At Great Performances, we embrace creativity and continue to look outside our walls to find inspiration from our friends and partners. We regularly invite innovators, creatives, business leaders, chefs and others to contribute their expertise to us and to our blog.

We’ve invited Kathryn P. Haydon, an expert in creativity, founder of Sparkitivity, and author of several books including The Non-Obvious Guide to Being More Creative, No Matter Where You Work, to guest author a blog post for us. Ms. Haydon shares how we can take steps to continue moving forward even in these challenging times.

CREATING POSSIBILITY IN TIMES OF CHANGE

In the midst of daily shifting information, it can feel as if you’re treading water in the middle of a deep lake. It might seem like you’ll never get to shore.

In The Non-Obvious Guide to Being More Creative, No Matter Where You Work, I defined creativity as: “breaking through the inertia of no by seeking new possibilities and finding valuable solutions.”

When you find yourself in the churning and uncertain waters of change, you can use the science of creativity as you would use water skis—to lift you atop the current, master the changing conditions, and keep moving forward.  Here’s a cheat sheet on how to do it.

Set A Vision

The first step is to establish a vision. A vision gives you a horizon point toward which to move. It sparks feelings of hope and possibility.

Let’s go back to that churning lake. You are scared, you are cold, and you are tired of treading water. Ask yourself, What would be great?

It would be great if . . . I were standing on the shore outside of this lake.

Right now, in your current circumstances, what would be great?

What do you wish?

What is your ideal present condition?

Paint a vision with words:

It would be great if . . .

Turn Problems Into Possibilities

You have a vision; you see yourself standing on the shore of the lake rather than treading water within it. But presently, you are still stuck in the lake.

Turn that problem into a question that invites the new thinking necessary to create possibilities. Start your question with these six magic words: What might be all the ways . . . ?

I am stuck in the lake. => What might be all the ways to get out of this lake?

Even better, form your question to reach for your vision:

What might be all the ways to reach the shore of this lake?

See how merely asking the question in this way loosens the problem’s foothold? It opens the door to possibility!

Try it yourself. What problem are you facing that is keeping you from the vision you stated above? Turn it into a possibility question. Begin with:

What might be all the ways . . . ?

Suspend Judgment

Once you have posed your possibility question, it’s essential to be open to any and all possibilities that arise as you answer it. Silence criticism and allow bad ideas, good ideas, and crazy ideas all to surface.

As Alex Osborn, the inventor of brainstorming, said, “It is easier to tone down a wild idea than to think up a new one.” The toning down and refining will be done in the next step, but for now, keep dreaming up new possibilities.

How many ideas are enough? Sometimes you’ll want to set a timer and think up as many as possible in 5 or 10 minutes. Other times, you’ll aim for 15 ideas or for 100. It depends upon the nature of the challenge and how original you need to be to solve it.

Choose Your Idea And Make It Better

Once your bucket is filled with possibilities, it is time to look through it and consider which have the most potential. Take a clear look at your constraints and your criteria for success.

Don’t be afraid to consider working with an idea that appears impossible at first blush. Don’t be afraid to consider the crazy.

Don’t be afraid to try something that scares you just a little.

The process described above is tried and true. It is universally applicable to sticky problems at work or at home. Try it, and see what’s possible.

By Great Performances

On the evening of Monday, February 24th, ten high school and college students from The Bronx presented their innovative recommendations for enhancements of the Great Performances website and for a Bronx inspired catering menu to Great Performances Founder and Chair Liz Neumark and Culinary Director Rob Valencia at The Bronx Campus of the Metropolitan College of New York.

The presentation was the culmination of the students’ 22-week participation in the groundbreaking Thinkubator program powered by The Bronx Private Industry Council (The Bronx PIC). Imported From Germany’s DO School, and only realized by The Bronx PIC so far in the U.S., Thinkubator is a consultancy-style, work-based learning program wherein students are challenged by local employers to create solutions to real-world business problems.

During this time, and under the tutelage of teacher Rishauna Zumberg, the students were able to visit Great Performances’ offices and kitchen, where they met with various teams and learned how a business with the scope and reach of Great Performances is run.

They also had the opportunity to visit Katchkie Farm, Great Performances’ organic farm in Kinderhook, New York, where they met Farmer Jon and learned about the farm and where some of our food comes from.

Back in The Bronx, the challenge presented by Great Performances to the Thinkubator innovators was how can the company integrate Bronx culture to boost competitive edge. After the site-visits and discussions with Neumark, Valencia and other members of the Great Performances team, the students offered three options, out of which two would be fully developed for presentation: a short film about GP; a website renovation, and a GP operated restaurant in The Bronx. Neumark asked them to focus on the latter two.

The students were divided into two teams to tackle the assignments and spent over a month flushing out their initial suggestions into viable thoughtfully curated recommendations.

For the GP website, they concentrated on adding new energy and points of engagement with such mechanisms as: incorporating video into different sections; including a live feed of GP’s Instagram on the home page; integrating a playlist of the music the staff listens to in GP’s commissary kitchen; and creating a signature cursor in the guise of a broccoli crown as a nod to GP’s plant-forward food philosophy.

For the restaurant, the student innovators looked to the diversity of the borough’s population which was represented on their team, and devised a pan-Latin menu they dubbed “Bronx Eats” drawing primarily on the culinary traditions of the team members’ Dominican, Honduran, Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage. In fact, each student contributed a dish with which he or she have a personal relationship. Witness the horchata that Ryan Laing once used to bribe his brothers – who had been denied any due to misbehavior – into cleaning his room. However, their mother’s homemade rendition of the Honduran beverage favorite was so delicious, Laing drank it all himself, leaving nothing for his room cleaning siblings.

After the student presentations, Neumark and Valencia each provided feedback. They were both captivated by the students’ presentations and recommendations, and pledged right-then-and-there to adopt some of them, and they envisioned the Bronx Eats menu as a new food station choice for catering clients, as that would be the most effective way to showcase this cuisine. Indeed, Neumark declared for each station sold, a donation will be made to The Bronx PIC’S parent HERE to HERE, The Bronx based nonprofit that unites employers, educators and community-based organizations to connect young people with family sustaining careers and create a thriving inclusive economy.

Her announcement met with enthusiastic applause from an audience comprised of Here to Here stakeholders, Thinkubator director Dr. Edward Summers, Bronx community advocate and President of Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation (BOEDC) Marlene Cintron, and the principals of Dream Yard, which collaborates with HERE to HERE to build pathways to opportunity for Bronx youth, as well as the Thinkubator students’ parents and friends.

Great Performances is proud to have worked with these creative young men and women on their projects, and Liz was thrilled to provide inspiration to such a captive, young audience. It was a two-way street, as well; she was equally as inspired by the curiosity and enthusiasm shown by the students throughout all of this.

Liz cannot stress enough how important this overall experience was as part of her vision and commitment to nurturing these crucial community relationships in Great Performances’ new home borough of The Bronx. With her new neighbors and friends here, she is wholly committed to connecting, building, and prospering together.

By Chef Rob Valencia

The team at Great Performances is at the forefront of what’s new and exciting in catering and events. We identify trends before most people know about them and we have even launched a few trends of our own.

In February we celebrate love and our own culinary director Chef Rob Valencia offers his tips on the hottest wedding food trends this year and how to create an unforgettable experience for the lucky couple and their guests.

TOP WEDDING FOOD TRENDS OF 2020

1. Food as a Prominent Guest Next to the lucky couple, food is the “other” center of attention at every wedding. It’s the most photographed subject on Instagram, making it a prominent (and much loved) guest at any celebration. Great Performances believes that “Life Happens Around Food”, and it’s important to make the right food selections for momentous celebrations like these!

2. Vegetable Forward Menus Although this has been trending for well over the past decade, this year, we’re seeing plant-based options move from the “Silent Vegetarian” option to become a primary choice on menus. Vegetarian doesn’t mean boring and bland anymore; our forward-thinking chefs create vegetarian dishes that are vibrant, visually appealing, and incredibly delicious!

3. Food Stations Instead of seating your guests at one table throughout the reception, themed food stations like savory items, artisanal cheese selections and desserts create a flow that encourages people to move around and experience a variety of different foods all while mingling with other guests in a fun, conversational way! 

4. Zero Proof Cocktails Forget mocktails! “Zero proof” is the new buzzword for exciting non-alcoholic cocktails that taste sophisticated and capture the spirit of their alcoholic cousins, but without the side effects. 

5. Family Style Service Family style dishes allow people to interact with each other in a fun and lively manner. Passing food around the table or serving your fellow guests really enhances the meal and creates contagious communal energy and a sense of sharing!

6. Tradition Weddings celebrate the union of two people lives, including their heritage and culture. Including cuisine from each person’s background brings it all together is a great way to honor their families! More and more people are sharing their family recipes with the chef or otherwise requesting traditional dishes from their childhoods.

7. Sustainability Couples are putting more thought into how their menu selections impact the environment. They care about the story behind their food, and knowing where it comes from provides a tangible connection to the earth. Locally-sourced food tastes better (it’s fresher because it has traveled less), produces less environmental impact and supports local farmers. Great Performances is proud of its proactive approach to sustainability.

Image Credits: ©Great Performances, ©Clay Williams

A decade ago I was diagnosed with celiac disease, right around the same time that my sister Lauren was diagnosed with Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) reactive to eggs and non-celiac gluten sensitivity.  Over the past decade, we both spent countless holidays, birthdays, special occasions and family celebrations watching everyone else enjoy delicious desserts while we watched with envious eyes and with the feeling of being left out. Every once in a while, we would gain access to a gluten free tor vegan treat, but often would be, once again, feeling left out because these treats just never tasted “real”. More importantly and more often than not, these desserts were not properly marked with the allergen-free demarcations and there was no way for us to know if they were created in a way that would be safe for us to enjoy. 

There has been a dietary “trend” of gluten-free eating and a growing popularity of avoiding major allergens by a non-allergic audience, which has been great for awareness and has improved the accessibility to allergen-free foods. With this awareness and the increase of “allergen-free” foods, there has also been an increase in exposure to illness due to cross-contamination. Food items that are labeled as “gluten free” or “vegan” are often made in shared kitchens that do not have the protocols in place to ensure safe products.

Because the “trend” eaters don’t require true allergen-free foods, food producers have cut corners, not only resulting in allergens being prevalent in products, but in trend eaters being duped into eating the very ingredients they’re trying to avoid.

fter countless phone calls and hours of research, we decided that this was something we could no longer avoid – we had to jump in and create a gluten-free, vegan bakery that would not only produce treats that would be safe to eat, but treats that would also be delicious and appeal to the trend eaters who have helped  popularize our cause. We decided that we wanted to be as inclusive as possible; not only catering to those who could not (or chose not to) eat gluten or eggs, but all of the major allergens as defined by the FDA, plus sesame.

FOMO Baking Co.  does not use any ingredients that contain gluten, dairy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy or sesame.  We also don’t use any artificial colors or flavors – all of our ingredients are real ingredients our customers can pronounce (and likely have in their own kitchens!) Furthermore, we have received certification from all of our suppliers that their ingredients are certified gluten-free where applicable, and made or processed in a dedicated facility or on a dedicated line away free of the FDA major allergens (gluten, dairy, egg, peanuts, tree nuts and soy).

While we are working feverishly on creating more products, we have initially launched with five flavors of cookie bites, brownie bites and various options for cookie cakes. The cookie bites come in chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, oatmeal chocolate chip, sugar and snickerdoodle flavors.

Since our launch in November, we have received wonderful feedback from customers, both with and without allergies. While the non-allergic audience base is incredibly important to us and our cause, it is especially heartwarming to hear from parents whose children were able to eat desserts for the first time in their lives.

We created FOMO Baking Co. to be a safe space where people like us and so many others, suffering from allergies and other food intolerances, could safely enjoy a fun and delicious dessert – and no longer have the Fear Of Missing Out.

Visit FOMO Baking Co. online at www.fomobaking.com.

By Liz Neumark

Nerima City, one of Tokyo’s 23 wards, hosted a World Summit on Urban Agriculture from November 29 – December 1.

The Summit was the result of close to four years of preparatory work by the Nerima City Office officials, in conjunction with Tokyo University faculty, researchers and farmers.

Five international cities, Toronto, London, New York, Seoul, and Jakarta, were represented by individuals with professional connections to urban agriculture, sustainable food, and food justice programs within their cities. Nerima is known throughout Japan for its deep agricultural tradition with many urban farms that have been in families for multiple generations.

We met with a farmer whose family has been cultivating the same fields for 300 years/16 generations. The Nerima fields account for 40% of Tokyo’s farmlands!

It was truly an honor to be invited to join the New York contingent along with Bill LoSasso (Director of NYC Parks Green Thumb) and Nevin Cohen (Associate Professor at CUNY Graduate School for Public Health and Health Policy).

The focus of my presentation was the creation and growth of Katchkie Farm; connecting farm and business in a sustainable manner; the development of the workplace CSA and the programs of the Sylvia Center.

Each country shared initiatives large and small that collectively point to the critical role of urban agriculture in shaping a wide range of city lives and social impact.

There were countless amazing moments starting with the gracious and never-ending hospitality demonstrated by our hosts in Nerima – from the Mayor to ordinary citizens who participated in supporting the Summit.

Local farmers proudly gave tours of their abundant fields and shared farming methods, retail distribution and community engagement tactics.  We were all in awe of the sophisticated on-farm vending machines which served as retail outlets at individual fields.  University faculty lead breakout season with well-prepared questions and insights.

We participated in a famous Nerima festival – the Daikon Radish Pulling-out Competition! Nerima is known for a special variety of daikon. Farmers cleverly invite town citizens to experience harvesting crops which serves a dual purpose: it provides a connection to vegetables and agriculture while providing a free source of harvest labor to the farmers!

These were three days I will never forget: Being surrounded by like-minded colleagues with a shared passion for agriculture and dedication to leveraging it to solve societal issues around food access, healthy eating, preservation of green spaces, community empowerment, and more.

At the end of the Summit, a deeper understanding emerged among all six-nation participants as to the challenges cities face in 2020. I don’t think we knew where the gathering was going to end up—a sharing of information, or a true moment of possibility for deeper and new learning about future policy paths.

By Great Performances

Not a weekend goes by that there isn’t a food festival of some sort being held in New York City. People love them – and for good reason! It’s a great way to explore the breadth and depth of food available. From general food festivals like the New York Times Food Festival which celebrate a variety of food styles or food specific festivals like the Big Apple Barbeque, you can find a festival that incorporates any food or cuisine.

We’re all familiar with the customer experience at a food festival: purchase a ticket, show up, visit each booth or stall to enjoy delectable dishes and leave feeling full and happy with new favorite dishes. But what happens behind the scenes to make these events so successful and enjoyable? At Great Performances, we’ve been helping create memorable food festivals and special events for years, most recently working behind-the-scenes (and in front!) at the New York Times Food Festival and the New York City Wine and Food Festival. We act as an invisible hand, creating an environment in which sponsors, restaurants and chefs can represent their brands in a manner they know best represents them, regardless of the nature of the venue or the number of attendees. Whether it’s 200 or 2000, in a park or on a pier, we make interactive, memorable experiences possible.

New York Times Food Festival, October 5 – 6

Great Performances partnered with Empire Entertainment for the first New York Times Food Festival to support the 24 New York City restaurants selected by New York Times editors to participate in the event.  We provided our expertise and manpower in creating 24 pop-up kitchens for the participating restaurants and set up a workshop pavilion and the cooking demonstration stage.

At the workshop pavilion, chefs held classes and demonstrations for small groups with the support of GP staff, equipment, food and/or beverages. On the demo stage, we provided ingredients, prepped and portioned according to chef requirements. And it was GP staff working alongside Empire staff that ensured expedient and seamless transition between each event.

Not all of our work was done behind-the-scenes. We set up and operated the bars, curating offerings to augment those provided by sponsor Diageo and selected by Eric Asimov, the New York Times’ wine editor. Finally, we directed the production of the 20-foot “ribbon” of pasta that Mayor Bill de Blasio cut to signal the opening of the festival.

New York City Wine and Food Festival, October 13 – 20

We were involved with the hands-on production almost 20 events. Our participation varied based on client need. For Schmaltzy, we provided food, staff, general set-up, logistics and support; at the Drag Brunch, our Design Team was responsible for much of the evocative décor; at the Italian Sunday Supper presented by Peroni and hosted by celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis we provided kitchen space and assistance to her chef team; at Rocktails presented by Maker’s 46® and hosted by celebrity chef Robert Irvine, we provided bar service and prepared Chef Irvine’s recipe. For other events, we provided staff that kept the event flowing and enabled a positive guest experience.

All told, GP’s role represented more than 3000 culinary and logistics man hours and 500 staff during the course of the festival.

 One of the most important things we do for NYCWFF, albeit seemingly mundane, is help with compliance for the out-of-town chefs. It’s also one of the most difficult things we do for the festival. The DOH has increased enforcement over the past few events, challenging enough for local chefs and restaurants to navigate, but almost impossible for out-of-town chefs / restaurants and brands. We ensure they all have the right permits and we provide staff with required food handlers licenses if needed. We actually communicate directly with DOH, reviewing the events to make sure everything is fully compliant.

By Great Performances

“I think food, culture, people and landscape are all absolutely inseparable.”

-Anthony Bourdain

One of the ways we experience, enjoy and learn about another culture is through food. Travel guides and lists often highlight monuments, museums and cultural institutions and invariably will have a section dedicated to food. Enjoying a local meal is one of the ways that we feel we’ve truly experienced another country or culture. Recently, it’s become even more popular to be able to experience this in our own backyards. But more than just visiting the local Japanese restaurant for Omakase or digging into bayenetu at an Ethiopian restaurant, it’s experiencing other aspects of culture including history, music and art.

Within our cafes and restaurants at cultural institutions, we’re careful to develop more than just menus, but experiences that reflect current exhibits and provide guests with an immersive journey.

Enjoying French Cuisine at The Norm at Brooklyn Museum

For Brooklyn Museum’s exhibit, Pierre Cardin: Future of Fashion, we transformed The Norm into an homage to Pierre Cardin’s restaurant, Maxim’s de Paris. The menu features classic dishes from the Maxim’s de Paris cookbook and seasonal dishes inspired by the iconic restaurant. The menu has evolved since its launch in June, moving from the fresh Mediterranean influences of southern French cuisine in the summer towards the more comforting warm and robust flavors of northern and central France as we head into winter.

French chef and restaurateur Eric Ripert, famous for his flagship restaurant Le Bernardin, recently visited ordering Salade aux Poires et Roquefort, Carpaccio d’Aubergines, Branzino en Papillote and Onglet Grillé . He complimented Chef Andy Mejias remarking that the “flavors were so good!”

An Elevated Southern Experience at Dizzy’s Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center

Recently, Chef Corey Samuel hosted a tasting experience at Dizzy’s Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Chef Samuel took guests on a delectable journey, exploring the foods of his childhood prepared using classic techniques and drawing on modern influences.

Firmly rooted in southern tradition and anchored with ingredients associated with southern cuisine, international flavors, varied cooking methods and unique pairings elevated each dish. Chef Samuel shared stories from his youth as he presented each dish, engaging the guests in conversations about food, culture and tradition.

Following the meal, guests enjoyed dessert along with a set at Dizzy’s Club, celebrating the natural synergy between soul food and Jazz.

By Great Performances

Plant-based foods have been gaining momentum lately, especially in the fast food world. It’s not surprising as these venues are more accessible points for consumers to interact with plant-based foods, particularly those who may have reservations about going meatless. At Great Performances, we’re delighted to see plant-based foods becoming more mainstream. It’s a lifestyle we’ve advocated for decades now and spans Katchkie Farm, our NOFA-certified organic farm in upstate New York which serves as the inspiration for many of our dishes and to our adoption of Meatless Monday for our family meals.

This past year, our chefs have been innovating in the kitchen and have developed a vegan demi-glace which is not only 100% plant-based, but in sync with our mission of sustainability, reducing food waste, and lowering our carbon footprint. Made from vegetable trimmings, including carrot tops, onion roots and radish scraps, they’re cleaned, roasted and simmered into an umami-rich, mouth-wateringly delicious sauce that complements many of our dishes—vegan and otherwise. A traditional demi-glace is made with veal stock, which has myriad implications. Our vegan demi-glace is ethical, sustainable and delicious.

Our Chefs share their inspiration Behind the vegan demi-glace:

As chefs, many practices are rooted deeply in tradition–beautiful traditions that create beautiful food–and the veal demi-glace is undoubtedly one. And while tradition is great, here at Great Performances, we wield a responsibility to act not only because our impact is so profound, but because when we act, others follow.

With the strong culinary technique brought in by Chef Thomas Alford, if you have the ability to take a beautiful culinary tradition and re-imagine it to create a brighter future–while still making mouth-watering food–you do it!

Justin Schwartz, Executive Sous Chef, Catering Production

Here at Great Performances, we have access to many farmers, including our own at Katchkie Farm, who provide us with beautiful produce day in and day out. Within our high volume operation, we naturally produce a lot of waste, so instead of simply disposing of the waste, we take full advantage of our abundance and incorporate that into our menus. We utilize everything, employing expert practices and techniques, from mushroom stems to onion peel—even the ends and seeds of vegetables that are typically thrown away.

I took it upon myself, with the help of the GP production team, to collect as many vegetable scraps as possible to create something that exemplifies the love and diligent efforts of the workers from the farms and delivers it to the tastebuds and stomachs of our clients. From there, the vegan demi-glace was developed; it started in the depths of our earth where we are all from. We at Great Performances work hard to protect it, and it tastes so good!

Thomas Alford, Sous Chef

By Chef Saul Bolton

When cooking at home, we often are more focused on the process and getting the food out in time than on the final presentation. Great Performances’ chef and Michelin-star winner Saul Bolton shares his tips for beautiful presentation.

1. Choose your plates. Before you even begin to cook, make sure you have the plates you’ll need on hand. Consider form, function, color and size. Make sure the plates are clean and ready to use.

2. Keep your work area clean. A clean area promotes clean plating. Make sure you clean your work area and you organize your prepared ingredients prior to plating.

3. Less is more. If it doesn’t fit, don’t force it. Choose a dish that will allow for a ½-inch border between the food and the plate. You want your plate to look full, but not overflowing. The white space will help frame your food.

4. Let your ingredients shine. Make sure not to cover up important ingredients; everything should be seen, even if it’s just peeking out.

5. Shoot for natural symmetry. Your dishes shouldn’t be overly precise and symmetrical. You want order, but natural order

6. Consider dimension. Try adding some extra height to your food by twirling pasta or zoodles so they mound in the plate. Allow foods to rest on each other, such as resting a piece of fish on some greens or on a root vegetable puree.

7. Invest in tools. Adding textures and shapes by using graters, zesters and squeeze bottles provide extra touches that can elevate the appearance of a dish.

8. Garnish wisely. Garnishes can add extra color and texture. Drizzles of oil, dollops of purees and circles of sauces add visual interest to a dish.

9. Clean again. Wipe your plates and serve. Your guests are sure to appreciate your efforts!

Image Credits: ©Georgi Richardson, ©Chip Klose, ©Amanda Gentile, ©Ben Hider