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24

December 20 • 2012

dining around

Epic Kosher
Catering

0

n the night before secular
New Year's Eve, Epic Kosher
Catering, a division of the
Epicurean Group, will present its first
themed buffet open to the public at Adat
Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills.
For some, the announcement of an
Asian Feast on Dec. 30 will recall the
popular Chinese Buffet hosted by for-
mer Adat Shalom kosher caterer Jeffrey
Rosenberg. Epic, a glatt kosher meat
caterer supervised by the
Council of Orthodox Rabbis
of Greater Detroit, wants
to start a new community
tradition. Depending on
the public's response, Epic's
parent company would offer
themed buffets every few
months at Adat Shalom.
Matt Prentice Restaurant
Group was renamed
Epicurean Group in the
wake of chef/entrepreneur
Matt Prentice's departure
in March. His team had
replaced A&J Catering at Adat Shalom in
the fall of 2011. Epicurean, which claims
to be Michigan's largest kosher caterer,
also manages Milk & Honey, a dairy
catering division at the West Bloomfield
JCC.
It's a new era, and apparently a bright
one, for Epicurean, according to Paul
Barker, the JCC's director of special
events and fundraising.
"I'm happy with them. Staffing and
service standards have been main-
tained:' he said.
The Epicurean house managers,
servers and salespeople, such as Laura
Stewart, director of catering, impress
him as being "really invested in what
they do. They have an attention to detail
that you really can't train:' he said.
Shalom Shomer of Epicurean provides
kosher supervision for events held at
Adat Shalom, the JCC and off-premises,
as well as the tray catering for either
meat or dairy. Darren Wendel, the
company's kosher chef, prepares food
brought in from New York and also
Gordon Food Service.
Epic is called upon to cater Shabbat
dinners, Kiddush lunches, bar/bat mitz-
vah parties, weddings and more, utiliz-
ing Adat Shalom's fully renovated and
upgraded catering kitchen. The new
social hall accommodated 460 guests —
for a recent wedding.
Kosher wedding cakes are provided
upon request and Epicurean has its own
pastry team to prepare sweet tables.
Stewart's job involves "putting menus
together, dealing with clients and coordi-
nating everything"

Epic Kosher Catering Sweet treats

"We like to customize menus to meet
requests for a party:' she said. She'll
check with Shomer to see if a particular
kosher item is available so, for example,
a desired dessert that usually includes
dairy can be made acceptably parve (nei-
ther dairy nor meat).
Although she's not Jewish,
"My clients always mention I
know more about kosher than
they do:' said Stewart, who has
a degree in Hospitality from
Central Michigan University.
"The catering operation is very
professional, with an emphasis on
customer service and competitive
pricing:' said Alan Yost, executive
director of Adat Shalom. "Both
Laura and Shalom are a pleasure
to work with."
A youthful 26, Stewart said
she's able to help brides "feel
more relaxed. I assure them their events
will work out fine"
Stewart is also of service when cli-
ents "ask your opinion on vendors I've
worked with before on parties:'
Yost added, "So far, our congregants
and the hosts and hostesses are very
pleased with their catered events:'
Epic Kosher Catering's biggest fans
could be Joel and Rochelle Lieberman
of Farmington Hills, longtime members
of Adat Shalom. Their oldest daugh-
ter, Miriam Lieberman, and Dr. Larry
Zeidman were married there on Dec. 1.
"I would recommend Epic without
hesitation based on our experience Joel
Lieberman said. "From the first conversa-
tion with Laura Stewart till the event's
execution, everything was fabulous.
"Some people will walk out of an affair
and say it was just 'reception-type food:
but our daughter's wedding was like you
went to a restaurant and got exception-
ally good service and exceptionally good
food:' he added. "There were enough
hors d'ouevres and servers. Based on the
unsolicited opinions of our friends and
family, everything was spot-on by Laura
and her team:'

❑

I

ASIAN FEAST

Epic Kosher Catering presents
an Asian Feast 4:30-7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 30, at Adat Shalom
Synagogue. The charge is $29.95
adult and $15.95 age 4-12,
excluding beverage or gratuity.
RSVP deadline: 2 p.m. Thursday,
Dec. 27. Call (248) 432-5654.

