left: Citrus Lobster Skewers. middle: Table set for Marla’s 50th Birthday Dinner is July. right: Paloma Shots in Mini Patrone Bottles.
Photography by Natasha Miller and contributed
From popping into community-centric Four Forks for a salad to booking them for your dinner parties or larger bespoke events, Founder Megan Ruppenstein’s growth across Fairfield County and into NYC clearly makes her one-to-watch (and book for your events)!
What inspired Four Forks?
Four Forks, named after the forks that faithfully feed my four boys, started from a love of cooking and a desire to share that love.
After encouragement from friends who had said “make us what you are preparing for your family,” Four Forks has grown into a full-service catering and event company. We specialize in dinner parties and events both large and small.
At our Darien shop, we are also true to our roots and continue to focus on providing wholesome, healthy “home-cooked” meals to busy families who find themselves eating take out or scrambling to prepare dinner too often than they would like.
What type of cuisine are you most passionate about?
Salads are the most popular item, and we change them based on the season. We love creating new vinaigrettes that pair with all kinds of fresh, seasonal vegetables, grains and proteins.
When it comes to events, dinner parties are the most fun to create. We start with the hosts’ favorite food and then bring the menu together around it! Pairing fun cocktails and wines then creating a tablescape is our favorite part of the job!
Where do you source from?
We love to find foods from local purveyors. One of our passions is micro-greens and we love a local provider who grows beautiful and unique greens. We sourc locally for tablescapes and boards depending on the season and use a local flower company with the freshest and unique finds!
You recently catered an event for Magrino PR and walked the legendary Martha Stewart through your menu. How was that experience?
From my very early days I would ask myself How would Martha do it? I have most of her books, and they are truly my favorite for inspiration and creative cooking. The opportunity to walk Martha through our menu was a culmination of that often-asked question. Martha is an icon because of the time she put in to perfect her menus, which contributed to her ability to then go on and build a global brand. I have always been inspired by her focus and it motivates me to put my best presentation forward and to keep learning and growing. Her interest in each dish demonstrated how preparation and presentation are still core to her vision. I am so grateful to Magrino PR for the opportunity to cook for Martha and so many of their talented clients.
As your business has grown you really have become a full-scale event company. Do you prefer to work with clients on the entirety of an event from the menu to florals?
When I first started, I didn’t see catering as a reality because working every weekend with four young boys sounded a bit daunting. As time went on the boys got big and we grew, the catering became my passion in creating events from beginning to end and making each one special to the client. The florals were an organic piece of the evolution as I wanted them to be a certain way and I just had the desire to procure and design myself. East Coast Wholesale Flowers have an eclectic selection that is so fresh. In a pinch, I also love Compo Farms, a few doors down from Four Forks. Anna is amazing at what she does there.
One of the parts of my business I love the most is getting to know people. In meeting with clients, there are many times my staff will have to signal me to get back to the kitchen as I have been chatting just a bit too long. Connecting with people is a part of my DNA.
When it comes to working with clients, to plan their event, it is natural for me to want to understand my client’s goals and pull it all together for them. The preparation and presentation of a client’s catering selections are still the core of what we do, but personalizing tablescapes and the setting of the event as to location, tents, rentals and flowers can pull the occasion together in a way that allows our clients, as the hosts, to shine. That is my goal from the planning stages to execution — create a bespoke event that will make our clients excited and proud as it truly reflects them and their flair.
MEGAN RUPPENSTEIN
Four Forks
7 Tokeneke Road, Darien
203-202-7576
