Learn How to Elevate Your Welcome Table with Stunning and Delicious Canapés: Part 91 Style!

In case you missed it, I hosted a Canapés MasterClass with The Crew Collective for their CC Live broadcast out of London, UK. We broadcast the demo live on Thursday, April 22nd to a global audience on IG TV.

This was my first time doing an event like this and although I was VERY nervous to be on camera, I approached the project just as I would approach any one of my flights; I came prepared and ready to rock! :) 

On par for aviation, we experienced unexpected technical difficulties at the very beginning...

Quite honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way - as that's what keeps you on your toes in business aviation and I felt that it truly represented what really happens so often in the cabin on a real trip.

​As a CFA, every flight you are constantly being tested and everyone is watching YOU!

You almost have to expect that there will be one or multiple wrenches thrown your way...be it catering, your guests arrive earlier than expected, you haven't received your ice yet or maybe your departure time just got moved up 4 hours and you have to scramble to get your catering delivery moved up and also get yourself packed and out the door.

No matter what it is, you have to work it out right then and there, on the spot. The difficulty we experienced actually turned out to be a great LIVE lesson on how staying calm and continuing with grace (mostly by not allowing the hurdles to trip you up) can really help you to create that seamless experience for your guests.   

Allora! The show went on.

I blew through a little canapé history, covering the basics and showcasing the foundations. Then I demonstrated 6 fantastic and stunning recipes that somehow reached an hour and a half of content. You can actually see the shock on my face at the end when I saw the clock.  Success! ​

For anyone that is not yet familiar with The Crew Collective, it is co-founded by two working CFAs: Rebecca Spinks and Emily Webb, whom you will also see on the call! :) They officially launched TCC in March of this year and it is a new global lifestyle platform that provides aviation crew resources (all crew members, not just FAs) on a subscription membership program. Their content easily relates to non-aviation viewers too, so everyone is welcome!

They are a wonderful reference for CFAs as you can find links on there for just about everything from worldwide catering recommendations on their innovative Oracle page, to mental health resources and fitness classes...training videos; such as this one (which is actually their first featured training demo since their official launch in March of this year) and so much more!

This demo is geared towards corporate flight attendants like myself who fly for Part 91 / Owner accounts and shows how/what I would normally prepare ahead of time, what I would actually put together inflight and how I would plate everything for my guests.

Some "Pre-Flight" Prep

THE RECIPES

During my research for this class, I came across a fabulous book on small bites and canapés called "Party Perfect Bites" by London based chef Milli Taylor (Linked Below).

I absolutely loved all of her recipes and they each looked so delicious that I decided to feature four of her recipes today from the book! :)

1) Cheddar, Mustard & Walnut Gougères (Greenspan)

2) Blue Cheese, Pear Butter & Walnut Blinis (Taylor)

3) Beetroot Salmon Blinis (Taylor)

4) Quail Egg, Crab and Caviar Blinis (Taylor)

5) Spinach Panna Cotta with Caviar & Quail Eggs (Frisk & Eisenman)

6) Dates Stuffed with Goat Cheese, Pistachios & Pomegranate (Taylor)

Canapes MasterClass

​Thank you for watching, I hope everyone enjoyed the demo and was able to take something helpful away from the class! Please let me know what recipes you tried and how they turned out in the comments.

I'd really love to see your pictures on social media too so please visit us and connect for the next demo!

​IG: @yourgotofa @thecrewcollectiveglobal

None of the books I mention are paid promotions in any way; I just find them all to be fabulous and I wanted to share them with all of you today. Recommended reading and recipes available as follows:​

'Party Perfect Bites' by Milli Taylor  (IG @millitaylor)
*Easy peasy recipes, delicious & IG-ready stunning! 

'The Party Food Bible' by Lisa Eisenman Frisk & Monica Eisenman (@systrarnaeisenman)
*More advanced but contain so many incredible recipes, truly inspiring and definitely lives up to the name! 

'Everyday Dorie: The Way I Cook' by Dorie Greenspan (@doriegreenspan)
*I've followed Dorie's work for years and trust her implicitly, this book is no exception. This is one of her easier recipes. I highly recommend! 

"Hors de'Oeuvre and Canapés' by James Beard (@beardfoundation)
*Fantastic reference if you really want to dig in and geek out like me. James wrote over 30 culinary related books in his lifetime and is known as the first celebrity chef. This gem was his first book and will continue to be relevant forever in my opinion! :)


​#corporateflightattendant #businessaviation #part91style #privatejets #privatejetcatering #professionalchef #skychefs #doriegreenspan #millitaylor #thepartyfoodbible #partyperfectbites #canapes #jamesbeard #amusebouche #yourgotofa #thecrewcollective