"The wedding cake, once called bride cake, and later bride's cake, as initially a symbol of bounty and good luck.  The cake, above, with its topper of spun-sugar sheaves of wheat, evokes the harvest - a time when Roman brides carried wheat sheaves to ensure their future fertility.  Over the years, it became customary for the wheat to be baked with salt into a simple hard biscuit used during Roman Empire wedding ceremonies. Together, the bride and groom sealed their marriage by eating crumbs from this biscuit .  The remainder was crumbled over the bride's head by the wedding officiant - as a wish for plenty, good fortune, many children; guests rushed forward to claim a lucky fragment. This has evolved into today's traditiion that all wedding guests sample (or take home) a piece of wedding cake for good luck. The succulent marzipan grapes onthe cake pay tribute to Bacchus, the Greek god of wine and celebration, and also forecast bounty, fruitfulness, happiness, and good cheer."

~Taken from BRIDES magazine, 1993~

"Love, as told by the seers of old,

Comes as a butterfly tipped with gold.

Flutters and flies in sunlight skies,

Weaving round hearts that were one time cold."

~Algernon Charles Swinburne~

It gives me great pleasure to invite everyone to the Triangle NACE 2nd annual Fairytale Wedding event at The Sutherland Estate, Tuesday March 9th, 5:30 pm. Exact directions will be emailed before the wedding. See you all there...

Mark Day

Welcome New Members

Jill Kucera, Catering Works

Jessica Stout, Centerplate- Raleigh Convention Center

Sondra Johnstone, Prestonwood Country Club

Wine & Chocolate at Chatham Hill Winery

 February brought Triangle NACE members to North Carolina’s only urban winery and the first winery in the Triangle area, Chatham Hill Winery in Morrisville, to learn about the trend toward modern urban wineries, the growth of the North Carolina Wine Industry and how these wineries may be used as destination event location for social and business occasions.  Because the meeting took place during the week of Valentine’s Day and chocolate pairs so well with wine, we integrated chocolate into the event as well.

Guests entered the main gallery to the sounds of flamenco guitar provided by the Ed Stephenson duo and the smells of Chatham Hill Winery’s custom warm mulled wine.  The tables were draped in shades of plums and golds, compliments of American Party Rentals, and topped with gorgeous floral provided by Ninth Street Flowers.  Everyone enjoyed an informal wine tasting along with passed hors d’oeuvres including Scallop Ceviche, Tostada with Sweet Onion Mole, Chocolate Bruschetta with Flaky Sea Salt and a Savory Chocolate Napoleon with Smoked Bacon. 

While some guests took tours of the winery, enjoying barrel samples in individual chocolate cups, others entered the barrel room where new NACE members Catering Works had lavish food display incorporating chocolate into each item.  The menu featured a salad of spicy arugula with cilantro, mango, chevre & pumpkin seeds, drizzled with a sweet & spicy white chocolate vinaigrette, NC Pork BBQ hickory smoked & cocoa braised with medjool dates served with a crispy cocoa dusted wontons, traditional fried South American flat breads topped with rich cocoa-infused chipotle braised chicken, Sweet Potato Salsa with Cocoa Chips, Spanish Cheeses offered with fresh baked breads, Marcona almonds and quince paste and White Chocolate Mousse with Passion Fruit Gelée.

 The meeting was called to order by President, Mark Day, who introduced Co-Owner and Winemaker Marek Wojciechowski who spoke about the unique aspects of the winery and the growth of the wine industry in North Carolina.  Events Director, Megan Reynolds, discussed how the winery could be used for events and showed supporting slides of past events during her presentation.  

After the presentation, Membership Chair Jenna Cobb gave a current membership report and then opened the floor to attending guests to introduce themselves to the group.  February’s Sponsor Spotlight and Triangle Chapter Charter Member, Barry Herndon of East Coast Entertainment addressed the group about his company and how NACE has helped his business grow.  Programs Chair, Amy Greene, did a look ahead to the March and April meetings and Hospitality Chair, Michelle Aldred, presented door prizes to the guests.

Guests then enjoyed more networking and winery tours while the catering company butlered delicious chocolate almond cookies with a touch of chili dust.  Local cupcake shop, the Cupcake Bar, offered a display of their signature cupcakes, made with Chatham Hill’s raspberry wine while Paul Mosca, owner of the Nahualli Trading Co., offered samples of their signature item - Chocolate Seeds – chocolate covered whole organic cocoa beans - during ongoing chocolate-making demos. 

Robin Lin Photography archived February’s meeting.

Director of Catering – The Carolina Inn

WHO WE ARE:
Destination Hotels & Resorts began in 1972 with the development and management of condominium resorts. Since then, we have grown to become consistently ranked as one of the top ten hospitality management companies in the country (ranked by Hotel Business Magazine) with more than 7,100 employees, over 7,000 hotel rooms and condominium units, and more than $2.2 billion in assets under management. We are a wholly owned subsidiary of Los Angeles-based Lowe Enterprises, a privately-held, national real estate organization active in commercial and hospitality property investment, management, and development. Since its inception, Lowe has been responsible for more than $8.5 billion in assets nationwide.

Destination Hotels & Resorts is unique in the lodging industry in that our primary mission is to create value for guests, investors, and associates in each of our hotels and resorts. We do this by developing an innovative, customized business plan for each property we manage and combining it with the sales, marketing, and operating resources of a company many times our size. This lodging industry expertise, together with the real estate savvy of Lowe, has allowed us to bring an owner's perspective to the hotel management business.

Destination Hotels & Resorts is one of the industry's leaders in the management and marketing of high-quality independent properties, many of which we successfully converted from major brand affiliations.

OUR CULTURE:
Destination Hotels & Resorts fosters a creative, entrepreneurial and energetic work environment where people come to work and have fun. We value passionate people who love to be challenged and desire the freedom to contribute to the overall success of the organization. Your role will be integral to the success of our company. We strive to create a work place culture that values family, work life balance and community. We help develop our associates and provide support for them to grow their careers with DH&R. Our associates are proud to work here!

THE CAROLINA INN, CHAPEL HILL, NC:
The Carolina Inn is a historic hotel located in downtown Chapel Hill, NC. Historic charm, modern amenities, gracious service, and memorable food blend beautifully at The Carolina Inn, a AAA Four Diamond Award Winner & Member of Historic Hotels of America.

We are conveniently located on the doorsteps of the University of North Carolina, in the heart of downtown Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The experience is one of world-class service, elegantly appointed guest accommodations, superb dining, outstanding meeting and banquet facilities, and an expert staff. The Carolina Inn is looking for a qualified individual to join our prestigious team as our Director of Catering.

PURPOSE OF THE POSITION:
Department leader who fosters a sales culture of driving revenues and maximizing property revenues. Strong focus on selling skills and a sense of customer urgency that meets the goals of the organization and surpasses customer expectations. Directs the day-to-day Catering department to achieve the property mission and revenue and service goals. Meets or exceeds department budgeted revenues, booking pace, and forecasting accuracy.

BASIC JOB FUNCTIONS:
• Guides department in the creation of a marketing plan and its deployment to discover new business opportunities in the social and corporate catering community. Develops tactics to find new customers and retain them. This includes tangible efforts in prospecting, sales calls, entertainment, and site inspections.
• Utilizes the tools of sales productivity reports, post-event surveys and letters, daily banquet event orders/pricing, set-up reports, manages night reports, to measure the effectiveness of training.
• Leader of Catering Sales with assigned markets, and insures both quantity and quality of sales and execution is commensurate with leadership.
• Ensures each member of the department executes all four business cycles (sales, pre-planning, execution, and post-event) at or above standard.

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This Just In...Mark Day Finally Does a Newsworthy Newsletter!!!