Claudine Johnson Eaddy, owner of Autumn’s Catering & Café
“It’s Christmas. I’m unpacking Christmas,” says Claudine Johnson Eaddy, owner and executive chef of Autumn’s Catering & Café, as she opens boxes of spices. Her husband, Greg Eaddy, is threading chicken skewers, singing “It’s gonna be May” in reply, to the tune of the song “It’s Gonna Be Me” by pop band ’N Sync.
Chef Johnson Eaddy inhales deeply from the box of boutique-blended Mexican spices. “I love playing around with new spice blends. These are expensive,” she says, her eyes dancing behind oversized glasses.
Johnson Eaddy is a classically trained chef with a French background. After 25 years in the culinary game, she still has fun in the kitchen, and she knows how to serve on the client’s budget.
A graduate of the former New York Restaurant School in Manhattan, Johnson Eaddy left her “cushy, corporate accounting job with benefits” in the late ’90s, to follow her passion — cooking. Now she channels deliciousness, helping folks craft perfect budget-conscious catering menus for their wedding day. Helming Autumn’s Catering & Café makes her happy in a way accounting didn’t.
“Working at different places and watching brides go broke, it broke my heart. I saw brides open their gift envelopes to pay the bar bill,” she says.
Johnson Eaddy moved to Richmond in 2001 and opened Autumn’s in Lakeside in 2003. Last March, she moved operations to Paragon Place in the West End. She conducts her catering business from a cafe that’s open Monday-Thursday. In addition to celebrating her 20th year in business, she made The Knot's “Best of Weddings” list and was a winner of Wedding Wire’s Couples’ Choice Awards for the second time.
Richmond Bride sat down with Johnson Eaddy (who hadn’t sat down all day) to ask her advice on planning a spectacular but affordable event.
Puff pastry-wrapped asparagus from Autumn’s Catering & Café
Richmond Bride: Can you offer guidance on menu crafting?
Claudine Johnson Eaddy: Start with the foods you absolutely love. Expand from that, talk about what allergies or restrictions your guests have. It’s your day. If you want Grandma’s recipe, we’ll make it. Grandma doesn’t need to make food for 200.
RB: How much should someone budget for a guest list of 100?
Johnson Eaddy: For food, at least $6,000 to $7,000. Much of that expense covers rising ingredients, staffing and travel costs. I encourage clients to keep their total wedding costs to $25,000 max. You can host a very nice wedding for less.
RB: What is your advice to the newly engaged?
Johnson Eaddy: Think date, location, catering, photographer, then focus on finding and scheduling everything else. A wedding photographer only does one wedding a day, whereas you’ll have more time to find the perfect wedding dress.
RB: When should couples book their caterer?
Johnson Eaddy: Peak season is March-June and September-December. If your event falls within these months, especially May and October, think at least a year out. We book quickly and we still get last-minute requests. Often clients don’t believe me when I tell them we’re booked two years out.
RB: What services do you offer for weddings?
Johnson Eaddy: We offer a $35 tasting menu for up to three people in the planning stages. If more than three people are planning the menu, it tends to throw the couple off. But our real service is that we do it all, from decorating to taking out the trash, we do whatever it takes to pull off a seamless event. I have repaired bridal dresses on site. My staff and I have our eyes on the couple at all times. We keep them fed, hydrated and enjoying their evening. We give advice, we help plan and we source hard-to-find items.
RB: Can you speak to wedding trends?
Johnson Eaddy: At one point everything was gold decor with a doughnut wall. If one more person handed me a Pinterest page with doughnuts … Now black-and-white, silver, rose gold and full monochromatic parties are trending, which is a challenge because I like to match the food to the decor. So, it’s beige — chocolate cake with vanilla.
RB: Do you have any money-saving tips?
Johnson Eaddy: Stay off the internet once you have your theme; it will send you down an expensive rabbit hole. Love your friends, but don’t take ideas from them. Don’t compare your wedding to anyone else’s.
Provide two [alcoholic] drinks per guest. Don’t overbuy or you will be left with extra alcohol and your guests will overdrink. Serve signature cocktails versus an open bar.
Think of the entire package when planning your reception location. Yes, that horse farm or open field is lovely, but does it have running water and electricity? Will you have to hire golf carts to ferry guests or erect tents to shield them from the elements? These factors significantly drive up the costs of that “inexpensive” location.
