By CAMBRO MANUFACTURING
For over three decades, Elegant Affairs has been the epitome of fine dining, catering to the discerning tastes of New York. What began as a venture into catering for intimate, high-end home events has now blossomed into an enterprise that orchestrates lavish weddings for up to 250 guests. The secret to their seamless service lies in the use of front loading and top loading Cam GoBoxes® to ferry food from their central commissary kitchen to various event locations.
When Elegant Affairs’ Executive Chef Michael Bicocchi was contacted to provide food in conjunction with World Central Kitchen for some New York City’s hospitals, he looked for something that could hold hot and cold food but was lightweight. Previously, Elegant Affairs transported their food in large aluminum proofing boxes, which Bicocchi described as “cumbersome.”
They ended up purchasing 200 GoBoxes, which they used to help get the business through the pandemic. Afterward, they continued using the GoBoxes in their off premise catering and were able to make several big changes.
1. Keeping Their Cool and Staying Hot
Using the GoBoxes, Bicocchi was able to change how they packed food that needed to be safely held at cold and hot temperatures. GoBoxes are able to hold hot or cold food at safe temperatures for at least 4 hours.
“We were able to pack things that need to stay cold in these [GoBoxes] and were able to use the [Camchiller], so that was really big. Working in the Hamptons in the summer, we don’t have access to refrigeration; bringing coolers and things with ice is also cumbersome,” said Bicocchi.
Moreover, the GoBoxes have streamlined their food service during events. Now, hot food is no longer transported from a distant kitchen to the serving station. Instead, GoBoxes filled with food for the cocktail hour are tucked neatly underneath the serving stations. Bicocchi explains, “We can just pull out our replenishment as we need it, significantly reducing the running back and forth.”
In essence, the GoBoxes have not only simplified temperature control but also significantly enhanced the efficiency of their catering service.
2. Rolling with it
Elegant Affairs GoBoxWhen caterers arrive at an event, they have to be ready to transport their equipment over concrete, gravel, grass or sand. Armed with Camdollies, Bicocchi is able to handle any terrain that he’s given.
“I really like being able to get them on and off the [Camdollies], that you can roll two stacks—with even a top loader on top—or I can break it down and carry it. That’s a big plus for us with not knowing where we’re going to be rolling off the truck,” said Bicocchi.
“I like the portability; in the van, in the truck, on the wheels, off the wheels.”
3. Keep Calm and Carry On
GoBoxes are constructed with high quality expanded polypropylene, making them durable but also extremely lightweight.
“We are typically in box trucks, but we do own a couple of vans that don't have lift gates. So, that's even another point, we can just pick them up and put them in, versus the proofers when they're full, you need lift gates to get it in,” said Bicocchi.
When using wheels isn’t an option, GoBoxes make it easy to carry your food whenever you need it to go.
4. Stand a Little Taller
Have you ever tried to put containers in a food transport unit and it’s been just a little too short? If you need a little more room in your top loading GoBox, all you have to do is add an extender.
“I love the top loaders with and the extenders. Because we were putting two core containers in and it would literally be just too tall to put the lid on, I saw [the extenders] by accident one day and bought a couple just to test out. They’ve been awesome just to put a bit more space in the existing box rather than sending a whole other box that maybe is half full; those have been really good,” said Bicocchi.