly Foods, because he runs his own BBQ business that has been winning awards all over the place, and got him involved.  He brought out a homemade monster smoker, above right, the night before and smoked 12 pork shoulders with two amazing sauces.  With that taken care of, I focused on Grilled Oysters with different toppings, a Roasted Corn Slaw, Baby Potato Salad, Haricort Verte, Green Salad, and Caprese.

     The great thing about BBQ's is that it allowed to focus on a few strong flavors.  For the Caprese, I contacted The Farm at Sunnyside to get their amazing tomatoes.  They brought some Cherokee Purples, Green Zebras, Aunt Fannie Mortgage Lifters, and more cherry tomatoes than you can shake a stick at.  Couple those with Blue Ride Dairy Mozzarella, Endless Summer's Basil, and my secret weapon, 60 year old Balsamic Vinegar, and you have a Caprese that can't be beat.

     Endless Summer also provided us with gorgeous greens for our salad.  Adding Clare's Camembert from Clear Spring Creamery and a creme fraiche vinaigrette made the salad a huge hit.  Creme fraiche also provided the dressing for the potato salad.  It has a tangy and sweet taste that helps to mellow the creaminess of it.  Some minced tarragon and microplaned garlic tied it all together.

     The wedding itself was a beautiful ceremony on a rock outcropping over a creek that ran through the property.  It looked like it came right out of a magazine.  The bride was driven to the groom in a tractor towing a hay cart with all her bridesmaids.  They had set up hay bales all over the property and covered them with persian style rugs.  A family of chickens in the middle of dining area allowed for much amusement for the kids, and many adults.  

      Phoebe came and provided the kids with something to chase, though her favorite friends of the day were the goats.  She talked to them for much of afternoon.  We had a wonderful time catering the wedding, and it actually gave Alexandra some ideas for ours.  We spent the day in a farm field in beautiful Virginia, the sun was shining, the breeze was gentle, and the people we joyful.  It was a beautiful day.

All Photography by Alexandra Boulé-Buckley (contact)