Let’s Get Seasonal, Seasonal! New 2019 Menu Inspirations

The snow is melting (we hope), and the trees are shaking off the winter chill—spring is on its way. We couldn’t be more excited for 2019. We’re bringing new ideas to our business—lo-fi weddings, partnerships with more women-owned venues and companies, and more—and innovative menu ideas, fresh from the oven. While we stand behind our commitment to totally custom menus for each of our clients, we want to continually provide original ideas and suggestions. And, as always, our menus pay special attention to any and all dietary restrictions—gluten-free, egg-free, kosher-style, Jain, etc.—and our 2019 seasonal menus are no exception. In fact, we are gradually adding more GF, vegetarian and vegan options, as well as elevating traditional entrees and hors. EXCITED for the foodie inspo? Here’s the gist for the two new menus:

Breakfast

Both menus have some of our standard hot and cold options, of course—our customizable egg bar and our healthy yogurt brunch bar. We want to take advantage of all the delicious in-season fruit and offer berry-flavored scones and muffins in the spring and summer. Fresh green veggies and herbs are in-season, too, so our savory options include basil and taleggio tartlets and asparagus quiches.

Boxed lunch

EC: keeping corporate clients well-fed with delicious and beautiful brainfood all year long. Would we even be a Midwestern catering company if we didn’t incorporate some sweet yellow Illinois corn? Our summer salads are filled with the season’s best—grilled corn, scorched bell peppers, farm-fresh kale and more. For those hot summer days, we’ve created a chilled soba noodle and cucumber salad—fresh, cool vibes. Plus, our sandwich selection contains protein options for nearly everyone: ham, turkey, chicken, beef and even hummus and veg.

Entrees

Ah, dinnertime in the summer. The sun has gone down, the air has cooled and it’s time to dig in to the last meal of the day. Our protein options are classic—short ribs, lamb chops, chicken breast, fish—the difference is in the preparation. Our summertime grilled salmon is served Japanese-style, with a marinade of soy, sake, mirin and ginger. The halibut is dressed in a light meyer lemon herb sauce. The braised and grilled chicken breast is served on a bed of fresh green herbs and charred lemon wheels. The spring/summer entrees are hot, but feel light.

Breakfast

In the winter chill, we want especially comforting and indulgent hot breakfasts, so our winter 2019 menu includes some *special occasion* options such as red velvet pancakes (OMG, YUM). We also want to incorporate some cold weather herbs, so we put a modern twist on the classic breakfast hash by using sweet potatoes and fresh thyme. Cinnamon apple crumb muffins (late fall / early winter flavors, hello!) take the place of the seasonal berry muffins on the spring/summer menu.

Boxed lunch

Sandwiches are staples year-round, especially at conferences, all-day meetings and networking events. Smoked turkey, sliced beef and cider-braised steak feel appropriately wintry. To keep the sides feeling seasonal, too, we offer a warming roast potato salad with a cozy apple cider vinaigrette. We also wanted to incorporate our signature global perspective—peep our charred heirloom carrots with hazelnut dukkah (an Egyptian dip and marinade). We’ve also taken care to ensure most of our lunch salad dressings are vegan-friendly, just to make things easier for our veg folks.

Entrees

Winter, again, calls for warm, rich dishes, and our fall/winter menus do not disappoint. We take many of our same spring/summer proteins and reinvent them for the holiday season. For example, we serve our classic beef tenderloin in a Barolo sauce, flavored with the deep red Italian wine. Our braised chicken breast is plated with a creamy herbed butternut squash sauce. Plus, butternut squash ravioli with a sizzling brown butter sage sauce offers a similar flavor palette to vegetarians.