Catering at the Spa, the Wedding Expo, and Delivering Cookies…

Over the past couple weeks, we have catered another event at Red Door Spa, this time in association with a Condo Building in the Bellevue Area, Elements. We brought some amazing bruschetta, an extravagant cheese and fruit plate and assortment of nuts. As it is the “Red Door Spa”, we also brought a variety of red wines. It is always fun to cater an event for them, as all the guests are eager to hear about Ruth’s Chris and our new catering services. They also always rave about our Happy Hour, which is continuously said to be the best Happy Hour on the Eastside.

This past Sunday, Gracie and I attended the Seattle Wedding Expo at the Seattle Center. It was an interesting experience to say the least, as Gracie made me pretend to be the bride. Being swarmed by photographers, wedding coordinators, DJs, and cake bakers was a battle in itself, coming up with a creative story about how I met my fiancé and when we were getting married. We are trying to tap into the wedding business for Ruth’s Chris Catering and seeing how the other caterers promote themselves was educational and intriguing with their creative advertising.

Gracie was away on Thursday and Friday, so I came in the mornings to man the phones and handle the BEOs for the next two weeks. I also wrapped cookies for the sales calls Gracie and I normally do on Friday. After all the calculations from the parties over the past week were done and the cookies were wrapped, I started to follow-up on inquiries for parties in the future. I now have my own copy for all of the party information, so I have been taking a more active role in planning parties. We’ll see what happens over the next few weeks, but that’s all for now…

Event Planning Extraordinaire!

On Thursday, Gracie and I had lunch with Judy and Ashley from Events Extraordinaire. We have been looking to expand Ruth's Catering to weddings, receptions, and larger private parties, so working with Events Extraordinaire (EE) would be a great opportunity to expand our catering services. EE has over 35 years of experience in the event planning business, working weddings and other social events, as well as corporate and non-profit banquets. We enjoyed an amazing lunch including Asparagus with Hollandaise, Chicken Caesar Salad, French Dip Sandwiches, and our Portobello Mushroom Sandwich. For dessert, Judy and Ashley decided their craving would be satisfied with Bread Pudding, while I enjoyed the Creme Brulee.

After lunch, as part of our plan to spread the word about Ruth's Catering, we showed the ladies around the restaurant and what sort of amenities we have to offer clients, including our three private dining rooms. Check out the Events Extraordinaire website to see their amazing photos and all the events they have handled in the past: http://www.eeseattle.com/

The New Year is Here!!!

Happy New Year to everyone! The past four month have been hectic, but amazing. Gracie and I took part in networking events, catered for Red Door Spas and Microsoft, and had many adventures together. But now to the new year...Right back from winter break, it was back to work at Ruth's Chris. The first two days, we had two all-day conferences that had everyone involved working crazy hours, but it was a great experience to have the restaurant bustling and busy at seven in the morning. I participated in the normal activities, creating events, sales calls to the different buildings and companies in the area, as well as new and different tasks. Gracie and I attended the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce monthly meeting on Tuesday morning and in preparation, I had to prepare an elevator speech, a 30 second pitch about what Ruth's Chris has to offer different clientele and how we market ourselves to the surrounding community. It was an excellent learning experience, listening to how others market themselves and what each company focuses on in their pitch. So, the next time you are going to pitch something, come up with a 30-second hook for it, it's harder than it seems. Anyways, after the craziness of the holiday season, we are focusing on the catering aspect, trying to gain a larger client base. We have some events in the future, so I look forward to telling you all about them.--Hilary

New Year, NEW Stuff going on

 Welcome!  We are hosting a 2-day Breakfast Seminar today and tomorrow. 

We were all here at 5 a.m. to prepare for the arrival of our guests at 6:15 a.m. 



Meet our servers: Chris, Erich, Jennifer, and Robert

After the Breakfast Buffet, the staff set-up the Snack table, so guests could get a quick "pick-me-up" during the meeting breaks.  I'll catch you later, the guests are ready for their

plated Brunch...a Filet, Tomato-Basil Quiche and oven roasted potatoes!