epiphany

Tasting, Tasting, 1-2-3

I went to my first "tasting" tonight. Since I help organize events for work, I now have opportunities to try out food from different catering companies. Well, I've at least has this one opportunity with Jewel Catering. No others are in sight. But what a pleasant opportunity it was!

First, I must say that sending an unattended single young man to a food-oriented event is probably not the wisest decision. When your daily diet consists of (beware--major personal revelation coming)

cereal
yoghurt
orange juice
green tea (lots of it)
a sandwich (meat and cheese or peanut butter and jelly)
a banana
carrots
whatever snacks people happen to be offering at work
milk
either a hamburger-style patty or fish sticks (normally only if lunch was pbj)
a potato with butter
a cup of frozen veggies (peas or corn),

just about anything anyone else makes for you tastes good. But I really do think that tonight's food was nicely done. At times it reminded me of Dalian's Swissotel (and that is saying something). Not everyone at my table was impressed, but not everyone at my table looked as though they were there for a good time. A girl sitting next to me complained that the salmon skewers were too salty. I thought they were fabulous--they were roasted in honey for crying out loud! I snuck back up for a second. The same lady whined to her mother that buffet food always tastes not-quite-personal. I think that lady needs to get out of her parents' house and learn to enjoy the treats life gives her. Someone else wasn't too pleased with the poppy seed cake. But can you honestly expect poppy seeds to taste good when you could be having chocolate, as was I? And I was one of the lucky few to get an outside piece, which meant a surprising amount of extra frosting. And tasty frosting it was!

The representative I had spoken with signed me up for two attendees, so I had considered asking a girl to join me. (Calm down, Mom.) However, since I wasn't quite sure what a tasting was, I decided against it. It would have been nice to have someone else there, but I'm definitely glad I didn't invite anyone. First off, the bus ride from downtown wouldn't have been too romantic. More importantly, just after I signed in, a young attendant smiled brightly and said, "What's your bride's name?" That would have been an interesting introduction for a co-worker or a first date. Turns out I had forgotten that the evening was aimed toward engaged couples making reception plans.

So maybe the discontented girl will be leaving her parents' house soon enough. One can only hope. And pity her husband-to-be.

Posted by jonhanneman at March 23, 2005 9:08 PM