By Julia Boyle
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE
With the winter holiday season approaching, food is on everyone’s mind. And that means more than traditional dinners of roast turkey, savory stuffing, and cranberry sauce. It means holiday parties and family traditions, and this time of year the catering departments at Charlestown and Oakcrest kick their efforts into high gear.
Catered holiday parties
“People who live here have holiday parties all throughout the season. We cater anything from cocktail parties to brunch to plated dinners to buffets,” says Michelle Nowak, Charlestown’s catering manager. “We accommodate our clients. They can choose a menu or create one, and they can have an event in a catering room, the conference room, their apartment, anywhere. Basically, if they can dream it, we can do it.”
Oak Crest Catering Manager Michelle Mooney says their private dining rooms book up to a year in advance for the holidays. “The residents plan on their families visiting each year so they book early to ensure they get a private dining room like the Garden Room, which is our most popular catering space,” she says.
For the past five years, Alice Wareheim has reserved the City Lights catering room at Charlestown for her traditional family Christmas party. She has a buffet-style meal because, she says, that works best with the children. “My family looks forward to it every year. They really enjoy the chicken wings and crab dip as appetizers, and it’s a lovely place to have a party,” she says.
Spending time with family
“You can see the city all lit up at night. There’s a piano and we all sing carols. I don’t know where in Baltimore you could get any better,” Wareheim says.