By: Seth Johnson

From exquisite hors d’oeuvres to their signature steak, Prime Catering is set to ensure that attendees tastebuds remain satisfied from night’s start to night’s end at this year’s Through the Looking Glass Gala on Saturday, Sept. 28.

Originally started by Prime 47 co-owners Jeremiah and Nessa Hamman, Prime Catering offers up a variety of catering options to its clients from food stations to plated dinners, ensuring every event has the perfect dining fit. Much like Prime 47, the catering company prides itself in serving up fresh, high-quality cuisine.

“Everything we cook with is the same standard of the [Prime 47] restaurant,” Nessa says. “We still use fresh seafood, freshly cut beef, and fresh vegetables — everything we use is made fresh.”

Originally started two years ago, Prime Catering stems from Nessa hosting wine dinners for various charities over the past decade.

“Prime Catering came to fruition because for the last 10 years I had been hosting wine dinners every month, and then I would link them to a specific charity or foundation,” Nessa says. “All proceeds from each wine dinner would go to that foundation. Then, we started getting more well-known for those dinners within the charity community.”

After establishing Prime Catering, Nessa and company were eventually brought on by the Lucas Estate to be one of their preferred vendors. “We had hosted a couple of events that they attended, so that’s how we started catering events at the estate,” Nessa says. Now when an organization chooses Prime Catering to provide catering services at their Lucas Estate event, Nessa will meet with them to ensure all their needs are met to make the event flow seamlessly.

“We sit down, have our meeting, and discuss the layout and vision of the event,” Nessa says. “And then, we kind of just start creating from start to finish, [discussing specifics like] if they’ll have a welcome reception and a seated dinner, or if they’ll have more of a cocktail-style reception with food stations and heavy hors d’oeuvres.” 

Those attending this year’s Through the Looking Glass Gala can expect a cocktail hour with light hors d’oeuvres, followed by a plated dinner. Those attending the VIP reception can expect hors d’oeuvres that include brown sugar bourbon bacon, smoked salmon crostinis, and short rib puff pastries, while those attending the general cocktail reception can expect hors d’oeuvres that include whipped goat cheese crostinis with bacon jam, Boursin stuffed cherry tomatoes, spinach stuffed mushrooms, and Prime beef meatballs. Following the reception, attendees will then enjoy a delicious plated dinner, complete with a field greens salad with bread and butter to start, followed by their selected entrée (filet mignon, lemon herb roasted chicken, or the vegetarian option) with scalloped potatoes and green beans.

Previously the chef at Prime 47 in Carmel, Miguel Hernandez has now shifted into his role as the head chef with Prime Catering — a position he’s ultimately been thriving in.

“It gives me more time to be better at what I do — I like doing things in advance,” Hernandez says of his Prime Catering role. “But it also gives me more free time to be less stressed out, and I do better service that way.”

In his role at Prime Catering, Hernandez uses his years of experience as a chef to make clients’ cuisine dreams come true.

“We’re usually open to anything because I love what I do,” Hernandez says. “I’m international — I travel to find different ingredients and stuff like that. So I’m incorporating a lot of stuff from different countries into the menu.”

In reflecting on what she enjoys most about catering events at the Lucas Estate, Nessa says there’s just something special about feeding people involved with a good cause.

“To see different foundations that come through the estate, all the different things they represent, and the people they help along the way, it’s just really, really great to be a part of,” Nessa says. “And everybody’s event is different — which is even more fun.”

To learn more about Prime Catering and their myriad of catered food options, be sure to visit www.PrimeCatering.net.