Yesterday Milca, her mom and I went to the Chef’s house to see if we were going to use him for the meal. In reality, we didn’t have anyone else in mind, so it was more of a tasting to see what he would make rather than whether he would make it. We drove to his house in Glendale, which was pretty close to the Oakmont Country Club.
The house was nice. There were a lot of old country type appliances and gadgets, which caught Milca’s eye immediately. Old school everything, all hand made, all wood and metal. It made you appreciate what we are truly capable of.
We were greeted by Angel, the chef, and Randy, his significant other. Randy was a dentist, who went on to teach at USC, and as far as I can tell is not woring, but investing and living off the money he’s already made. He also helps Angel with his catering jobs and whatnot. He does cake decorating and various other tasks. A rennaisance man. I admire that.
We sat down to a beautiful and simple arrangement. The fact that this much effort was placed in just this formality sealed the deal. A professional attitude is a must, and Angel has it. It should be noted that he and Randy are friends of Milca’s mom, which is why we’re going with him to begin with. That being said, the fact that he put as much effort into everything is saying something.
Anyhow, we started off with a salad. It was really good. It was a basic salad, but the balsamic dressing was sweeter than most other balsamic dressings I’ve had. The sliced almonds also made a nice addition.
After the salad the main plate was brought to us. I noticed that he served Milca and her mom first. They hadn’t noticed this distinction, but I did, and I appreciated it. Chivalry isn’t dead, I say. The main plate had two chicken breasts, one with a chipotle cranberry sauce with carmelized onions, the other had a creamy mushroom sauce. Damn. They both rocked my socks completely off. We were to choose between them, and ran into a few snags. First, if I had my choice we would have the chipotle sauce, but the chipotle sauce had a kick that some of the people attending wouldn’t be able to handle. Second the mushroom sauce has milk, which would likely kill my brother. Killing the best man is not a good thing. The solution? Both sauces available at an additional cost per head. Besides the chicken there will be potatoes, and a spinach side that was totally yummy.
All in all, he should be charging us way more than he is, and he typically does charge more. As I said, he’s a friend, so we’re getting an exclusive rate. He will have two people helping him, above and beyond himself and Randy, which brings up another topic… the staff.
We have to pay per person for who will be at the wedding in any way shape or form, as the location is a retreat center. They don’t care what they’re doing, if they are on the grounds, then they are paid for. I am also thinking that we will need to have people there to wash dishes, so I may be asking some of the Boy Scouts to help out. They’ll be paid and fed, so it’s not total slave labor.
Blah blah blah. Wedding wedding wedding. So many details… In the end it will all happen, we’ll be married, and everyone will have had a good time. I just wish we could get to that part faster.