Here we are deep in the midst of the holidays, and in our industry, this time of year is the most challenging. We work long hours to bring holiday magic to our clients, but it is that feeling which keeps us going.   After all, how many can say their profession gives them the joy of making all the food of the holidays?! The kitchen is in a constant frenzy as we make cookies, turkeys, desserts, hot chocolate, spiced apple and cranberry cider and all things that scream Christmas. Throughout the month of December, we are surrounded by a perpetual

I have a simple wish–when a guest is about to go to an event, they say to their friends “And the food will be from Chef Joanne Purnell from Good Gracious Events!” They know this because the invitation says it, because that’s how much of a FOMO draw the chef is.    Does it sound crazy? Why shouldn’t catering and banquet chefs be as lauded as restaurant chefs? Why is it that cooking for a crowd gets little or no attention unless it’s a restaurant chef doing it? I believe that what we do every week year-in-and year-out is as

Wine cocktails get a bad rap and for good reason. Who hasn’t suffered a nasty hangover drinking sugary sangria or tried to talk yourself into enjoying a wine margarita? And then, there are all type of spritzers. Many are quite nice, but they can’t come close to the complex layer of flavors that you get from a cocktail. But that changed for me when I made it my mission to find some tasty wine-based drinks that don’t taste like wine. One of my most popular venues, the Annenberg Community Beach House, doesn’t allow spirits, and we often serve guests who