Resources for Cocktail Events: Edible Flowers, Dry Ice, and More
March 28, 2017
As I do more and more cocktail events in the Bay Area, I find myself turning to Facebook for advice on where to procure bulk items for them. It would be rude of me not to share!
Edible Flowers
I was looking for edible flowers for an event. One cannot just stick regular flowers into drinks as they contain pesticides and other nasty stuff, so you need to be sure they're appropriately designated as food-safe.
You can often find edible flowers in small packs at places like Whole Foods and even Safeway, but should one be looking for a few hundred flowers you need to go bulk.
Ultimately I'll probably just end up going in on an order of one of my local bars, but here is what my research turned up:
- Restaurant Depot - Business account required
- San Francisco Produce Market
- Marx Foods
- Chef's Garden
- http://wholesale-tropical-flowers.com/ (don't look edible)
- Bay Cities Produce in San Leandro
Dry Ice
Dry ice is a great party effect, and it turns out it's a lot easier to find than I would have thought. Note that like any ingredient that might go into food, you need to sure you're purchasing food-grade dry ice. I have not fact-checked these except for the first four.
- Cash & Carry
- Molllie Stone's (Castro location for sure - you need to ask at the register)
- SF Ice
- Ben's Dry Ice
- Michaelis Wine & Spirits
- Bait and Tackle shops
- Air gas
- Praxair
- Smart & Final on 7th Ave in the Richmond
- Lucky's st Fulton & Masonic
Juices
I've had a real problem making same-day lime, lemon, and other fresh juices not available in stores (or even juice shops). In one instance I was able to source some from a local bar, but generally speaking for squeezing fresh juices I seem to be on my own.
I have in the past used a manual juice press to make up to 3-4 liters of juice, but this takes a long time and a lot of effort. Bartenders in the know have recommended that for bulk juicing in the future I purchase a Sunkist juicer.
Are there any other bulk event supplies you'd like to know where to source in San Francisco? Please let me know and I'll try to help.
The dendrobium orchids from Wholesale Tropical Flowers are recommended in the Smuggler's Cove book. I'm pretty sure that's where they get the ones they use in the bar.
Posted by: JenTiki | April 06, 2017 at 11:42 AM
I checked but they're not listed as edible on the website anyway. Smuggler's sources from one of the other places, at least they do now.
Posted by: Camper English | April 06, 2017 at 12:36 PM