Our mission at Roux Catering by Dee Wagner Events is to cook with the seasons, honor the folks who grow our food and try to put as much love as possible in every creation. I’m honored to work with a group of dynamic women who bring creativity and a discerning eye to all of our menus. Nothing we enjoy more than crafting a food experience from start to finish.
Custom Menus. Every event menu is custom created (see sample menus) taking into consideration the season, your vision and the venue where the event is taking place.
Cook on Site. We try and create your menu items to order minutes before serving them to your guests. Our attention to detail and willingness to “make things the hard way” differentiates our food—You can taste and see the difference.
Tastings. We offer complimentary tastings once your date is booked for up to four guests. Our complimentary tastings are designed to help you get a sense of our approach to food, flavors and plating and to “narrow” down some choices—for example you might try 5 appetizers but pick 3. We always recommend scheduling the tasting near your wedding season for the most cohesive tasting experience.
Intentional catering menus that honor sustainability
Are you an event planner or a chef? I get this question a lot and the answer is BOTH and that’s really good news for you. Not only am I passionate about your life celebration, I am totally over the moon about the process of choosing your food and beverage menus. I have led a professional kitchens for years, creating dishes and “made from scratch” menus that feature locally grown seasonal food from farmers and artisans. Nothing gets me going like being able to talk to you and your guests about the farms and farmers who produced the food that is such an important part of your event. You are going to spend upwards of 40 percent of your budget on food and beverage and that’s a number I take seriously. I am excited to help you make decisions about style of food service that fit your event vision.
Roux Catering: I am honored to work with a team of dynamic women at our commercial kitchen is in San Rafael. We prepare the product that we purchase from the farmer’s market in Marin County and source directly from farmers and ranchers in Northern California. We cook as much as humanly possible on site—utilizing available venue kitchens or renting needed kitchen equipment. Yes, there is some expense involved in this, but it’s not a budget breaker and the difference it makes in the quality and presentation of your menu is dramatic. So many clients tell me stories of having amazing experiences at tastings and then being disappointed at the actual event. That will not happen when you hire Roux—we make your food right before your guests sit down to eat and you will notice the difference. Our food is beautiful and seasonal and we have a story to tell about its provenance.
Local
We support ranches all across California that raise meat in a sustainable way. We advocate for them and purchase their product and encourage our clients to let their guests know why it makes a difference. We encourage plant based menus whenever possible but when we do add meat to a menu we do so in a thoughtful way and considers the health of our guests and the planet. We have relationships with farmer’s who have been farming this way for generations and we can’t wait to introduce you!
Seasonal
We cook and shop with the seasons because food tastes better if it’s grown and harvested according to nature’s timetable. We also strive to prepare and serve our food in a way that honors the integrity, taste and beauty of the produce. We work with local farmer’s anticipating harvest changes applying our creativity and love to a process that is always evolving. One of the things I”m most proud of is our ability to do really beautiful and creative vegetable presentations that combine with local cheese and charcuterie and you’ve got a memorable addition to any event.
Thoughtful
Whether we are designing a family style, buffet, plated or casual cocktail party all of our menus are created with thoughtful attention. We consider the season, your vision, your budget and ultimately what you want your guests to feel and say when enjoying the food at your event. We are committed to bringing the freshest food possible from the farm to the table at your event and we design your menus to reflect that commitment. Your guests will notice the difference in the presentation but most importantly in the taste. Folks tell us all the time they can’t believe how good our food is at events and weddings.