Zilli Hospitality Group is a member of LCA, an invitation-only group of leading catering executives from around the country. ZHG management has had the opportunity to meet some of the most inspired and inspiring hospitality executives, and we like to highlight them and some of their creative ideas here for our clients.
Joy Wallace, the powerhouse behind A. Joy Wallace Catering, Production and Design Team, is a high-powered catering executive from Miami, but she talks about her enormous success with her Miami catering business as if it were almost accidental. To hear her tell it, starting a company in 1988 was just “a wacky thing that I decided to do.” After she discovered that “you could get paid to have parties,” she turned her gift for hospitality into a thriving catering business. The rave reviews from brides posted at online sites such as WeddingWire.com tell the story of the high level of attention to detail and customer service. One commenter summed it up: “This team is completely dedicated to their craft.”
A Joy Wallace (the name was the one she selected off the top of her head when asked the first time what her company name was — so that her company would be listed first in an alphabetical listing of preferred vendors) now employs a small army of designers, floral artists, chefs and event planners and handles some of the most exclusive events in the Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Naples and Palm Beach area.
Some of the items recently featured at A Joy Wallace events:
An “on the rocks”-inspired station: “By using hot stones and ice, we created an elevated version of your typical raw bar. Hot rocks were used as heating elements to support mini plates of baked scallops with black garlic butter, black pepper calamari, smoked octopus with caramelized pineapple and smoked cod brandad with roasted tomatoes. Supporting the raw bar of oysters, crab legs and shrimp were complimenting sauces. The colorful fusions included a pineapple tartar sauce, sour orange mignonette sauce, Asian cocktail sauce and a sweet mustard sauce.”
At a luxury condo building’s grand opening, she and her team transformed a parking lot into a fabulous venue featuring clean and modern furniture, natural greens and pops of pink. On the menu: heirloom caprese carving station with a hanging salt & pepper bar and a variety of olive oils and balsamic varieties. Hors d’ oeuvres & dessert included mini smoked fish tacos, oxtail empanadas, pork belly with mango & jicama slaw, balsamic strawberries, and fried tres leches.
