**Nostalgia Alert: The Radish’s 30-year anniversary is in July**
While I don’t get to go to every party in person any more, I am always there in spirit. This week the Radish catered a posh plated dinner for 250 guests at Belltown’s uber-chic Block 41. Things were going swimmingly, and I was at the party happily wearing my trusty Troubleshooting & Instagram-Photographer Hat.
After almost 30 years of Radish-ing, I still love being in the center of the controlled chaos (aka my “Happy Place”). When dinner service begins, I typically plant myself at the end of the expediting line so I can teeter on the edge of the back-of-the-house and front-of-the-house. It’s definitely where I have the most fun.
The expo line is also the dinner plate’s final stop before it leaves the kitchen. My job is to be sure they all look picture-perfect as we hand them off to our service team.
Last night, just before dinner service, our Operations Manager asked me if I would like to jump on a dinner service team to mix things up. Our team is so used to seeing me at my “post” that many of them did a double-take as they watched me proudly march out to the dining room with plates in hand. Some of them even had a nervous “Lisbet-is-surely-going-to-drop-someone’s-dinner” look on their face.
edible flowers with preserved lemon vinaigrette
Just as we hit our fourth table with ten pretty plates of seared wild salmon and lemongrass vegan tofu entrees and returned back to the kitchen, everything slowed down for me. I had some sort of existential catering moment as I looked across the vast room at the stunning decor, happy guests and the other Radishes calmly parading out of the kitchen with more beautiful plates.
And like some sort of movie montage, I felt my whole life flash in front of my eyes. Or at least my life as a Radish. All this crazy work I have done for the past 30 years was distilled into this one beautiful moment.
And as I glided back into the bustling kitchen, I realized how lucky I am to get to throw fabulous parties for a living with all these amazing Radishes.
I wouldn’t have missed it for anything…and I didn’t even drop a single plate.
Cheers ~Lisbet
Photos from our American Heart Association Gala last week.
Clockwise from Top Left…Roux & Eddie prepping hors d’oeuvres, Happy Hour Bar Rentals,
Marissa & Angie at the bar, Behind the Radish Scenes, Salad Course.