Venue Issues

louxnoelle

We're having the wedding in a non-traditional venue (a theater), and their kitchen is too teeny-tiny for a caterer to utilize. We found an amazing caterer who works out of two mobile kitchens, and is completely used to doing gourmet dinners for 200 people in the middle of open fields, basically. He has no doubts about being able to make our dinner happen, and his food and the menu is perfect and incredible and yay.

I got a call from the owner of my venue a few days ago saying that he was concerned about catering trucks because we're getting married in January, and when the front door of the building gets opened to bring the food inside, the temperature in the building drops significantly in just a few minutes. He says he was letting me know so that we can trouble-shoot, which I appreciate, but … what do I do about that.

I emailed the caterer for ideas, and he hasn't responded. I emailed the venue asking if the caterer could do prep work in the trucks, scurry things inside and cook them in the kitchen, and he said the kitchen belongs to his in-house chef and isn't his to offer; I'm also not sure that solves the issue of having the door open.

Now I'm starting to look at other venues, and I'm discouraged. Not only is nothing quite what I want/have, but the current one is 10 minutes from my house, and down the street from my childhood apple orchard where we would do pictures prior to the ceremony. Anything further north (NH) is closer to the caterer but further from the guests, and anything further south (MA) and I'm afraid of losing the caterer.

Humph.

ShesSoCold

There's no other doors than the main front doors? There isn't a back or side door that the caterer could use?

OliveOilsMom

Is that the only door the caterer can use?  Can a heated tent be set up outside those doors to help lessen the cold air that comes in?  Can you set up portable heaters just inside the doors?

Could you post a picture(s) of the area so we can get an idea of what the set up is like?

louxnoelle

There are two sets of doors, but both lead to the lobby (and three little offshoot rooms we're using for cocktail hour), which is only separated from the main room of the theater by a wall with two large arches. So the temperature of the lobby makes its way into the main room if the door is left open.

… I guess.

climbingsingle

Heating lamps?

ETA: I'm blanking on what these are called. Space heaters? You know, those large stand things?

ETA:

Like this. 

southernbelle0915

Your venue coordinator sounds kind of dumb, honestly. He wants your caterer to use the front door and he wants YOU to troubleshoot how to keep the temperature from dropping and he's not sure if the kitchen will be available because it isn't his? 

What. The. Hell. 

If this is the dude who will be coordinating your event, yea, I'd be looking at other venues.

louxnoelle

climbingwife said:

Heating lamps?

ETA: I'm blanking on what these are called. Space heaters? You know, those large stand things?

My dad suggested generators or something like that - would those be terribly loud? And would the room have to be sweltering beforehand for them to make a difference, or would we just turn them on when the caterers were bringing the food inside?

ShesSoCold

louxnoelle said:

There are two sets of doors, but both lead to the lobby (and three little offshoot rooms we're using for cocktail hour), which is only separated from the main room of the theater by a wall with two large arches. So the temperature of the lobby makes its way into the main room if the door is left open.

… I guess.

Can you set up portable heaters between the two sets of doors or just inside the lobby?

My office building has space heaters built in to the little area between the doors and it's like 100 degrees in there in the winter so the main lobby doesn't get too cold.

climbingsingle

The ones I posted above mostly have dimmers on them. So you could maybe have them on, and then turn them up when the food is being brought in. 

ETA: And those don't make any noise. 

louxnoelle

southernbelle0915 said:

Your venue coordinator sounds kind of dumb, honestly. He wants your caterer to use the front door and he wants YOU to troubleshoot how to keep the temperature from dropping and he's not sure if the kitchen will be available because it isn't his? 

What. The. Hell. 

If this is the dude who will be coordinating your event, yea, I'd be looking at other venues.

He's not really a coordinator, he's just the owner of the venue that I'm booking. It's not a wedding venue, so I guess he doesn't run into issues like this on the regular. I am certainly a little discouraged at having to figure this out myself, though.

lyndausvi

Can you setup a tent with walls leading from the trucks to the door?    That might help cut down the cold air from coming in.

anjemon

I'm going to second (third? fourth?) the tent and standing space heaters ideas. The standing heaters don't make any noise and usually they're pretty good at pumping out heat. And I think the tent idea is really good, it might also make life easier for your caterer and wait staff, which is a plus.

Although now I'm wondering if there is any sort of stage door/back door to the theatre? Would that be a better option? Also, what do they do in the winter when they have shows?

I'm also going to suggest you ask the in-house chef about using his kitchen. I would have thought the venue owner could have done that for you, but it seems like you're going to need to be proactive.

lyndausvi

anjemon said:

I'm going to second (third? fourth?) the tent and standing space heaters ideas. The standing heaters don't make any noise and usually they're pretty good at pumping out heat. And I think the tent idea is really good, it might also make life easier for your caterer and wait staff, which is a plus.

Although now I'm wondering if there is any sort of stage door/back door to the theatre? Would that be a better option? Also, what do they do in the winter when they have shows?

I'm also going to suggest you ask the in-house chef about using his kitchen. I would have thought the venue owner could have done that for you, but it seems like you're going to need to be proactive.

My husband does not allow others to use his kitchen.  Not happening.   Things start walking away.

Doesn't hurt to ask. You might get lucky, but do not be surprised if he says no or requires a fee.       He is the in-house chef for a reason.  

louxnoelle

anjemon said:

Although now I'm wondering if there is any sort of stage door/back door to the theatre? Would that be a better option? Also, what do they do in the winter when they have shows?

No stage-door or backdoor; in the winter, there's nobody really coming and going during the shows, so I guess temperature is pretty regulated once the shows start. Again, this is all speculation as I've never been there in the winter, so I'm kind of just going off of what this guy is telling me.

I'll look into the possibility of the space-heaters, and/or the heated tents to form a little hallway between the truck and the building. I'm assuming it's on us to pay for that stuff? haha

Thanks as always, guys!

badbnagdway

Will the ceremony and reception be there? What is the timing for the food coming in? Is it plated or buffet? I'm assuming it's buffet as walking a bunch of individual plates in from the trucks would be a nightmare, but just checking. 

Assuming it's buffet, is there any way the food could sit in chafing dishes for enough time that everything could be brought in prior to guests getting there so the venue has a chance to warm back up? This would depend a bit on the lag time between guests arriving and guests eating as well as the type of food you're serving, but a lot of foods can be kept hot in a chafing dish for a good while before actually being served. Fried food definitely has to be plated and served immediately but a lot of foods can hang out safely for a while. 

louxnoelle

Both ceremony and reception will be in the same place, and it's actually a seated dinner, haha.

badbnagdway

louxnoelle said:

Both ceremony and reception will be in the same place, and it's actually a seated dinner, haha.

Oops, well I put my foot in it. How will they plate it, in the vans? I think you definitely need to consider the heated tent makeshift hallway option then just because food itself may get really cold being walked around. 

lovemesomemonster

I wonder how the guests are going go get into the venue? Wouldn't want them to open the door, and they better make sure they bring everything in from their car the first time because that would be a disaster if someone had to go back OUTSIDE and open the door AGAIN... 

louxnoelle

lovemesomemonster said:

I wonder how the guests are going go get into the venue? Wouldn't want them to open the door, and they better make sure they bring everything in from their car the first time because that would be a disaster if someone had to go back OUTSIDE and open the door AGAIN... 

Ughhh, I knowww, it all sounds so stupid. I'm in denial that this venue isn't going to work, I guess. I KNEW things were coming together too smoothly, haha.

RezIpsa

You might want to investigate two issues with those heaters and a tent:

1) they get hot up top, so the tent has to be able to take that without becoming a fireball. That would obviously solve the temperature issue, but probably a little more excitement than you are looking for at your wedding. I have worked with them a lot, and I have seen one char the shit out of a wooden overhang that was just a skosh too close. Clear it with your tent people and get wedding insurance.

2) The heaters give off carbon monoxide, and a lot of it. They can't be used in unventilated spaces. You may be able to use them for a short time, and the size of the venue may help mitigate the concerns about fumes, but be careful with them and make sure they are all completely out when needed.

If it were me, I would pick another venue, but it sounds like this is pretty important to you. Your best bet is asking to use the kitchen, but I would be surprised if you get permission for that due to the issues cited above by @lyndausvi. Good luck!

louxnoelle

Glass(es) of wine and googling theatre venues it is ...

anjemon

Is there a dinner theatre around where you are? I know the one by me does weddings. It's also super expensive (our is a rather well known and higher quality), but it at least would have experience working with the food. Also the stage is setup so people can see from tables.

Otherwise maybe somewhere with a big backstage/place to build? Then the caterer could have some place to setup.

lyndausvi

louxnoelle said:

Although now I'm wondering if there is any sort of stage door/back door to the theatre? Would that be a better option? Also, what do they do in the winter when they have shows?

No stage-door or backdoor; in the winter, there's nobody really coming and going during the shows, so I guess temperature is pretty regulated once the shows start. Again, this is all speculation as I've never been there in the winter, so I'm kind of just going off of what this guy is telling me.

I'll look into the possibility of the space-heaters, and/or the heated tents to form a little hallway between the truck and the building. I'm assuming it's on us to pay for that stuff? haha

Thanks as always, guys!

I find that hard to believe.   Buildings like that have to have alternative exits, no?

How does the in-house chef get his deliveries?  From the front doors?

JennyColada

They have a kitchen. Wouldn't the have a supply area or shipment drop off? I find it unlikely that they accept food deliveries through the front door (and then have to drag them all the way through the theater to the kitchen).

louxnoelle

It's a pretty small space. Everything comes in through the front door. The kitchen (I cannot emphasize how small this kitchen is) is in the lobby. It's a little window-type thing people can order food at.

JennyColada

Oh I get it, so it more like a snack bar than an actual kitchen kind of?

princessleia22

If it gets that cold when the doors are open, you will likely have the same issue when all your guests arrive, not just as the caterer is arriving/bringing food.  If the temperature regulates quickly, then you may not need to do anything... how does the venue owner handle the temperature issues when they have theater shows in winter?  Does it regulate to normal temperature quickly?  If it takes a while to adjust, then it will likely be cold during the ceremony, from when guests arrive, and it would be cold during reception, because of caterer coming in and out. If you have a large number of guests for the venue, it will likely warm up quickly just from body heat.  But providing adjustable heaters or a tent outside entry to help control air flow may be a good idea.

kiwikiss56

If your caterer is used to catering in the middle of fields, they likely either can cook everything in their vans or use a cook tent, right?

I agree with PP about the temperature regulating with people arriving.  We had a tented wedding and rented everything through a rental company (which you may need to do for a cook tent...we had to rent ovens and everything as well).  We had heaters that looked like this http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/mr-heaterreg%3B-big-buddytrade%3B-radiant-portable-heater-18000-btus