Pandemic Bride Chronicles Part Six: Compliments to the Chef
This post is dedicated to all food & beverage hotel professionals but most notably, the staff and chefs at the Conrad DC.
Admittedly, I am biased. My wedding tasting experience at the Conrad DC left our stomachs full and minds conflicted with so many options to choose from that it took us two weeks to make our final choices since having everything was obviously not an option. As you get ready to consider your culinary experience, there are three expectations I believe every couple should have:
1. Your culinary professional should be invested in your wedding vision – I know that Renae Ouellette fully understands who we are as a mature, multi-cultural couple. Our tasting reflected my fiancée’s penchant for vintage French wines and, even though foie gras was not on the menu, Chef Joshua Murray exceeded our expectations with his interpretation of this delight which brings me to two learnings:
Find a caterer/hotel vendor that asks questions about you, your taste, and wedding vision.
Find someone who is willing to stretch beyond their packages. As a matter of fact, I highly recommend asking for custom culinary delights. I have never seen an instance where custom options have been disappointing.
2. Your culinary professional should enhance your culinary expectations – For our tasting, my love walked in with extremely specific wine choices all related to a personal or family experience but, they brought to the table other wines for our consideration and ensured through the Sommelier Troy Knapp that they were served at the right temperature and were willing to discuss further pairing options for us. My point is that they did not leave anything to chance and while we were specific, they showed up ready and willing to push our experience even further.
3. Your culinary professional should know their limits – There is a Parisienne delight that we want to give to each guest, and we were so pleased with the experience that we asked Chef Murray if he could provide it. He immediately responded that he could not and explained why given the limitations of the cooking environment. Which brings me to probably the most important point: Your culinary professional should be willing to honestly answer if they cannot deliver culturally significant food. The fact that he was honest with us has cemented that we will do anything we can to support this chef and the Conrad DC as much as possible.
Years ago, I remember someone saying to me “wedding food is just bad,” and they are right—wedding food that is pre-processed and package heavy is bad. What I know for sure is that wedding food can be delicious, distinct, and leave you wanting seconds (or thirds), which is why I believe that your wedding should taste good. If you need extra time in finding the right professional for you, do so. Bon Appetit.
p.s. Don’t forget to follow along with our journey via IG @belajoyful.
