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The Treasury Ballroom Relaunch

April 29, 2016 By Justin

“People who have been there before were blown away and new people who had never walked down those stairs were shocked!” – Kurt Beadell, VT Group Creative Director & Principal

On Thursday, April 21, The Treasury Ballroom located in downtown Portland, hosted a relaunch party celebrating the freshly updated space. The two month remodel included a modern color palette of navy blue, tabby grey, and white, new carpet and drapery, along with installing walls of mirrors and removing a portion of wall to highlight the iconic and still active bank vault.

The vision for the event was a collaborative effort from VT Group’s Vibrant Table Catering and Events, Vibrant Flowers, and Food in Bloom Catering, incorporating equipment and product from a handful of pivotal industry partners; Annie’s Pies, PDX Ice, The Party Place, Really Big Video, West Coast Drape and West Coast Event Production. Each vendor brought their dialed in experience and efforts to enhance the Treasury’s chic and modern vibe. A thank you to all who helped create a flawlessly executed event, and also to our guests attended.

The Treasury Ballroom accommodates daytime meetings, conferences, breakout sessions, afternoon receptions and happy hours, evening galas, casual and formal dinners, etcetera and is conveniently located in downtown Portland, boasting a prime central location for you and your guests. For additional information, including current and upcoming promotions, or to schedule a personalized site tour, visit our updated website.

Currently, if you book a Friday or Sunday event, you’ll receive 50% off of the room rental rate. And, soon to arrive is an impressive collaboration with Lan Su Chinese Garden. Sign up for our newsletter HERE to receive the most current updates about our space and services.

Thoughtful Meals for Your Volunteers

April 8, 2016 By Justin

Volunteers are the most effective resources you can utilize for your nonprofit fundraisers. While they put in their hard work and time for your well revered cause, it’s important for you to remember to acknowledge their efforts. Some volunteers like thank you notes. Some like that extra large free shirt with your logo on it. But, all of them love free food!

While you may not have the budget to provide your volunteers with the same high caliber multi-course meal that you are providing your attendees, you can still wow your v-team with a variety of styles of food and drink to express your gratitude.

Buffet-

Pick a theme and keep it simple. Italian: a large chafing dish of pasta, a mixed salad with croutons and dressings on the side, garlic bread as a side, and a platter of assorted cookies. It’ll provide energy and sustenance for your runners, and if you use disposable serviceware, you can ensure the cleanup will be quick and easy.

To complete the theme, set up an Italian Soda station, with ice, soda water, and a handful of flavored syrups.

Tip, bottled water should be at the ready to make sure your team stays hydrated.

Box It Up-

If you’ve got rotating in and out times, or if you’re tight on space, providing individual boxed lunches is a great way to feed the troops. Order simple varieties of sandwiches like turkey and swiss, or ham and cheddar, that come with chips, cookie and soda. Avoid obtrusive flavors that may attract unwanted aromatic attention like tuna, pesto, or onion. Your volunteers can label their individual box and nibble when they find down time, not having to worry about somebody eating the wrong plate of food, having it sit unattended for an hour, and you won’t have a tall stack of dirty plates at the end of the night.

‘Build Your Own’ Station

If you want to appeal to the discerning volunteer who has food sensitivities, create a ‘build your own’ food station, so your team can make their own little meal with the fixins’ you’ve provided. Think a salad bar or a burrito bowl bar. Be mindful to have options that even a vegan, gluten, dairy free person can consume just as much as the meat eater who piles sour cream on everything.

An easy way to establish what option may be the easiest and most effective for your team is to mention in your correspondence that you will be providing food. If you know what you are serving, let them know, so they can prepare an alternative if they’re not interested. If you ask for an RSVP on food, you’ll engage your volunteers to respond with any food issues they have. Plus, you’ll have a firm idea on a headcount, so you can minimize your budget and hopefully not waste any food.

Shrimp: A CEO’s Weakspot

April 1, 2016 By Justin

“Serve passed items that are easy to eat, not messy, that you can pick up with one hand always contribute to a great event”. Says Annessa Hartman, senior coordinator for Food in Bloom Catering.

Some say it’s a dog-eat-dog world We say it’s a shrimp-eat-shrimp world. So, why not incorporate our favorite crustacean into your next happy hour gathering or networking event?

Perhaps you see your CEO or boss like a shrimp: strong external shell, powerful navigator of the sea, and uses his/her feelers for sensibility.

What are some appropriate ways to serve our treasured swimmer of the sea?

Your guests, boss included, will likely have a cocktail in one hand, and flamboyantly storytelling and gesturing hand motions with the other. It’s a safe bet to keep the shrimp simple and flavorful, avoiding sauces, using a skewer stick, and keeping it relevant to your other food items.

If you are going for a Mediterranean themed menu, you’d incorporate flavors like paprika and rich, bright herbs. You likely wouldn’t have shrimp with lemongrass and peanut sauce. And, what if your guests are allergic to shrimp? Easy fix. Provide more than one hors d’oeuvre to your guests, and be open minded in your approach. Your group of guests will likely include someone who is vegetarian or vegan, someone who is gluten free, and someone who has dairy sensitivities.

You may have somebody who had a terrible encounter with shellfish in their past and prefers chicken. It’s important for you to have options, and an experienced caterer will provide you boatloads of choices. Because if your CEO or boss doesn’t like shrimp… well, you’re going to need a backup option to win him/her over. Otherwise, you may get tossed back into the sea.

To quote Forrest Gump: “Anyway, like I was sayin’, shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. There’s shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There’s pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That, that’s about it.” –Bubba

Food in Bloom Moves Across the River

February 10, 2016 By Justin

PORTLAND, ORE. FEBRUARY 09, 2016

VT Group, the company behind two of Portland’s largest and most successful catering businesses, today announced it is fully operational at its new location at 2010 SE 8th Avenue in Portland. The freshly renovated 43,000-square-foot facility is home to Food in Bloom Catering, Vibrant Table Catering & Events, Vibrant Flowers and the administrative portion of f&b cafe. It features a beautifully decorated client reception area and tasting rooms, a state-of-the-art kitchen, a floral and décor design area and ample space to house and stage the equipment allowing Food in Bloom and Vibrant Table to produce the unique culinary experiences for which they are known. There are also several areas throughout the building slated for event space.

“Over the past 15 years, our companies have enjoyed consistent growth year after year,” said Art Fortuna, president and owner of VT Group. “With more staff and more events happening simultaneously, we were simply running out of room. The new facility has given us the ability to be more efficient and effective and accommodate for future growth. It is located in a part of town emerging as a food and beverage industry hub and features several nearby breweries, distilleries, coffee roasters and even a cheese maker. We’ve only been here for a matter of weeks, but it already feels like home.”

Combined, Food in Bloom Catering and Vibrant Table Catering & Events produce more than 950 events per year ranging from small, intimate gatherings to large multisensory happenings. In 2015 they catered to 126,115 guests.

They are also exclusive or preferred catering and events partners at many of the best venues in town including the Portland Art Museum, The Exchange Ballroom, The Lan Su Chinese Garden, The Treasury Ballroom and Montgomery Park.

VT Group is the company encompassing two of the most successful, prestigious and award winning catering businesses in Portland, Oregon as well as several other culinary- and event-based ventures. The VT Group’s flagship brands include Vibrant Table, Food in Bloom, f&b cafe and catering and Vibrant Flowers. For more information on venues or to learn more about VT Group companies and services contact Karen Rich at krich(at)vtgrouppdx(dot)com or 503-680-3986.

Cocktail of the Month – September

September 23, 2015 By Justin

Dry Sharona

Ingredients:

2 oz. rum (dark or light)
.5 oz. fresh lemon juice
.5 oz. simple syrup
4 raspberries (can be frozen or fresh)

Instructions:

Muddle raspberries, rum, lemon and simple syrup
Shake with ice and strain over fresh ice
Top with ginger beer
Garnish with fresh raspberries or lemon twist