Event Venue & Wedding Catering Services in Pasadena, California

Wedding Venue

Picking the Perfect Wedding Reception Location

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Wedding Reception LocationEvery couple definitely wants to get married in the end after running through a serious relationship with their partner. After all, what is the use of a relationship if it is not finally bound by a sacred wedding, isn’t it? Well, speaking of wedding, there are actually a number of things to consider, one of which is the place to organize the wedding event. To tell the truth, deciding where to organize a wedding event is not as easy as turning over the palm of the hands. Instead, there are a number of factors to take into accounts here. These factors will be described below.

A Hall or an Open Space

When it comes to a wedding, every couple actually has the opportunity to choose whether the couple wants their marriage ceremony to take place at a grand hall or ballroom or at an open space instead. For those couples out there that choose to organize their wedding ceremony at a hall, they will have to make sure that the hall has a large size. Of course, it will be ridiculous if the hall can’t accommodate all the guests to the sacred wedding event, right? Therefore, in this case, couples have to estimate carefully how many people they are inviting to the event.

On the other hand, couples that organize their wedding event at an open venue will not have to be confused about the number of guests to invite. It is an open space, after all. Wedding ceremonies held in such a place often give the married couples unforgettable memories. However, when the ceremony is over, the couples need to think who is going to clear up the mess.

Parking Spaces

The next thing to take into consideration here is the parking spaces available. It is utterly important that the wedding guests find it convenient to park their vehicles when they attend to the ceremony. Their vehicles should not distract the traffic at the nearby area, either, when parked.

Good Acoustics

It is common for wedding ceremonies to feature some bands these days. However, it is important that the acoustics in the area are good. Thing is, if the wedding venue echoes a lot, it may be quite disturbing for the band.

Lighting

Lighting is one of the most vital elements of a wedding ceremony. With proper lighting, a wedding ceremony can become more alive. On the other hand, bad lighting can destroy the event instead. Lighting should be adjusted according to the time of the wedding reception. A good idea here would be to use lighting that can be manually controlled.

Special Valentine’s Day Dinner For The Soldiers

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castle catering

http://photos.louiethelens.com/Military/US-Army/Night-of-Romance-2015/

On February 12, Castle Catering hosted 45 soldiers and their spouses to a special Valentine’s Day dinner in the Romanesque Room. This is the 3rd year we have hosted this wonderful event. The evening began with a cocktail hour and appetizers at our “sister property”, Castle Green. Then the guests came to the Romanesque Room to enjoy inspirational speakers, a delicious dinner and dancing.

Valentines, many of which contained handwritten notes, were received from across the United States to thank these veterans for their service to our country. In addition, donations that totaled over $2,000 were collected for the Wounded Warrior Project.

View all the pictures from the evening via Louie The Lens photography.

All you need to know about Mobile Catering

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Every time you plan to throw a party or arrange food for a wedding reception, you are presented with a bunch of options of food caterers to choose from. These caterers set up their cooking facility very close to your main area of event to provide food. Similarly, a relatively newer concept of ‘mobile catering’ has surfaced recently where food is cooked and served from a vehicle, cart or a truck.

How does mobile catering work?

One would wonder how does mobile catering actually works as vehicles (be it trucks or vans) are meant to be used for commutation and not for selling food meals. However, the recent trend is to install onboard heating, cooking and refrigerating mechanism in the vehicles where fresh food can be cooked and served to people, often near public events (concerts, exhibitions), office blocks or in downtown business districts.

What food does mobile catering normally serve?

Normally, you would find the following foods and beverages items being served from such mobile food outlets. Notice that each item is easy to carry and serve as a quick meal to save time:

  • Freshly-made vegetarian food
  • Ice cream
  • Coffee, Donuts, Bagels

How can mobile food caterers partner with traditional caterers?

Mobile food caterers operate to target a specific type of audience to sell their foods. They do not (and cannot) target people who wish to have a nice and peaceful office lunch or a couple who wish to have a fine dine environment for the meal.

Mobile caterers often pair up with traditional caterers to provide them with all the equipments (grill, stove, refrigerator, etc.) in order for them to cook and serve food to people at the place and the time they want. Traditional caterers are more comfortable providing people food in a large gathering with an equally large set up for them to cook and serve meals. However, mobile caterers bring along the additional flexibility of setting up an entire kitchen virtually anywhere the guest wants.

Another method through which the traditional and mobile caterers can mutually benefit is the transportation of cooked food from the traditional caterers’ site to the desired place through mobile vehicles and trucks. All that needs to be done is to keep food fresh and warm for serving it to the customers in their own areas. This model is true for daily serving of food in a, say, business complex or a busy shopping street, where people are in rush and would want to grab a quick meal to get back to their work or to continue shopping. This maintains the high quality of food that you would normally expect from a traditional food catering company as well as provide customers with availability of food in areas where a normal caterer would not have supplied.

Hence, traditional caterers are experts in cooking and presenting of food to guests whereas mobile caterers can give them all the necessary facilities they would want to do their job as effectively as they would have done under their own traditional set-up.

Castle Catering September 2014 Event Schedule

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Castle Catering Pasadena Uplights
The first weekend in September was a busy time for both Castle Catering & The Romanesque Room. Two weddings took place along with a retirement party. These events took place in The Romanesque Room over a three day period. The same weekend our sister property, Castle Green, held another wedding ceremony and reception.

Castle Catering provided all the food for the retirement party which included appetizers and four stations – Italian, Mexicana, Slider bar, and our unique mashed potato martini bar which gives the guest a choice of two hot toppings and five self-serve toppings over creamy mashed potatoes served in a 10 oz. martini glass.

Pasadena California Catering ServicesRestaurant Partners provided food for two of the weddings. They were StoneFire Grill and Carmine’s Italian Restaurant. Castle Catering provided the hors d’oeuvres that were served during the cocktail hour at both parties.

We had the opportunity to work with Chef Cipriano Reyes of Dolci Vita Catering for one of the weddings. Chef Cipriano was a friend of the bride’s and did an outstanding job with all of the food for their event.

The parties were all successful…and the clients were happy!

Castle Green Wedding Venue

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Castle Green, the “sister property” of Castle Catering/The Romanesque Room held a wedding on the 5th of July. It was quite a success as Castle Catering provided all the food for the event. The ceremony was held on their expansive lawn and then the guests moved inside to the ballroom for the reception. The event coordinator was Samantha Sisk of La Bella Dia Weddings and Events. With the cooperative efforts of Samantha and all the vendors, it was another flawless event.

Vendors:

  • Event coordinator: Samantha Sisk, La Bella Dia Weddings & Events. (626) 497-5726. . www.labelladia.com
  • Caterer:  https://castlecatering.net
  • Alcohol: Bill Sullivan, The Bottle Shop. (626) 355-1262
  • Flowers: Grace, Tea Rose Garden. (626) 578-1144. 
  • Photographer: George Street Photography.  (866) 831-4103. www.georgestreetphoto.com
  • DJ: Scott Norris, Coastline Music. (310) 396-0527. 
  • Ceremony musicians: Desiree Deasy, Ladies Choice String Quartet. (818) 402-7475. 
  • Bakery: Cakery Bakery.  (818) 790-3223
  • Photo Booth: Brian Davis, Lucky Photo Booth. (323) 229-9455

Awards Banquet for the Pasadena Rugby Football Club

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Rugby Club June 2014

Rugby Club June 2014

Rugby Club Memorabilia

Rugby Club Memorabilia

Rugby Club Awards

Rugby Club Awards

The Awards Banquet for the Pasadena Rugby Football Club was held in The Romanesque Room on Saturday, June 28.

Alex Rylance is the coach and our contact.  Castle Catering worked with one of our Restaurant Partners, StoneFire Grill, to provide a two entrée buffet for the group.

51st Annual “An Evening with Star Chefs”

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The Chefs at Star Chefs

(Left to Right) Mary Grace Hankins, Xavier Vargas, Christian Hankins, Omar Rivera, Walter Galvez

The 51st Annual “An Evening with Star Chefs” for the benefit of Rosemary Children’s Services was held on June 21 in the front of Pasadena City Hall.

Rosemary Children’s Services in a non-profit organization dedicated to helping abused, abandoned and/or neglected children. 

Founded in 1963 by Julia Childs,  “An Evening with Star Chefs” is Pasadena’s “oldest, largest, and most prestigious culinary benefit” according to the invitation letter by Rosemary Children’s Services.

The Chefs of Castle Catering participated as part of this annual fundraiser.  There were 300+ guests in attendance in front of Pasadena City Hall.  The Chefs prepared three items:  1. Appetizer: Stuffed mushrooms 2. Entrée: Carnitas 3: Dessert: Bread pudding

What To Look For In A Catering Company

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You still remember that last time you’ve been at a wedding party.

Good food, friendly waiters, frequent replacements when a certain dish or pastry was too popular to last, water and drinks served to you as soon as you approached the table.

A good catering service is like that.

I remember this family wedding party I’ve been at in 2004 with a certain pleasure. Aside from the setting — a beautiful garden in front of the restaurant! — the food was delicious, it matched everybody’s tastes and there was enough choice for the vegetarian and the allergic not to feel left out.

They didn’t cheat us — the food was great and nobody felt sick after the buffet.

So, what you should look for in a catering company?

Well, aside from reading the reviews and hearing from people who have experienced their services before, meet with the company representatives and make sure the catering service has the following 8 quality points before you make your choice.

1. Availability to furnish menu samples for tasting

A good and honest catering company will let you taste the food before you plan it all out to make sure it is what you’re looking for.

If the company doesn’t allow you to taste their menus, something’s wrong and you better get suspicious of the quality of their food and cuisine.

A good caterer has nothing to hide about their food. Make a web search for negative reviews if you’re in doubt.

2. Prompt, on-time service

The party for your special event is starting soon — why isn’t the catering here yet?

A catering company is always prompt and on-time with their delivery service, so if they’re late and they still won’t call you and give you a reason for the delay, this is a sign the company isn’t serious.

Make sure to be clear about this matter as soon as you place an order with a catering company.

3. Food quality and conservation

There’s no need to highlight how important it is for the food to be fresh and come from quality sources, preferibly organic and naturally grown.

Conservation is also a decisive factor in the quality of the food. Good food gone bad because of a bad conservation practices is not only dangerous to your guests’ health, but it can also lead the catering company’s business to immediate death, so a conscientious company will take serious care of food conservation.

You should be able to asses this 3rd quality point when you taste the sample menu. Make sure to give the caterer detailed feedback on the quality, especially if you feel something’s might be wrong.

4. Friendly yet efficient staff

When the catering company doesn’t just supply food, but even service staff (waiters, attendants), you know this is a sign of prestige. The staff should be friendly and personable while attending to your guests.

If you have a lot of kids at the party, ask for a kid-friendly menu and staff with kid entertaining skills. A good catering company has staff that knows how to entertain kils and make your event interesting for them, too.

5. Clarity on the transports

I f you agreed on certain delivery times but the catering company is late, they should provide enough reason for you to wait.

Accidents happen, there might be a roadblock or another urgent matter coming up to delay the caterer, but if they don’t pick up the phone to let you know, your trust will definitely drop right there.

Ask the company for clear procedures in case of transport delays and how long they normally take to deliver.

6. Reliability and honesty

Serious businesses are always honest and reliable, and this is even more important for catering companies, especially about the replacement of bad or corrupted food and delivery times (see previous points for details).

There’s no point in hiring a catering company if they have a history of unreliability and dishonest behavior to their clients. These two factors are perhaps the most important in the list, so make sure you look for them when you read client testimonials and reviews.

Use Yelp.com to find out.

7. Communication and transparency

Your catering company will call you if they have a shortage of a certain food, couldn’t get in touch with one of the suppliers or the delivery has to be delayed for some reason. Communication is essential. If the company doesn’t call you and the service disappoints you, that’s a catering service not to use a second time.

Also, they should be transparent about their procedures and how they handle food. This is especially important if there’s a history of allergies in your family, so don’t hire the catering company if they seem to be sleazy or if there’s a risk they will use ingredients one of your guests can’t tolerate.

8. Good quality/price ratio

Finally, the quality of the service and the food should go hand in hand with a fair price. Low quality food at a stellar price is a no-no.

Don’t buy into the “prestige” talk the company may fill your head with — the real prestige is in honesty and reliability, not in names. If the food isn’t good and the service is scarce and uncommunicative, this isn’t the company you want to hire.

What other quality factors did you observe last time you hired a catering company for an event?

Valentines Dinner Via Castle Catering & Restaurant Partners at The Romanesque Room

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Again this year I am organizing a special Valentines Dinner for some very Special People. Forty to forty-five Soldiers and their spouses will enjoy an intimate dinner provided by Castle Catering and it’s Restaurant Partners at The Castle Green and The Romanesque Room.

I want to give you an opportunity again this year to express your gratitude directly to one of our Heroes by delivering “your” message that you are proud of them and thank them in the form of a Valentines Day card.

I am not only asking you to participate, but if you are comfortable doing so, help us get the word out by forwarding this email to your contact lists. As I ask this, I do not know if this request violates any kind of privacy issues for you….if it does, then don’t worry about forwarding. We are just trying to get as many Valentines Day Cards with a “message of thanks” as possible.

Here is what I am asking you to do if you are so inclined…

1)         Send a Valentines Card with a message of Thanks to:

                         “A Soldier and Spouse”

                          C/O Castle Catering   Suite 102

                           50 E. Green St.

                           Pasadena, CA.  91105         

2)         Certainly NOT required….but if you would like to enclose a check for $5, $10 or $20….or whatever you would like, made payable to “The Wounded Warriors Project” the soldiers will see them and we will forward them all to the Wounded Warriors Project.

3)         Last, if you are so inclined…..forward this message to some of your contacts and give them the opportunity to also send a Valentines Day  Card with a “Thank You” message.

That is it…..I hope you will participate.

Thank you so very much.

Owner, Castle Catering

Ron Hobbs  

Ron Hobbs
Owner, Castle Catering
50 E. Green St.  
Pasadena, CA.  91105
(32) 195-68-49
Fax  (626) 793-6769

castlecatering.net

February 13th 2014, Castle Catering is joining with Stonefire Grill Restaurants to produce a wonderful Valentines experience for post deployment Veterans and their spouses.

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Often after a deployment some Veterans face challenges re-establishing family relations. Castle Catering, Stonefire Grill and other selected restaurants have come together to help with this transition by highlighting the day meant for special relationships…Valentines Day.

Here is how you can participate in this wonderful event:

We are asking all who read this to send a “Valentine’s Day Thank You card” to a Soldier and Spouse to be opened by one of our participating Soldiers the night of this event. You can thank one of these Heroes personally through such a card.

If you choose to help, we are asking two things…neither of which is required, but if the spirit moves you, feel free to participate.

1) Forward this request to your contacts to give them the option to participate and let’s see how many cards we can have our veterans open the night of this event.

2) If you wish, include a check for $10 or $20 or any amount made payable to “The Wounded Warriors Project”.

The donations to WWP is certainly not required so don’t feel obligated. The card and you forwarding this info to your contacts is the primary effort.

Last year with only 10 days notice we received several hundred cards and raised $3,000 for the Wounded Warriors Project. We would love to enhance these results this year and have our participating Veterans hear and read Thank You cards from as many supporters as possible.

Send cards to this address:
A Soldier and Spouse
c/o Castle Catering
50 E. Green St. Suite 105
Pasadena, CAlif. 91105

Thank you for your interest and support for our Special Valentines Day Event.