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Vincent Lai
San Jose Convention & Visitors Bureau What’s for Dinner?
Taking it from 40 to 4,000
Cooking and serving for a dinner party of eight is hard work. What happens when
you have to kick it up a couple notches and put out a spread for 4,000? "The
sky is the limit," according to Executive Chef Vincent Lai of the San Jose Convention & Visitors
Bureau.
Chef Lai loves the fresh, local ingredients California has to offer and lets
the calendar dictate the special seasonal dishes he creates. He will admit that
it is challenging to keep up the uniqueness and food quality when catering for
very large groups at the same time, he’ll tell you it's all about the ingredients.
When the numbers start to increase, his advice is to "first get the right ingredients,
then it's just figuring out how much to use and how long to cook it."
He recently had to create over 16,000 box luncheons in one week for a large convention
at the McEnry Convention Center. Being true to his craft, he didn't sacrifice
on creativity. The array of sandwiches he created used different breads and different
fillings like chili cilantro pesto with roast beef on a Dutch crunch roll. Committed
to excellence, Chef Lai's second bit of advice is to "taste everything." He
constantly challenges his staff of thirty to excellence and tells them, "don’t
serve it, if it's not right."
His menus are consistent with the Asian influence of his cooking background.
He loves to mix ethnic cuisines. So if you are attending a convention in San
Jose, you may be treated to Thai red curry shrimp or chorizo and jalapeno jack
cheese croquettes with polenta. Chef Lai stays true to his own advice on using
the right ingredients. Whether cooking for 40 or 4,000, Chef Lai only use’s the
finest wines in reduction sauces, or fresh ginger when making 100 gallons of
sesame ginger plum dressing.
Keeping to fresh ingredients is not the only place he tries to keep it real.
All client tastings are done right in the kitchen. Chef Lai insists that tastings
for clients need to be realistic. He gives prospective clients their dinner after
it has been sitting under a warmer. He wants to make sure that the meeting planner
receives the same food experience as their attendees.
He is very passionate about food, though it is hard to believe it when you see
his slight frame but he swears he loves to eat and try new things. He cooks for
all big family occasions and encourages home chefs to use recipes only as a guideline
and not as a bible.
Chef Lai is originally from Vancouver Canada. After chef school, he spent four
years at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Honk Kong. Hired by Centerplate, Inc.,
a provider of food and related services to convention centers, Chef Lai came
to the San Jose Convention Center from the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition
Center.
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