Photo: Courtesy of Creative Edge Parties
NYC is the Mecca for parties and events ranging from small, stylish get-togethers, to opulent soirees with mile-long guest lists. The city that is renowned for being the motherland of the trendy, the flashy and the bazaar requires events that meet, and exceed people’s expectations.
Fortunately, the West Village catering and event planning company, Creative Edge Parties, prides itself on offering the best, most innovative services in party planning. The company is headed by the visionary, Carla Ruben, and is part of the exclusive society of event industry innovators, The Chosen Few.
Ruben began her path to party-planning greatness in her own kitchen over 20 years ago when she first opened her catering company, “I started it out of my studio apartment and I initially did all of the cooking. And then a friend of mine came and said, you know, “I can cook.” and I said, “Yeah, we can do this; we’ll cook!” Then it grew into a much, much, much bigger business and we really started to focus on the quality of the food, versus just making sure that the food was being kept hot. And that was a new message to the food and catering industry in New York. So that was the premise, which doesn’t sound that complicated but it wasn’t being done and people were taking those short cuts. So I really focused on the food quality and really bringing the restaurant-quality food to the event experience.”
Creative Edge’s refined and creative approach to their food is also incorporated into its visual presentation. They make the food look as good as it tastes.
“I think that we were the first to really kind of combine the importance of food and design presentation, so we put a lot emphasis into the way that we present the food. The first thing you do when you look at food is that you eat it with your eyes and then you put it in your mouth so that sort of sets us apart.” says Ruben. Creative Edge even has a 10,000 square-foot design lab where chefs and designers work together to marry aesthetic and taste in a way that can please their varied cliental.
Another way that Ruben and her team stay versatile with their cuisine is through their Creative Edge Culinary Council; a global exchange program that allows top chefs from around the world to immerse themselves in the New York catering world, while sharing their unique culinary artistry.
“We started the council as an exchange program for top chefs from around the world to come over and learn about catering in the United States.” explains Ruben, “And at the same time, it’s a really great way to for my team to sort of stay on top of their game and to learn new techniques and trade recipes and it really keeps us a restaurant-quality level.”
Creative Edge has many other services that can be used to take on the daunting task of creating an exciting event to please any urbanite. Despite Ruben’s extended involvement in the catering game, she still strives to have a fresh approach to every event, “After 25 years, what really gets me excited every day is ‘Ok, how can I do this completely differently than yesterday?’”
You can learn more about Ruben and other event industry greats on The Chosen Few’s website. You can also learn more about the many catering and event planning services from Creative Edge’s website. True to the company’s brand, the website is visual, interactive and will definitely have you coming up with excuses to plan a fun, catered celebration with them.
-by Johanna Silver
The post Carla Ruben Explains Her Visionary Logic Behind Creative Edge Parties appeared first on Downtown Magazine NYC.