Susan Byrne of Catering Concepts recently happened upon a bag of yamakas (kippot) – all from events where she had been the caterer.
“It was fun to find them and have all of the memories come flooding back,” says Byrne.
“Seeing those yamakas reminded me of viewing these families’ celebrations.”
Byrne and partner Eddy Byrne started Catering Concepts in 1993. Their first bat mitzvah, she recalls, was for Barbara Rosenblatt, the daughter of Nancy and Chuck Rosenblatt.
Byrne’s first kippah is from Darryl Lefcoe and Alan Friedman’s wedding in 1996. “Those pre-date our years of computer software!” she says.
Some of Byrne’s kippot.
Over the years, Catering Concepts has done several bris/baby namings and then the bar/bat mitzvah celebration for the same child, as well as bar/bat mitzvah parties and then weddings for the now young adult. A wedding in November 2021, however, might have been the first time that she had also catered the bride’s baby naming. That’s continuity.
Byrne credits her mom’s studying about kosher laws and Jewish holidays with her own ability to better understand how to cater Jewish milestone events. In fact, she recalls having to explain the rules of kashrut to several clients when planning menus for luncheons and dinners to take place in synagogues.
“For me, it is always so cool to watch the weddings, to see everyone dance the horah in circles, to celebrate,” she says. Learning what she did about Judaism from her mother and then over the years witnessing the celebrations first-hand, Byrne says she values the Jewish traditions she has experienced.
“We feel so fortunate to have been part of so many families’ most meaningful days.”