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In case you haven't heard already, we have a contest open on our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/theprolificoven. It's super easy - just upload a picture of your favorite product of ours to your Facebook!

Here's exactly what you have to do, as listed on our Facebook events page:

1. Like our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/ theprolificoven

2. Take a picture of your favorite item of ours. It can be anything - cakes, desserts, breakfast, lunch or dinner items

3. Upload the picture to your wall/timeline on Facebook and tag us, @The Prolific Oven, in the photo's caption

4. Get your friends to "like" the picture - the person with the photo that has the most "likes" WINS!

After you upload your picture, make sure you tag us in your caption so we can see it! Without liking our page first or tagging us in your caption, we won't be able to see your photos (privacy concerns) and therefore you won't be elligible for the contest! When you're finished, it should look something like this:

Remember, the picture with the most "likes" wins so get your friends' support! Contest is open through the rest of May so you guys can take those pictures! It doesn't necessarily have to be of your favorite item of ours, but it'd be fun to know!

Winner will receive a $50 Gift Card to spend with us at any location (except Saratoga) for any goods - cakes, desserts, breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Good luck!

Mother's Day is less than two weeks away! Plan to order your mom the very best - handcrafted cakes that are baked without added preservatives, without artificial flavors, without artificial flavors. This year we are featuring our Banana Custard Cream, a house favorite. This is actually my go-to cake, especially if we're going for chocolate-cake-alternative. Although it's a light French Style cake, it's carrying some real and natural flavors.

We specifically bake a banana-almond sponge just to craft this cake. Between the layers of banana-almond sponge lies a thick layer of fresh banana custard, which, like all of our cakes, is also handmade from scratch. The cake is then layered with freshly cut seasonal fruit, just a bit of fresh whipped cream on the sides and toasted sliced almonds.

It's light in texture but filled with natural fruit flavors, which makes this cake perfect for this spring weather and great for Mother's Day.

If you aren't having a family gathering that requires cake, then join us for brunch at our Santa Clara or Fremont locations, served until 3pm. If you plan on joining us at our Fremont location, don't miss out on our $1.99 Mimosa deal for Mother's Day only.

Hope to see you there!

Happy Wednesday! Hope everyone is having a great week so far and is still looking forward to the rest of it; we have a lot of things going on!

Let's start with tomorrow, Thursday, April 19th. If you're in the Palo Alto/Menlo Park/Los Altos area, you probably already know tomorrow is Dine Out for Packard. We'll be donating 10% of our cake sales at our Palo Alto store tomorrow to benefit Lucile Packard's Children Hospital, so make sure you stop by for some cake before the day is over. No restrictions on how many slices (or even whole cakes!) and it doesn't matter what time you stop by - anytime before closing at 10pm. We're just one of the many participants in this year's Dine Out for Packard so check out the list here to see where you can eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner to benefit the children's hospital!

And Fremont customers, we have tons of news for you. This weekend is the Grand Opening weekend of Century Theatres at The Block, right behind Costco at our very own Pacific Commons. To celebrate, our Fremont store will be extending our Friday and Saturday hours, just in case you need a late dinner or crave some dessert and coffee after your movie. Our kitchen will now be closing at 10pm, and dining room will be open until 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays.

In addition, we want to thank you for supporting Pacific Commons and The Block at Pacific Commons. Bring in your ticket stub from the new Century Theatres right after your movie and we'll offer you a Buy One Get One Free Dessert - it's that easy! The dessert is limited to a single serving (so slices of cakes, Fruit Tarts, Eclairs, Cream Puffs, etc are all eligible but whole cakes are not) and each stub is limited to one free dessert. You must surrender your ticket stub at time of purchase and it has to be the same day you watched the movie, but other than that, it's easy! Gather your friends to watch a movie and then stop by our store afterwards for BOGO dessert!

And Fremont, if you don't already have plans this Sunday, please join us at Kidango's Taster Showcase event. We had a lot of fun at last year's so we're back again this year! For $35 (or $45 at the door), enjoy fine foods, wine and beverages for a good cause. The event is this Sunday, April 22 at the Fremont Marriot Hotel from 1pm-4pm. Purchase tickets in advance here, and stop by our booth for cake and to say "hello"!

Lastly, just wanted to quickly mention that Fremont will be changing their specials this Friday. Thursday will be the last day to enjoy our Peppercorn Rib Eye or Grilled Shrimp Pasta. On Friday you can look forward to more steak specials and perhaps a revisit to our ever-so-popular Fish N Chips! Find out on Friday.

We can't have any green pastries but that doesn't mean we won't be celebrating St. Patrick's Day! Join us at our Rivermark and/or Fremont locations on Friday or Saturday for Corned Beef specials and insanely cheap beer (at Fremont only)!

At Rivermark (Santa Clara) we'll be serving two different dishes, one for each day. On Friday we'll be serving the traditional Corned Beef & Cabbage. Our marinated Corned Beef will be served with steamed cabbage, baby carrots, red potatoes and corn on the cob. If you can't make it in on Friday, don't worry, we'll be serving Corned Beef & Hash during brunch hours (open until 3pm) on Saturday! The Corned Beef & Hash will be served with hashbrowns and two eggs any style.

At Fremont we'll be serving the same Corned Beef & Cabbage entree as Rivermark but on Saturday we'll add an added promotion of $1 Bud Light and $1.50 all other bottled beers. We are currently carrying St. Pauli Girl, Corona, Trumer Pils, Sierra Nevada, Stella Artois and Michelob.

Hope you can join us! And Happy St. Patrick's Day!

[EDIT: Our menus have been changed! Please see our website for the most up-to-date menus]

Join us for a meal after 3pm at our Fremont store and you'll receive a free slice of cake! Much in the same way that our Palo Alto store offers free cake with your sandwich or salad for lunch, our Fremont store is giving away the same sweet deal to any sandwich, salad, pasta or specials entree for dinner. I would hurry though, this offer won't last forever and quantity is limited every night. 

Speaking of Fremont specials, we'll be changing them again very soon. Before they go away, make sure to try our current ones: Grilled Shrimp Pasta, Mango Chutney Tilapia and Chicken Carbonara.

The Mango Chutney Tilapia is one of my favorite specials. It's served with soft white rice and homemade mango chutney that's not too sweet and not too tart (from the real mango chunks). I'll be sad to see this special go.

We'll also be changing our regular lunch/dinner menu in the next few weeks, and I'm very happy to announce that our Chicken Carbonara will now be a permanent item on the menu! As one of our most popular dishes ever, we think it deserves some space on the menu board.

But with the addition of some new items comes the removal of others. Although it is one of my favorite dishes of all time, unfortunately we'll be removing our Salmon Beurre Blanc from the menu. Since we refuse to use frozen Salmon filets, it's just been too hard to keep fresh fish on hand with such low demand of this entree. But if you haven't tried it yet I strongly urge you to stop by for it. It's a dish you would expect to find at a fine-dining restaurant but we serve it for only a fraction of the price!

These changes will be made pretty soon so stop by this week if you can. And remember, come in after 3pm and you'll receive a free slice of cake with your entree! Limited quantities and limited time only (restrictions may apply).

To stay up to date with promos like this one, make sure to follow us on Twitter @TheProlificOven

Stay tuned for an update on our new specials next week!

Happy November! Can you believe that it's November already? We are only weeks away from Thanksgiving and before we know it, it'll be the new year. I blame the crazy weather we are having in the Bay Area. Don't get me wrong, I love blue skies and warm temperatures, but I feel a little cheated by the return of fall. It has creeped up on us.

So while the temperatures might suggest otherwise, don't forget that arguably one of the biggest dinners of the year is almost here. Thanksgiving is my all-time favorite holiday. Each year my family hosts, and it's always so heart-warming to see my extended family crowded around our much-to-small dinner table. It's always overflowing with food, sometimes so that we have to hold our plates while we eat. But for some, Thanksgiving brings headaches, hassles and anxieties over serving something delicious and large enough for the party (those of us who cook know that sometimes these two ideas don't go hand-in-hand). Thankfully, this is something I don't have to worry about, and neither should you.

Perfect for both a corporate event or for your family meal at home, our Thanksgiving Catering package covers all the bases for your lunch or dinner, plus we offer anything else you may need: dinner rolls, bread loaves, PIES, cakes and more.

Let's start with the main meal first. Each Turkey Dinner includes a turkey that is at the very least 16 pounds,  homemade cornbread stuffing, hand-mashed potatoes and gravy made from scratch. Serving about 15-18 people, this complete meal is less than $7 per person.

-- Homemade cornbread stuffing for a large corporate catering order last year --

Popular add-ons we also offer include:
Honey-Cured Ham (natural juice, pure muscle) with homemade honey pineapple sauce
Dinner Rolls by the dozen, available in white and wheat
Sauteed Vegetables
All other items on our regular Cafe menu, including pastas, salads and our Vegetable Tofu Plate

And of course we offer a whole variety of dessert for Thanksgiving, the most popular being our homemade, made-from-scratch pies. If you order the Thanksgiving Catering package, we offer our phenomenal Pumpkin Pies at a discounted price of $19.95 for two. Unlike other bakeries, supermarkets and alike, our pies are all-natural and pure, with no preservatives, no additives and no artificial flavors. We also bake Apple, Cherry, Pecan, Chocolate Cream and Banana Cream pies in the same manner.

-- Rack of Pumpkin and Pecan (in the back) Pies on the morning of Thanksgiving last year (11/25/10) --

So as you can see, Thanksgiving Dinner can really be quite easy. The dinner comes hot and ready to serve, and you only need to make one stop for both meal and dessert. The only thing we do ask is that you call to place your order in advance - we won't have any extras on the day of (Yes! We ARE open on Thanksgiving Day). Actually, quantities are limited so if you're interested, make sure to speak to a Catering Manager ASAP. 

-- We can pre-carve the whole turkey for only $10 extra --

Considering Turkey Catering for a corporate event? Not a problem. We've catered our Turkey Dinner for 15 to 200 people in the past. Packages are available for pick-up or delivery the week before Thanksgiving too, in case your office won't be open the week of. Call our Santa Clara (408-986-8388) or Fremont (510-252-1098) stores and speak to a Catering Manager.

Stay turned for more Thanksgiving posts!

[EDIT on 10/17/11: Sorry but this promotion has expired! Stay up-to-date with our promos by following us on Twitter!]

The Palo Alto Int'l Film Festival is coming up this weekend and we'd like your help in supporting the independent film "No One Will Know", starring Jessie Draper. You may recognize her as the host of "The Valley Girl Show", a web-based talk show where she "talks business" with various CEOs and entrepreneurs from around the globe. (By the way, "The Valley Girl Show" is currently filming their fourth season! To watch previous episodes, visit www.valleygirl.tv)

Bring in your movie ticket after screening "No One Will Know" and we'll give you 10% off your next purchase at our Palo Alto store, valid until 10/15/2011. It's that easy! Purchase your tickets for the FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30th 10:00PM show of "No One Will Know" here. Keep your ticket after the screening to redeem your discount* at our Palo Alto store. Make sure to come in before October 15th, when this offer expires!

For more information:

www.noonewillknowmovie.com

www.paiff.net

www.valleygirl.tv

*Only one discount per ticket, ticket must be surrendered at time of purchase, valid only at Palo Alto store, cannot be combined with any other offers, offer expires 10/15/2011