Major
Diplomat Gathering Gives
Boston Culinary Group Staff a Chance to Shine
The Organization of American States (OAS) held its 2005 meeting at the Broward
County Convention Center the first week of June. It brought hundreds of high
level officials and media to the area and over 1,500 international delegates
and representatives of non-governmental agencies.
Grover Moberly, General Manager for Boston
Culinary Group at the Broward County Convention Center, traveled
to Ecuador for a first hand look at last year’s conference. “We
observed and gathered as much information as we could, so we could
do it better...and I think we did. We really represented Ft. Lauderdale,
South Florida and the United States well this week,” he noted.
Mark Gatley, General Manager of the facility added “We know
of maybe two or three other [convention] buildings that can match
what we do in the kitchen.”
Executive Chef
Chris Muscia |
Executive Chef Chris Muscia and Executive Sous
Chef Jamie MacDonald, both graduates of the prestigious Cordon
Bleu culinary program in London, were pleased with the success
of the event. The two regularly manage an in-house staff of
35 people. That number jumped this week as assistants from
other Boston Culinary Group locations around the country flew
in to help out. The menus, which had to be submitted to the
State Department more than a month ago for approval, featured
cuisine from various regions of the United States. Salmon from
the Pacific Northwest, Clam Chowder from New England and the
best South Florida has to offer. |
When asked about the challenges of feeding
so many people, Moberly said the trick lies in quality ingredients,
attentive preparation, and not letting any cooked food warm for
more than a half hour. Grover bristled at the idea of reheating
anything, “We make
everything fresh, and have been for my 14 years on the job here.”
The convention center is well suited to produce large events.
It has two kitchens capable of turning out 10,000 meals if needed.
Cooks can roll 5-foot tall racks of up to 1,000 portions into a
$30,000 walk-in rotary oven. They can also brew up to 140 gallons
of coffee in an hour.
Chef Muscia saw the OAS meeting as a chance to cement the center’s
and Boston Culinary Group’s reputations within the industry
and to a broader audience. “We were under watchful eyes...this
was a time to show what we could do.” By all accounts he
did just that.
Contact Information:
Joe Armstrong
Business Development Manager
55 Cambridge Parkway
Cambridge, MA 02142
617.499.2700 Ext. 153
www.bostonculinarygroup.com
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