Thursday, July 22, 2010

Vendor Spotlight: Paulding & Company


Although Tracy and Terry Paulding of Paulding & Company cater the occasional wedding, their focus is the night before. Terry and her staff do incredible hands-on cooking events for rehearsal dinners. Of her unique business model: “Most of my business is in-house cooking events, including team building, birthday parties, etc., but I hold the rehearsal dinner as a special favorite. The dynamic is lovely as two families get to know each other with their hands involved in a cooperative effort.”

She began working in restaurants during her teen years but ended her restaurant career in the mid ‘70’s to have a family. Years later, the Piedmont Adult School invited her to teach. She taught their Basic Cooking classes and they were always sold out. Eventually she went to CCA and got her degree in ’94. Terry speaks so highly of her teaching experiences and it’s clearly what drives her business today. “As a teacher, I introduced so many people to healthy, flavorful and fresh food, that I began getting requests to cater. So, a dozen years ago, I rented space in a commercial kitchen and started catering. I moved my teaching to that kitchen as well, as there was a dining area.”


Eventually she built a place of her own. Open since January 2004, her Emeryville kitchen is built specially for group work—it’s a fully inspected, 2400-square-foot, large, catering kitchen; and it's set up for teaching and activities with prep stations for large groups. It seats 56 people comfortably for dining, or she can accommodate up to 100 guests next door at Periscope Cellars winery.

So if you’re looking for a truly unique idea for how and where to host your rehearsal dinner, consider calling Terry. Your families and friends will get the chance to mingle while achieving something you can’t quite do any place else: eating a delicious meal that you each had a hand in making. The alchemy of creating food together extends itself in many ways and this is perfect for foodies or families that just love being around a warm, cozy kitchen. This is a great way to bring families together before the craziness to ensue the next day. There is truly magic in Terry’s kitchen: we’ve experienced it and you should, too. Learn more about them at: http://www.pauldingandco.com/

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