Events & some other goods

(pre-order) HOT SOUP & BAD LARRY'S T-Shirt Reissue

(pre-order) HOT SOUP & BAD LARRY'S T-Shirt Reissue
$40.00

DINNER PARTY 001 [early access]

DINNER PARTY 001 [early access]
$75.00

DINNER PARTY 002 [early access]

DINNER PARTY 002 [early access]
$75.00

DINNER PARTY 003 [early access]

DINNER PARTY 003 [early access]
$75.00

DINNER PARTY 004 [early access]

DINNER PARTY 004 [early access]
$85.00

EH Store Tee

EH Store Tee
$50.00

FAMILY MEAL 005 [early access]

FAMILY MEAL 005 [early access]
$85.00

FAMILY MEAL 006 [early access]

FAMILY MEAL 006 [early access]
$90.00

FAMILY MEAL 007 w/ One Love Community Fridge [early access]

FAMILY MEAL 007 w/ One Love Community Fridge [early access]
$100.00

FAMILY MEAL 008 w/ Furnace Creek Farm [early access]

FAMILY MEAL 008 w/ Furnace Creek Farm [early access]
$75.00

FAMILY MEAL 009 W/ Amoon Farm [early access]

FAMILY MEAL 009 W/ Amoon Farm [early access]
$90.00

FAMILY MEAL 010 [early access]

FAMILY MEAL 010 [early access]
$100.00

FAMILY MEAL 011 [early access]

FAMILY MEAL 011 [early access]
$100.00

FAMILY MEAL 012 [early access]

FAMILY MEAL 012 [early access]
$100.00

HOT SOUP HAT "borscht"

HOT SOUP HAT "borscht"
$35.00

HOT SOUP PARTY @ LAOBRA [MARCH 9]

HOT SOUP PARTY @ LAOBRA [MARCH 9]
$65.00

HOT SOUP PARTY @ THE HANCOCK [12.29]

HOT SOUP PARTY @ THE HANCOCK [12.29]
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Serving Some Soup [October 29 Pre-Order]

Serving Some Soup [October 29 Pre-Order]
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Serving Some Soup [Pre-Order For Nov 12]

Serving Some Soup [Pre-Order For Nov 12]
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Serving Some Soup [Pre-Order For Nov 5]

Serving Some Soup [Pre-Order For Nov 5]
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AUG 22 Proposal: Naomi & Ari

Essential Herbs - Naomi & Ari Wedding Proposal

Essential Herbs - Wedding Proposal   ·   Prepared for Naomi & Ari

Naomi & Ari's BIG OLE WEDDING PARTY

Family-style wedding dinner · August 22, 2026

Date
August 22, 2026
Guests
175-190 (expected)
Service Style
Family-style dinner
Total Investment
$25,000 (including admin fee, sustainability fee, tax) Gratuity not included.
Contact
Jenny Peck
Wedding Venue
Gottscheer Hall

Overview

A big party. Food for the soul. Full of flavor, fun and some theatrics.

The kind of night that goes longer than planned. Guests who flew in from across the country to celebrate, a room full of friends, family and colleagues who love Naomi and Ari, and food that keeps the energy up from the grazing table with a big ole shrimp tower straight through to last call.

What's In Season - August

August is peak season for what matters.

Peak stone fruits. Fresh herbs in full abundance. Vibrant greens, berries, and the tail end of early summer produce all converging. The season is bright, alive, and direct.

About Russell & Essential Herbs

Led by intuition. Rooted in place.

Led by intuition and working exclusively with the freshest ingredients local markets and farms have to offer, Russell's cooking style balances simple, complex, and unexpected flavor combinations.

Russell believes that food is a vessel, accessible to all, with the potential to elevate the profoundly human experience of breaking bread together into something profound - something to be cherished and celebrated.

His businesses have been featured in Bon Appétit, Domino, WSJ, Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, Eater, Infatuation, and the New York Times.

Featured Work & Partnerships
Oko Farms, One Love Community Fridge, Public Records, Parsley Health, Ghetto Gastro, Heal Haus, Ten To One Rum, and others.

Community & Impact
Co-founder of Breaking Bread NYC - an organization serving food boxes and meals to communities facing oppression, inequality, and food insecurity. Active contributor to One Love Community Fridge. Recently launched "Support Your Local Farmers" initiative with the Food Education Fund.

Farmer Partnerships
Amoon Farm, Cherry Lane, Rooted Family Farm, Furnace Creek Farm, Eckerton Hill Farm, Rise & Root Farm, Halal Pastures, Philips Farm, Back Home Farm, Lani's Farm, Farm One, and others.

Menu

Spice-forward. Herb-driven. Plus some antics.

Family-style service, platters passed freely throughout the evening. Menu framework below is what Russell proposes; final selections confirmed two months out and finalized 2 weeks from the event with some wiggle room with what is in season.

Cocktail Hour (60-90 min) Arrival through seated dinner

Appetizer

  • A very large shrimp cocktail tower! 🦐
  • Local Seasonal Vegetable Grazing board + Dips [incorporating Mediterranean influences]
  • Mixed Marinated Olives + Pickles
  • Syrian String Cheese
  • Bread & Butter A Plenty
Main Course Family-style platters [Pick Six: Two Meat, Four Vegetarian/Vegan]

Protein Options (Pick Two)

  • Russell's 48 Hour Jerk Chicken (with Green Sauce)
  • Lamb Kofta + Pomegranates
  • Grilled Sardines + Melon + Meyer Lemon
  • Braised Brisket + Fresh Summer Hukauri Turnips

Vegetarian & Vegan Options (Pick Four)

  • Big Green Herb Salad (Cashew Herb Dressing)
  • Sweet Plantains w/ Soursop & Spicy Mango Sauce
  • Smashed Cucumbers w/ Black Salt
  • Purple Cabbage Salad + Upstate Oregano
  • 10-Spice Chickpea Curry (vegan)
  • Fluffy + Fragrant Rice (Great Joy Family Farm) With Black-eyed Peas
  • Cherry + Cilantro + Roasted Garlic Salad
  • Fried Fig Leafs + Roasted Corn Aioli

Select six items total (two proteins, four vegetarian/vegan). All platters designed for family-style passing; no pre-plating. Available based on seasonal sourcing.

Dessert & Sweets Served as main clears

Essential Herbs Dessert

  • Large Seasonal Fruit Display
  • Two Custom Popsicle Varieties

Popsicle varieties confirmed based on seasonal availability.

Client Responsibility: Wedding cake provided and served by client. EH team will assist with plating and distribution to guests.
Late Night Snack Service Post-dinner dancing & celebrations

Late Night Bites

  • Optional (EH can help arrange): Pizza, dumplings, or light bites
Client Responsibility: Late night snack costs are outside the scope of this proposal. Client coordinates timing and service with chosen vendor. EH team will help plate and share with guests as needed.
All Night — Beverages

Included

  • Hot Coffee + Iced Coffee — throughout the night

What's Out of Scope

Client & Venue Responsibilities

The following items are arranged and provided by the client or venue, not included in the EH service scope:

Staffing: Essential Herbs provides 10 servers and 1 captain. Client is responsible for hiring 5 additional servers through the venue to meet a 15-server total recommendation for this guest count and service style.
Tableware & Service Ware: Plateware, flatware, silverware, glassware, serving platters, serving utensils, chargers, and place settings.
Linens: Tablecloths, napkins, and service linens.
Alcohol & Bar Service: Venue provides all alcoholic beverages, bar setup, and bartending staff. As well as any additional specialty alcoholic based items such as jell-o shots.
Insurance & Liability
Venue and client are responsible for all event insurance, liability coverage, and permits required for the evening. Essential Herbs will provide documentation of our standard food service insurance upon request.
Kitchen Equipment & Venue Setup
Essential Herbs assumes that the venue provides functional ovens, stoves, refrigeration, prep tables, and other standard kitchen equipment required for food preparation and plating. The kitchen team must have access starting at 10 AM for load-in, plus dedicated fridge and freezer access throughout the event. If the venue's existing kitchen equipment is unavailable, non-functional, or insufficient to facilitate the planned service, all additional equipment rentals required to execute the meal are the responsibility of the client and are not included in this proposal total.

Menu finalization: Russell confirms specific preparations, exact proteins, and final ingredient selections 10 and 7 days before the event, based on what's at peak from farmers markets and partner farms that week. This framework ensures flexibility while maintaining the overall aesthetic and flavor approach.

Service Timeline

Evening flow.

August 22, 2026 Timing to be confirmed with client

5:30 PM - Ceremony
7:00 PM - Guests arrive at venue
7:00-8:00 PM - Cocktail hour (shrimp cocktail tower, vegetable grazing board, olives, cheese, bread)
7:47 PM - Sunset (photo opportunity)
8:00 PM - Guests enter reception/dining area
8:15 PM - Main course service (family-style platters, [pick six])
9:30 PM - Dessert (massive fruit bowl, custom popsicles + couple's cake)
10:45 PM - Late night service (TBD)
12:45 AM - Last call (cold brew available)
1:00 AM - Hard out (event ends)

Timeline locked with 5.5 hours of active service. Cold brew optional add-on available all night. Menu selections finalized during Menu Kickoff call.

Responsibilities

What EH handles. What the venue handles.

Essential Herbs

-  All food & ingredients
-  Executive chef & full kitchen team
-  Family-style platter execution & service
-  Menu design, sourcing, pre-event coordination
-  Serving platters & kitchen equipment (TBD with venue)

Venue

-  All bartenders & bar staff
-  All alcohol & beverages
-  Plateware, silverware, glassware
-  Venue setup & breakdown
-  Tables, linens, décor

Serving platter inventory to be confirmed with venue coordinator prior to event.

Staffing

Your Essential Herbs team for the evening.

Russell Markus - Executive Chef, kitchen lead, plate execution
Sous Chefs - 4 senior kitchen staff, platter execution, quality control
Line Cooks - 3 cooks, mise en place, execution, teardown
Servers - 10 Essential Herbs front-of-house staff for family-style service, platter delivery and turnover
Captain - 1 service captain, flow management and coordination

Bar staff provided by venue. Full crew locked in.

Investment

Total - $25,000 All-Inclusive (After Tax)
This is the firm price for 150-190 guests. Includes all labor, food, service, and taxes. No hidden costs. No surprises. If guest count exceeds 190, $1,200 per every 5 additional guests applies. Additions to be settled 2 weeks out from event and one week out from event. Any additions made day of will be settled 48 hours after event.

Gratuity Note: This budget does not include gratuity. Recommended gratuity is between 15-18% of the total investment.
What's covered

-  All food & seasonal ingredients (sourced farmers market, week-of)
-  Executive chef (Russell Markus) - full event day
-  Full kitchen and food service team
-  Serving platters & kitchen equipment
-  Menu design, sourcing, pre-event coordination
-  NYC sales tax

Cake, alcohol, bartenders, plateware, silverware, and glassware are provided by the couple/venue and are not included in this fee.

Payment Terms

50% deposit upon booking confirmation; 50% balance due by July 22, 2026.

Deposit (50%)
$12,500 due upon booking to confirm final logistics. Non-refundable.

Balance (50%)
$12,500 due by July 22, 2026. Refundable up to three weeks from the event.

Payment Method
ACH / Bank Transfer - Essential Herbs will provide details upon booking confirmation. Credit card also accepted (4% processing fee).

*A new date would require a new scope.

More Inspiration

Follow for ongoing work.

More food, menus, and event work on Instagram:

Essential Herbs
instagram.com/essentialherbs.nyc

Russell Markus
instagram.com/russellmarkus

A Note on Sourcing

Seasonal. Ethical. Direct.

Sourcing is a paramount pillar of all events catered to and shared by Essential Herbs. Chef Russell plays a key active role in ensuring that the produce used is seasonal, ethical, just, fair, and sustainable.

These farmer relationships have taken years to grow. The majority of all produce used - all year round - is based on the availability of goods within a 250-mile radius of Brooklyn, New York.

This approach ensures

[1]  A strong farmer-chef relationship
[2]  The environmental impact of gas used to transport products is minimal
[3]  Anything harvested & butchered has often taken place only days before an event
[4]  People are enjoying the region's produce
[5]  The most money is going back into the farmers' pockets
[6]  Farmers can maintain their teams & continue to help support their own economies
[7]  Guests can realize the abundance of local produce, hoping to inspire a positive inner dialog about how we satiate ourselves

Russell's Work

Past Meals

Browse past menus and events to see execution quality and aesthetic approach.

Essential Herbs
Russell Markus
Chef & Founder, Essential Herbs
hello@essentialherbs.com
essentialherbs.com
Prepared for Naomi & Ari
August 2026