Green Mansions Catering operates two remarkable Event Venues in New York City, Manhattan Penthouse on Fifth Avenue and Alger House in the Village. Our beautiful loft-like Banquet Hall Reception Spaces embody our creativity about Party Spaces, the same creativity that influences our culinary productions. Put simply as a recipe, we combine beautiful foods with beautiful Reception Venues, adding dashes everywhere of dashing waiters and stirring the mix with executives whose charm and professionalism are nonpareil.

Probably the longest running Event Venue caterer in Manhattan, Green Mansions Catering has ridden the waves of exciting culinary trends for thirty-nne years, constantly updating a solid collection of culinary offerings at its remarkable Reception Spaces.

From left to right, Sam Milliken, President and Founder; Monika Nemeth, Director of Catering; Jeno Steiner, Assistant Director; and Adolfo Velasquez, Bookkeeper.

A graduate of the Hotel and Restaurant School in Budapest, Monika Nemeth, Director of Catering, has headed the catering team for fifteen years. Clients find her and the other executives richly experienced, caring, and eminently accessible. Event staff draw high praise for friendly and professional service, and most of the staff have been part of the company for over ten years,- a few, for over thirty years. Helping clients plan the signal events of life is an exciting calling to everyone at Green Mansions Catering. Ms. Nemeth hired Jeno Steiner as her assistant, having known him since he graduated from the same school in Budapest.

Founded in 1973 Green Mansions Catering prepared in its Event Spaces and Reception Venues and for Off-Site Catering throughout the tristate area what was then considered the most desirable catering cuisine: French Classic Cuisine and European Continental. James Beard was simplifying Classic French and Classic Continental for everyone, developed his own recipes for many classic international dishes, and heralded the use of American regional specialty products and ingredients, writing an incredible number of cookbooks. Housewives were being informed by such media as Good Housekeeping, Amy Vanderbilt and the New York Times. Most chefs at the time were European trained men. Popular menu choices included chicken livers or scallops wrapped with bacon, assorted canapes, quiche, Greek filo wraps, stuffed mushrooms, fondues, ratatouille, gougeres, beef bourguignonne, chicken kiev, filet mignon with bearnaise sauce, stuffed trout and lemon sole, and omelette parties.

In the middle 1970's, several of the top chefs in France visited New York to introduce Nouvelle Cuisine, a new style of cooking and culinary presentation that was being developed in France, particularly in the south. Each of these chefs, including Andre Gaillard, Michell Fitussi, and Christian Delouvrier, taught a series of culinary workshops at the Alliance Francaise. These events and others led to a surging of interest in cuisine, and everyone had to have a new designer kitchen. The founder Sam Milliken took all of the workshops and became the Executive Chef of his company. After becoming too busy to both cook and sell, he started hiring only classically trained chefs from France, leading them into a bolder and less precious version of Nouvelle Cuisine. Noga Andriani, trained in Nice, France, was hired at this time.

At Green Mansions, Catering is customizing. We are interested in what a client wants to achieve and how they'd like to achieve it. We are knowledgeable about options in every category of the catering experience. Increasing numbers of clients desire to customize or individualize their event at our Reception Venues. The options include food choices, food styles, food service strategies, food timing, beverage options, equipment choices, layout options, staffing strategies. There's nothing completely standard any more about how to cater a sit-down dinner, buffet, or cocktail reception.