Eat Up!

Tubs of mostaccioli will certainly fill your guests up, but they might not impress them. A couple of local caterers spill the details about what today’s brides are asking for at their receptions.

When planning the food for your wedding event—whether it is a bridal shower, a rehearsal dinner or a wedding reception, the trend is to offer your guests the same foods that are found on the lunch or dinner menu in your favorite local restaurant. The only difference is that the portions are smaller: Miniature versions served as part of an upscale buffet rather than on an individual plate at a formal, sit-down dinner. It’s a great way to let your guests taste some of your favorite dishes at restaurants that are meaningful to you and your groom. Also popular is customizing your own menu options rather than being limited to a catering or party menu.

In either case, there is a definite shift away from the traditional party foods and trays-with-dips and a trend toward favorite restaurant appetizers and entrées in the form of finger foods.  “Most of [the brides I work with] order their favorite food right off the regular menu,” Johnson Tan, the chef and owner of Ocean Zen. “We use the same glazes and sauces.” Gone are the days when food was just dumped into a pan and placed on the buffet table.

In addition to the gourmet taste in a small, finger-friendly size, local caterers are seeing a trend toward more healthy choices requested at weddings.  “We’re seeing requests for more fresh seafood as well as heart-healthy or light items,” says Wing Leong, the chef at Fire & Ice. “We are also receiving more requests for vegetarian and vegan foods than ever before.” So how do you do it on your budget? Here are some of items these chefs have seen requested for local receptions.

Lower Budget

• dips or spreads with pita or baguettes
• traditional meat and cheese trays
• crispy wok chicken, cashew chicken and other varieties of skewers
• spiced Spanish meatballs.

Higher Budget

• Ahi tuna nachos
• sweet Thai chili–glazed shrimp
• herb-roasted filet mignon
• roasted blue crab–encrusted Chilean sea bass
• sushi
• quail, beef tenderloin and
• pork tenderloin