Inspiration to create an event to remember!
Art of Catering
Art of Catering will execute your meal flawlessly with a blend of talented staff, beautiful presentation, and dynamic dishes. They believe that food is more than nourishment; it provides a way for people to come together, celebrate, and share an experience.
What lead you to open a catering company? Our founder, Larry Grimes, wanted to have a catering company that could offer guests a restaurant-quality experience with food cooked on-site and amazing service.
What type of events do you cater? We cater all types of events from intimate dinners in clients’ homes to large formal galas. Fun casual bbq’s to mind-blowing culinary experiences.
Is there a certain type of service or cuisine you specialize in? We customize all of our events to meet the needs of our clients.
What sets you apart from other caterers in the area? We are known for providing the highest quality food and best service experience in our area.
What is your favorite thing about the event industry? We get to work with an amazing group of event professionals—Portland is very lucky to have such a high caliber of event vendors.
Fun fact about you and/or your company: We are constantly challenging ourselves to be the best!
Photography Credits: Ben Pigao Photography (photo 1 & 2) | Mosca Studio (photo 3)
How to Design a Memorable Escort Wall
Whether you are planning a plated dinner and a seating chart/escort wall is necessary, or you just love the idea and look of one, they are always the perfect addition for any event type. And who knows the ins and outs of designing the perfect escort wall better than anyone in the area? The amazing team at Bridal Bliss Event Planning. Nora and Catherine were kind enough to provide some insight for this post on how to create the perfect display — see below!
Escort walls are the perfect way to add a fun element and wow factor to your wedding! We love a good nod to a personal detail--how the couple met, a significant trip, or anything else that is an authentic nod. A few tips to remember when creating an escort wall:
For a big visual impact (unless you have a massive wedding), it's best for each guest to have their own name tag or item rather than grouping by couples or family.
Create a wedding favor element within the wall and something the guests can actually take home with them (jam, cocktail shaker, handwritten note from the couple, etc).
When placing names on the escort wall, we suggest doing it alphabetically by the last name. We've noticed guests can find their names a bit easier this way versus grouping by table numbers or first name.
Plan on having attendants on-site to help guests find their names. Sometimes people get overwhelmed, and this is actually a good tip whether you have a wall or any other assigned seating arrangement. Having a planner or attendant with a list handy can move the line along!
All featured escort walls were designed by Bridal Bliss. Photography Credits (in order of appearance): Altura Studio at Leftbank Annex | Ben Pigao Photography | Matthew Land Studios | Jessica Hill Photography | Mosca Studio at Leftbank Annex | Bethany Small Photography
Commitment to Sustainability
When the building was renovated by the Leftbank Project in 2009 they made sure to take sustainability into consideration with each decision. The team preserved as much of the original building as possible, while still creating a functional and beautiful event space. The overall design and color palette was derived from materials already found within the building; a perfect mix of brick, steel, concrete, glass, and wood to transform a historic building into an urban, industrial event venue.
During your tour, you will notice a lot of the original features and structures. Here are a few fun ones to keep an eye out for:
The Nest was once a combined office and apartment space when owned by entrepreneur Dean Child. Near the ceiling, you will see smoke marks on the brick from his wood-burning stove. (This use is why there are also stairs that lead to nowhere!)
Running along the top of the Greatroom ceiling is a steel beam with a large hook at the end. This was used to move items of all sorts outside throughout much of the building’s history.
In the Clubroom you will see a beautiful teal color in random-like patterns on the floor and walls. This is actually leftover paint from its use as a painting school!
Salvaged from the initial interior, Douglas fir wood can be found via floorboards, cabinets, trim, and stair treads.
Additions to the building include eco-harvested Southern Oregon trees used for Madrone flooring, non-toxic finishes for most surfaces, concrete counters crafted on-site by a local artisan, dimmable fluorescent lights, and upgraded bathroom features (high-efficiency toilets, automated lights and faucets, and jet towel dryers).
For the 10 years the Leftbank Project ran the venue, they always took the environment and local sustainability into account. One of the ways they did this was by creating an exclusive list of caterers, each of whom was vetted to ensure that their business and sustainability practices aligned with the venues. As of January 2020, Elephants Delicatessen also has the honor of being the new parent company for Leftbank Annex in addition to being one of the exclusive caterers.
As a certified B Corporation, Elephants Delicatessen is committed to environmental stewardship through waste, resource, and emissions reductions, and helps alleviate food insecurity in the greater Portland area company-wide.
Here are a few fun facts about what we do as a B-Corp (and learn more here)!
The B-Corp Impact Assessment asks questions about how day-to-day operations create a positive impact for workers, the community, and the environment. In 2019, Elephants’ score was 96 with the industry average being 55!
Being family-owned and operated, our first commitment is to our employees, customers, and community. We partner with many organizations to donate food and support local non-profits by participating in fundraising efforts.
At our facilities and onsite at events, we are sure to recycle, compost, and carefully sort all of our waste. This goes for food scraps, common recyclables (paper, glass, etc), and non-standard items needing special disposal (batteries, oil, bubble wrap, and more).
As a woman-owned company, we are proud to say 57% of our senior managers and 50% of our executive team are also women! 30% of our executive team are people of color as well as 37% of our employees company-wide.
By increasing renewable energy use, purchasing energy-efficient equipment, supporting the renewable wind power movement, and more we reduced/offset our carbon footprint by 25% in 2019!
Socially Distanced Clubroom Event
While the world of events continues to evolve each day with updated guidelines and information, there is one constant — the pandemic itself. Initially that may seem daunting while you are trying to plan your event. Many clients are left wondering “What will my event look like? Will it still feel normal?”
Our answer is yes, it will! The tables may be spaced out a bit more and group sizes different, but the event itself will still be beautiful and your guests will have a great time. Take a look for yourself!
For those of you (like me) who love fully set tables, you are probably pretty bummed that right now only centerpieces, chargers, and flatware rolled napkins can be pre-set. My recommendation is this — rent an extra set of place settings and stage a table or two for photos, prior to guests arriving. This way you can get those beautiful shots, but have time to remove them before guests come in (and remember to put them in the “dirty” pile and not use for the service). We did just that for this event; see below!
Venue: Leftbank Annex | Catering & Planning: Elephants Catering & Events | Photographer: Simple Joie | Florist: Blüm; Design In Flowers | Rentals: The Party Place and Sperry Tents Oregon | Menu Cards: Blue Bonsai Printing
Artemis Foods
Artemis Foods has been providing local, organic, and sustainable meals to the Portland area for over 20 years. Their commitment to the environment doesn’t stop with their menu selections, but also expands into the decisions they make for their everyday business needs — electricity, marketing materials, transportation, and more!
We are proud to say that Artemis Foods is one of 9 exclusive caterers at Leftbank Annex. Here are some fun facts about Artemis, from owner Lauren Carr!
What lead you to open a catering company? I had been cooking professionally in restaurants in my early 20’s then opened a small catering business Lauren Carr Catering, which eventually led me to buy Artemis Foods 4 years ago.
What type of events do you cater? Weddings, corporate meetings and functions, fundraisers, private events in homes, wine dinners, and more! There are not a lot of events we won’t try to accommodate.
Is there a certain type of service or cuisine you specialize in? We specialize in local, organic, sustainable NW cuisine. Cooking within the seasons and partnering with local farms and purveyors to highlight the bounty of the NW.
What sets you apart from other caterers in the area? We are a full-service catering company that helps our clients make the vision for their events come to life. Our event planners assist with arranging rentals, staffing, bar services and décor. We pride ourselves on giving clients attention to every detail to make their event unique and successful.
What is your favorite thing about the event industry? We are in the business of making people happy with food and events, which is very rewarding and never the same day-to-day.
Fun fact about you and/or your company: We have a tradition of celebrating the birthdays of our kitchen and office staff with a fun lunch in our catering kitchen, either cooked by the Chef or from a favorite restaurant, complete with dessert and singing happy birthday!
Featured Vendors - Venue: Leftbank Annex | Planning & Design: Under the Veil | Photographer: Sierra Storm Photography | Floral: Lush Floral Design | Food & Beverage: Artemis Foods | Rentals: West Coast Event Productions | Flatware: The Party Place