Hope at the Lake
Simon and Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits are spinning from my living room window, floating onto the deck where I am enjoying one of that last great days of summer in Shoreview, Minnesota. I predict the Vikings will beat the Packers this afternoon with my ever hopeful heart. And I pause after enjoying yesterday’s wedding spoils of our blueberry, bacon, goat cheese salad with the most tender baby lettuce blend.
I’m still reflecting on last night’s intimate gathering of friends and family on Bald Eagle Lake where a middle-aged couple made their vows as the sun glistened off of the water. I often wonder how I ended up center stage when it comes to the menu for these meaningful events. A privilege for sure to get a peak into the living room, now transformed into a dining room with 45 guests, when speeches are taking place. I’ve seen it all from drunken groomsmen to tearful maids of honor - sharing their thoughts (and stupidity at times). But last night was a first for me. I heard the grown daughter of the bride share with her mom’s new husband how incredibly grateful she was for him - how he had been the example of an incredible father-figure that she always wanted in her life and how she wasn’t going to settle in her own life for anything less when it came to deciding who to spend her life with. She spoke about watching her mom’s relationship with him and how inspirational their love was to her…and it got me. Tears of hope and joy formed in the corners of my eye.
Serving a plated wedding dinner out of a single family home is a challenge. Our team of four took over the mudroom and got to work staging things to make this night a success. Hauling plates and silverware into the house, polishing and setting the silver, rolling the food to the back of the room so we could move the salads to the front. Moving the salads out to the kitchen so we make room for the water goblets to go out, rolling the salad cart back and tucking it behind so we could access the hot-box and then setting up our plate bussing station in the garage which served as the cocktail hour bar minutes earlier. Shuffling, shifting, shhhhh-ing to keep quiet during times of sharing by family and friends during dinner - all while doing our job to keep things flowing.
White on white, candles upon candles, rustic chargers topped with our white coupe style dishes. Center of the plate featured our pecan crusted walleye with maple cranberry butter as well as our bacon wild rice stuffed chicken with buerre blanc paired with our creamy Yukon mash and fresh roasted vegetable blend. My Sous and I were in sync as we plated - mash, veg, entree, sauce, garnish, check the rim, send. Flawless, smooth, calm and fun…not always the words we get to use to describe our flow. Even more remarkable was the incredibly small section of counter we had to work with. It’s in these tight quarters that you really have to enjoy the people you work with and man am I honored to work with such an incredible group of people.
Everyone enjoyed their dinner while we took a break outside with the wedding planner and bartender in the beautiful pub set up in the driveway (getmypub.com). No doubt this is the most impressive portable bar set up I have every seen. Built in a shipping container, this pub was delivered and dropped in the driveway. The container opens up into a full sized mini-pub with seating, a fireplace and bar. And it blocked off the end of the driveway, facing toward the lake which created another space for guests to spend time during the evening.
It’s always fun to see how little food waste we walk away with on a night like this. Empty plates are a chef’s greatest compliment and last night I was feeling good. Chef Adam was out of town so I had even more to prove. We quickly packed everything into the truck and returned to the kitchen to wash dishes and put things away so we are ready to start prep on Monday for what promises to be a very busy week in the kitchen.
Best wishes to the bride and groom and many days of happiness and fulfillment sharing morning coffee and devotions by the lake. Love to you, your family and friends.