NEWS
3.1.10
ZINGERMAN'S UPDATE
We reached our goal! 15 people registered in time to guarantee that Chowgirls will can Zingerman's training program to Minneapolis on March 25. We will offer two seminars in one day, "The Art of Giving Great Service" and "Leading with Zing!" You can take one workshop or get a great deal if you spend a full day attending both seminars.
Registration is limited, so check it out today!
2.19.10
TODAY'S KITCHEN BUZZ
Happy birthday to Liz, Chowgirls cook and resident bad ass.
Be sure to visit Chowgirls at the Food & Wine Experience this weekend. We're just outside The Reserve, next to Seven Sushi.
We found ourselves, literally, while flipping through the March issue of Minnesota Monthly. There we were, listed in the 2010 Readers Choice Awards for 2010. Thanks for the honor!
Finally, our hearts go out to our friends at Blackbird Cafe and Patina whose businesses were destroyed by a fire.
2.12.10
CHOWGIRLS BRINGS ZINGERMAN'S TO THE TWIN CITIES!
The guidance you need to whip your business into shape for 2010!
Chowgirls is providing the unique opportunity for a one-day-only training in Minneapolis by the acclaimed Zingerman's Training, Inc. If we get 15 people registered by February 22, Zingerman's will come to Minneapolis on March 25, 2010. They will offer two seminars in one day, "The Art of Giving Great Service" and "Leading with Zing!" You can take one workshop or get a great deal if you spend a full day attending both seminars.
Read all about it and register by FEB 22 here!
In case you didn't know... Zingerman's is a seemingly small delicatessen in Ann Arbor, Michigan, that keeps employees and customers ecstaticly devoted while growing a $30 million gourmet food empire. Their management philosophy embraces concepts of Servant Leadership (where bosses serve the staff), Stewardship, and Entrepreneurial Approach.
Although Zingerman's approach to quality customer service and innovative management practices are rooted in the specialty foods industry, their techniques have been applied by a wide variety of businesses, including service industries and nonprofits such as banks, insurance agencies, health care providers, museums, schools, libraries, and retailers.
2.10.10
CHOWGIRLS FIND FASHION AT TARGET
Boss Lady Amy Brown took her her little sack of sugar Julip on a shopping spree. Target was so impressed by their fashionista sensibilities, they profiled the pair on the Target Style Boutique blog.
2.1.10
SOMETHING NEW - AN INDEPENDENT WEDDING FAIR
Saturday, February 6, 2010
11 AM - 3 PM
@ FIVE Event Center
2917 Bryant Ave S
Mpls, MN 55408
No trinkets, no gimmicks - simply a select group of local wedding professionals in a low-pressure atmosphere. Rather than having vendors who paid big bucks for prime access to coveted booths, Something New hand selects its vendors who are all members of the guild-like organization called the Inedpendent Wedding Association. Something New is a chance to have a real conversation with local artisans who can make your wedding day a truly fabulous event. Boss Lady Amy Brown will be there representing our crew. Stop by for a chat and some snacks!
Tix $10 in advance or $15 at the door
1.28.10
KICKING OFF THE NEW YEAR WITH A BANG!
Our first good news of the year is that we've been selected as one of four preferred caterers for the Historic Minneapolis Courthouse. It's a gorgeous building filled with marble and stained glass. We're honored to be a part of their program.
And then out of the blue, we received word that Chowgirls was chosen to receive the Bride's Choice Award 2010 for catering by Martha Stewart's Wedding Wire. The award recognizes the top 5% of local wedding professionals from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, and professionalism. MARTHA!
We're hoping to stay on this ride, for sure!
11.08.09
CHOWGIRLS MAKES THANKSGIVING EASY
We're pleased to offer our popular Thanksgiving Menu again. Whether you need a couple of comforting side dishes to round out the family meal, a pie to bring to your friend's dinner, or the whole shebang including local, free-range turkey, Chowgirls can cover for you! Orders are due by November 19 at 2 p.m., so don't wait any longer. Check out our menu and order right away!
9.01.09
CHOWGIRLS IN TWIN CITIES BUSINESS MONTHLY
The September issue of Twin Cities Monthly Magazine features Chowgirls in an article on catering in a down economy: http://www.tcbmag.com/peoplecompanies/spotlight/118867p3.aspx
7.16.09
TOP HONORS
Along with our friends at Semple Mansion, Mi Mi, Buttercream, and The Traveling Photo Booth, Chowgirls received an award from Minnesota Bride this year. We're honored to be "Best Caterer (under 100 guests)" 2009. Thanks to all who voted for us and big hugs to our fantastic crew - everybody in the kitchen and on-site - who make us the best!
5.27.09
MEDIA BLITZ
Move over, Paris and Brittney... the paparazzi are hot for Chowgirls now.
Thanks to Kelly Hailstone for a very insightful interview in Heavy Table. We're honored to be profiled in this respected journal of good food.
We had a blast working with Richard Anderson (Cherub Designs, HGTV's Decorating Cents) and his blue checked pants on a summer citrus-themed picnic for Twin Cities Luxury & Fashion. The gals at Dolce photographed the spread. Can't wait to see their pro photos, especially considering how fab our snapshots turned out. We expect the issue to hit newsstands in July.
Also in July, Minnesota Bride will announce the winners of its 2009 readers choice awards. We're elated to find out we've been nominated again. Thanks for voting for us!
5.16.09
ART-A-WHIRL
You can find our food at a variety of places during Art-A-Whirl, the Northeast Minneapolis Open Studio Tour. Go here:
• Frank Stone Gallery
• Sarah Sitarz Studio in the Casket Arts Bldg
• Marc Clements & Daphnae Koop Studio in the Northrup King Bldg
• L'etoile Party at RogueBuddha
RETRORAMA
You’re invited to celebrate American popular culture with Chowgirls at Retrorama, featuring mixology tips and martini sampling from Bradstreet Craftshouse and hors d’oeuvres demos by yours truly! We’ll show you how to cook up fabulous ’50s cocktail party appetizers — Pigs in a Blanket and Rumaki — with a Chowgirls twist.
RETRORAMA
Thursday, May 21
7-11 pm
MN History Center
St. Paul
Come sample our food and enjoy a family-friendly evening of old-school food, fashion, music, drinks, and trivia. Tickets are available from the Minnesota History Center.
4.22.09
HAPPY EARTH DAY!
A important message to our Downtown Minneapolis friends: Stop by the Chowgirls booth for some free samples during the lunch hour on Wednesday, April 22. We'll be stationed in the Fifth Street Towers skyway for an Earth Day celebration.
GOOD COMPOSTING NEWS
Chowgirls is part of a commercial compost program through Eureka Recycling that allows us to compost the majority of our kitchen waste. 70% of our kitchen waste goes into a compost dumpster, 15% is recycled, and only 10% of our waste ends up in a landfill!
As of the end of March, all the restaurants, co-ops, and caterers in this program have composted 208.12 tons of food waste and non-recyclable paper, and recycled 113.47 tons of bottles, can, and papers. Collectively, we are diverting an average of 91% of your discards away from the trash and into new products!
The environmental impacts of this effort are huge! Using the EPA WARM calculator, Eureka converted these numbers into some interesting equivalents. Composting and recycling this much has the same impact as taking 70.5 cars off the road for a year, or providing electricity for 53.4 homes for a year! It would take 9,333 trees ten years to sequester this much carbon!
For more information about the environmental benefits of composting and recycling, see Eureka's full report.
4.18.09
Chowgirls is honored to be represented on the judging panel for this culinary competition. You’re invited to enter the contest or eat your way through it.
HOTDISH REVOLUTION
Sunday, April 26, 2009
4:00 - 8:00 pm
Grain Belt Bottling House Studios
77 13th Avenue NE
Minneapolis, MN 55413
The culinary pride of NE Minneapolis is back again this year with the Holland Neighborhood Improvement Association’s signature annual event, the Hotdish Revolution! If you think you make the best hotdish quit bragging and bring it on — the fifth annual clash of the NE kitchen titans. Dishes can be entered into one of the following categories:
▪ “Spicy” (in quotes as to not exclude those who firmly believe salt and pepper are spicy)
▪ Vegetarian
▪ Tater tot excellence
▪ “I made it” - kids under 16
▪ Darn Good! (if your dish doesn’t fit in another category)
▪ People’s Choice
Doors open: 4pm for entries (only accepted until 4:30pm).
Judging (by “celebrity” judges): 4:30-5pm
Dining: 5:15pm
$15 for adults (dinner and beer included)
Only $5 if you enter a hotdish or jello
$5 kids (5-15)
Under age 5 are free
*All proceeds to benefit the Holland Neighborhood Improvement Association*
3 April 2009
The majority of Chowgirls kitchen staff rely on their bikes for transportation, even in the most brutal weather. In their honor, Chowgirls is proud to co-sponsor ARTCRANK, a showcase of affordable bicycle-inspired poster art created by some of the Twin Cities' hottest artists and designers.
Check out the scene, buy a poster or ten, and chow down on some of our delectable edibles on opening night.
ARTCRANK is also sponsored by METRO Magazine, Bastian + Skoog, and a host of other cool indie businesses.
31 March 2009
Minnesota Women's Press readers voted Chowgirls as their "With a menu that stresses natural, seasonal foods, and a cooking philosophy that stresses the pleasures of eating, it's hard to go wrong with Chowgirls," they say. Thanks for the honor!
22 March 2009
We've printed up a beautful new lunch menu which features our Brown Bag Lunch, Plattered Lunch, and Hot Lunch offerings. If you'd like your very own copy to have and to hold, please email us your name, address, and email address with in the subject line.The menus are also downloadable from our main Catering Menu page.
15 March 2009
With its lush photography and in-depth coverage of the local food scene from farm to table, Edible Twin Cities is one of our favorite magazines. We're honored to be featured in an article on green catering in the Spring issue. Look for it at your neighborhood co-op or stop by our Northeast kitchen to pick up a copy.
26 February 2009
Chowgirls won an award for "Best Up-and-Coming Caterer 2008" from Minnesota Meetings + Events Readers' Poll!
21 January 2009
Inauguration Day was fun for us as we catered a terrific ball next door at the Frank Stone Gallery here in fabulous Northeast Minneapolis. The theme was "Mavericks for Obama," and the guest list was star-studded. Check out Roxanne Battles coverage at MinnPost.
29 December 2008
Food Democracy Now! is a grassroots movement initiated by farmers, writers, chefs, eaters and policy advocates who recognize the profound sense of urgency in creating a new food system that is capable of meeting the changing needs of American society as it relates to food, health, animal welfare and the environment.
They are seeking signatures of people who want Obama to appoint friends of sustainable, healthy food to the USDA. The organizers of the petition (which includes big names like Michael Pollan and Alice Waters) are in talks with the Obama team and they feel that 100,000 signatures is crucial in getting what they're asking for.
At the time of this posting, there are 60,583 signatures. Time is short and we need to reach 100,000. Please take a moment to sign the petition at Food Democracy Now!
14 December 2008
Join the Chowgirls Fan Club on Facebook!
7 December 2008
Chowgirls is happy to be part of this month's Gallery Grooves at Frank Stone Gallery. Jazz 88 will paint a soundscape of real jazz while you shop for your holiday gifts from a great selection of local art, jewelry and pottery. Wine will be free-flowing as will Chowgirls finger foods.
Thurs, Dec 11, 7-9 pm
Frank Stone Gallery
1224 Second Street NE
Mpls, MN 55413
20 November 2008
Edible Twin Cities is hosting its second annual reader's choice Local Hero Awards to honor people who have made a significant contribution to the Twin Cities local food movement in 2008. Because there is no catering categor, folks have been voting for Chowgirls as "Best Food Artisan." Vote today at www.edibletwincities.net, click on VOTE NOW.
19 November 2008
We're catering a fun arts event in N.E. Minneapolis this weekend. A great event for early holiday shopping--and trying out some awesome Chowgirls fare.
Cache at the Casket
3 October 2008
We've finally created a blog! See it here: chowgirls.wordpress.com/
2 September 2008
A nice story about Chowgirls' work during the Republican National Convention, catering for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and PBS' Jim Lehrer News Hour is posted on Minnestota Public Radio's website: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/news_cut/archive/2008/09
while_all_the_politicians_are.shtml
25 August 2008
Chowgirls opens new custom-built catering kitchen in Northeast Minneapolis.
1222 2nd Street N.E. is our new address, and our new kitchen is customized to the catering trade!
9 July 2008
Chowgirls won the Editor's Choice Award for "Best Green Caterer" at Minnesota Bride Magazine's Best of 2008 Awards Ceremony. See our feature there and in another article on Fall catering trends in the Fall/Winter 2008 issue.
1 May 2008
East Side 12th Annual Wine Tasting
Taste an array of 200 fine wines and micro brews, hang out in the cigar tent, bid in the silent auction, and enjoy samples of famous East Side cuisine, including Surdyk's and Chowgirls. This event helps the East Side Neighborhood Services meet the social service needs of resident so all ages in our neighborhood.
Thursday, May 8
5-8 pm
Nicollet Island Pavillion
http://www.esns.org
28 April 2008
We are proud to be a part of the annual Kidney Foundation's GREAT CHEFS OF MINNESOTA fundraiser on Sunday, May 4th. Enjoy tasting samples from 25 area local top chefs, a short program, and live and silent auctions. The funds raised at this event will support free kidney screenings in our communities, research, patient services, organ donation awareness and patient and professional education.
Event info:
Sunday, May 4th, 2008
5:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Bloomington Sheraton Hotel
7800 Normandale Blvd http://www.kidney.org/site/313/chefs.cfm?ch=313
12 February 2008
Make plans to visit our booth at the Semple Mansion Wedding Fair and Fashion Show March 1-2. Great information about our company as well as tasty samples. http://www.semplemansion.com/index.php?id=69
5 February 2008 Chowgirls is proud to be catering the 7th Annual MN Craft Brewer's Guild Winterfest. This festival celebrates beer brewed in Minnesota and all the breweries and brew pubs represented are members of the . Chase out the winter chill with a multitude of Winter Warmers, food and live Jazz music - all in the beautiful Landmark Center in downtown St. Paul. www.mncraftbrew.org
31 August 2007
Chowgirls was recently filmed by the Today Show when we catered for a local couple at their "green wedding." The segment airs on Labor Day--this Monday, September 3, between 7-10 am on NBC. They may or may not show us, but tune in if you can!
17 August 2007
Chowgirls will be at The First Annual "Running of the Elvises" at Peavey Plaza with peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches! http://www.runelvisrun.com
4 August 2007
Chowgirls is featured in the Fall 2007 issue of Minnesota Bride in articles on trends and eco-friendly weddings.
12 March 2007
Happy Anniversary! Chowgirls hit a milestone anniversary... 3 years in business. And we celebrated as guests on KARE 11's Showcase Minnesota. See the recipe and video here.
7 February 2007
Chowgirls hit the small screen! Our catering and lunch counter were profiled on the Fox 9 Morning Show with Chef Andrew Zimmern.
18 January 2007
Our little lunch-counter-that-was gets reviewed in the Star Tribune
24 December 2006
A little closer to the cover of Rolling Stone: Chowgirls is one of 75 things that makes Minnesota great! Who knew? Minnesota Monthly: Best of Minnesota
13 December 2006
Check out Chowgirls on the cover of Food Service News! It ain't exactly the cover of Rolling Stone, but we'll take it.
11 September 2006
Chowgirls open their kitchen to the public. We're in the Dinkydale Mall, next to Fast Eddie's, at 1316 4th Street SE, Minneapolis 55414. Call to schedule an appointment.
