What brought you and Nick into the catering business?

We’ve both been in and out of the catering business for most of our adult life. My first catering job was while I was in college and I’ve worked for several since then. Nick’s cooking career began at 15 years old in a restaurant in Memphis and he began catering in his early twenties. 

Between the two of us, prior to opening our own company, we’d experienced working in entertainment at concerts and festivals, weddings, corporate events, fundraisers, banquets and in home private dinners. We opened our company in Oxford in December of 2014. 

Originally our plan was for the company to be just the two of us, but that quickly evolved into something different within a year. We feared there wouldn’t be room for another caterer in Oxford, but we quickly found out that wasn’t true at all. Oxford truly is a destination for weddings and with all the venues here, it keeps all the caterers in town busy, so there was definitely room for another caterer.

What is the most unusual request you’ve ever gotten?

 I’m not sure about unusual, but the most unique requests we receive are when we’re asked to pay homage to a client’s family heritage. Maybe not for the entire menu, but perhaps a station dedicated to something special in honor of the family. We absolutely love doing this! And Nick loves the challenge if it’s something he’s unfamiliar with. Iit gives us the opportunity to work closely with our client to make sure we properly execute their vision.

What are food favorites for weddings? 

Of course, all things southern! Some of the more popular requests are for our raw bars, charcuterie tables, smoked beef tenderloin carving stations, maybe a fun twist on a taco station with beef brisket and fried catfish, but really, if you can dream it, we’d love to make it.

How to determine how much food per guest? 

Ooh, this is a tricky one. A lot goes into this equation. Buffets are the hardest, but we take a lot into consideration when planning for this. The number of items on a menu, the time of day, the time of year, the type of menu all play a part in our ordering process. Really, there is no real, true answer for us here. I wish there were – but it really depends on each event. We never want to run out of food nor have too much leftover, so we work closely with our clients to determine the formula needed for their event. For a seated/plated event, that’s easy since everything is pre-ordered according to their guest count.

Are you seeing more seated dinners or mostly buffets? What are the pros & cons of each? 

I’d say, 20%/80%, but we’ve definitely seen an uptick in seated dinners in the past couple of years. When I lived and worked in California, this is pretty much all we did, so I love doing this service format, and we certainly welcome it! We love family-style as well! Pros for seated dinner, for us is that we know exactly how much food to order! I wouldn’t say there is a con, but a challenge would be something like making sure we have the proper equipment and space to execute a seated/plated meal at any given venue. There is quite a bit of logistical planning that goes into a seated/plated event. I wouldn’t be able to name cons for the client, but again maybe some challenges, but that’s why they hire a caterer, a wedding planner and a reputable rental/design company to make it easier and to do the work for them!

Why should someone hire an event caterer? 

Well, we take all the guess work out of planning a menu and executing an event. We know budgeting, seasonal availability, quantities to order, proper storage to keep the integrity of the food for and during the event, presentation, planning and communication with other vendors, and knowing what works best in certain venues. We take the stress out of it, we listen, bring their vision to life, and we make it fun!

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A&N Catering is owned by Angie and Nick Sicurezza and is located at  2 Town Square Lane in Taylor, MS.  https://www.ancateringms.com/