Simply Love Studio UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Brides Come to the open house on March 25th! Dupree Catering recently joined forces with Simply Love Studio… Simply Love Studio is the wedding planning resource you have been waiting for.  An ideal place where vendors have been pre-screened and selected based on style, experience, and impeccable reputation in their fields of expertise.  Planning your wedding at Simply Love Studio is a relaxing and enjoyable experience.  Come and relax on our sofa, sip complimentary pink champagne or lemonade and feel comfortable knowing you are looking at the work of the areas most qualified wedding vendors. View videos and DVD reels, enjoy music samples, photographers’ images and much more.  Visit us at our regular open house for a tasting from our preferred caterers and bakeries or chat with our incredibly talented photographers, videographers, ceremony and reception sites, wedding planners and so much more.  It’s more than any bridal show could offer - an intimate view into your wedding! See you soon!

COCKTAIL BUFFETS:
• Serve as many do-ahead hors d’oeuvres as possible.
• Put out small plates (salad size), about one per person.
• Don’t focus on sweets. People don’t eat many when they are drinking alcohol.
• Keep buffet food on one or two tables when possible. Don’t spread it around as it confuses guests.

SEATED DINNERS:
• Set the table ahead.
• Don’t forget salt and pepper shakers, butter plate and knife.
• Keep plates for each course stacked in the kitchen: salad, dinner and dessert plates.
• Water glasses always need to be out. People always ask for water. Have a pitcher of water available.
• Prep Decaffeinated Coffee before guests arrive so that all you have to do is hit the start button once the main course goes out.
• Have cream and sugar set ready to go.

BUFFET DINNERS:
• Have serving pieces ready to go – platters, bowls, etc. and corresponding serving utensils.
• Label them with post-it notes with the food that goes into them.
• Don’t forget to have a tray of iced glasses for water and a pitcher of water for refills.

KITCHEN PREPARATIONS:
• Make sure the dishwasher is empty and counters are clear before guests arrive.
• Clear countertops as much as possible.
• Empty the garbage before the party starts.

FOOD TIMING:
• Make a timeline of what needs to be heated/prepared so that you can focus on your guests.
• Include things like “heat hors d’oeuvres, heat entrée, rolls, water poured in glasses, start coffee.”
• Don’t start to heat hot hors d’oeuvres until the first guest arrives. Guests don’t usually feel comfortable eating until they’ve had a drink.
• Keep hot foods hot by putting them on heated serving platters or dinner plates. Tips for heating trays: put dishes in a clean dishwasher and run them through the rinse and heated drying cycle. A stack of dinner plates can be heated in the microwave as long as they don’t have gold or metal leaf on them. It takes about 4-5 minutes for a stack of 10 dinner plates.

MENU PLANNING:
• Cocktail Buffets – have about 5 to 6 total items of which 2 to 3 are meat/seafood.
• Pre dinner Appetizers – no more than two – one hot and one not
• Main Course – Entrée VOUS!
• Dessert – Keep it Simple – People don’t eat a lot of dessert.
• Keep a record of what foods you served to your guests. That way you don’t repeat yourself.

EASY CLEAN UP TIPS:
• Before you start doing the dishes, do the following:
• Clear all trash from tables and counters.
• Put away all leftover foods.
• Put all dirty silverware and cooking utensils into on big pot of soapy hot water.
• Scrape and stack all plates.
• Keep all glassware together in one spot to reduce breakage.
• Have lots of cloth dish towels on hand.

Our hope is that this site will not only convey the quality of work that we do but also the breadth of our services.  We’ve been well known for full service catering for over 22 years.  Along the way we’ve added services that our customers have requested like Event Coordination and Drop Off Catering.  Our newest venture is Dupree-to-Go which we started this spring.  With Dupree to Go, you can order everyday meals or food for smaller parties.  The Dupree-to-Go menu will change every couple of weeks in order to take advantage of the freshest, local produce and meats.

We’re incorporating more and more local products into the foods that we prepare in all areas of our cooking.  Every month our website will highlight specific local farmers and food producers, like Bleugrass Chevre, so that you can see where your food is grown.  We’ll also make their products available for you to purchase through our secure, online ordering page.

For more information about any of our services, you can contact us directly at (859) 231-0464 or view the Our Team page for email addresses and direct phone lines for our staff.  We look forward to hearing from you!

Best Regards,

Harriet Dupree Bradley