In Season & Fresh from the Garden, the Fields, the Orchards & the Woods

 

Laughing Duck Gardens & Cookery

Dinner Parties & Events

Virginia in general - and Rappahannock County and surrounding areas in particular - offers a wonderful palette of farm-fresh fruit, vegetable and meat. Our Refined Country Cookery takes advantage  of those fresh seasonal local ingredients whenever possible to provide you with truly flavorful meals that your guests will remember. We source fruit & vegetable from local growers & orchards, meat & poultry from local farms and country stores, and supplement them with fresh herbs and vegetable from our own large kitchen garden. Often, we are able to use organic vegetable or free-range/pastured meat or poultry from small family farms.

While everybody loves inviting friends and family over for a good meal and good conversation, it’s sometimes difficult in our busy lives to find the time and energy to plan, shop, cook, serve and clean for a diner party. That’s precisely what Laughing Duck Gardens & Cookery does for you, letting you focus on your guests. We are your personal chef for small private dinners and events. We make entertaining easy, and fun.

While we are open to many types of arrangements, this is typically what we do:

· We shop for the necessary ingredients for your chosen menu and bring them to your house. Some of the ingredients will be harvested from our large kitchen garden - it’s hard to get any fresher than that!

· We prepare written menus for your table.

· We do not handle alcoholic beverages, but we are happy to provide wine suggestions if you’d like.

· We bring kitchen pots, pans, and equipment (such as ice-cream maker or pizza stone) to supplement your own, whenever necessary.

· We prepare the food and do all the cooking in your kitchen - which allows for last minute adjustments and ensure everything is right there!

· Everything is made from scratch including bread, ice-cream & desserts & cookies.

· While we chop, bake, roast, braise, whip, sauté etc, you can leisurely decorate the dining area and set the table. Or we can provide additional help to do so - at an additional cost.

· We serve the food, clear the plates after each course, and clean during and after the meal (3 hour allowance) so you can fully enjoy the time with your guests. We are happy to answer questions from your guests.  In total, we will be at your house up to 9 hours - depending on the number of guests and the chosen menu. Additional hours available at additional cost.

 

Browse a selection of our seasonal sample dinner menus or menus of selected events we’ve catered and see how Laughing Duck Cookery can help you enjoy your own parties!.

 

A La Carte Special Occasions Cookery Services:

As with our Everyday Cookery, we also offer A La Carte Services for dinner parties. For example, some of our clients want to make some of the dishes or want to participate in the menu planning, while other would rather we handle everything once they’ve decided on a menu. We are here to work with you and help make your party a memorable occasion for your guests - with the minimum of stress for you. But if you want to be involved, we are happy to work with you. It’s your party, after all!

 

We can also set-up, locate rental tables & chairs, and provide additional help as needed.

 

For the A La Carte Services, we both agree on the scope of services. You will be invoiced for our services on an hourly basis plus reimbursable (mileage, food, party supplies). A deposit may be required.