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April 5, 2012
 Bravo likes to innovate, especially when it’s catering equipment inventory, this part of the event industry always needs something new to put in their mouths. Here is something completely different for rental in Montreal.
Directly from Texas and manufacture by hand it’s perfect for the buffet tables and service stations, the Fiesta Hotplate will give a Tex-Mex look to any of your recipes.
Available in 16 “, 24″ and 30 “(40cm, 60cm and 76cm??) the top plate is made ??entirely of metal and can reach temperatures of 200°F (93°C) and up to 300°F (148°C ) in the central cup, you can simply keep your food warm or even cook directly on the unit depending on what you need from it, these units may accompany or even replace traditional chafers. Since the griddle requires no electricity it is possible to use right at the center of the table for hors-d’oeuvres, but also outside next to your BBQ.
We fell in love with the plate Fiesta and we know you will use it wisely.
February 10, 2012
When planning your event, whether it’s a corporate gathering, a wedding, or a simple cocktail party, one makes the decisions of offering their guests alcohol or not. Not to say there is anything wrong with hosting an alcohol-free event but if you will be serving booze, make sure you’re serving it right.
First things first: How many bars do you need? We’ve all been to those parties where we’ve had to stand in line a good 15-20 minutes to get a glass of wine. Considering parties are more often than not held for the people attending, making them spend half their night waiting kind of defeats the purpose of throwing a party in the first place. A good guideline is having 1 bar per 75-100 guests. If you are closer to the 100 mark, make sure it is a longer bar than usual (most bars are average 5’ long.) Another option would be to create specialty bars. Having a wine bar or a martini mixing station can add funk and flare to your evening. You can also make a bar configuration which becomes a focal point of the room. U –bars, doughnut bars or square bars are all great options for larger gatherings. (Check out the U-bar we created for the Guerlain party.)
 Bar en U
Another popular question people ask is how many glasses will you need to stock your bar. Several factors contribute to this answer: What type of alcohol will you be serving? What type of alcohol is most popular with your guests? How many drinkers will be attending? Do you have access to a dishwasher?
A general rule of thumb is to have 3 types of every glass available for every guest. So, let’s just say you will be using wine glasses, highballs and lowballs and are expecting 100 guests; you will need to have 300 wine glasses, 300 highballs and 300 lowballs. Sounds like a lot right? One way of cutting down not only on the cost of glass rentals but on the cost of your bar in general would be to limit the type of alcohol being served. You can only serve wine and bottled beer at your bar, in which case you would only need to order 300 wine glasses (maybe 400 to be safe). You can also choose to serve a signature cocktail and then wine at the guests’ tables. That would mean you only need as many wine glasses as you have guests and 3 or 4 of the glasses you will be needing for your cocktail per person. Ordering an extra rack or two, regardless of the situation, is always recommended. You never know when you will run into a clumsy waiter or a faulty dishwasher.
 Tables Arrières
So now you have the bar, you have the glasses…don’t even start to think you’re done! Depending on whether you chose a bar with shelving or not, you may need some extra racking for your back-bar. A cheaper option would be to simply add an extra table behind your bar on which you would store your bottles and glasses. You also need your bar tools. Martinis, mojitos and marguaritas don’t make themselves! You will need some shakers, strainers, pilons, zesters, bottle openers, bar mats, jiggers, cutting boards, knives, pitchers, buckets, ice tubs, blenders, bar trays etc… Obviously the tools you will be needing depend on the drink options you will be serving. You don’t need a blender or a pilon in a wine bar; you will however need bottles openers and buckets. You may also want to think of putting a small fridge behind your bar if ice is not readily available. Try anticipating your guests’ needs so that once the event is underway you won’t find yourself missing anything. It’s better to be over-prepared than under-prepared.
Hiring a professional bar service, seeking advice from a wedding planner or a well-trained rental consultant may help to ensure peace-of-mind when stocking your bar because, as you can clearly see from this article, there are a million and one things to consider… and this is just for the bar!
Cheers!
 Bar Spandex et Inox
October 22, 2011
Tis not the season of blizzards. Tis not the season of pink cheeks. Tis the season however to start planning for this aforementioned season. No no, We are not telling you to go out and put your winter tires on or to get the shovels and ice scrapers out. However, We are strongly suggesting that you start planning for your holiday parties because it’s never too early for that holiday cheer.
This year as an incentive for those early birds who want to gain a head start, Bravo is offering 50% off any linen that is $25.00+ for those who reserve before November 17th, 2011 for their holiday party. A minimum order of $500.00 (before tax) is required to qualify for this amazing deal and the party must be held on or prior to January 1st, 2012.
So get in gear and give us a call, it’s never too early to be proactive and to take advantage of this fantastic deal!
October 8, 2011
We left carte-blanche to a team of event designers asking them to do what they wanted with some of our tabletops accessories. We offered the floor of our showroom and opened the doors of our new warehouse, this is what the team composed by Selina D’Alessandro of MyMontrealWedding.ca created ??just within a few hours. The team was composed of floral arrangements by NDG Florist and JAS Floral Decor, the paper design Creative Expressions, all captured by the lenses of the photographer from Six Degrees in Motion.
Autumn bronze
Purple Lavish
Sea Breeze
September 26, 2011
Without gas and without heating elements, the induction stoves will offer a uniform and fast cooking surface without the obvious open flame issues. In rental, you will still encounter the butane or propane burner used by caterers, but what is the alternative when more and more venues refuses the use of open flame stove top ?
How does it work ? The heat is formed by the frying pan or pot, not by the burner itself. A alternative current flows through a copper coil under the surface of the ceramic burner and produces a magnetic field. This field induces an electric current directly to the pan which is heated to allows for a cooking surface.
The obvious benefit of induction cooking is its security, no need to use butanes cans that in addition to cost extra, offers a degree of insecurity, butane is after all, a flammable gas. There is no flame and the surface of the unit stay fairly cold. A few seconds after removing your pot, it’s possible to touch the cooking surface without fear ofgetting burned. Special event are also a place where beauty is very important, the unit itself offers more aesthetics to your buffet table than the regulat butane burner. This type of heat source will also allow you to not worry about running out of fuel.
Induction cooking is not something new (about 1950) and yet, wehn we offer this alternative, it still happens often that we need to re-explain the advantages of the latter. At Bravo, where I garantee the largest inventory of induction equipment, you will also find everything you need for this type of cooking. We offer 7, 10 and 12 inch frying pans, 2, 4 and 8 liters pots and 12 inches diameter braziers.
During your next event, when you have a invited chef or you simply need cooking on site, instead of returning to the traditioal butane burner, consider this not so new technology that allows you to be more efficient, safer and more professional.
August 24, 2011
Rolling out the red carpet in front of an important person is probably a concept that comes from the Middle Ages where the roads were too muddy and messy for people from the aristocracy to simply walk on. A few centuries later, the New York Central Railroad placed a red carpet to direct important guests to their car. Legend has it that the idea of placing a red carpet in front of VIPs is drawn from that practice from the NYC. But the theory itself is not a new one, we can trace its origins as far back as 458 AD in the greek tragedy The Oresteia of Aeschylus in which Agamemnon returning from Troy has to walk a red carpet fit for the gods.
Today the notion of the red carpet is relatively common, openings, personalities, trendy clubs and weddings are all places where you will get the red carpet treatment. The Oscars, the Grammys, the Cannes Film Festival and the local galas use the red carpet regularly. But the red is not necessary, it is not uncommon to use corporate colors schemes for the shareholders annual meeting.
We notice a crying need at Bravo for this type of rental, The carpet we often saw 20 years ago was a kind of felt, not very attractive, which looked more burgundy than red, it looked “disposable”. The pile carpet as you can find it in your living rooms, was quite expensive to rent and reserved for Hollywood, weddings and exhibtion aisle.
For over fifteen years, Bravo rents and install a higher quality carpet for your events. The most popular colors are blue, white, black and of course, the title holder for the most popular color … red. You can ask us for any colour and we will find it for you or we’ll do our best to be as close as possible. Prices will vary depending on the colour, the the installation, the needs for special cuts, stairs and size. It is even possible to affix your company logo if you insist.
April 30, 2011
 Outdoor cooking season is right around the corner and I’ll take a few minutes to answer the most often asked question when it comes to cooking equipment. How long will a propane tank last ?
It’s a small math question. At Bravo, we offer 20 and 100 lbs tanks, note that 1 lb of propane is equal to 21,500 British Thermal Unit or also known by it’s acronym of “BTU”. With all of this information, it’s easy to calculate that a 20 lbs tank gives you 430 000 btu of cooking time. (20 x 21,500 = 430,000)
Next step, you need to know the amount of BTU used by the equipment you will be renting. Good news, this information is available on our website. All of the propane powered equipment have this information right under its description.
You are renting a propane fryer for your event, since you placed your order from our website, you know that our fryers are 110,000 btu. Now, how long will a 20 lbs tank will last on this item ?
430,000 btu for the propane divided by 110,000 btu for the equipment will give you 3.9 hours of cooking time at full power. That’s 430,000 ÷ 110,000 = 3.90 hours.
Here are a few examples ;
A 60,000 btu Blodgett convection oven will give a little more than 7h of cooking time. A regular BBQ at 80,000 btu will give you around 5h of hamburger time and a Malibu Patio Heater with it’s 43,000 btu will offer heat for 10h.
March 31, 2011
This year winter is lingering like a bad smell. Right when we think it’s over and we can take off the snow tires and peel out of those layers of wool sweaters and down-filled jackets BAM! Back to -15°c ! But, c’est la vie here in Quebec and life goes on as usual. Parties are being planned, cocktails are being drank, catered delicacies devoured. Why should we delay our plans for our much-needed spring downtime just because winter is being a pain in the…leg?
To help you hold your events and keep your guests feeling happy and comfortable even when the weather isn’t quite agreeing with your inaugural BBQ or welcome back terrace event, Bravo is pleased to offer a full line of patio heaters, including our brand new Malibu heaters.
The Malibu heater doesn’t only look really cool with it’s West cost design but is also extremely functional. Standing at about 8ft high and about 2ft wide, the custom designed borosilicate glass tube contains the adjustable flame, providing an efficient and safe way to stay toasty during the early days of spring. The special glass used to encase the flame is specially designed to withstand up to 41,000 BTU. The propane powered Malibu heater radiates 360° and can be adjusted to Low, Med or High, keeping even the most cold-blooded amongst us toasty warm.
For a little more power, don’t forget to take a peek at our traditional patio heater, 43,000 BTU of raw flame. It’s classical design is now recognized by all and people will still gather around it for warmth.
January 19, 2011
In the red corner, Louis-Ghost and in the blue corner, the Crystal Chiavari and without a doubt we’re going to see a hell of a battle…. that much is clear!
The clear and soft on the eyes trend of the clear furniture is here to stay and Bravo is stuck in between two major contenders. On one side, you will find the french designer’s modern lines, on the other side, classical but always trending italian design. Both in the same rental price range, the Louis-Ghost has been available for some short time but has proven itself to be a corner stone of fine rental places while on the Crystal team, we are offering familiar looks with the touch of the modern use of acrylic.
The Ghost chair obviously takes it’s inspiration from 18th century France but it’s creation is but a fledgling when in 2002 Philippe Starck and Kartell presented their future champion to the world. The Crystal Chiavari is without a doubt the older of the two with a design dating back to early 19th century Italy when Descalzi presented it to his king. To this day, it’s still a classic.
We don’t have to fight, both can be available at Bravo, but you, which one will you choose?
December 14, 2010
When you think cotton candy, you probably thinking of those pink and blue sugar balls that can be bought at fairs. But there is more to this delicacy than you think. For starters, a little history, known as “Fairy Floss” at his appearance at the St. Louis World Fair in 1904. Cotton candy is an American invention that was originally created in 1897 when candy-makers William Morrison and John C. Wharton invented an electric machine which was heating crystallized sugar on a hot plate and pushed by centrifugal force through very small holes. A relatively unchanged concept is used today.
Cotton candy flavours are mostly based on color more than on flavour of the product. At Bravo we sell 100% “pink”, a flavour also known as “bubblegum”, but when we are asked what flavour we sell, we only have to say “pink” And it’s automatic, our customers know what we are talking about.
Candy floss bring in us it’s fair share of memories no matter how old you are, everyone will remember having tasted this delight when we were kids. More recently, the cotton candy is getting out of circuses and sidewalk sales to appear in some the most recognized restaurants in the world. A mix of molecular gastronomy and childhood memories.
Some have heard of foie gras or coffee flavored cotton candy, in Quebec it is obvious that the flavour that comes up most regularly is that of maple. The Pied de Cochon sugar shack and 2 Laurie Raphaël of Montréal and Quebec offer as a decoration with desserts maple sugar flavored floss. But you can also do this flavour at home and add to your dessert for the holiday season a touch of nostalgia. You just need granulated maple sugar that can be purchased from Maple Delights in Old Montreal and one of our rental machines to create this totally unique treat
If you consider that the cotton cnady contains less sugar than a can of regular soft drink and its calorific value is almost zero, it will make a great addition to any event, no matter the season. Whether you want “pink” or something a little more gourmet. Simply return to childhood with this candy.
Here is what the result was when we experimented with maple flavored candy floss in our Montreal warehouse.
Sources:
Gourmet Magazine, Février 2000.
Photography, Martin Bérubé
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