Big Meal, Big Tips: Caterers Talk Passover Prep

As the seder season approaches, there can often be a lot of stress on those preparing holiday meals. In many cases it can mean cooking for well over 20 people with some pretty strict time and dietary restrictions in place.

The AJT spoke to a few of Atlanta’s kosher caterers about their advice to make Passover easier, more organized and less stressful.

With a busy Passover season for caterers too, Jodie Sturgeon of For All Occasions and More had plenty of tips to share. Most importantly, unsurprisingly, was the planning.

“Plan your menu out well ahead of time and keep your circumstances in mind,” she said. “Do you have people helping you? What kind of equipment do you have? What are the time requirements for each dish?”

Many of her clients during the Passover season tend to combine home-cooked dishes with others from caterers.

“If there are dishes that take too much time or are too difficult, you can outsource those to caterers,” she said. “Preparation can be stressful and even getting a few things off your list can really ease some of that.”

A key for Sturgeon is keeping timing in mind. While you can’t start before getting your kitchen kosher for Passover, once that’s done you can begin with some dishes that can be prepared days ahead of time and frozen. “Be methodical and keep your time in mind,” she said.

For many, preparing a seder meal can mean cooking for well over 20 people, which is bound to cause stress.

Ande Baron from Yum! catering said it was important to know dietary restrictions of guests when planning a seder. She had a particular ingredient in mind when considering what to serve at the meal.

“I lived in Israel for 10 years and our Sephardic friends ate beans on Passover.”

While Ashkenazi Jews typically do not eat beans during Passover as a matter of tradition, they are a staple of many Sephardic seders.

“If your guests are Sephardic it gives so many options, especially if you have friends attending a seder that are vegan or vegetarian and also Sephardic,” she said. “I also think it’s a nice, new twist.”

One dish she specifically recalls from her time in Israel is “green rice salad with chickpeas. It was so delicious and springy.”

Now that you have an idea of how to plan your seder, the next step, logically, is what to serve. The AJT has compiled a few of Jewish Atlanta’s favorite recipes and spoken to wine experts to help you make your Passover the best it can be.

comments