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Bridge Creek Catering Receives 2008 Best of New Paltz Award

WASHINGTON D.C., September 24, 2008 -- Bridge Creek Catering has been selected for the 2008 Best of New Paltz Award in the Caterers category by the U.S. Local Business Association (USLBA).

The USLBA "Best of Local Business" Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. Each year, the USLBA identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2008 USLBA Award Program focused on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the USLBA and data provided by third parties.

SOURCE: U.S. Local Business Association

CONTACT:
U.S. Local Business Association
Email: PublicRelations@USLBA.net
URL: http://www.USLBA.net

From an Interview with Phil Leger of Bridge Creek Catering:

Q: What are Bridge Creek Catering clients looking for that they don’t get from other caterers?
A: Really good food no matter how large the event and no matter what the conditions.

Q: That’s it?
A; Well yes, essentially. There are two basic parts to a successful catered event. One is careful, detailed planning and coordination. Most good caterers can do that. The other is experience and the ability to work in a unique location under unexpected conditions and still produce great food. That’s what Bridge Creek can do and that’s what our client’s are looking for.

Q: How far does Bridge Creek Catering travel?
A: Generally from Albany to NYC in the Hudson Valley region. Someone almost flew us to California and we would have gone, but it didn’t work out. I guess we would go anywhere.

Q: Are there events that are too big for you to take?
A: We do any size event. We have connections to some pretty big resources, so no event seems too big. The biggest in my career so far is feeding 1,500 people 7 meals over the weekend at a festival. After producing about 10,000 meals in two and a half days, I feel ready for anything. It’s just a matter of planning.

Q: What are the most important food trends today?
A: The low carb, low fat, high protein trend is all the rage. It’s the diet my mother raised me on and now it’s called the South Beach diet. But nobody wants diet food at their special occasion. Our client’s want to be wowed. They want “fusion-ethnic”. They also want slow food which is another trend - foods grown locally and served in season. That’s important to us.

Q: What changes have you seen recently in clients’ requests?
A: We change our menu ideas every year always adding new things. Some ideas come from Justine [Leger the owner of Bridge Creek Catering], other ideas come from our travels. Our offerings are quite extensive and most clients select from our list. Sometimes we get requests to prepare a family recipe for their special occasion. Some have been really terrific and we added them to our repertoire.

Q: Your food is so labor intensive...are high labor costs hurting you?
A: Yes, it costs more money to produce, but it’s also our reputation. What’s important is that we serve restaurant quality, we don’t serve catering quality. And the only way to do that is working with fresh ingredients - making everything from scratch.

Q: What are the particular challenges in the New York City area market right now? Are there too many caterers going after the same business?
A: That is always the case and there are always new caterers going into business. It is the nature of the industry to be highly competitive....that never changes. It keeps us on our toes. But the NYC economic engine is very powerful and there will always be a demand for caterers at our level.