About Michael Lench
Michael graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, class of 1979, completing his formal culinary education with a baking masters program in an area he loved. To create all the european desserts he saw in pictures was a dream realized for him. He returned to Pittsburgh to work at different properties continuing to expand his new skills and recreate desserts he had learned. While being noticed by certain clientele looking for new and interesting desserts not currently being provided to them, he started catering dinners in private homes anxious for the opportunity this afforded him.
He moved to St. Louis for 4 years as pastry chef of the St. Louis Club where he continued to advance his skills and techniques in an environment that fostered an open approach. The facility contained seating for 300 at dinners, 2 private dining rooms and many small club rooms with panoramic views of the midwest, that challenged his creative skills and taught him early management fundamentals. Returning to Pittsburgh he once again started doing pastries at Le Pommier eventually moving up to Executive Chef and continuing his catering business.
In 1995 he moved to his existing site and opened an off premise catering kitchen where the business has continued to grow serving the needs of residents throughout the Tri-State Area. We specialize in any kind of food doing our own spin on certain dishes and using our background in display to create lavish and tantilizing displays. Continuing to use sources throughout the U.S.A. for acquiring products enables us to present food in its most pristine and freshest form using cooking to enhance its fine characteristics.
Executive Summary
His 20 years in the hospitality field, 14 of them catering, for some of Pittsburgh's most discriminating palates.
His desire to provide the best and freshest quality food at any price range.
His ability to bring to pittsburgh the finest and most exotic products from around the world .
His professionalism to providing the most fabulous displays and presentations for his culinary creations.
His hardworking and perfectionist attitude in finalizing every last detail to his satisfaction.
His ability to provide outstanding support personnel for his functions and coordinating the service level to the client's tenets.
His ability to organize a function and pull resources together to flawlessly run a function.
Our primary purpose is as an off premise catering company. Our affairs have ranged from polo matches at ligonier to Hartwood Acres, from weddings two hours from Pittsburgh in the Allegheny Mountains that required our company to provide every item for the event, to cocktail parties at C.N.G. for a Three Rivers Cookbook premier for 650 persons, from opening parties for a law firm in Mellon Bank when we had only one freight elevator to transport all equipment to a 52 floor suite for 250 persons.
We have the ability to assess our needs and then quickly and efficiently prepare a plan and provide our own equipment to support the party we have outlined. Many are the time when we have left a site cleaner than when we arrived. We have the staff to remove any and all trash properly at the event's conclusion and to restore the site to the perfect level.
Our insurance is the standard $1,000,000 - $2,000,000 million coverage which is sufficient for most of the venues we have serviced. If more coverage or any special coverage is requested we will be happy to provide our agent to survey your grounds to suggest other avenues we can follow to adequately insure your concerns.
Our company's philosophy to service is that we provide custom service and custom menus. Our clientele is mainly repeat customers so we have to insure that each affair goes off effortlessly, that every new inquiry receives our best input in menu planning as to seasonal availability, dietary restriction, and a fresh approach to presentation.
Our final check through is to talk with the contact person to make sure everything is satisfactory on the site before departure.
Our final run through is to critique our performance internally to decide how to improve our next catering affair.
Company Profile
Michael M. Lench has been personally involved in each event or order to insure that each customer receives exactly what they desire. With 22 years in the industry and customer contact he leads the team in providing each event with the hands on input to achieve success.
With a support staff of Chefs, assistants, kitchen persons, designers, in house office sales, drivers and servers, we have the resources to handle any event. Our expertise even goes to all levels of kosher cooking.
Our basic goal is to provide the same quality as the Duquesne Club without paying Duquesne Club admission. On many a day our quality has exceeded theirs along with our ability to perform in almost any venue without their casts of hundreds. We are constantly involved in continuous education, industry conferences, trade magazines, and national contact with other caterers to trade information and finally visiting other cities in search of other information.
Our Team
Michael M. Lench is the soul of this operation providing 7-day a week coverage of all our affairs. This hands on approach allows each customer to receive the utmost attention to achieve maximum results. Next comes Tom who with Chris also manages, executes, supervises, and finalizes affairs.
Next comes a third level of staff that includes Sue,Cindy, Kelly, Ann Marie, Kathy, Patty, Leigh and Lou who also have serviced, supervised, executed events.
Our goal is to try and insure a continuity of faces to comfort the customers and keep each event running seamlessly. To provide adequate supervision and a well-blended team of veterans and junior staff allows us to always field a superior effort.
