Last year, most company holiday parties took place virtually. This year, with vaccinations more widely available and remote work shifting into hybrid work, companies are taking a chance on the end-of-year romp. We spoke with Deborah Miller, 60, and Lauren McGeough, 48, co-owners of Deborah Miller Catering, about holiday parties 2021-style.

Lauren McGeough:

“A lot of people are using holiday parties as the pre-welcome to get people excited to come back into the office. They’re saying, ‘You’re coming back in January, let’s make it really exciting, let’s make this over the top.’ They’re using the holiday party as a kickoff.

I think they really want to encourage people to think that returning to the office is a celebration of sorts. They’re having oyster shuckers walking around, big fondue stations, smoking cocktails – things that are a little more theatrical. They’re bringing in games and roving tables.”

Deborah Miller:

“The bigness and the over-the-topness – the more food, more stations – it’s new. The parties are geared more towards the younger employees. Trying to get them to come back.”

LM:

“It’s the first time that companies are asking, ‘What are other companies doing?’ They’re asking for reassurance. They’re asking what the protocol is across the industry in terms of hosting holiday parties.”

DM:

“In the corporate world, people are having parties in their offices. I guess they feel safer there.”

LM:

“Depending on the size of their company, a 200-person company is considering doing two separate events for 100 people and 100 people over two nights.”

DM:

“People don’t know whether they want buffets or everything to be prepackaged. So we offer both.”

LM:

“Also new this year: We can’t get help. Staffing up is a significant problem. Pre-COVID, we were staffed with actors and writers and all sorts of creative people, and a lot of them seem to have left the city. It’s not the same pool of part-time freelance help out there that we used to use to staff our events.

We’re getting a lot of inquiries at the last minute. We’ve never historically had people calling the week before Thanksgiving to book for the first week of December. In the last few weeks, heads of companies are saying, ‘Let’s go for it.’ The last-minute aspect of it is incredibly new.”

DM:

“What a difference a year makes. We had no incoming calls. I couldn’t see the future. And now I can see a future.

We’re like everyone else, we’re going to plan our own company holiday party very last minute We always take it offsite.”

LM:

“Nobody in the service industry wants to be cooking for themselves.”

DM:

“Lauren loves karaoke, so we do karaoke a lot.”

Julia Rothman is an illustrator. Shaina Feinberg is a writer and filmmaker. Both live in Brooklyn.
A version of this article appears in print on Nov. 28, 2021, Section BU, Page 5 of the New York edition.

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When the world shut down and business became scarce during the pandemic, Deborah Miller Catering & Events reflected on what mattered most, ultimately choosing to see the situation as an opportunity to engage in a full rebrand. After starting and stopping many programs and initiatives in an effort to stay afloat during the height of Covid, ownership decided to use the downtime provided by a lack of business to reimagine the company and build a new company from within.

Owners Deborah Miller and Lauren McGeough hired Managing Director David Woods at the start of 2021 and tasked him with putting together a new executive team. David then led the newly formed team through the reimagining and repositioning process. With a great deal of institutional knowledge, the new team built a better, more sustainable, and profitable business during a time when the entire hospitality industry was paralyzed.

Working collaboratively to create a new company under the same name, the team started with updated vision and mission statements, a new company motto and tagline, and redefined market segments and buyer personas.

“For the first time in Deborah Miller Catering & Events’ history, which dates back to 1995, we have someone dedicated to overseeing marketing in-house,” said Justin LaCoursiere, Marketing Director at Deborah Miller Catering & Events. “I was hired to oversee our rebrand, inclusive of a new logo, brand guidelines, updated photography, a full-funnel customer relationship management system, redeveloped website, and social media strategy.”

New Standard Operating Procedures & Updated Menus

All new standard operating procedures are being put in place to streamline work in an efficient, ecological, and scalable manner. Leading this charge is Alexandra Trogisch, Operations Director at Deborah Miller Catering & Events. Menus have been completely reimaged and rewritten by Chef Justin Schwartz, Culinary Director at Deborah Miller Catering & Events.

The updated menus are driven by seasonality, locality, and sustainability, bringing together a plethora of fresh, organic ingredients and flavors. The recently launched new brand, Deeply Rooted in Experience, promises to be sophisticated yet playful, luxurious yet approachable, and elevated yet down-to-earth.

Deborah Miller Catering & Events has always been involved in both corporate and social functions, though it has historically leaned towards corporate catering and events with a focus in drop-off catering to office locations. Since Covid-19 closed most office spaces for over a year, corporate business was virtually nonexistent. In completing a rebrand, the company redefined dining services for its corporate clientele and expanded its wedding, mitzvah, and social event offerings for partygoers and party planners.

Deborah Miller Catering & Events is a full-service, fully licensed catering and events company with event planners, a production team, and full bar capabilities. The new brand seeks to capitalize on this, with more thoughtful and robust services built specifically around special occasions.

Building a Better Company by Learning Through Experience

“We count every effort we made to survive before and during the pandemic as a learning experience,” said Deborah Miller, Founder & Principal at Deborah Miller Catering & Events. “The pandemic exposed many issues that every industry needed to confront, from how companies care for their people – both employees and clients – to addressing social unrest and environmental awareness.”

Prior to completely committing to a rebrand, Deborah Miller Catering & Events focused on keeping its doors open throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. “We continued to exist, whereas so many restaurants, eateries, and catering companies shut their doors completely,” said Lauren McGeough, Principal at Deborah Miller Catering & Events. “We had to make some tough decisions, but we managed to stay open and offer our products and services throughout the entire pandemic. The city was decimated, nearly everything closed, no one knew how long it would last, and every day it seemed like different and contradictory information was being circulated.”

By continuing to exist, Deborah Miller Catering & Events proved to be a reliable option for clients, customers, and the community at large.

When the pandemic hit, Deborah Miller Catering & Events was coming out of its most successful year-to-date, with goals and projections of the next year being an even better year financially. Surviving the Covid-19 pandemic and completing a full rebrand would not have been possible without some financial government assistance.

“We have been very fortunate to have qualified for, received, and been able to take advantage of both rounds of the Paycheck Protection Program, as well as the American Rescue Plan Act’s Restaurant Revitalization Fund,” said Betty Lee, Finance Director at Deborah Miller Catering & Events. These funds, mixed with the experienced new executive team and the full rebrand, place the company in a very competitive space in the New York City food and beverage, party, and event scenes.

The pandemic taught the Deborah Miller Catering & Events team the importance of strategically diversifying its portfolio to be able to maintain business even through uncontrollable outside threats.

The new Deborah Miller Catering & Events brings great diversification of thought, clientele, service offerings, menus, and experiences. The company is therefore perfectly positioned for a bright future with its new brand, and the team cannot wait for you to personally ‘Meet the New Deborah Miller’ as they continue to share the new brand with the world.

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There is a quote coined by Albert Einstein which states “the measure of intelligence is the ability to change,” and it has never rung more true than today. The DMC team knew that in order to survive these tumultuous times, there would have to be some drastic changes made and new lessons to be learned in order to survive. The first started with Cater Because We Care, a donation initiative we launched in early April in response to the COVID-19 outbreak in NYC. Hospital workers and first responders were overwhelmed with infected coronavirus patients and many were working double shifts to handle the volume that was coming their way. These healthcare heroes were also seeing so much loss of life around them, and had no mental capacity to worry about where their next meal was coming from. We created this initiative to get healthy, wholesome, and individually-packaged meals to these first responders in a quick and safe way, and donations poured in from all corners. 

NYC Covid Safe Food Deliveries

Meals were prepared on a five-day rotation in our kitchen in Lower Manhattan. They consist of one protein, one side, and either a fruit salad cup or dessert bar served in individual takeout containers to provide a complete and nutritious meal to those receiving them. Deliveries were made daily by the DMC team throughout the city based on hospital locations and workers’ corresponding shifts.

Once we fine-tuned the hospital meals and how to present and label them in the best way, we began to think about what comes next. The DMC team took the same concept for their hospital meals and thought about what their clients would want as they returned to the office. “We wanted to take it up a notch from the usual sandwich box,” Deborah Miller says. “People might be ordering catering differently, but they still want delicious food that looks good and feels upscale.” With that idea in mind, the team came up with menus for breakfast, lunch/dinner, and afternoon snacks, served in individual bento boxes or clear plastic containers. Smoked salmon croissant sandwiches for breakfast, delicious proteins and sides for lunch, and an antipasti snack takes conventional boxed catering and totally re-energizes the concept! There are vegetarian/vegan/gluten-free versions of all meals as well to ensure anyone with dietary preferences still has options.

NYC Boxed Lunch Catering

The next point we wanted to tackle was making sure we had the right packaging. Being eco-friendly is still a global priority, and with so much extra product needed for boxed lunch catering and contactless catering now, we wanted to ensure we were still cognizant of the environment while adjusting to this new normal! We sampled various products that were compostable and biodegradable and our food would look the most presentable in. The end result consisted of several different types of packaging, some made from fiber, some from eco-friendly plastic, which are sturdy and shows off our food in the best way.

Another aspect the team had to consider was the pricing of these new grab-and-go individual meals. “We know times are tough financially right now, and we wanted to make our offering affordable for individuals and companies placing orders,” says Lauren McGeough, VP. “Adapting to the current economic landscape is so important to staying afloat, and we want our clients to know that we are mindful of this fact as we charge forward.”

Even with these three main factors – menu, packaging, and price – in place for our new post-covid catering offering, there were still additional things to consider to truly bring the idea full circle. “We will be asking clients if they’d like pre-wrapped utensils and a hand sanitizing gel packet delivered with their meals,” McGeough states. “Again, we don’t want to be wasteful, and some companies have these things in their office already, so we will be sure to ask first before sending them. However, we think this will be one less thing for clients ordering catering for the first time in months to worry about as they adjust back to the office.” We also want to offer the idea of a “bento box cart,” where a server can be onsite pushing a cart full of individual boxed meals in eco-friendly packaging, and employees can grab a box just a few feet away from their desk instead of having to walk to a common area, where other staff members might be and overcrowding might be taking place.

Finally, the only way to be contactless is to truly execute contactless drop off catering. We are so used to setting up beautiful presentations for meetings or events prior to their start, but things need to be different for now, and we understand that. Our delivery team can simply drop off all grab-and-go boxed meals in the lobby or on the floor of a client’s office, and will not stay to interact with the recipient. This way there is safety practiced throughout the process!

Find Out More About Our NYC Contactless Catering

We are learning each day as we power through this new normal and continue to cater to the needs of our clients. Click here to read about our latest best practices and safety guidelines, and make sure to visit our Contactless Grab and Go Catering Menu tab to see our current offerings. We will be updating these pages constantly as new developments come to light, so stay tuned and check back to see how our future is unfolding! 

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Good health is a general term with many meanings and interpretations for different groups of people. For some it means having healthcare, for others it is a resolution to eat healthier, and for another group it means exercising daily.

The World Health Organization stands behind the idea that universal healthcare for all should be accessible and inexpensive, and has declared one day in April as a day to commemorate this ongoing feat. This year, World Health Day falls on April 7th, and while we at Deborah Miller Catering can’t provide healthcare for all at the snap of our fingers, we can recommend some delicious and healthy items from our menu to celebrate the day, and hopefully satiate whatever “health” means to you. Read on for our best picks!

• Homemade Oatmeal Bar – served with brown sugar, fresh berries, almonds, and raisins, this is the perfect healthy breakfast option for any early morning meeting. Want to go the extra mile? Go with the vegan option, which is completely dairy-free.
• Fruit Skewers – fun, easy to eat, and as healthy as it can get. They’re the perfect snack for when you don’t want to order another boring fruit platter and seem like you’re trying too hard to be healthy.No one thinks that’s cute.
• Kale Salad with Dates, Parmesan, and Toasted Almonds – one of our most popular salad picks, and one of the healthiest. The dressing is light, the kale is a super food, and the mix of flavors is so delicious. Trying to be extra healthy? No worries, we can do the Parmesan cheese on the side.
• Individual Acai Smoothies – all the rage right now, so you’ll not only be healthy by having this item at your next meeting, you’ll be trendy too. Plus, the presentation is adorable.

• Charred Cauliflower Steaks – another trendy item since cauliflower is totally having a moment. This is a healthy alternative to red meat, for full-time vegetarians and meat eaters who feel like taking a break. Serve it with one of our fabulous side salsas and you’re good to go for lunch.
• Portobello with Sweet Carrot Spread, Umami Napa Salad, and Vegannaise – a delicious vegetarian sandwich that hits all the right flavors, a little savory and a little sweet, while remaining healthy and well-balanced. Definitely a must on any sandwich package.
• Lemony Spinach and Chickpea Salad – another combination of super foods that’s sure to hit it out of the park, with both flavor and with health-seekers. A great side salad for any lunch or afternoon snack!
• Deb’s Dark Chocolate and Pomegranate Trail Mix – who says sweet automatically means unhealthy? This trail mix is one of our original menu items from back in the day, and is a fan-favorite for its healthy ingredients and user-friendliness. It’s a great choice for a smart dessert or a midday snack, with no guilt associated afterwards.

Eating healthy doesn’t need to be boring or repetitive, and at Deborah Miller Catering, we provide a variety of options to appeal to any palette or food mood out there. So if your goal is to eat a little healthier this week in honor of World Health Day this weekend, you know we’ve got you covered.

Looking for more ideas? Check out our healthy and diet-friendly menus!

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