Top 8 Wedding Menu Tips From Catering Professionals
Food is what brings us all together, so you can only imagine how exponentially more important it becomes when it’s bound to be served during festive occasions. Grand celebrations such as weddings are a perfect opportunity to share a glass or two (or three) over a plate full of colorful dishes that fit the circumstances. Choosing the best possible combination of ingredients as well as meals can be a daunting task, but here are top 8 wedding menu tips from catering professionals to help you out.
Small bites
A regular three-course meal is something each of us is familiar with. The wedding should be a special occasion, so make your wedding food is appropriately lively. Small bites are better than an overwrought plateful of stuff. Don’t force your guests to commit to the traditional process of eating if they don’t have to and offer an array of interesting hors d’oeuvres.
Super foods
It’s harder to keep guests satiated with these smaller bites, so find appropriate super foods that are very nutritious and filling. Meat that can be served cold and dry is a good choice – from tuna to salmon, dried beef and pork nibbles on top of alluring creamy mixtures of ingredients is a definite winner. However, if we are talking about a very contemporary wedding that has to accommodate young people, it is safe to assume not all of your guests will consume meat.
Vegetarian options
Of course, it’s safe to assume not all of your guests will be avid meat eaters so having a few options with a variety of rich mushroom “meats” can be a good choice. Also keep in mind that there will be those guests who are lactose intolerant, so replace the creamy finishing touches with vegetable pâté. This also opens an exciting opportunity for a variety of food combos since there is just so many vegetable pâtés you can use – from Mediterranean olive mixtures to carrot-beet variants. These are very colorful and they can be an excellent asset when it comes to decorating food.
Decorative touches
Of course, such food has to look the part during the wedding, so make sure you have hired capable professionals who will know how to create interesting decorative touches. They should know where to place the mint leaf and where the olive slice goes, they have to be well versed in how to cut small green sprouts and how to create an appealing lemon peel.
Don’t be too fancy
The guests should know what they are eating, so don’t overdo it with the exotic angle. This is especially important for the distinction between meat-filled food and veggie food. You don’t want your guests that don’t eat meat leaving your party horrified with what they’ve tasted. Still, if you truly want to try something creative, the safest places to do so would be during the cocktail hour. After a few appetite-opening drinks, your guests will definitely be more eager to experiment.
Make it fun
A variety of colorful catering companies offer many interesting services that can make the entire occasion fun. You can follow a trend of renowned catering companies from NYC by surprising your guests with interactive chef stations – this is bound to set them in a good mood and open their appetite for anything. The crucial thing is to strike the perfect balance between adventurous eating and non-imposing food setups.
Keep it cold
Most catering companies will be perfectly well equipped to accommodate hot meals, but try to keep it predominantly cold – especially if you are about to arrange a big wedding. It is simply safer and more realistic food management. In order to serve food for such a large ensemble of guests, one needs to start preparing it a lot earlier, which makes cold chow definitely more enticing and harder to spoil. If the food truly needs to be prepared a lot earlier, avoid having fish as an option altogether, unless it is dried and heavily salted.
Timing
Wedding ceremonies can be rather long and most guests will be very hungry by the time you arrive to your designated rented location. There is such a thing as keeping your guests waiting, so make sure you (or someone else who is responsible for organization) call the caterers and let them know the first guests will arrive at least ten minutes before they do, so the appetizers can be laid out.
An eclectic mosaic of meals is the goal you are aiming for when it comes to weddings. When one considers that such occasions usually include the presence of a large number of guests, it becomes virtually impossible to cater to everyone’s tastes. Thankfully, with these top 8 wedding menu tips from catering professionals under your belt, you can get pretty close to that goal.
