Barry Clarke of The Barefoot Gourmet is a great chef and a great caterer. To the former point:
- our guests complimented the food profusely, from the to-die-for chocolate chip cookies that we put in welcome bags to the dinner entrees.
- Barry... patronizes local farms for many of his ingredients, and his meals have a nice farm-to-table feel.
As a caterer, I have even more good things to say:
- Barry is a straight shooter. He accommodated my desires for the event (it was important to me to have a plated dinner, and for the salad course to be served after the first toast), but wasn't a yes-man (kindly correcting some less-good ideas I had). That inspired a lot of confidence.
- He has great contacts in the area, from the town clerk to a terrific cheese person, as well as a bakery that provided the perfect dessert when I decided I didn't want a traditional cake.
- He treated the set-up of a field kitchen with seriousness and military precision. He was clear about his needs and visited our site to make sure he knew what to expect.
- Finally, he was very responsive by email at every step in the process. This was really helpful at the last minute when we were trying to nail down the timing of the reception with the DJ.
I would also recommend Barry's wife Sarah as a coordinator. She was an enormous help; totally competent yet easygoing. What a couple!!