Scholarship Dinner - Crafted in San Pedro
As we write this blog post, we're still riding high from this inspiring event. It was an event we produced last month for 800 guests at Crafted at The Port Of Los Angeles. It's our second year working with The International Trade Education Programs organization. Their mission is to prepare high school students for high-wage and high-growth jobs. Hospitality and catering happen to be a trade they focus on. Many of the students they serve are from impoverished schools, and are learning a trade, and follow a career path that will take them out of high-risk neighborhoods. The theme of the event was "Oceans Of Opportunity", and is their annual scholarship dinner. Such an event can only happen through great relationships, like the one between our event producer Pam Aki and Brita Wichers and Jane Narayan of MBF Productions who produced the event. We also want to give special thanks to Broadcast Support for AV & Lighting, and OC Events for Rentals.Besides being proud to cater such an event, we trained 28 students from Banning High School Match Culinary Department under the direction of Ms. Mac. The training took place earlier in the month to teach them about proper service techniques. The students practiced their new skill set by helping to serve guests their meals. We loved seeing their passion and the possibility for the future of catering and hospitality. And special thanks go to Broadcast Support for their amazing AV & Lighting Services, and Oscar of OC Events for rentals.The venue for this spectacular event is truly a gem. As you can see from the images there is room for 800! Crafted is a multi-use space that serves as a marketplace for local artisans, includes a brewery, as well as being an event venue. It features wooden open-beam construction, and is blank palette that's ready for any design aesthetic. In order to pull off an event of this size, we built two kitchens within the space. Appetizers were tray passed in the HIVE room which served as the location for the successful silent auction. Dinner was served family style and with the expertise of 14 chefs, 14 servers, 2 supervisors, and our 28 students, we were able to feed all 800 guests in 14 minutes! Going one step further in community outreach, set-up and break down was provided by a group of men from Beacon House, which is a wonderful recovery home in San Pedro. You can see these men working all around San Pedro in their yellow shirts on various service projects for the community.The family style dinner included: Penne Pasta with Yellow Squash, Broccoli Bites, Carrots, Green Peppers, Onion and Garlic; Chicken Alfredo with Parmesan Cheese; Whole Green Beans with Red Peppers, Roasted Shallots, and Almonds. Dessert was abundant platters of Brownies in an assortment of Turtle Style, Checkered Chocolate Chip, Roasted Macadamia Nut and German Chocolate. This wasn't just another event for The Summit Team. Instead it was a great success for the ITEP students, their instructors, and the community at large. We thank ITEP for allowing us to be a part of the growth of their students and look forward to welcoming some of them into the catering community.
