Café Services Brings Taste of Boston to Gemline – Employee Appreciation Celebration

Massachusetts corporate food services company serves up ethnic specialties from landmark Boston neighborhoods.

Café Services diners at Gemline in Lawrence, MA are big fans of cannolis—a traditional Sicilian dessert pastry made by filling a flaky, tube-shaped crust with rich, creamy cheese like mascarpone or ricotta.

When Gemline asked Massachusetts corporate food services company, Café Services to cater its Employee Appreciation Gem Strong lunch, chef/manager Teri made sure to put a cannoli dessert on the menu. It was the perfect complement to the Portobello mushroom entrée served at the North End Pasta Sauté.

The “North End” was one of three ethnic food stations created by Café Services to let diners sample the cuisines of iconic Boston neighborhoods like Fenway Park and Chinatown.

At the Lansdowne Street Grill, diners were treated to grilled, all-beef Fenway Franks with a choice of condiments—including ketchup, mustard, relish and sautéed onions and peppers—and Boston cream pie for dessert. Vegetable spring rolls, chicken pot stickers, chicken fried rice and fortune cookies were featured at the Chinatown Buffet.

Hosted September 10, the Gem Strong lunch was held in four fully attended sittings to give all Gemline employees the opportunity to indulge. It sent many diners back to work craving more. Several approached Teri after the event to request recipes.

“The roasted red pepper sauce served with the Portobello mushroom was a popular request,” says Teri. “Others asked for my chicken fried rice recipe.”

I’ve been born and bred corporate dining and corporate catering from the very beginning of my career in the Silicon Valley and now, since 2001 in the Boston Metro Area. While working my way up through the ranks, all the experience has led up to my current position as the Corporate Executive Chef for Café Services, based out of Manchester, NH. I have the privilege to be able to utilize creativity, research and technology to dream up our company’s new culinary programs and custom menus for corporate cafeteria clients and bring them to life. Café Services supplies the resources to ensure success of our ever-evolving companywide culinary initiatives and I’m very grateful for the opportunity. Seeing the success of new programs in the field is my motivation. It’s a win win.