You can make beautiful floral centerpieces with these easy ideas that will cheer up any room! These tips come from the co-owner of Fork and Spoon Productions, Jennifer Spiegel, a full-service catering, floral design, and event design company.
About Jennifer Spiegel, Owner/Proprietor of Fork & Spoon Productions:
Jennifer Spiegel thought she was going to be a movie director. Growing up in Los Angeles as the daughter of a prominent writer/producer father, Jennifer, following in dad's footsteps, was the first woman accepted into the Directing Program of the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. But, after two years, lured by the romance of living abroad, Spiegel left school and move to Florence, Italy, to steep herself in art history and learn Italian.
When she returned to the states, Spiegel ended up following in her mother's footsteps instead. "My mother loves to cook, and she has a great eye. She threw some lavish parties when we were growing up," Jennifer remembers. "My sister and I were the only kids in school with Boeuf Bourguignon in their lunch boxes instead of peanut butter and jelly."
Spiegel continued school at UCLA worked as the assistant stylist to the city editor for Metropolitan Home magazine as well as the senior editor for home design at the Los Angeles Times magazine. She also worked as an assistant food stylist for clients including Starbucks, Lee Bailey Southern Foods and Architectural Digest.
Coupling her love of visual design, color, and composition with an on-going passion to cook, Spiegel attended the Culinary Institute of America, in Hyde Park, NY, and spent the next fifteen years as a chef: honing her skills at nationally acclaimed restaurants like Postrio, Spago and Hawthorne Lane.
Always an enthusiastic party thrower, it was a fluke that Fork & Spoon Productions was born. Spiegel recalls, "My friend was distressed over a dinner party and I agreed to assist as a one time favor. The party was a success, people started talking, and two weeks later, I was printing business cards!"
In retrospect, the passion for visual and performing arts, coupled with a keen eye, love of cooking and talent for styling provide the perfect backdrop for Jennifer's success as the proprietor of Fork and Spoon Productions.
When not working, Jennifer can be found at the movies or at the beach with her two dogs, Sophie and Bruno, but then again, these times are few and far between.
About Fork & Spoon Productions
What makes Fork and Spoon Productions different, Jennifer Spiegel asked her clients in preparation to write this backgrounder. Their humility convolutes the answer, as they are not certain they can describe it themselves. But then she perused their portfolio, and asked if they have any set menus, "No," they earnestly reply. Do you have a perfect size party? "Not really," one responds, but we try to stay under 300," says Jennifer. Jonathan chimes in, "No Jennifer, we can do more, now."
Jennifer said, "I note photos in their modest scrapbook, with occasions that span the globe. I learn about the extensive research that went into their understanding of Korean cuisine to invent an authentic menu for the Korean Consulate; or, the fun and games that were planned for the chuckwagon-themed barbeque wedding in the Napa Valley. I learn of elegant house-warming parties replete with five pounds of caviar and copious boxed lunches that steal the show at a corporate picnic."
Spiegel and Beil are both talented chefs, but Jennifer's passion is clearly the visual piece. For each soiree, she has designed all of the flowers, and I note that none of the arrangements from each party bear any resemblance to the last. Jonathan is jazzed about the DJ; it seems that not only will the bar mitzvah be using one of his favorite DJ recommendations, but the clients have also agreed on the "motivators": people hired to inspire the 13-year-olds to dance with one another.
Jennifer laments whether the Indian tent would be better suited for a sit-down or buffet, while Jonathan ensures that the Bloody Mary and Breakfast Kit - that he will drop off as a surprise - will add the perfect finishing touch to their favorite client's dinner party.
It becomes apparent, not after too long, that what Jonathan and Jennifer bring to the table at Fork & Spoon Productions is a lot more than catering, and much more than pure production, it is love: love of the business, the details, the happiness of their very loyal client base and always the mindset that just one additional touch will turn any event into a perfect evening.
With background experience as both chefs and stylists the duo seems to be the perfect complement. Jennifer is always considering how to supplement the client's personal taste with a hint of elegance, an added surprise; Jonathan often considering the pragmatics, keeping the costs in line and adeptly balancing generosity with business savvy.
It isn't often that a man leaves his successful career in an effort to support his wife, but in the case of Fork & Spoon Productions, it seems to be a best case scenario.
Web site:
www.forkandspoonproductions.com
