An Intergalactic Catering Experience

VOGUE magazine may have covered the people and the fashion at the St. Louis Contemporary Art Museum’s Biennial Dada Ball & Bash—but Catersource has the pleasure of covering the spectacular catering and event design, featuring Leading Caterers of America member Butler’s Pantry!

All photos courtesy of the caterer, Butler's Pantry.

Butler’s Pantry and the Contemporary Art Museum have produced many events together. When the Museum approached Butler’s Pantry about finding just the right space for its event, the company’s exclusive venue, Palladium Saint Louis was suggested. The space is large, industrial, open, and overall fairly neutral, allowing really any design to be incorporated.

Tasked with marrying the event’s Dada art theme, “Everyone is a star at Dada” with a menu, Vince Bommarito Jr., Butler’s Pantry Chief Culinary Officer (and James Beard nominee for his previous restaurant work), led the team of culinary experts. He designed the culinary creations for the menu, along with coordinated event execution headed by venue chef Jerry Cooper and Butler’s Pantry’s team of event specialists. 

Here is a look at the final menu:

Passed hors d’oeuvres

The inspiration here was finding items that would be considered catchy and fun. The cocktail hour was located outside of the main dinner space, so the hors d’oeuvres were used as hints to the theme and what was to come for the remainder of the evening.

Martian Taco | green taco shell with sole & slaw

Space Balls | citrus arancini with a basil pesto & parmesan cheese

Little Dipper | edible spoon filled with scallop ceviche

First course

The client asked that this course be a vegetarian friendly option due to their high number of requested specialty meals. With that, the Butler’s Pantry team created various iterations incorporating the concept of the “black hole.”

While it was a struggle to find a way to incorporate visually pleasing black food onto the plate, the final product exceeded all expectations.

Black Hole Cannelloni | stuffed with spinach & mushroom, with a tomato basil cream sauce

Second course

The concept of light and dark was the inspiration for this course.

Chilean Sea Bass with Herbed Beurre Blanc | black rice, broccolini & sweet peppers

Third course

Who doesn’t love a good Milky Way candy bar? Not only is it delicious and completely adorable, but completely fit the overall theme.

Open Face Milky Way | chocolate cake truffle & painted chocolate sauce

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