Top International Special Event Award
for Culinary Capers Catering

Culinary Capers Beijing was a winner at The Special Event 2010 Gala Awards at the annual Special Event Conference and Trade Show in New Orleans. Company CEO Debra Lykkemark and Beijing President and Executive Chef Billy Kawaja accepted the Gala Award for Best Off-Premise Catered Event at the Gala Awards Ceremony on January 15th.

Special event professionals from throughout the world gathered in New Orleans for the international Gala Awards ceremony, honoring the finest work in special events.

Culinary Capers Catering, Vancouver was also nominated in the same category for an exclusive six-course plated lunch event focused on seasonal ingredients in Whistler, BC for 330 guests.

Culinary Capers Beijing's winning entry for Best Off-Premise Catered Event was for a plated luncheon on the Great Wall of China. The spectacular setting featured a 120 foot long table set on a privately reserved area of the Great Wall. The four-course menu showcased a contemporary Chinese fusion menu. The event was part of an exclusive land excursion tour that CMEatSEA, renowned for delivering world class experiences, hosted for a group of 120 international doctors.

"We are honoured to receive such a prestigious award in our first year of business in Beijing," said Debra Lykkemark. "This is an award shared by all of the Culinary Capers Catering family, an acknowledgement of the talent and commitment of our hard-working team in Beijing with the support from our talented group in the Vancouver office."

How sweet it is!

It's all about Eve Lacabanne, our very own Culinary Cakes designer who was chosen as the winner for Best Three-Tier Cake by the 2008 Canadian Wedding Industry Awards.

The Awards recognize and celebrate excellence by honouring the most innovative and inspiring wedding suppliers in 11 categories within the Canadian wedding industry. Judges included Laura Decarufel of Elle Canada, Preston Bailey of Preston Bailey Design in New York and Los Angeles event designer Mindy Weiss.

The Tiffany-inspired lemon raspberry wedding cake featured delicate, hand-made and sculpted sugar floral and hand-rolled 'pearls'. The official presentation of awards will be made in July in Toronto.

culinarycakes.com

Culinary Capers Beijing
Caters on the Great Wall

On April 15th, Culinary Capers Beijing (a division of Culinary Capers Catering) served an amazing, four-course luncheon on the Great Wall of China for 120 guests. The event was part of an exclusive land excursion tour that CME at Sea, a division of Cruise Connections Canada, hosted for 120 international doctors.

Guests arrived and were greeted by the thundering beat of Chinese Lion Drummers that accompanied a traditional lion dance which culminated in the dancers leading the way to the dining table. The spectacular setting featured a 120 foot long table set on a privately reserved area of the Great Wall.

The amazing four course menu showcased a contemporary Chinese fusion menu. For the first course, servers poured long pepper duck consommé tableside from tea pots around a duck confit and scallop mousse; the next offering was a 20 component Asian salad presented on a gold Great Wall designed serving dish over smoking dry ice; the entrée was a duet of grilled beef tenderloin and jumbo prawns with sticky rice cake and grilled asparagus; followed by a delectable dessert trio of warm toffee spice cake, roasted apple flan and candied ginger ice cream.

The guests were ecstatic. In the words of Debra Lykkemark, president of Culinary Capers Catering, “I have never seen so many smiling faces or had so many compliments at an event.  The guests gave Executive Chef Billy Kawaja and his talented kitchen team a standing ovation, then they thanked us by doing the wave and telling our client that they wanted us to do all the events for their cruise next year! This was a truly amazing experience that I hope we can repeat many times for our clients.”

Culinary Capers wins two National event awards

Culinary Capers Catering was presented with two Star Awards at the 2009 Canadian Event Industry Awards on March 27th in Toronto. The Star Awards are presented annually and are the top honour for Canadian event professionals.

The winning entries were for Best Catered Event and Best Food Presentation – both for a six-course plated lunch in Whistler, BC for 330 for a restaurant industry client.

Top International Awards
for Culinary Capers Catering

Culinary Capers Catering was the recipient of the International Achievement in Catering Excellence (ACE) Award at the annual catersource conference in Las Vegas. Company president Debra Lykkemark accepted the ACE award at the opening general session of catering industry professionals on Monday, February 23, 2009 at the Las Vegas Hilton.

The catersource ACE Award recognizes companies that have shown leadership and noteworthy achievement in the catering industry through culinary, business, community and professional development. “We are extremely proud to be honoured with the prestigious ACE Award,” said Debra Lykkemark, president of Culinary Capers. “When I opened the company 23 years ago, we set out to be one of the top caterers. To be recognized by my peers in the international catering community for our hard work is extremely gratifying and a tribute to our entire team.”

Culinary Capers also took home three awards at the 2008 CATIE Awards (Catered Arts through Innovative Excellence). The CATIE Awards are presented by the International Caterers Association, another highlight of the 2009 catersource Conference and Tradeshow, an international event attended by over 4,000 catering industry professionals. The awards are designed to recognize the achievements of caterers from around the world.

The winning entries were in the following three categories: Best Plated Menu for a spectacular six-course plated lunch focused on seasonal ingredients in Whistler, BC for 330 guests (click here to view menu in pdf); Best Hors d’oeuvre for a foie gras parfait with spiced apple brioche and cardamom croquant, created for an exclusive event for Louis Vuitton; and Best Celebration Cake for a birthday cake, inspired by Jimmy Choo designer shoes, for an ultra-stylish birthday soiree.

Culinary Capers Creates a Taste of BC for Beijing

Winning the job to host the world as the official caterer for the British Columbia Canada Pavilion in Beijing was a true win-win for Culinary Capers Catering. Not only was it a chance to share the best of home-grown BC ingredients and cuisine from May through September with officials, Olympic athletes and business owners who visit the Pavilion, Culinary Capers shared the spotlight and their knowledge with a team of students and teachers from Vancouver Community College who were a part of our catering team.

Culinary Capers flew a total of 24 VCC students and six staff to Beijing and provided accommodation. The students were an active part of the Pavilion’s kitchen and serving staff while earning credits for their school program.

“The students grew their skills in a highly important and unusual environment in the Pavilion, and Culinary Capers helped to grow our cooking and catering field”, said Debra Lykkemark, president of Culinary Capers. “This is a great example of how British Columbia Canada Pavilion and the Province worked to create legacies for BC.”

Culinary Capers showcased the best of BC food, beer and wine for many business delegations and special events at the Pavilion. “Food can make or break an event, so we were honoured to be chosen to cater for the thousands of guests to the Pavilion. We wowed them and left a lasting impression of our cuisine and BC produce,” said Debra. “It’s always been part of our practice to use local produce whenever possible, but to showcase our delicious, high-quality foods to the world is very exciting.”