Having never been asked that question in quite that form before, I paused for only a second or two - then the word poured from my lips; "Passion", I exclaimed! The bride said, "Wow!" and "Great answer!" One week later she phoned to say she would like to have Culinary Concerts serve her wedding.

Yes, one has to truly love this work to be successful. There are several other qualities that might help as well.

Here are a few:

The ability and determination to learn from your mistakes will surely save your gentle, little soufflé tenfold. No worries when a crafty canine removes a 20lb. roast beef from your van and growls when you get close. "Nice puppy!"

Stay cool as a cucumber when a gallon of spicy, red Bloody Mary mix squarely impacts the pickled pink, kitchen floor of a new client's home, and explodes like a fountain in Venice inside an open refrigerator door full of food. See through the oven mitts! You've planned for this!

Keep your sense of humor on a cast iron griddle when you arrive one day early to cater a cocktail party, and the husband trimming the lawn in overalls shouts to his wife, "Oh hunny?"

Always reserve a few extra nuts in the candy dish when your brand new equipment dolly with the six-barrel carburetor, 454 c.i. V-8, double pumpers and chrome alloys, strolls off the dock into deep and rippling waters.

Be patient when a three-tier fruit and custard filled wedding cake decides it wants to get cozy by sitting on your lap. Like a late-night at the drive-in movie, it slowly shifts from the back deck of what you thought was your Humvee traffic-crusher to the center console of what really is your Fiat Spyder. Install wedding cake safety belts.

Be sincere and reap goodness from all the friends you make. The couple embarking on their lives together - chose you to worry about everything. The tear you shed at their ceremony is real. So are the ten other things whirling on the LAZY-SUSAN you call your mind at the same time.

Set a table for twelve unruly and rambunctious kids, and watch it become silent when their "special menu" is served. Cherish the joy and delight the parents feel as they snap up keepsake photos for their futures.

Treat the couple who plan their 50th anniversary party with you as if they are your loving grandparents. Give them anything they want.

Don't forget that "business is business" when the CEO of a major U.S. luxury retailer visits your humble office to plan an event. Much to his amusement, offer him your rickety and squeaky wood "CEO" chair to sit in. Make light of the fact that you believe coming from Kansas and Oklahoma are one and the same. The tall Kansan reminds you they are not. Title a menu "The All-Oklahoman" in his honor.

Don't ever underestimate the value of your staff. Be reminded of the time you stood alone with a senior U.S. Senator at the quaint Block Island Airport and the compliment he extended, "excellent wait staff" and "my brother Jack always said to have a waiter and a half per table." If you could just figure out how to do that, because sometimes that's exactly what you need!

Be nicer than necessary to everyone. Proclaim to the hungry bon vivants, "how wonderful you all look this evening in the warm, pink glow of the heat lamp". This of course as they await their turn for some carnivorous delights at a buffet.

Flatter people constantly. Remind the bride how beautiful she looks and how gorgeous her dress is. "The flowers smell wonderful" proclaimed with enthusiasm, will have the florist blossom. "Bravo!" the musicians.

Don't compromise your standards or accept less than the very least you expect from others you regard as professionals. Give constructive criticism - but only if you think it may help. Offer to help others.

Pay attention to details! When introduced, remember a guest's name, even in a sea of three hundred people. Three hours later, astonish that guest by addressing him or her by name.

Be passionate about the food! Yes the Food! Admire the supple, perfectly-shaped, fragrant orange-red tomato on a hot August night while alone in the kitchen. Bond with it.

Revere the freshest of fish and cook it one hundred different ways. Respect the species and do what you can to preserve it. Protect all of your resources.

Commence the pastry chef to make five hundred butterflies as a garnish for a plated dessert. You love them, and you know the guests will too!

Forget your budget, not the client's budget. And don't forget the pepper, boxes for leftovers, extra frosting for the cake, safety pins, and silver polish.

Nourish Everyone!