The Experts

By Rachel Strutt

Back when our parents got married, chicken cordon bleu was high-class fare. Now, it’s free-range chicken with prosciutto, gruyere, and garlic jus. “Brides are taking food more seriously,” says Timothy Hopkins, who opened his own catering company in Ipswich in 2003. Since then, he’s catered 150 weddings—and learned that good food and weddings can go hand-in-hand.

Talk to us about eating local. It’s not as much of a trend as a movement. People today are really concerned with what they’re putting into their bodies. Brides are definitely considering the sources of the food they serve, so we try to keep it local—whether it’s meat, fish, or produce. We have a great grower, Marini Farms in Ipswich; they follow green growing techniques and have amazing heirloom tomatoes, thumbnail-size strawberries, and baby beets in a variety of colors from candy-striped to dark purple.

But does locally sourced food equal a sky-high catering bill? Certainly the quality of ingredients will dictate price. That said, you can control overall cost by using high-quality ingredients but having less on your plate. And buying great local ingredients doesn’t have to bust a budget. You could have local striped bass with white corn couscous topped with avocado and local lobster—those ingredients aren’t overly expensive.

Tell us about a wedding you’ve catered that highlighted local ingredients. We catered a wedding at a farm in Boxford that was owned by the bride’s parents. The bride was very enthusiastic about an organic approach and asked, “Will you work with my dad? He wants to smoke some salmon.” So we made homemade crème fraîche with dill and chervil to go with her father’s salmon, and we did a free-range chicken consommé with poached quail eggs, which also came from the farm. It was a real family affair.

It sounds like a food love fest. Yeah, it is. What’s really apparent with our catering (and what makes us different from the others) is that we’re chef-owned. We take tastings very seriously. It’s an opportunity to put a plate to a face.

What can go wrong at a wedding? My business partner Paul Tenhope and I did a wedding in Woodstock two weeks ago on a thousand-acre gentleman’s farm. It was so windy the trees were snapping like twigs. We had 100 people hanging on to the tent until we tied it down to two antique tractors. All of our salad plates [blew off the tables and] broke, so we ended up serving baby arugula salad with goat cheese in coffee cups. Then last week, another party was hit by lightning. If next week is just as exciting, I’ll be in a mental institution by Tuesday.

How far will you go to track down an exotic ingredient for a bride? Our contacts in the industry are so vast, we can, and will, find anything. Once we even found an elephant for a groom to ride into a wedding ceremony. In terms of food, we’ve tracked down Iranian caviar and had ribs flown in from Chicago. With the Internet, the world has gotten smaller.

Does the increased interest in serious gourmet food up the ante when it comes to selecting wine? Yeah, I would say so. Ten years ago, our average price per bottle was between $12 and $14 for a red wine. We’ve seen that double. The quality of champagne has also gone way up. We spend a lot of time working with liquor purveyors to work on menus and pick out appropriate wines to pair with each course.

Timothy S. Hopkins Catering, 978-356-0548, tshcatering.com.

What Not to Serve
Hopkins dishes on his least favorite culinary wedding trends

Foie Gras: “When you think of what foie gras is all about, it can turn your stomach a little bit. We did foie gras with sautéed apples and pears, Michigan dried cherries, and toasted hazelnuts. About a third of the wedding party didn’t even try it. It didn’t surprise me—but the bride and groom said, ‘We’ve gotta have it.’` And I understood. I love foie gras; I just don’t overthink it.”

The Mashed Potato Bar: “You get 20 different toppings, usually with cold, clumpy potatoes. You end up eating them with blue cheese and pickles—and then you’re expected to get up and dance.”

Cupcakes in Lieu of a Wedding Cake: “I’d rather see individual wedding cakes;
I think those are really cute and can be spectacular.”

The Chocolate Fountain: “It screams bar mitzvah with 13-year-olds jabbing their fingers into it.” - Rachel Strutt