Key Players
Diane Gordon – Owner
Diane Gordon holds degrees from Smith College and The University of Virginia School of Law. A native of New Haven, Connecticut she originally moved to Manhattan to work as a lawyer with the firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. Early in her career Diane made a decision to leave the practice of law and pursue her dream of becoming a caterer. She attended culinary school full time and then wrote to every chef in France holding the coveted Michelin three star rating. To her surprise and delight she was accepted as a stagiaire at four establishments and spent 1993 cooking at Lucas-Carton in Paris, Bernard Loiseau in Burgundy and Georges Blanc in Vonnas as well as the legendary Fauchon in Paris. Upon returning to New York Diane founded Entertaining Ideas Catering. In 2005 Entertaining Ideas purchased Argentelle Catering, an established French caterer.
Gillian Lowe – Executive Chef
Gillian Lowe joined Entertaining Ideas in 1998. Having worked at Bouley for eight years she was excited about the transition from a restaurant to off premise catering. Her highly refined palette and culinary skills have been tremendous assets to the company. Whether cooking for a small dinner party or a large gala, Gillian’s food never varies from the highest culinary standards.
Gregory Smith – Event Planner/Party Manager
Gregory Smith is one of the most seasoned front of the house service people working in Manhattan. With many years experience at large catering companies, Greg was looking for a relationship with a boutique company. He found it with Entertaining Ideas in 1998. Starting at the company as a senior waiter Greg was quickly promoted to party captain, tackling some of our most challenging events. In 2007 Greg joined our office as an event planner.
Jose Alverado – Chef de Cuisine
Jose Alverado was with Charlotte’s Catering for fifteen years working his way up from prep cook to chef de cuisine. He brought his extensive catering experience to Entertaining Ideas in 2007.
Joel Hinds-Ortiz –Chef de Cuisine
Joel Hinds Ortiz was a chef at Argentelle Catering for eight years. When Entertaining Ideas purchased Argentelle, Joel continued on as a chef de cuisine adding new and exciting presentation ideas.
