You look at the calendar and you see the Big Red Circle around that special day. It could be a once-in-a-lifetime event like a wedding, graduation, a Bar/Bat Mitzvah, or Aunt Millie’s 100th birthday celebration. Or it could be that family reunion, holiday gathering, corporate picnic, or your “just-because” party. Whatever the occasion, that Big Red Circle is staring out and making you nervous. The phrase, “everyone re-members the food” keeps echoing in your head so you know you want a professional on your side. Good choice! But where to begin?

Caterer or Restaurant?

Everyone in the Catering by Michaels family loves restaurants. We enjoy eating at them. We enjoy the experience. But we also know restaurants and caterers are very different businesses. At first blush, you may not see how they differ when it comes to feeding your guests. They both have food, after all! But once you take a closer look, you’ll begin to realize caterers and restaurants are not as similar as you might think.

Purpose

The main purpose of a restaurant is for you to go to them. You choose a restaurant, go and sit down, and enjoy your meal. Restaurants work hard to provide an experience based upon their physical location.

With caterers, we bring the experience to you. We know how to transform spaces and optimize service. Whether we provide delivery or full-service, we are devoted to making sure your event is a success no matter where you hold it.

Menus

Restaurants create menus based upon theme, aesthetic, and the decision makers’ preferences. Then, you choose a restaurant based upon their offerings. After all, if you’re hungry for Italian you wouldn’t go to your favorite Thai restaurant.

Caterers work with you to craft highly personalized menus for your events. Our dedicated event producers know how to accommodate your budget, your tastes, and any of your guests’ special needs (vegan/vegetarian, allergies, food intolerances, and so on). In turn, our chefs have extensive experience in creating the food to fulfill your personalized menu.

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Where would we be without mom? She is there in the good times and difficult times. She nurtures us, supported us, loves us. We appreciate her 365 days a year.

But on Mothers Day, we can celebrate her!

Mothers Day is a time when we acknowledge her specialness and give her some well-deserved pampering, relaxation, and appreciation. A wonderful way to make the day special for her—and stress-free for you—is to let Catering by Michaels plan, cook, and deliver a marvelous brunch for your family and friends!

Our breakfast & brunch menu has a variety of options, including plenty of vegetarian, gluten-free, and healthy choices. You can choose a pre-planned package, such as European Delight, Magic Mediterranean, or Chicago Special.

You can also create your own menu with mom in mind by selecting items from our à la carte dishes. To find out what we have to offer, you can peruse our breakfast & brunch delivery menu or speak with one of our event coordinators by calling (847) 966-6555.

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Happy Earth Day!

When we’re preparing—or eating—delicious food, it can be easy to get lost in the moment and focus on the meal at hand. But on this Earth Day, we want to give a thought to minimizing our impact on the environment.

Catering by Michaels is proud to be the only caterer in North America which is both Green Restaurant certified and Green Seal certified. Why do we care about sustainability? Because let’s face it, it’s the right thing to do — not just for us, but also for our clients and humanity as a whole.

We are very conscious of the fact that our industry can be one of excess and waste. This is why the entire Catering by Michaels family feels a great responsibility to impact change and do our part to forge a greener future. Not only is it the right thing to do from a social and ecological standpoint, but it’s also a sound business decision.

Since the environment directly impacts the quality of the ingredients we have available to us, it’s quite evident that the more we take care of the earth, the more it will take care of us. We pride ourselves on using quality ingredients and sourcing them as locally as possible. Being conscious of our green footprint only helps to sustain those ingredients.

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Passover is an important holiday filled with celebration, family, and of course — delicious food.

For years, we have been catering all types of special Jewish occasions, like Hanukkah, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Passover (and we love catering special events, like Bar and Bat Mitzvahs!).

The Passover holiday will begin on April 20th, this year. The eight-day festival commemorated and celebrates the Jewish people’s freedom from slavery in Egypt.

Hosting Passover can require a lot of preparation and time in the kitchen. And extra time is a precious commodity that not many of us have. Instead of stressing over the menu and spending all day prepping and cooking, let us take care of this celebratory meal for you!

The Passover Meal: Traditional With A Twist

The Passover meal is an extremely important component of this particular Jewish holiday.

When the Jewish people left Egypt, they didn’t have time to wait for their bread to rise. The tradition of eating unleavened bread (or also known as Matzah bread) is one that has remained part of the meal.

It is with these traditions in mind, that we have crafted a specialized menu for the Passover holiday, which incorporates old tradition with a new twist of flavor.

Catering by Michaels Passover Menu

The Seder Plate is an integral part of a Passover meal. During this celebration, Catering by Michaels offers a traditional Seder Plate with enough to accommodate 10 guests. Each item on the plate is significant in terms of what it symbolizes.

Our Passover menu offers all seder plate ingredients, including:

• Zeroa (roasted lamb shank bone)
• Maror (fresh horseradish)
• Haroset (3 oz per person)
• Roasted Eggs (1 per 10 guests)
• Hard Boiled Eggs (1 per 10 guests)
• Prepared White Horseradish

In addition to more traditional items, such as Matzo Balls, Chicken Soup, Homemade Haroset, and Gefilte Fish, we also offer modern takes on these dishes, like Honey Pecan Matzo Crusted Chicken, Horseradish Encrusted Salmon Filets, and Vegetable Matzo Lasagna.

Browse our complete Passover menu for more ideas and to plan your feast!

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We love showing off all the wonderful people who work at Catering by Michaels. When we all work as a team, we are all Michaels!

This week, we’re talking to Alex Rufus, our Delivery Manager, who shares some of the details of his role with us… as well as some things he enjoys outside of work.

Q: How long have you been with Catering by Michaels?

A: It’s been 4 years now! I’ve worked for multiple different companies prior to this job but this is the first company I’ve dedicated this much time to. The management here is different than what I’ve been used to — they truly care about employees, even outside of the workplace.

Q: What do you do for Catering by Michaels?

A: I’m one half of the delivery management team. Along with another delivery manager, we run the delivery department.

Q: What brought you to Catering by Michaels?

I’ve worked with food in the past, which is what made me look into Catering by Michaels in the first place. I started here, liked it, and stuck around.

Q: What part of your job makes you proud?

A: The ability (and choice) to provide excellent customer service — I like seeing people in a good mood. It brightens my day! I like being part of making sure everything goes well.

Q: What company values best align with your own?

A: I think the Catering by Michaels value that best speaks to me is that of Pride. In every aspect of my life, I like to be the best I can. I believe that at this company, everyone tries to give their best and I strive to do the same.

Q: For your birthday, what would you have Catering by Michaels deliver to your home?

A: The white cheddar mac and cheese is my favorite thing. But I also love the Chicken Vesuvio. So, I’d pair that with the mac and a salad for the perfect birthday treat!

But my favorite food ever is pizza, hands down.

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