RICHARD MIXON

Chef | Owner

Hello, my nickname is Chef Richard and I’m the co-owner of River Rest Weddings.

The other owner is my wife; however, and contrary to popular belief, neither myself nor Tony Danza are really the boss — that would be my Sweet Ellen.

For you and I to have a great relationship, we both must agree that food always needs to be pretty.

And in looking pretty, I mean in a presentation that incites hunger pains.

And I promise you that everything I write below has been tried and tested on hundreds of starving family members, friends, guests, and strangers.

Here’s some valuable nuggets of information from the well-worn cookbook I keep conveniently located in my head:

Aromas need to complement each other — that’s why I sniff every spice that I can think of before creating a new or modified dish.

I can honestly sense what the food will taste like before I prepare it.

Here’s some friendly advice; if you have a cold and are stuffed-up— don’t try anything new!!!!

For taste, it’s all about texture.

Without a variety of flavorful sensations, you might as well eat bland baby food.

Just imagine opening fifteen baby food jars to get a really good mouthful before you conjure up a gawd-awful face which makes your food swallowing a Barnum & Bailey circus feat!

I COOK WITH SEASONING!

I always make sure to taste before even considering salt and pepper!

Food needs to be crunchy, chewy, and smooth somewhere in the meal!

Hot food need to be served hot, not lukewarm.

It’s imperative that the wedding has a schedule that is strictly followed, or the food will have stayed in the chafing dish too long, thereby causing it to be dry and tough!

One of the greatest benefits of using me as the chef for your wedding or special event is that the food is prepared on site in my very own personal kitchen and it’s carried to the serving line at the very last minute to maintain the quality of the food.

You can’t do that near as well with an offsite caterer!

Plus, if something gets overcooked or over-warmed (burnt), your guests will never know it since my commercial kitchen is only 75-feet away from the main house and dining room. (I speak from experience!)

I can’t stress the importance enough of having great food available!

The bride can be gorgeous, the groom can be cavalier, but if the food is not good — that is what people will remember!

My in-depth culinary training mainly comes from studiously observing hours of YouTube videos, with frequent interludes of Chopped and Alton Brown.

Of course, I can proudly state that I have a couple of food dishes that I believe can Beat Bobby Flay!

(And for ingredient control, it’s the welcomed constructive criticism from my lovely spouse who samples my innovative creations that helps make the perfect taste!)

More importantly, I don’t follow recipes.

I tailor every meal to my guests’ desires — if this were not important to you, you would be choosing a cookie-cutter barn venue with their rather uninspiring meals, instead of choosing to be hitched by the lake with tantalizing aromas wafting from the kitchen!

Bon Appétit!

Sincerely,

Chef Richard