Itty-bitty festivities
Small-scale holiday parties can be a big blast to throw
WWhen it comes to holiday gatherings, there will be no turkey feast for 40 this year. No elaborate cookie exchanges or lavish office parties with big, communal eggnog.
Yes, 2020 will be the strangest holiday season ever. But last we checked, merriment is not a numbers game; it’s a state of mind. And with a little help from some of the Bay Area’s up and coming caterers, even the tiniest gathering can be a brilliant success.
San Francisco chef and caterer Andrea Lawson Gray began getting requests for tiny parties just a few months into the pandemic: a 50th birthday with the social bubble, an anniversary celebration for two. She quickly learned how to downscale once-typical wedding receptions or tech company soirees and make them safe and
socially distanced for these times.
“We’ll be doing a lot of holiday parties outside with heaters this year,” says Gray, who is the co-founder of Private Chefs of the SF Bay Area, a collective of nine chefs who specialize in 31 types of cuisine and have a combined 70-plus years of experience in restaurants, including several with Michelin nods. “We’re not doing buffets or shared plates, of course.”
What they are doing – and with great success – are small plates, passed appetizers and portioned mains that dazzle just as much as that centerpiece bird. “You can do duck, which is ideal for two people, or goose,” Gray says. Crab or lobster always feel decadent and are the holiday go-to for many families.
Chef-caterer Tony Santos, who runs the temporarily closed Tony Caters cafe at The Tech Interactive museum in San Jose, has found a novel way to address the company parties that won’t be held this season at The Tech or anywhere else. He’s created Tony’s Holiday Pantry boxes — a full meal for two that just needs reheating — that Silicon Valley firms and others can order for their employees at home. (And if some staffers are working from out of state, Santos is shipping boxes of sweet treats and other goodies.)
For those small at-home family gatherings, Santos suggests dressing up comfort food in small, partylike portions. More courses equals more festive fun. “I think people are trying to make the holiday as special as they can,” he said.
Rayane Abi Abboud and Jill Egi of the Left Bank Restaurant Group’s Vine Party Design agree that this year, it’s all about creating what they call “memorable moments.”
After years of specializing in huge corporate catering events for 500 to 800 people, they pivoted this year to creating Left Bank packages for celebratory occasions at home. Besides special meals from the Santana Row restaurant in San Jose, they line up virtual sessions with chefs, sommeliers and bartenders – for families, small groups and corporate clients.
It doesn’t take much to dress up your home holiday feast, they say. Use festive dinnerware and linens and think about printing out menu cards. “That’s a cute little touch,” Abi Abboud says.
If your family or bubble is a group of grazers, forgo a traditional meal for a hearty cheese and charcuterie board, like the showstoppers Karla Ahmed builds. Ahmed, a Castro Valley paralegal, started Brie Grazing Boards back in February, and the intense FOMO brought on by her bewitching Instagram page fasttracked the business. You’ll now spot those boards around Livermore, including at Arroyo Cellars.
For safety, equip guests with their own tongs to grab meats and other goodies. “You’re just being extra cautious and responsible,” she says. “I like reusable bamboo or palm leaf tongs, which you can find on Amazon.” She also suggests handing out “mini wooden honey dippers for drizzling honey atop your brie and apple slices. Kids love them like party favors.”
And we could all use a party favor this year.