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583 PARK AVENUE has had the privilege of kicking off 2016 with some truly memorable events. From milestone birthday celebrations to diversity awareness gatherings, 583 PARK AVENUE has started off the New Year with a bang. Below is a list of select highlights covering the first few months of 2016: (more…)

583 PARK AVENUE has had the privilege of kicking off 2016 with some truly memorable events. From milestone birthday celebrations to diversity awareness gatherings, 583 PARK AVENUE has started off the New Year with a bang. Below is a list of select highlights covering the first few months of 2016: Continue reading →

What Makes One New York Event Better Than The Next, Part 2: Food

Whether it’s a Bar Mitzvah, Bat Mitzvah, Cocktail Reception, Gala Dinner or Wedding in New York, there are certain elements that ensure that your event will stand out from the rest. Herbert Rose has over 40 years of experience as Director of Catering at New York’s finest venues, and is now Director Emeritus at Guastavino’s and 583 Park Avenue. Over the next few weeks the patriarch of The Rose Family will share his commentary on the factors that make an event stand out from the crowd. This week: Food

When it comes time to discuss event menus with a client, I like to make three recommendations perfectly clear:

1. No one is coming to your Bar or Bat Mitzvah, Wedding, Charity Dinner or Cocktail Reception because they are hungry.

2. No guest is expecting a culinary epiphany, just a quality meal.

3. An overly elaborate spread is (usually) a waste of money put out by hosts who feel a need to show that they have money to waste.

What event cuisine should be is high quality, freshly prepared and properly cooked. It should be recognizable dishes that can stand the test of a large-scale preparation. What event guests want is a familiar meal created with premium raw materials and served in a timely fashion. Practically nothing that you can serve at a large event will be deemed waiting for, even if the chef has assured you that it is worth the wait.

At 583 Park Avenue and Guastavino’s we aim to keep our event cuisine simple by buying only the best. We serve high-quality filet of beef because years of experience have shown that no other beef stands up to rigors of a large-scale cooking as well as a filet. We only use American Colorado Lamb because we feel that it’s the finest on earth. Everything is fresh and we use absolutely no frozen or pre-prepared items.

This attention to quality should be a given when paying hundreds of dollars a head, but believe me it is not. Many venues, especially large hotels, have turned to convenience over quality.

An example:

Every year I am invited to a very large and prestigious dinner at what is arguably the most famous hotel in the world. The service is notoriously slipshod but efficient; dinner is always served in a timely fashion. The event features excellent speeches, an entertainer, and interesting and often famous attendees. Sadly, the food is atrocious.

The first course, inevitably smoked salmon, is preset on the table. This is something I abhor and will only agree to under duress, and then for only very specific selections. Naturally the room reeks of fish as soon as you walk in. By the time guests are seated the salmon has been sitting on the table for at least an hour and has begun turning dark around the edges. Nothing could be more unappealing. The main course alternates from year to year between filet of beef and rack of lamb. The filet is the lowest quality obtainable (but is still edible). The rack of lamb is disgusting and covered with fat, definitely frozen and shipped from New Zealand, which is know in the industry for it’s bargain basement prices and even lower quality. The vegetables and potatoes are the best thing on the menu. No roll or butter is provided at this hotel as clever way of increasing profitability. Desserts are best left untouched.

The point of all this is that year after year guests of this event know that they will have a lousy meal. This expectation of mediocrity greatly lessens the experience of what would otherwise be an exceptional event.

It is not impossible to serve exquisite food at a banquet, but it requires a willingness to seek out only the best ingredients.  When it comes to delicate items like shellfish, serving the freshest, highest quality possible is more than just a luxury; it is essential to the success of your event. At Rose Group venues we serve only under-ten-count shrimp cooked in our kitchen. Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami sources our stone crabs, while lobsters are delivered fresh from Maine. Only fresh fish is ever served.

Producing an enjoyable meal isn’t difficult, it just takes a bit of care, know how, and the willingness to put quality over profit margins. The best ingredients combined with careful on premises preparation will produce a meal that is exceptionally enjoyable every time.

Herbert Rose is Director Emeritus at Guastavino’s and 583 Park Avenue. He has over 40 years of experience as Director of Catering at New York’s finest venues. Future commentaries will include temperature, music, décor, and timeline.

Have a question for Herbert? CONTACT US today and he will be happy to address it in a future post.

Whether it’s a Bar Mitzvah, Bat Mitzvah, Cocktail Reception, Gala Dinner or Wedding in New York, there are certain elements that ensure that your event will stand out from the rest. Herbert Rose has over 40 years of experience as Director of Catering at New York’s finest venues, and is now Director Emeritus at Guastavino’s and 583 Park Avenue. Over the next few weeks the patriarch of The Rose Family will share his commentary on the factors that make an event stand out from the crowd. This week: Food

When it comes time to discuss event menus with a client, I like to make three recommendations perfectly clear:

1. No one is coming to your Bar or Bat Mitzvah, Wedding, Charity Dinner or Cocktail Reception because they are hungry.

2. No guest is expecting a culinary epiphany, just a quality meal.

3. An overly elaborate spread is (usually) a waste of money put out by hosts who feel a need to show that they have money to waste.

What event cuisine should be is high quality, freshly prepared and properly cooked. It should be recognizable dishes that can stand the test of a large-scale preparation. What event guests want is a familiar meal created with premium raw materials and served in a timely fashion. Practically nothing that you can serve at a large event will be deemed waiting for, even if the chef has assured you that it is worth the wait.

At 583 Park Avenue and Guastavino’s we aim to keep our event cuisine simple by buying only the best. We serve high-quality filet of beef because years of experience have shown that no other beef stands up to rigors of a large-scale cooking as well as a filet. We only use American Colorado Lamb because we feel that it’s the finest on earth. Everything is fresh and we use absolutely no frozen or pre-prepared items.

This attention to quality should be a given when paying hundreds of dollars a head, but believe me it is not. Many venues, especially large hotels, have turned to convenience over quality.

An example:

Every year I am invited to a very large and prestigious dinner at what is arguably the most famous hotel in the world. The service is notoriously slipshod but efficient; dinner is always served in a timely fashion. The event features excellent speeches, an entertainer, and interesting and often famous attendees. Sadly, the food is atrocious.

The first course, inevitably smoked salmon, is preset on the table. This is something I abhor and will only agree to under duress, and then for only very specific selections. Naturally the room reeks of fish as soon as you walk in. By the time guests are seated the salmon has been sitting on the table for at least an hour and has begun turning dark around the edges. Nothing could be more unappealing. The main course alternates from year to year between filet of beef and rack of lamb. The filet is the lowest quality obtainable (but is still edible). The rack of lamb is disgusting and covered with fat, definitely frozen and shipped from New Zealand, which is know in the industry for it’s bargain basement prices and even lower quality. The vegetables and potatoes are the best thing on the menu. No roll or butter is provided at this hotel as clever way of increasing profitability. Desserts are best left untouched.

The point of all this is that year after year guests of this event know that they will have a lousy meal. This expectation of mediocrity greatly lessens the experience of what would otherwise be an exceptional event.

It is not impossible to serve exquisite food at a banquet, but it requires a willingness to seek out only the best ingredients.  When it comes to delicate items like shellfish, serving the freshest, highest quality possible is more than just a luxury; it is essential to the success of your event. At Rose Group venues we serve only under-ten-count shrimp cooked in our kitchen. Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami sources our stone crabs, while lobsters are delivered fresh from Maine. Only fresh fish is ever served.

Producing an enjoyable meal isn’t difficult, it just takes a bit of care, know how, and the willingness to put quality over profit margins. The best ingredients combined with careful on premises preparation will produce a meal that is exceptionally enjoyable every time.

Herbert Rose is Director Emeritus at Guastavino’s and 583 Park Avenue. He has over 40 years of experience as Director of Catering at New York’s finest venues. Future commentaries will include temperature, music, décor, and timeline.

Have a question for Herbert? CONTACT US today and he will be happy to address it in a future post.

What Makes a New York Event Better Than The Next, Part 1: Service

Whether it’s a Bar Mitzvah, Bat Mitzvah, Cocktail Reception, Gala Dinner or Wedding in New York, there are certain elements that ensure that your event will stand out from the rest. Herbert Rose has over 40 years of experience as Director of Catering at New York’s finest venues, and is now Director Emeritus at Guastavino’s and 583 Park Avenue. Over the next few weeks the patriarch of The Rose Family will share his commentary on the factors that make an event stand out from the crowd. This week: Service

When hosting an event, the single most important element is service. Not just the quality of service, but more specifically, the quantity. In Manhattan, all of the top venues draw from a very similar labor pool. That means that the front of house staff, the bartenders, waiters, captains, checkroom attendants, even the unseen porters, tend to be equally talented across the board. The key to providing a great experience for you guests is to have the highest staff-to-guest ratio possible. The more staff you have working at your event, the more pampered and cared for your guests will feel. No one wants to wait to check their coat, wait on line for a drink, be served half a table at a time or search longingly for hor d’oeuvres. Unfortunately, a quality staff is expensive and is the first place where many venues will begin to cut corners.

Almost all hotels are bound by the union contract agreement, which specifies what the staff-to-guest ratio must be. Unfortunately for the guests, this ratio is designed to guarantee the incomes union members, not to provided guests with adequate service. Ironically, this means that the venues that cost the most, hotels, provide the fewest number of servers. Even if you are willing to pay for more, the union contract will prevent you from getting what you’ve paid for.

Even if you’re not dealing with a union situation, you cannot assume that you will get the proper level of staffing. Before booking a venue, ask exactly how many guests each server will be responsible for, how many captains will be in attendance and how many bartenders will be mixing drinks. At 583 Park Avenue and Guastavino’s, we use 1 waiter for every 5 guests. That is double or triple the industry standard because we feel so strongly that this is the single most important way that we can distinguish our event venue from the competition. Believe me, it makes a huge difference.

A footnote: It is always important that venue staff be properly uniformed. Not makeshift outfits but tailored, well-fitting uniforms that bespeak of professionalism. Hotels do better on this than many independent venues, but at Rose Group venues, we make an even bigger commitment to wardrobe than the top New York hotels.

Please bear in mind that, as a host, you may not notice how many waiters there are or how easy it was to find a drink. As your guests leave they will tell you that it was the BEST Bar/Bat Mitzvah, Reception, Dinner or Wedding they have ever been to. That’s when you’ll know that you made the right choice.

Herbert Rose is Director Emeritus at Guastavino’s and 583 Park Avenue. He has over 40 years of experience as Director of Catering at New York’s finest venues. Future commentaries will include cuisine, temperature, music, décor, and timeline.

Have a question for Herbert? Contact Us today and he will be happy to address it in a future post. 

Whether it’s a Bar Mitzvah, Bat Mitzvah, Cocktail Reception, Gala Dinner or Wedding in New York, there are certain elements that ensure that your event will stand out from the rest. Herbert Rose has over 40 years of experience as Director of Catering at New York’s finest venues, and is now Director Emeritus at Guastavino’s and 583 Park Avenue. Over the next few weeks the patriarch of The Rose Family will share his commentary on the factors that make an event stand out from the crowd. This week: Service

When hosting an event, the single most important element is service. Not just the quality of service, but more specifically, the quantity. In Manhattan, all of the top venues draw from a very similar labor pool. That means that the front of house staff, the bartenders, waiters, captains, checkroom attendants, even the unseen porters, tend to be equally talented across the board. The key to providing a great experience for you guests is to have the highest staff-to-guest ratio possible. The more staff you have working at your event, the more pampered and cared for your guests will feel. No one wants to wait to check their coat, wait on line for a drink, be served half a table at a time or search longingly for hor d’oeuvres. Unfortunately, a quality staff is expensive and is the first place where many venues will begin to cut corners.

Almost all hotels are bound by the union contract agreement, which specifies what the staff-to-guest ratio must be. Unfortunately for the guests, this ratio is designed to guarantee the incomes union members, not to provided guests with adequate service. Ironically, this means that the venues that cost the most, hotels, provide the fewest number of servers. Even if you are willing to pay for more, the union contract will prevent you from getting what you’ve paid for.

Even if you’re not dealing with a union situation, you cannot assume that you will get the proper level of staffing. Before booking a venue, ask exactly how many guests each server will be responsible for, how many captains will be in attendance and how many bartenders will be mixing drinks. At 583 Park Avenue and Guastavino’s, we use 1 waiter for every 5 guests. That is double or triple the industry standard because we feel so strongly that this is the single most important way that we can distinguish our event venue from the competition. Believe me, it makes a huge difference.

A footnote: It is always important that venue staff be properly uniformed. Not makeshift outfits but tailored, well-fitting uniforms that bespeak of professionalism. Hotels do better on this than many independent venues, but at Rose Group venues, we make an even bigger commitment to wardrobe than the top New York hotels.

Please bear in mind that, as a host, you may not notice how many waiters there are or how easy it was to find a drink. As your guests leave they will tell you that it was the BEST Bar/Bat Mitzvah, Reception, Dinner or Wedding they have ever been to. That’s when you’ll know that you made the right choice.

Herbert Rose is Director Emeritus at Guastavino’s and 583 Park Avenue. He has over 40 years of experience as Director of Catering at New York’s finest venues. Future commentaries will include cuisine, temperature, music, décor, and timeline.

Have a question for Herbert? Contact Us today and he will be happy to address it in a future post. 

Top Bar and Bat Mitzvah Themes of 2014 and Beyond

Bar and Bat Mitzvahs have changed an awful lot since we were kids. Celebrations that were once low-key dinners and receptions have become extravagant carnivals (sometimes literally). If you’re planning a Bar or Bat Mitzvah that needs to be a hit with children and adults alike, here are 5 soon-to-be-trending Bar Mitzvah themes to get you started.

Classic Cool Bar Mitzvah Theme

These days what’s cool is what’s old. A vintage, “classic cool” Bar Mitzvah celebration will transport your guests back to a time when their grandparents were growing up. Whether your child decides to go for Mad Men style elegance or the flair of the 1920’s, through decoration, costuming and entertainment (this is one theme where a live band is a must), you can give your child a chic celebration with a level of grace and grandeur uncommon among the preteen crowd.

Pop Star Bar Mitzvah Theme

Whether your 12 year old is a rocker or a pop princess, music themed parties will always be a hit. Decorations in the style of favorite pop stars and an impersonator or two will get the kids excited for a long afternoon/evening of dancing and singing along. Make your daughter the star of the show by having an impersonator or local artist serenade her with a favorite song. Don’t forget to have the paparazzi there to make everyone feel like a star.

If rock is more your child’s style, have the hair gel and skull t-shirts ready to go so everyone has the chance to spike their hair and look the part. In this case, a live band is more appropriate than a DJ, especially if your child has the opportunity to join them for a song.

A word of warning: Be careful when planning a party around one particular artist. You never know when he or she may fall from grace.

Fantasy Bar Mitzvah Theme

As The Hunger Games and other popular fantasy movies continue to come out in droves, the fantasy theme will continue to grow in popularity. Whether your child is a mini Katniss or an Avenger in training, transform your venue into the hometown of their favorite film or book character.

There are already dozens of blogs and websites offering advice on the perfect Hunger Games themed party. Take that advice and personalize it for your child and venue. Pick and choose the decorations, costumes, foods and activities that will make your child’s celebration stand out from the crowd. Don’t forget to dream big. It is a fantasy, after all.

Brazil/Carnival Bar Mitzvah Theme

As the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics approach, Brazilian culture is going to be on display everywhere. For any child, but especially a sports fan, a Brazilian themed party will be different, exciting and full of the life and energy that many bar mitzvah themes lack.

Light up your celebration venue with the costumes, lights and music of Carnival. Serve Brazilian BBQ alongside traditional Bat Mitzvah fare. Hire samba musicians and dancers to give lessons and keep everyone moving. While a Carnival headdress may be a little extreme, putting the Bar Mitzvah kid in a personalized, bright yellow soccer jersey will make them look and feel like the star of the show all night long.

Social Media Bar Mitzvah Theme

Does your 12 year old always have her head buried in her smartphone? Embrace her love of Facebook and Twitter by creating a social media themed Bat Mitzvah bash. Allow friends and family members to tweet their best wishes onto video screen while others take pictures in an Instagram themed photo booth. While most guests will have their own accounts and technology, create accounts for grandparents ahead of time and have tablets ready so that they can add comments of their own.

Decorate using images of your child that have been run through Instagram filters and create banners featuring hashtags like #BarMitzvahBoy and #MazelTov. Don’t forget to end off with social media themed desserts (Marshmallow Peeps make perfect Twitter Icons, just make sure to use a kosher recipe).

Ready to host your child’s Bar or Bat Mitzvah at 583 Park Avenue? Contact Us today to get started. 

Bar and Bat Mitzvahs have changed an awful lot since we were kids. Celebrations that were once low-key dinners and receptions have become extravagant carnivals (sometimes literally). If you’re planning a Bar or Bat Mitzvah that needs to be a hit with children and adults alike, here are 5 soon-to-be-trending Bar Mitzvah themes to get you started.

Classic Cool Bar Mitzvah Theme

These days what’s cool is what’s old. A vintage, “classic cool” Bar Mitzvah celebration will transport your guests back to a time when their grandparents were growing up. Whether your child decides to go for Mad Men style elegance or the flair of the 1920’s, through decoration, costuming and entertainment (this is one theme where a live band is a must), you can give your child a chic celebration with a level of grace and grandeur uncommon among the preteen crowd.

Pop Star Bar Mitzvah Theme

Whether your 12 year old is a rocker or a pop princess, music themed parties will always be a hit. Decorations in the style of favorite pop stars and an impersonator or two will get the kids excited for a long afternoon/evening of dancing and singing along. Make your daughter the star of the show by having an impersonator or local artist serenade her with a favorite song. Don’t forget to have the paparazzi there to make everyone feel like a star.

If rock is more your child’s style, have the hair gel and skull t-shirts ready to go so everyone has the chance to spike their hair and look the part. In this case, a live band is more appropriate than a DJ, especially if your child has the opportunity to join them for a song.

A word of warning: Be careful when planning a party around one particular artist. You never know when he or she may fall from grace.

Fantasy Bar Mitzvah Theme

As The Hunger Games and other popular fantasy movies continue to come out in droves, the fantasy theme will continue to grow in popularity. Whether your child is a mini Katniss or an Avenger in training, transform your venue into the hometown of their favorite film or book character.

There are already dozens of blogs and websites offering advice on the perfect Hunger Games themed party. Take that advice and personalize it for your child and venue. Pick and choose the decorations, costumes, foods and activities that will make your child’s celebration stand out from the crowd. Don’t forget to dream big. It is a fantasy, after all.

Brazil/Carnival Bar Mitzvah Theme

As the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics approach, Brazilian culture is going to be on display everywhere. For any child, but especially a sports fan, a Brazilian themed party will be different, exciting and full of the life and energy that many bar mitzvah themes lack.

Light up your celebration venue with the costumes, lights and music of Carnival. Serve Brazilian BBQ alongside traditional Bat Mitzvah fare. Hire samba musicians and dancers to give lessons and keep everyone moving. While a Carnival headdress may be a little extreme, putting the Bar Mitzvah kid in a personalized, bright yellow soccer jersey will make them look and feel like the star of the show all night long.

Social Media Bar Mitzvah Theme

Does your 12 year old always have her head buried in her smartphone? Embrace her love of Facebook and Twitter by creating a social media themed Bat Mitzvah bash. Allow friends and family members to tweet their best wishes onto video screen while others take pictures in an Instagram themed photo booth. While most guests will have their own accounts and technology, create accounts for grandparents ahead of time and have tablets ready so that they can add comments of their own.

Decorate using images of your child that have been run through Instagram filters and create banners featuring hashtags like #BarMitzvahBoy and #MazelTov. Don’t forget to end off with social media themed desserts (Marshmallow Peeps make perfect Twitter Icons, just make sure to use a kosher recipe).

Ready to host your child’s Bar or Bat Mitzvah at 583 Park Avenue? Contact Us today to get started. 

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