The Drifter offers full-service culinary, planning and design for all of life’s celebrations.

The Drifter is a culinary and event design company helmed by husband-and-wife duo Michael and Courtney Zentner, whose talents combine to create some truly spectacular events, high touch weddings and over-the-top dinner parties. Michael has over two decades of experience in some of the best restaurants in the country, and approaches event menu creation with a chef's perspective. Courtney comes to the table with many years under her belt from renowned event design firms in New York and Boston, with an expertise in white glove service and high level design execution. Their repertoire includes private dinners and parties for national brands including Loeffler Randall, Veronica Beard, and Proenza Schouler, destination weddings and many, many memorable dinner parties.
Design and culinary are at the forefront of our process, intertwined so they have an effortless effect. Working with a select group of highly vetted vendors, we offer clients ease as we walk them through the planning experience. Our team coordinates every detail a client could need from photographers, tenting, lighting, floral design, in addition to menu design and wine pairings.  Our clients call upon us to meet their needs and indulge in their desire to enjoy the best of everything. We treat each event with discretion and are honored to work with the most discerning of clients. We are revered for producing epic experiences that exceed the expectations of even those who have seen it all.

We make the 
impossible possible.

Michael Zentner 

A 2001 graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, Zentner is a native of Newport, Rhode Island. At the age of twenty-five, Zentner moved to Sun Valley, Idaho and became the youngest chef to run a Relais et Châteaux property.By 2009, Zentner was overseeing one of Boston’s busiest restaurants, Gaslight Brasserie du Coin. Most recently Zentner opened restaurants Alta Strada and Conoshi for James Beard award winner Michael Schlow in Washington, DC. In 2016, Zentner returned to the Aquitaine Group as culinary director, overseeing all nine restaurants in Boston. In 2018, Michael and his family moved to Charleston, SC where he was hired as the chef de cuisine at Charleston Grill. He cofounded The Drifter in April 2020, when the COVID pandemic began, selling focaccia by the loaf from his home. In March of 2025, Zentner and his wife opened their first restaurant, Merci, in Harleston Village.

CO-FOUNDER, CULINARY DIRECTOR

Courtney Zentner

Courtney Zentner, a native of New York, attended high school for visual arts at North Carolina School of the Arts before broadening her design eye and sensibility at Tufts University and School of the Museum of Fine Arts, where she honed her craft of design and installation art.                                                                           Courtney launched her career as a designer for world-renowed Rafanelli Events in Boston, spending ten years traveling the world designing luxury events. Her extensive experience includes designing the White House State Dinners and Holiday season, and international clients taking her from London to Istanbul. As creative director of The Drifter, Courtney wears many hats as head of all design, social media and production. Her designs are tailored and curated, with white glove service and hospitality throughout the process.

CO-FOUNDER, CREATIVE DIRECTOR