Gallery of Food: 10 Questions with Kristine Jensen

Caterers - Kristine Jensen

Business: Gallery of Food
Location: Tucson, Arizona AZ
Experience: 30 Years
Profile: Gallery of Food
Website: www.galleryoffood.com

1. Introduction: What's your story?

Gallery of Food is a small Tucson catering company, locally owned by Kristine Jensen. Since 1991 we have been serving up great, hand-crafted food.

From our humble beginnings as a jazzy café on Congress Street back in the day to our current incarnation as a Bodega and Catering Company on Fort Lowell Road, our hallmark has always been using recipes from our imagination with fresh, local, unadulterated food to make a delicious experience for our guests.

We are an eclectic group of talented chefs, servers, coordinators who bring our passion for all things food, dining and gathering to your wedding. Think of us for your intimate garden wedding, farm-to-table wedding, remote back-country wedding, formal plated wedding, casual backyard wedding. If it involves food and creating a great experience, we would love to be there with you.

2. How many weddings have you done in the past?

We have been catering weddings since our inception in 1991. Over the years we have been an integral part of the weddings we cater. To date... hmmm....I am guessing we have catered about 750 weddings in the last 30 years.

3. Do you charge a bulk fee or cost per person? What are your rates like?

When we create a menu and cost estimate, we try very hard to work within budgets and give a complete picture of the costs. Typically we breakdown our estimates into food, place-settings, rentals, staffing and bartending. Each event has its own particular needs. Food and place-settings are generally a per person cost; rentals are by the item, and staffing is by the hour plus a gratuity. We spell all of those items out in our estimates. We are not inexpensive, but we are creative. So we can focus on what is important to you to help keep our prices affordable.

4. Do you have a static menu, or can you do a custom menu? And can you take care of various allergy/dietary requests?

We LOVE to make food... from scratch... with high-quality ingredients. Beyond that, we can customize your menu to meet your tastes.

5. What are your most popular dishes?

Over the years our 5 most popular dishes:
Frida Kahlo's Corn Pudding with Rajas and Tomatillo Crema
Death by Chocolate Cake with Fresh Berries
Marinated Mushrooms with Decadent Pine Nut Filling
Grilled Vegetable Platter with Sweet Pepper Dipping Sauce
Soup... lots of them... ever changing

6. Do you provide linens, table settings, and accessories? If you don’t provide linens, table settings, etc., will you handle coordinating the rental?

We can provide as much or as little as you need. We have many unique items, and we can rent from many rental companies to ensure you can get what you need. We do not add on a fee for taking care of the rentals.

7. Will food be made on-site or brought in?

Typically we make the food here in our kitchen and bring it to your event. We appreciate an oven on site to do final heat up right before you eat.

8. Are tastings available and what is involved?

We do not offer formal tastings, but we do have a great reputation, so can offer referrals, and you can try some of the items we have in our Bodega so you can get a sense of the quality of our food.

9. Who else is in your team and how many people on your staff will be at the wedding?

We staff all our events to meet the needs of the guests and the logistics of the event. With that, there is no set amount of staff for a specific number of guests.