Live Shawarma Station for 350 in Pasadena

A private golf club in Pasadena was hosting an evening for 350 members and guests on its outdoor lawn. The club's executive chef and kitchen team were already committed to the sushi, salad, pasta and dessert stations. They wanted one more showpiece: a live spit shawarma station, set up, cooked and served by a specialist. It had to run outdoors on grass from 5:30 to 8:00 PM and keep pace with every guest who wanted a plate.

We started with questions rather than a price: chicken, beef or both; wraps or carved plates; who supplies what; how guests are served; how many to plan for; and what propane, power and workspace the lawn could offer. The club chose both chicken and beef, carved fresh onto plates at the station, and asked us to plan for all 350 guests. We shared the plate with the club's kitchen: the club provided the plates, rice and salad, and we brought the shawarma, made with zabiha-sourced halal chicken and beef, along with pita bread, house garlic sauce, tahini, Mediterranean pickles, green olives and our signature spicy chili sauce. Before the event, our founder Aimen walked the site with the club's executive chef to plan the load-in and the station.

Late in the planning, the club redrew its outdoor layout. The pavilion we had planned for was needed for the bar, and a hot spit would have made it warmer still. They asked whether we could move to the lawn beside the unloading sidewalk, where the evening breeze carries the heat away from guests, and we agreed the same day. On the day our team arrived at 2:30 PM, three hours before service. We put up the tent, spits and carving station on the grass, connected to the club's propane with our own hoses and fittings, and had the plate station stacked and ready at 5:30. Through the evening the meat was carved to order straight onto guests' plates under the string lights, with pita and sauces at the station.

The club's guests got a live-fire centerpiece on the lawn next to the club's own stations, and its kitchen team stayed free to run their cuisines. The station was ready on time, moved without fuss when the layout changed, and served halal chicken and beef shawarma carved to order through the evening. Afterwards the club told us it had received nothing but positive feedback and that the shawarma was a hit with its members. For a venue with its own kitchen it is a simple model: the club runs its menu, and we bring the one station that needs a specialist.