BALTIMORE | 109 | WEDDINGS
going to your favorite restaurant. And that
hasn’t changed. People expect [wedding
food] to be as good or better than any fine-
dining experience.”
Daniel Horwitz, owner and executive
chef of The Pantry Catering in Baltimore,
also remembers a time when wedding
receptions looked—and tasted—very dif-
ferent than they do today.
“I’m 49, and I grew up in New Jersey,”
he says. “And when you went to a wedding,
it was your typical passed hors d’oeuvres
and maybe a big display at a big banquet
place. [Waiters] came to the table, and
chateaubriand was a big deal, or chicken
Diane with the broccoli and the Mornay
sauce. That’s what we expected, and that’s
what we thought you had to have.”
These days customers are more edu-
cated than ever, and caterers can no longer
get away with trying to sound like the final
authority on, say, what the best steak is.
“Thirty years ago, you got one quote,”
says Horwitz. “There was a place in town
that specialized in weddings, and that’s
where you went,” he says. “People didn’t
get married in abandoned churches and
breweries. Couples today want to be
heard, and it’s really important to them
that you understand what they’re trying
to express. We all need to understand
how much the internet and the ability to
make global friends has changed all of the
traditions in the wedding industry, and
definitely the food.”
“TODAY, THERE’S A
CULTURAL DESIRE TO
STAND OUT, WHEREAS
PAST GENERATIONS FELT
A STRONG DESIRE TO
FIT IN, TO BE THE SAME,
TO NOT STAND OUT,”
SAYS CLAIRE STEWART.
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