It occurred to me that I never showed y’all the pictures from, or talked about, our wonderful opening party we had two weeks ago.
Molly did a great post about our opening on Tuesday, she came all the way in from Dallas for it! Hip lady, right there. And Gray did a video about it. These pics are from photographer Logan Beck.
Our good friends from Truffleberry Market came in from Chicago to cater it, and I am so glad that they did and were up for the challenge of catering their first out of town event because 1. I trust them completely, even in my insane controlfreakness I know there is no way I could ever come up with better ideas, create better concepts, or execute anything near as perfect as what they do, so when they are there it is completely stress free. I don’t even feel like I have to check in with them, they got it. Which is such a gift. And 2. because as I have mentioned before, I hired them for a party early in their catering careers, and then they in turn gave me my start decorating when they hired me to do their office and tasting room. So it felt very full circle having them do the event.
Here is what chef and owner of Truffleberry Brittany Ferrin had to say about it:
BISCUIT! A word that now has an inappropriately special connotation for me. When Bailey threw out the idea of Truffleberry being a part of Biscuit’s Opening event in Houston, my instant reaction was “YES!” Had I taken a minute to think about it, I might have scared myself away. But, we generally like to say yes to any challenge and then throw ourselves right into figuring out how to make it perfect. It’s like constant career adrenaline. We are total junkies.
Me and GrayBaby at da pawty.
We have been in business for almost five years now and have created about 2,000 events. This one was by far my absolute favorite. From the initial idea, to the concepting, to the planning, to the (out of state!) preparation, and finally the execution- I am in love with every part of this event.
CONCEPTING
My team was so excited for the honor of creating Biscuit’s debut as well as the opportunity to create new menu + presentation ideas that correspond with the brand. Okay…I was also personally excited to be able to replace “you guys” with “y’all” for a few days. We love incorporating a brand’s identity into a menu. We did a lot of research on Biscuit’s brand identity to make sure we were incorporating key words or concepts into the menu item or name. This is what I wrote on my sticky note: “affordable but luxurious design-forward bedding. Your bed is a delicious biscuit. If you need to fluff up your biscuit — get a better sheet situation — you need to ‘Butter Your Biscuit.’ And while a biscuit should always be fluffy, it should be crisp as well.”
Truffleberry chef and co-owner Vaido.
Concepting Biscuit’s opening was so fun. I knew Bailey wanted to incorporate a slight Biscuit theme- what she referred to as “winks” of biscuits, which I think is so well said. It actually proved to be an incredibly helpful reference when creating menu items. I would ask myself…”Is this a wink? or is this a full on Paula Dean situation?”. We wanted everything to be original, delicious, striking, have some Southern Charm, be seasonal, and stay totally approachable to eat whilst wearing a cocktail dress. We toyed with menu items like: “The Son of a Biscuit” “The Bliss-cuit” inspired by PB and even “Biscuits and Wavy” with Lobster instead of Sausage Gravy. Bailey selected some beautiful menu items and it came together so well!
“Spoon-Fed Biscuit” Country Pear, Imported Gorgonzola, Black Pepper Biscuit Spoon
PLANNING/ORGANIZING
The planning and organizational aspect of this event was massive and more complex than anything I have ever imagined. In our own zip code, we know exactly where our vendors are and exactly what products we can get from them. We have a team, a walk in refrigerator, trucks and equipment everywhere. This time, if we needed something as simple as a measuring cup, we had to prepare for it ahead of time. We analyzed every single detail of the selected menu and event and ran through it minute by minute to make sure we had everything accounted for in order to prep, store, transport, execute and present. 
We made constantly evolving lists of “Things to pack” “Things to ship” and “Things to purchase” on a document titled “Organization For Biscuit Sanity”. Sometimes we would even wake up in the middle of the night to write something like “glue gun” on the packing list or Vaido would realize we had to move “Co2 cartridges” from Things To Pack to Things to Purchase because of the airline’s restrictions so we could make our gorgonzola foam! From our knives, to mini biscuit cutters, to plastic wrap, to pastry brushes, our chef coats and even a small fryer (seriously!)- if we needed it and couldn’t rent it in Houston, we had to pack it in our bags! Rolling through the airport with our bags full o’ kitchen, the Truffleberry team kind of looked like a bunch of crazies. A fryer!
“Green Eggs & Ham” Quail Egg, Imported Proscuitto, Aged Cheddar & Chive Biscuit
EXECUTING
My business partner (and hubby) Vaido, is our director of Events. Loren and I all split up and started crossing off the items of many to do lists. Since time was limited, we had every item at every store in list form with addresses already plugged into GPS. We pretty much had one day to gather and organize everything we needed. Friday was all prep and then somehow with all they had going on, Bailey and Pete took us out to a very delicious dinner. Then, back to work until the morning hours. A little sleep later and it was Biscuit time!
“Fried Brie & Fixin’s” Fig Jam for dipping, warm buttery brie, crispy biscuit breadcrumbs
The morning started with some large coffees, an extra trip for new quail eggs due to a refrigerator temperature mishap, and coordinating all the details that would come together in just a few hours. We also had several deliveries to receive (ovens, glassware, beverages, ice, custom logo napkins) and Loren trained the new staff members in about 15 minutes to represent the Truffleberry brand.
“Ginger Biscuit Pumpkin Cheesecake” Dense rich pumpkin cheesecake with brown spiced ginger biscuit crust
We built our on-site kitchen, had a staff meeting, took a few deep breaths and before we knew it, food was making it’s way through the Biscuit doors. The night was beautiful, Bailey was radiant and Biscuit was glowing. On top of everything, I am so proud of Bailey, in awe of her ambition, humbled by her belief in Truffleberry and constantly amazed by her talents. I feel so lucky not only to have the opportunity to do what I am passionate about, but I feel blessed to have had this wonderful challenge. I am endlessly thankful for the team that was there with me whom I trust more than anything, our team that supported us from Truffleberry Chicago while doing their own events, and of course incredible clients like Bailey who give us the honor of being a part of their special celebrations. We came away with a lot of new experiences and a love for Houston. Although I would not go so far as to say there were no bumps along the way in pulling it all together, I will certainly say this and encourage anyone stepping outside of their comfort zone to repeat often- “A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor.”
“Sweetie Pie Pops” Handmade buttery flakey crust, plumb sweet red cherry pie
It really was a perfect event, just the celebration we needed after working so hard for so long. Thanks to everyone who work so hard to make it happen, and to all who came out to celebrate!
CONGRATS! CONGRATS! I’m so excited for y’all and have enjoyed watching your journey 🙂 Best of luck!! I hope you’re enjoying your ss goodies too! xoxo!!
Looks like an incredible opening – congratulations on everything.
So sorry to hear of Gracy’s boo-boo. Know how much that hurts your heart.
Weekend = breaaathe.
Sounds like an absolutely amazing opener! What people to have on your team Bailey- wow! The food sounds incredible and I really enjoyed hearing about all of the details from the caterer’s POV. I once catered a dessert table (for 300) at an out of town wedding, high in the mountains of Colorado and could totally relate to all of the notes, packing and airline restrictions. Great challenges help perfect the craft for us all. Congrats to you!
I just can’t get over that sweet lady in her pink cast! SAD! She doesn’t look too upset, but I know how your heart feels. Hang in there, Mama.
Bailey!!!! So proud of you! And so sorry for Gracie’s mishap but you are such a good momma bear. You are so lucky to have such great employees and business partners and they are lucky to have you as a visionary, partner, boss and friend. Keep your head up and know that you are doing BIG THINGS girl!!!!
you = superwoman. everything from the store/bedding line to being an advocate for your daughter, is just so inspiring!!
nerd alert to follow….
in a fit of insomnia last night i got to thinking… is there anything that was available legally to you to protect your fabric designs from being reproduced?
The opening sounds just lovely!
Poor G! We had a similar experience this summer with my 2 year old son, after the terrifying google results, 1 er visit, 2 dr visits and 2 sets of x-rays later we ended up with an upper ankle sprain(apparently extremely rare and slow to heal) and it took 3 weeks to start walking again. Hope she is cast free and walking soon.
Kudos to you for all things – most importantly for not completely losing your marbles among all the chaos but especially G’s injury. Opening looked smashing and you gals have knocked it out of the park with the first wave of bedding options.
This looks like soooo much fun! I am now dying to try some wavy gravy… And some green eggs and ham. I think that we just may need to hire out these bosses for our derby party in Louisville next spring!
Poor Gracie. What is astounding is how fast babies heal. It is insane. Draw some hearts on that cast. Get well hugs to her. And do not google ever. I once believed That i had 48 hrs to live because of a black dot on my thumbnail and some rare disease. It is counterproductive!
Have a great weekend, lady.
K.
Wow! Amazing food well done Truffleberry team. Congratulations on the opening of Biscuit Bailey and team. Poor Grace here’s hoping she makes a quick recovery! Take care and have a lovely weekend xx
I have been following your Biscuit adventure from its inception and it is so amazing and inspiring to see it come to fruition. Having a 9 month old daughter of my own, I barely have time to comment on blogs (hence why I haven’t commented here in quite some time) let alone open a business…I gave you major props! The store looks amazing hope one day I can make it down from Dallas to see it in person!! And I hope Gracie feels better at least she seems to be in good spirits probably worse for you than her 🙂
I have been following your Biscuit adventure from its inception and it is so amazing and inspiring to see it come to fruition. Having a 9 month old daughter of my own, I barely have time to blog/ comment on blogs (hence why I haven’t commented here in quite some time) let alone open a business…I gave you major props! The store looks amazing hope one day I can make it down from Dallas to see it in person!! And I hope Gracie feels better at least she seems to be in good spirits probably worse for you than her 🙂
Bailey, I’ve been blog stalking you for probably a year now, and I just wanted to say CONGRATS! I love your blog and so enjoy reading about your family… and now your amazing, beautiful business! Keep it up!!
Little lady and I have matching hot pink casts! (For real! I even bought neon pink toenail polish so my piggies could match. All in the name of fashion.) Wishing her a speedy recovery and you and Pete a stress-free weekend!
I am sorry to hear about Grace’s fracture, but glad it is nothing more serious. What a pretty colored cast!
The food looks delicious and adorable and you look STUNNING! I love that blouse. So elegant! Can Biscuit please open in NYC?!
I am sorry to hear about Grace’s fracture, but glad it is nothing more serious. What a pretty colored cast!
The food looks delicious and adorable and you look STUNNING! I love that blouse. So elegant! Can Biscuit please open in NYC?!
you forgot to mention that you are in HGTV magazine this month!?! just got it in the mail and saw your cute little fam and George Banks looking good decked out for the holidays! congrats!
Congrats on the opening…perfectly executed!
Poor baby–my son had the exact same thing–I felt like I had a mother of the year badge carrying around a 1.5 year old with a full leg cast:) Good news is it doesn’t bother them a bit.
good luck!
You look gorgeous-The bangs look fab. Congrats on Biscuit and your success :). Also, love your baby girl- hope she is all better very soon.
Poor little Grace, my heart would be breaking too! She does look cute in her little pink cast though.
Your party looked like so much fun, and the food looked delicious!
Congrats!
🙂
mikky
http://www.todaloos.com
I am so sorry to hear about Grace’s leg!! No fun but I am really glad she is in good spirits.
Thanks for letting me mosey around your beautiful shop the other day while killing a little time. I enjoyed meeting you and looking at the beach prints on the wall – which put me in the mood for some Jimmy Buffett on the way home.
I got my HGTV magazine today and… I saw a familiar face in there!
-Bre
I am so happy to see the coverage of the party, finally!
I am an absolutely Truffleberry Fan. I was the Special Event Sales Director for a venue outside of Chicago and had the pleasure of TB catering one of our weddings. I have never been more impressed. I am still dreaming of their deviled eggs.
Brittany, Loren and Vaido are some of the best, most brilliant and amazing professionals I have ever met.
Annnnd the party looked amazing!
Sorry about Gracie girl!
That food was STUPID good! It was such a fun party! Can’t wait to stop by again!!
that looks like the fanciest schmaniest food and party ever! Looksl ike it was fabulous – congrats! And sorry about Gracie’s foot – hope she feels better soon!