Birthdays, weddings, corporate events … what’s the one thing you look forward to the most, and the thing you’ll probably remember above all else? The food. Send your guests home with a belly full of boring buffet, or worse still – a rumbling tum, and no matter how fabulous your event, it’s going to leave a bad taste in their mouths.
Event food doesn’t have to be beige. Sausage rolls, sandwiches and vol au vents. The world is quite literally your oyster. Don’t give your guests anything to scoff about. Pick a fantastic food theme for your event.
Street food
An incredible way for guests to enjoy fantastic food at an outdoor event. Tasty tacos, sizzling Middle Eastern cuisine, Chinese and chopsticks. Imagine trendy food trucks or market stalls with your guests excitedly sampling some amazing street food. What a way to get them interacting and having fun!
Farm to table
Choose a beautiful rural location and impress your guests with fresh, local produce and seasonal dishes. This would work really well for a small number of guests at an authentic location such as a working farm.
Relaxed and rustic BBQ
Think gingham table cloths, hanger steaks, coleslaw and big pitchers of craft beer. Beautifully informal and relaxed. This would work well for a summer work event to celebrate your success so far.
Food and wine pairing
If you prefer a sit-down dinner, how about making the occasion more exciting by offering your guests the chance to learn a new skill too? Does fish go best with white wine, what’s the best red to serve with steak, what wine goes well with salty food? You’ll have an expert design a menu for you and they will educate your guests on the art of matching food with wine. If it’s an intimate affair, your expert host will talk directly with your guests at each course for a really special experience. If this is a corporate event, this unique venue also offers duck herding for a touch of team building …pre-vino of course!
Canapés and cocktails
For a more elegant affair – perhaps a birthday party or engagement celebration, classy cocktails and tasty little titbits and just perfect. Your guests needn’t go hungry if you keep the canapés topped up and circulating. Ask the venue, or the chef, to be as creative as possible with food ideas. For this kind of party, it’s all about creating the right atmosphere …candles to create mood, a cool soundtrack and maybe some kind of interactive act – such as a cocktail making masterclass area or a close up magician.
Remember to consider the comfort of your guests at your event. Are they going to be standing up or sitting down, what sort of cutlery and napkins will you provide? And what’s the ‘goal’ of your event? Do you want people to mingle, network, learn? Do you want to wow and impress or is it more important that your guests are relaxed and simply enjoy the food?
In the words of Virginia Woolf, “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”
So, put food at the top of your priority list when it comes to your event, and ban the beige buffet!
