Blue Bamboo

Authentic Asian Wedding Banquets. In Jacksonville!

Often, we are asked to cater weddings here in Jacksonville.  Since we have both expertise in European cooking and Asian cooking, our clients often ask to cater both modern American weddings and traditional Asian banquets.  Each wedding that we have catered has been unique, and we have grown very fond of the wedding business. 

While I was growing up here in Jacksonville, the Asian community would throw events to celebrate a baby’s birth, a wedding, a graduation, or an elder’s birthday.  The events weren’t always fancy, but the food style was always “from the old country,” and that’s where we connected with generations of people who were either family, neighbors, or close family friends.  When you connect with these people at events over a lifetime, you really get a good sense of what a true community is.

At these events, the hosts would hire caterers with a mobile kitchen tent from the “big cities,” and they would travel to one of our local halls, set up shop in the parking lot, and then cook for hundreds of guests at a time.  In those banquets, courses just arrived one after another, NON-STOP!  That’s partying ASIAN style… having food in excess!

This weekend, we were asked to prepare a traditional Asian wedding banquet for 100 guests.  The couple did not want to hire those caterers from far-away, and wanted to support someone local.  Although the courses that we sent out were not our usual offerings, we were able to push our culinary envelope, and create Ginger-Garlic Lobster, Peking Duck, Quail, Steamed Whole Fish, and a traditional Cold Plate Appetizer, containing Jellyfish, Beef tongue, Roast pork, and Squid… just the kind of food that we would have had back in the day at one of our community celebrations.

These courses are the kind that are reserved for special occasions, and we were happy that we could make a bride’s and groom’s food wishes come true.

I had hoped that when we opened Blue Bamboo in 2005, we’d be able to provide a service here to our Jacksonville community.  Back then, I just thought that the food we prepared would be that service.  Little did I know that our food would lead to facilitating special catered events that allow a whole new generation to feel what a true community really is.