Reception dinners have shifted over the years from the standard meat and potatoes to dishes more reflective of a couple’s taste. Brides are looking for culinary variety, and caterers are eager to show off their skills. From a seemingly ordinary entrée with added flair to a table full of finger foods, the options for wedding-day dinners are endless.
Serving Styles
Plated dinners will always remain a classic option, but with different types of food, creative serving styles may be more appropriate. Edible centerpieces are a great way to offer guests a pre-dinner bite. Fabulous Catering in Minneapolis serves up grilled and roasted vegetable appetizers on a beautiful and functional table display. “Decorating with edible centerpieces also saves brides money since they won’t need to buy as many flowers for the tables,” notes owner Dawn Drouillard.
Buffet-style dinners work well when serving multiple side dishes or several entrées, allowing guests to help themselves to the items they prefer. According to Philip Dorwart, executive chef of Create Catering & Consulting, a variety of sides is a good way to make sure everyone finds something they like. He offers fall and winter favorites like root vegetable risotto with reggiano, spice-roasted beets, truffled parsnip purée, farro with fontina and heirloom carrots.
When serving only side dishes, brides should estimate the demand for each dish based on one serving of four sides per person. If offering entrées as well, send a response card requesting an entrée choice with the reception invitation, so the caterer can provide the appropriate amount for each option.
Small Pleasures
Finger foods and appetizer receptions are also becoming trendy. Chowgirls Killer Catering co-owner Heidi Andermack says that appetizer stations, in which each setup serves a different style or type of food, constitute one-third of all of the receptions she caters. “We’re catering a wedding this summer at a winery where we’ll have three different stations with wines and appetizers that pair with them,” says Chowgirls partner Amy Brown. “Stations that serve different ethnic foods, like Asian or Italian, are also very popular.”
Jane Oslund of Minneapolis had finger-food stations at her October 2007 wedding to Mike Wiley. Their movie-theater-themed wedding had four setups with delicacies like porcini mini quiche, pesto and shrimp cups, grilled vegetables, smoked salmon, sushi, cake and mini cupcakes. “We were looking for something different, and very high-quality food,” she says. “The unique rendition was wonderful. I heard a number of times from the guests how great the food was.”
“It’s a fun option for couples with more eclectic taste in food, but who have families that like standard meat and potatoes,” says Drouillard. “With finger foods or side dishes you can have something for everyone.”
Spice It Up
When serving entrées, try to cater to both your wishes and those of your guests, as there will undoubtedly be attendees who don’t share your tastes. And even though a crowd-pleasing option may be a safe choice, that doesn’t mean you have to serve the same old chicken or beef. Customize your entrées by incorporating different flavors, cooking styles and seasonal fixings.
Dorwart introduces exotic ingredients into his cooking and uses them in a way that doesn’t intimidate guests. Options like chèvre-stuffed chicken with Donnay goat cheese and mushroom jus, or flat iron steak with garlicky Swiss chard and fig demi-glace can entice the refined and picky eater alike.
Bedtime Snack
After dancing and drinking the night away, many couples like to surprise guests with post-party food to munch on before heading home. “We usually serve a salami and artisan cheese tray for late-night snacking,” Dorwart says. “This includes European-style cured meats and sauccisons and local artisan cheese like Shepherd’s Way Big Woods Blue and Donnay Farms chèvre with our bread and homemade crackers.”
For this phase, Chowgirls Killer Catering suggests that couples choose items they love but don’t want to serve for the reception dinner. “At one wedding we catered, the bride was really into Jamaican food and culture,” Andermack says. “So for a late-night snack we served her favorite jerk chicken while a Jamaican band played. She loved it and so did the guests.”
Aimee Witteman, now living in Washington, D.C., plans to get her family involved in a do-it-yourself snack for her September wedding to fiancé Barrett Colombo at Camrose Hill Flower Farm in Stillwater. “For a late-night snack around the bonfire,” she says, “Barrett’s aunt is making caramel apples with pecans, chocolate chips, and dried cranberries.”
Earth-friendly Fare
Regardless of the type of dish, “more and more people are asking for local, organic and seasonal food,” says Chowgirls’ Andermack. Choosing organic cuisine reduces or eliminates certain chemicals and fertilizers used to grow food, and picking local, seasonal ingredients cuts the distance food must travel to get to the dinner plate. This in turn reduces a meal’s total carbon footprint and supports the local economy.
Witteman’s catering harmonizes with the time and place of her wedding. “We’re both from the Midwest and we look forward to feeding our guests foods that are grown by farmers in the area and reflect the season and place, like local apples from the Stillwater area and aged cheddar cheese grown in my home state of Wisconsin,” she says.
Many caterers already use local, seasonal and organic ingredients because they often taste better. If this issue is important to you, ask your vendor what foods they traditionally use and request they choose environmentally sustainable options whenever possible.
