Smoke Open Fire Cooking

If I could give Smoke Open Fire more stars I would. After we met with Morgan and Irma we knew the food at our wedding was going to be a hit, and this was important to us! Their menus are creative and flexible. Our guests could not stop raving about ALL of our menu. Months later, they are still talking about it, as are we. We are just looking for another party to throw so we can hire them again. Thank you to Morgan and Irma and all their staff for making our wedding so deliciously special!

Best wedding food ever! We used Smoke for our Napa wedding this year and I cannot tell how pleased I was with them. Not only was the food a hit, but Morgan and his wife Irma knew how to adjust the food to accommodate for vegetarian and kosher diets. It was so refreshing for both us and our guests not to have a wedding with the typical chicken/​steak/​fish/​vegetarian options. The burrata salad and the paella were some of the biggest hits of the wedding. I cannot tell you how many people asked us about where they were located as they had seriously pondered using them for other events! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THEM!

Smoke
I have had the pleasure of being a guest for at least three events catered by Smoke. The chef and servers hustle to provide an aesthetically memorable experience for diners.
For appetizers I have tasted the cheese Arancini balls and the black truffle crispy risotto balls, as well as gazpacho souplets, and crustini topped with, I think, anchovies. They also had oysters that everyone enjoyed. The appetizers and gorgeous plating of meals is one highlight of the dining experience.
The salads are unique, locally grown, and fresh. I have experienced both family style serving as well as individual plates for salad. I especially loved the smoked wild salmon salad.
For main dishes — everything is good. The paella is saffron filled, flavorful, and does not skimp on the garlic or protein. We had plenty of prawns, chicken, fish, and sausage. It’s amazing that anyone can lift the gigantic paella skillets! The tri tip steak has good flavor but was a little tough and served cool. I have attended an event that was a mixed grill served family style, and as for getting meat to people before it gets cool, that worked pretty well.
I understand that with large groups, it’s hard to deliver food to the tables while it’s hot, but both with a group under 20, and a group of, I’m guessing over 200, the side of vegetables was cold. The buratta cheese under the veggies was warmish, and served as a sauce for the cold broccoli, fingerling potato, and rawish carrots. Maybe that is a style? If so, I don’t care for it.
Now for the desserts! I loved the carrot cake. It’s served in a tiny individual rustic serving glass layered with cream cheese icing. It’s to die for. The vanilla ricotta strawberry shortcake was refreshing as well. The shortcake was not too sweet, not too heavy, and just delicious. I wanted seconds of both desserts.
I’m sure the chef at Smoke will work with you to customize your meal and make the experience perfect for your guests.

We found Smoke Open Fire through Unilocal,of all places. We were planning an outdoor wedding and wanted to offer our guests a delicious gourmet ‘picnic.’ We’re foodies, so food was one of the most important aspect of our wedding.
We received quotes from several caterers and even considered buying out a local reknown restaurant. Other caterers were very run of the mill and their menu offering felt like ‘catered’ meals. We wanted something more memorable and since we were doing an outdoor wedding, it seemed appropriate to do a grill out.
We were not disappointed. Alisa from Smoke was a pleasure to work with. Our tasting was amazing! Blew our socks off. This was definitely not your standard BBQ. Morgan, the chef/​owner is a well-​known and accomplished chef in the area.
Our guests were equally pleased. The crowd favorites were the Arancinis and fried chicken for the appetizers and the Porchetta with salsa verde and hot potato salad from the entrée.
Part of us wishes that they’d open a restaurant so we could experience our wedding meal again! Thanks for such a great meal!

The guys at smoke catered for my work, a little way back. Talk about great food, and and awesome service. It definitely was better than other five star restaurants I’ve been to. Every one was professional and happy from the moment they arrived to when they left. They were on top of everything, will definitely be going to them for future event.

*********************** 781 *************************
I took my friends to attend the harvest party at Ledera Winery in Howell Mountain, Napa Valley recently. Like most party, they serve food here and there, but not to this awesomeness level, that I have to write about this chef food. Walking in, the aroma of the grill was incredible, I couldn’t stop myself from mouthwatering! Look at this five-​by-​ten-​foot outdoor grill (parilla) with trailer hitch and wheels, it was like you see on Food Networks BBQ and Grill-​master competition. I was literally DROOLING all over the grill: a 100 lbs piggy, plenty of wild turkey birds, beef, and piggy skin, and a table of all Mexican flavorful dishes such as melon salad, salsa, rice with almond, beans, and so much more. You can imagine the aroma by half an hour later, I could barely stand still in line to be the first one to OINK OINK.
You know how Unilocalers are? We are hungry vultures. I was ashamed of myself to be in line first, but can you blame me when the intensity of this gourmet grilled meat to this level. I want it NOW!
Every dishes were as good as it looks on the grill and the table. The pig skin, chef Morgan was showing us how he made it so crispy. It was insanely good, my friends all loved it. The Roasted pig for over 12 hours, melt in your mouth good. The turkey, forget your Thanksgiving turkey, this is IT. And I don’t even like turkey, I wish I could bring home to make some sandwich the next day. The rice dish mixed with sliced almonds, cilantro, I topped it off with fresh salsa and chili sauce, simply DELICIOUS.
Ladera Winery surely threw the BEST harvest party that I’ve been too. I love the open space in the vineyards with chef Morgan Robinson open fire cooking, tasty Ladera wines, on a absolutely stunning weather in Napa Valley, with my dear friends = priceless!
If I live near Napa, I would totally have him as my first choice caterer, so that I can enjoy his food. His team, about another few sous chefs and servers, all wonderful, a few grads from Culinary Institute of America St. Helena, such a great team all together. Everyone was nice, explained to me about the food, the flavor and much more. My friends and I are greatly appreciate the whole experience.
Last but not least, I got to take the 12 hours roasted piggy head home, oh yeah OINK OINK. I feel special :-)
More about chef Morgan Robinson form Smoke Open Fire Cooking Catering:
INSPIRED BY FIRE AND INGREDIENT-​DRIVEN
MORGAN ROBINSON is Chef/​Owner of SMOKE: Open Fire Cooking, located in Napa, California. Classically trained, Chef Morgan has more than 20 years’ culinary experience including: restaurants, The Ritz Carlton/​Aspen, Bistro Don Giovanni and Domaine Chandon; as well as winery chef positions at Cakebread Wine Cellars and Franciscan Estates in Napa Valley.
Chef Morgan founded SMOKE to create his own catering enterprise specializing in Open Fire Cooking. Inspired by fire — the Mediterranean roots of rotisserie, grilling and other open hearth techniques — Morgan uses local ingredients and artisan food producers, all employing sustainable practices, to prepare his exquisite menu items onsite at your event, thus guaranteeing their freshness.