I was fortunate to have had the privilege of working with the catering department at the Beverly Hilton Hotel for the 2009 Golden Globe Awards. Extensive planning and meticulous thought went into the preparation of not only the dishes for the main event that took place in the ballroom, but to the numerous pre and post parties that took place throughout the hotel.

For the three days preceding the event I worked under the supervision of Chef Suki Suguira(Executive Chef-Beverly Hilton Hotel) & Jeff Vosburgh(Executive Sous Chef-Beverly Hilton) and guest chef Peter Gennaro III(Executive Chef of Hilton Hotels(Myrtle Beach). My group from the International Culinary School at the Art Institute-Los Angeles were assigned to the Garde Manger station and we handled many aspects of cold food preparation. Our focus for the 3 days was on the assemblage of 1300 composed salads for the main event. We worked on every component from assembling 1300 pieces of dill weed, 1300 cored and marinated baby pears, cutting and preparing the white asparagus, cutting various exotic lettuce including endive and lastly wrapping 5 leaves of Arugula with a chive to create a bunch.

All of the work on the dynamic salad was worth it when we saw the final products sitting on various celebrities tables in the main ballroom. Additionally we worked on other elements including several trays of passed hourderves, salads, fruit platters, etc.

From our group we were invited to assist with the plating for the “In Style” party that took place caddy corner to the red carpet. It was a systematic routine illustrated by various plating diagrams and it all went down without a hickup. We plated and prepared all meals ranging from Vegan & Vegetarian to a Chicken, Beef and Fish option. Additionally we prepared appetizer courses of various salads.

This experience was quite memorable and I will remember every moment for years to come. I thank both the Beverly Hilton and The International Culinary School at the Art Institute-Los Angeles for bringing us along for the ride.