On-fleek food
Couples are increasingly drawn to informal and fun catering options, moving away from the traditional seated dinner. Katie Duncan from the Catering Dept shares the top two trends – shared platters and food stations.
Shared Platters
By far the most common food trend we see is shared platters, and we confess we love them too! Family-style shared platters give you great variety without the need to queue at a buffet – something that always feels a little staid at a wedding. With platters, you can have several meat options and beautiful colourful sides. They prompt conversation at the table which is great for guests who may not know many other people at their table, and big eaters (who are usually also big drinkers!) can easily go for seconds to top themselves up. Try tapas-style shared plates for entrée instead of antipasto style – for example, we might do a plate of croquettes, another of cured meats and a fresh seafood dish. As they say, variety is the spice of life!
Food Stations
Increasingly common are ‘food stations’ or substantial canapés. Both of these options free you from sit-down formality if you want something a little more relaxed. Seating can be made of different types of tables, chairs, lounge settings or bar leaners and stools and all the food should be designed to be eaten either standing or on your lap, i.e. no need for a knife, it should be easy to eat with just a fork.
Some of our clients have great fun with food stations that reflect their own favourites – they may do three food stations with different flavours and styling on each. For example recently we had a client who had a ‘Seafood Bar’ with fresh simply prepared seafoods, a ‘Dirty Rib Bar’ with everything smoky, charred and slow-cooked, and a ‘Taco Bar’ with a variety of both soft and hard shell tacos – all of their favourite foods.
Substantial canapés are like a meal replacement that’s served over the course of the evening with constant rolling food service – after a round of canapés, we kick it into the next level with large portions and big flavoured food. This might be bao buns, tacos, noodle bowls with salad or risotto followed by a beautiful dessert sideboard with multiple options. The smart thing about this is you can order and pay for two to three dessert items per person, but actually have six to seven different things for your guests to choose from.