And the ACE Award Goes To...Autumn's Up Fall Festival

Creating a fully-realized fall festival is no easy feat. For the Autumn's Up Fall Festival, 24 Carrots Catering and Events was tasked with completely transforming their client's corporate office into a full-fledged harvest festival, complete with farmer’s market stands, pumpkin patches, hay bale mazes, and more. 

The venue for this event was an expansive corporate office, spanning multiple floors with both indoor and outdoor spaces. To truly transform the office into a fall festival, every corner of the space was used for food, drinks, games, and festivities. This also meant that many vendors were involved, all who needed ample space to load in, load out, and set up on time. 

In addition to navigating a chaotic load-in, 24 Carrots also needed to build an on-site kitchen. With site visits, diagrams, positive attitudes, and an especially challenging game of Tetris, 24 Carrots was able to create a space that was both functional and efficient for prep and service. Our team was able to manage a full day of prep and service in close quarters – without feeling like there were too many cooks in the kitchen.

24 Carrots Catering and Events created market stands for each station to give the event a harvest festival feel, each with a fall-themed name.  At the Mini Bot Orchard stand, guests could choose from mini corn dogs, mac & cheese bites, French fries, and fresh fruit skewers. 

The festive fall menu featured festive fall-themed menu included such dishes as a Farmer’s Market Salad, Short Rib Chili, and Gouda-Dipped Pretzel Nuggets. The bar featured a festive flair to classic cocktails, serving up a Pumpkin Old Fashioned, Cranberry Apple Sangria, and Apple Cider Mule, each served in a branded mason jar.

On top of menu customization, the client also wanted everything branded, which meant fall festival fare with branded vessels, custom signage, and themed décor. For the event, 24 Carrots created market stands for each station to give the event a harvest festival feel, each with a fall-themed name. Chalkboard signs displayed menus at each station, and mini chalkboard signs accented each individual item. Festive fall cocktails were served in branded mason jars, alongside a rustic beverage wagon with hot apple cider. Tray-passed hors d’oeuvres were served on wooden trays, each adorned with a punny name and description in vinyl lettering. Salads were served on a sprawling farmer’s market display, amongst fresh vegetables, herbs, and seasonal ingredients.

24 Carrots' hard work paid off, they walked away with the ACE award for Catered Social Event of the Year.  24 Carrots took home double the accolades during the ceremony (held as part of Catersource + The Special Event this past March in Orlando, FL) when they were named National Caterer of the Year! 

Here's a look at their award-winning event!

All photos courtesy Andy Rodriguez

Pretzel Bites served in a skewer with smoked gouda fondue and Everything Spice.

The Farm Franks stand served up plenty of carnival dogs: hand dipped corn dogs, coney dogs (chili, onions, cheese, and mustard), Chicago dogs (tomato, sports peppers, kosher pickle, celery salt, and mustard), and Polish dogs (sauerkraut, onions, and spicy mustard). 

The Quinoa Salad featured baby arugula, butternut squash, pumpkin seeds, golden raisins, cranberries, and dijon vinaigrette.

Short Rib Chili (served in miniature dutch ovens) topped with scallions and white cheddar. 

 Salads were served on a sprawling farmer’s market display, amongst fresh vegetables, herbs, and seasonal ingredients.

Beets Me (toasted pistachio, wild baby arugula, whipped goat cheese, and champagne vinaigrette).

The beverage stand featured several specialty cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages including: Tropical Iced Tea, Apple Cider Mule, Apple Sangria, Pumpkin Old Fashioned, Apple Ginger Fizz, Cranberry Crush, and Pumpkin Spice (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic). 

Beverages were served in copper mugs and mason jars.

Meet Me at the Market Mac N Cheese (fried mac and cheese bites with warm cheese sauce).

Chalkboard signs displayed menus at each station, and mini chalkboard signs accented each individual item.

Apple-Y Ever After (shaved brussels sprouts, candied walnuts, Granny Smith apples, currants, pecorino, and red wine vinaigrette). 

At the "I Really Love Corn" station, guests could choose two different elote-style mini street corns: Crema, cotija, cilantro, lime wedge garlic, chipotle powder, and hot Cheetos; or queso fresco, garlic lime aioli, smoked chili powder, and crushed chili limon peanuts. 

Crispy Sweet Corn Galette with chipotle roasted pulled pork mole, queso fresco, and cilantro.

Congratulations to 24 Carrots Catering and Events for taking home both Catered Social Event of the Year and National Caterer of the Year!

To submit an entry to this year's ACE awards, please visit our awards portal.   

Important Dates

If you are interested in entering in the Gala awards instead, you can enter The Special Event 2024 Gala awards in the same online portal as the ACE awards. Catersource + The Special Event will run February 12-15, 2024 in Austin, TX. Both the ACE and Gala awards will be presented during the conference at a to-be-determined location in Austin.