Things Got Surreal at Oakland's Creative Mornings (2019)

Creative Mornings is an event series created by one of our first catering clients, Tina Roth Eisenberg, more known on the internet as Swissmiss. She began in 2008 out of a desire for an ongoing, accessible event for New York’s creative community. From their website:

The concept was simple: breakfast and a short talk one Friday morning a month. Every event would be free of charge and open to anyone.

Today, attendees gather in 224 cities around the world to enjoy fresh coffee, friendly people, and an international array of breakfast foods. Volunteer hosts and their team members organize local chapters that not only celebrate a city’s creative talent, but also promote an open space to connect with like-minded individuals. We call ourselves an engine of generosity and live by our manifesto. 

Back in 2019, we were very lucky to be operating on the East Coast and West Coast. We often catered in Oakland, CA at small events and were asked by our dear friend Trish Ang to cater their surreal-themed Creative Morning. Our food accompanied a talk with Charlotte Dumortier and animator Annie Wong, also known as Heaexplodie. You can watch her talk here.

The Creative Mornings Menu

We filled up a bar area of 7th West with a delightful breakfast spread.

The highlight, we think, was the 100 banana nut muffins we baked that morning. We used a little cream cheese frosting to adhere gummy fried eggs and bananas in honor of Salvador Dalí. We also baked thick and fluffy sheet pancakes with chocolate chips. This format is easy to transport and slice into squares for easy snacking.

We picked up gorgeous, local satsumas, grapes, bananas, and pears from Berkeley Bowl, one of our favorite places to shop.

Our crudites were super fresh and crisp. We whipped up homemade ranch dressing to go with carrots, snap peas, radishes, broccoli rabe, and cucumber.

A Party Tip

You can convert any pancake recipe into a sliceable cake! Simply preheat the oven to 425F and use 2 cups pancake mix (and follow the directions for that amount on the box). Top it with chocolate chips, peanut brittle, or sprinkles.

A greased quarter sheetpan will make a thick 1-inch pancake in 10 to 14 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when you poke the middle. A half-sheet pan will take half the time and will make a very thin pancake.