November

23, 2014


Mr. Joe Yonan
Food and Dining Editor
The Washington Post
1150 15th Street, NW
Washington DC, 20071

Dear Mr. Yonan,

I am writing to you today in response to the articles posted online and in the
Washington Post Magazine reviewing Washington DC caterers. While I appreciate
the recognition of our industry and the work that we do, I have several issues that I
wish to express.

Before providing you with my thoughts, I want you to know that I accept the grade
Windows was given. We take matters of food quality and service very seriously and
are always looking for ways to improve.

First and foremost, in my opinion, Mr. Sietsemas approach to his critique appears to
be biased by past experiences. In 2011, during an online chat, Mr. Sietsema
acknowledged Its hard to review catering companies, in part because they
specialize in custom-designed events. Every party comes with different budgets,
needs, wishes. He also states his personal preference for Susan Gage and Federal
City both very good caterers whom I respect. I find it very disturbing that these
two caterers were rated #1 and #2 in his review. No coincidence in my opinion.
This simple acknowledgement on his part leads me to believe that the cards were
stacked against all other caterers he chose to review. His prior use of the caterers
for important life events should have warranted full disclosure.

In my opinion, caterers should not be solely judged on a single, small event with a
limited budget. We do so much more that truly allows us to showcase our many
creative talents and culinary range. From receptions for 100 to seated dinners for
1,000 guests, every menu is different with varying working conditions. And for
larger caterers we often feed thousands of people in a single evening.

I also take issue with the fact that Mr. Sietsema so easily dismisses caterers and
judges them harshly for the minimums they require for their services. This leads me
to believe he has not fully done his homework on the catering industry. Due to the
high costs of catering on smaller events, it is a common practice in our industry to
set minimums. An educated consumer of catering services understands that the
costs associated with catering is not the same as a restaurant and events of 8 or 10
guests with $1,000 budgets are very challenging to make profitable and make up a

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very small percentage of our mix of events. For this reason, amongst others stated
above, I believe the premise for his reviews are flawed. His disclosure of the
process at the bottom of the article is weak and meaningless to me as he states that
he is attempting to create as much of a level playing field as possible. Clearly he
knows that all caterers are not the same in the way we approach our business.

I would also like to bring to your attention the inaccuracy of Mr. Sietsemas recall of
the vegetarian menu item he was served by Windows. We did not serve a Cheese
stuffed pasta roulade with tomato fondue as he states. The vegetarian item served
was actually a Stuffed Portobello Mushroom filled with sweet pea risotto topped
with crispy Tobago onion strings, with sauted broccolini and roasted red pepper,
wild mushroom sauce. Where is the fact checking that is so vital when delivering a
critique?

Regardless of my thoughts and opinions, we will live with our grade and endeavor
to continue improving our products and services. My hope is that your article also
brings additional light on the great work our industry does in the social, government
and corporate circles in which we travel.


Respectfully,


Andrew Gerstel
CEO
Windows Catering Company


CC:
Martin Baron, The Washington Post
Mark Michael, Occasions Caterers
Larry Abrams, RSVP Catering
Jeff Judy, Federal City Caterers
Susan Gage, Susan Gage Caterers
Amit Gulati, Spilled Milk Catering
Kathy Valentine, Design Cuisine
Susan Lacz, Ridgewells Catering
Joel Thevoz, Main Event Caterers
Steve Dunn, Well Dunn!
Catherine Merrill Williams, Washingtonian Magazine
Sherri Daphonse, Washingtonian Magazine
Peter Abrams, Modern Luxury Magazine
Rebecca Cooper, Washington Business Journal
Anna Sekula, BizBash
Suzy Jacobs, Capitol File Magazine

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