TICK … TICK … TICK …
Anyone who’s ever attended a
party knows timing is critical. You
only have so many hours for the
cocktail hour, the music, the meal
itself, then all the presentations in
whatever order they occur.

For the caterer, it can throw everything
out of whack when the clock changes.

“Luckily, in the business we’re in, there
are so many checks and balances, it’s
seldom that something goes wrong with
the food,” said Steve Hellinger, who’s been
running Barclay’s Kosher Caterers in the
Northeast since 1989. “The thing that
always goes wrong is the timing.

Tablesetting in candlelight
at a Barclay’s
catered event.

“Say the service is supposed to end at
noon, but the rabbi goes to 12:30, or a
wedding’s supposed to start at 7, but some-
one’s late or there’s been an accident. That
really puts a kink the timeline.”
Every once in a while, though, he’ll
encounter a bigger problem.

“Recently we were at [Congregation]
Beth El in Yardley for a fundraiser, and the
power went out,” Hellinger said. “Luckily,
all the stoves were gas, so we were able to
heat the food, and the full event went on
with candlelight.”
The important thing — whether you’re
the party planner, the caterer or just one of
the little people in the background — is to
never let them see you sweat.

“You spend 24 to 48 months preparing
for five hours,” Zaslow said. “So I tell
“We were at
my clients, ‘It’s going to be beautiful,
[Congregation] but things are bound to happen.’
We try to make sure everything
Beth El in Yardley for
happens behind the scene, and
a fundraiser, and the power
they never see a thing.”
went out. Luckily, all the
And then, hopefully, when
stoves were gas, so we were
the guests tell them what a
able to heat the food, and
wonderful party it was,
the full event went on
they’ll nod and simply say,
with candlelight.”
“Yes, it was.” l
— STEVE HELLINGER
BARCLAY’S KOSHER
CATERERS Candle: Tarzhanova/
iStock/Thinkstock.com; Flowers: Photo provided
Remark Weddings
Name: Woodcrest Country Club
Width: 7.5"
Depth: 4.75"
Color: Black plus one
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Contact: jmarks@jewishexponent.com:
215-832-0729 Remark Weddings
wedding in Nantucket somehow got
thrown out just before the guests arrived.

With little time to react, Brownstein
came up with the idea to have each of the
bridesmaids and groomsmen call out the
names of individuals at each table, then
personally walk them over.

“Two weeks later, we had another
wedding in Philadelphia and did the stan-
dard seating with place cards,” Brownstein
said. “One of the guests who had been in
Nantucket came over and said she was disap-
pointed we hadn’t done it the same way.

“So we adopted that and have done it
maybe a dozen times since.”
Woodcrest Country Club
Weddings • Bar & Bat Mitzvahs • Events
300 East Evesham Rd. | Cherry Hill, NJ 08003

Events@woodcrestcountryclub.com
WoodcrestWeddings.com
856- /Woodcrestcountryclub
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Plate 3 Photography
Bonnie Wireback Photography
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM SIMCHAS
MARCH 23, 2017
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