A Menu That Mirrors You
A wedding feast essential: food that complements you, your tastes, your day.
courtesy of: Jordan Caterers
Your wedding day approaches. You have your dress, you’ve decided on a reception site and you know what kind of flowers you want. Now it’s time to think about what you’re going to serve your guests when they come to celebrate with you.
Beef, chicken or fish? Sit-down dinner or buffet? The number of choices is staggering and everyone you know will make suggestions—from your maid of honor who was married last year, to your parents who were married 30 years ago.
Despite all the well-meaning advice, it isn’t easy to choose a menu that will appeal to everyone. What if your favorite aunt hates fish and your best friend is a vegan? What if your mother-in-law-to-be insists you serve beef (which you don’t eat)? How do you decide what’s most important, and settle on the wedding menu you and your groom really want?
Chances are, if you are a traditional couple with dreams of an old-fashioned white wedding (complete with first dance with dad and a bouquet throw), you’ll choose a classic sit-down dinner with a menu that will appeal to the broadest tastes on your guest list.
But wait a minute. Maybe you know a little something about food and the latest culinary trends, and you want your menu to reflect that. Or maybe you just want to wow your friends and family with the hottest and hippest meal ever. No matter what you’ve been told about the elegance of a formal dinner, you’ve got your heart set on a great party where people mingle, mix, dance—and graze—for hours on end.
A successful wedding feast’s most critical ingredient, according to Connecticut’s best-known
caterers, is a menu that reflects you and your tastes . . . one that complements your day.
This is not to say the meal should be all about you. Most caterers will advise couples to consider all aspects of the event, including the ages of their guests. Richard Yost, who owns Bay Leaf Gourmet in Waterbury, says, “I remind them that some of their guests [may be] older relatives who like to sit at their table. They don’t want to mill around the place all night. There are people who would prefer to have their dinner served and not get up and get the food themselves.”
Debbie Grazier, director of events and design at Jordan Caterers in Cheshire, agrees. “The dynamics are changing,” she says, referring to a time when couples may have been more single-minded about their preferences. “We’re getting back to . . . more consideration of family.” That often translates to more formal, traditional-style wedding meals.
“I ask my clients to envision their day,” says Rick Kerzner, who owns Emily’s Catering Group in Forestville. “What we do is coordinate the food with the style of the party.” So, following a formal ceremony, for example, Kerzner will likely suggest a formal meal, featuring a plated beef or chicken entrée. If the couple is planning a livelier event that’s more party than traditional wedding banquet, he may suggest “action stations” instead.
Eat, mingle . . . eat some more
Similar to a classic buffet (but without the single long groaning board offering a meat or fish option, plus three or four side dishes), action stations are the latest trend in wedding menus. Several displays with servers offer different kinds of foods; the stations are strategically located around the reception space. Depending on the caterer, you can ask for just about any kind of cuisine, from culinary staples (such as a roast beef carving station, pasta or mashed-potato station) to a risotto station (at Emily’s the toppings include elegant butter-poached lobster and sautéed shrimp).
At The Riverhouse at Goodspeed Station in Had-dam, you can opt for even more exotic choices, like a Hawaiian station that features such delicacies as Island Pork Roast with Kahlua Glaze and Mahimahi encrusted with Pecans. The chefs at Coastal Gourmet Catering in Stonington showcase bounty from the Connecticut shoreline with a seafood station featuring a festive assortment of cooked shrimp, clams and oysters (with a variety of sauces), New England Scallop Cakes, Smoked Seafood, Crab and Mascarpone Crêpes, Mini Lobster Rolls and Scallop Ceviche.
Action stations work best when the caterer places them throughout a reception site (museums and mansions are perfect for this), rather than lining them up, one after the other, in a large ballroom.
“They’re very suited to our kind of venue,” says Ted Steen of Stamford’s Bank Street Events. Action stations are located in three rooms on two levels of the old bank building. The entry floor features hors d’oeuvres such as sushi and other finger foods, says Steen, because “this is where people get their cocktails and stand on their feet.” Main-course stations are situated up a level on the mezzanine, where there’s also a smaller space where the caterer sets up more unusual stations (the Spanish station offers paella in a giant pan; the Latin station serves Mexican dishes; and an old-fashioned barbecue station serves ribs, cornbread and jambalaya).
There’s another reason that stations are popular now, according to Yost. He says that “couples like the idea that things can be made to order. Because dishes are cooked or finished by servers before your eyes, everything seems ultra-fresh, just off the fire. Most stations are set up for a long time and replenished as the party goes on. Long lines are usually avoided because not everyone gets up to eat at the same time.”
Take a seat
Sometimes a couple wants a party atmosphere buzzing with music and a variety of eclectic foods—but the bride’s parents (who often are footing the bill) prefer a quieter, more refined, formal dinner. “We want the bride to be happy and we want the parents to be comfortable,” says Grazier, of Jordan Caterers. “We try to engage them in a conversation about the choreography of the evening . . . and there are ways to compromise.” Some of the courses can be served—the salad, soup and dessert or cake, for example—while the main course and side dishes can be offered at a buffet or at individual stations.
Despite the growing popularity of stations, the majority of Connecticut couples are still opting for a formal sit-down dinner. “Most brides will say that they’re not traditional, but after talking to them [we find] they really are,” says Michael Ferreira, director of catering for Coastal Gourmet.
Ferreira says his staff asks specific questions such as “Do you want the groom to see you in your wedding dress before the ceremony?” “Do you want the band to announce you as Mr. and Mrs.?” He says many brides favor tradition more than they think, which may motivate them to choose a more conventional style of service and menu. But traditional doesn’t necessarily mean predictable or boring.
“Our clients will say things like ‘I’ve been to too many beef-chicken-fish weddings. Can’t we do something different?’” says Christopher Vernicek, director of catering at the Hyatt Regency in Greenwich. “Of course we can,” he assures them. Beef, chicken and fish are still the most popular entrées, he says, but “today we plate them differently or serve them in a newer way.”
Dinners catered by A Thyme to Cook in North Stonington also build on traditional ingredients, but they’re prepared and plated in distinctive and appealing ways. Says owner Linda Sample: “We try to have the food be creative, but not intimidating.”
For those with an even bolder vision of the sit-down main course, there are more choices. “We encourage our clients to think out of the box,” says Libby Rutty, sales and event coordinator at Riverhouse. “Most people pick the standard filet of beef and baked shrimp, but occasionally we’ll have a client who wants something a little different. It’s nice when guests get something different like duck or lamb,” she says. At Bank Street, couples can choose “tasting menus” instead of the standard three- or five-course dinner; these consist of six to 10 courses of miniportions that let guests enjoy a range of textures and flavors.
Special orders
Inevitable questions arise in planning a wedding menu. What about vegetarian friends? Relatives allergic to nuts? A kosher neighbor? Most caterers are prepared to expect a few vegetarian guests and offer meat-free hors d’oeuvre and entrée choices; allergy-free and kosher meals are handled separately.
Occasionally caterers will entertain requests for all-vegetarian meals or menus based on local, artisanal products. While many caterers will suggest a compromise to consider the wider tastes of the guest list, in the end most will comply.
Emily’s fall roster of weddings includes an all-vegan dinner featuring Pumpkin Soup, Grilled Mushrooms, Roasted Rosemary Potatoes, Marinated Vegetables and assorted other vegetable, bean and grain dishes.
At Riverhouse, the chef once made a wedding cake that was both sugar- and gluten-free. Once at the Hyatt, the chef prepared a wedding dinner in which every course, even the entrée, included chocolate. Coastal Gourmet has catered wedding meals that reflected the couple’s concern for the environment. “Green is very popular right now,” says Ferreira. “Clients are aware and they want us to recycle and buy products from local farmers. We try to accommodate as much as we can.”
Rutty adds, “We’ve even used recipes that our clients have given us. The guests are very happy to know that for this very happy occasion they will be eating grandma’s soup or the family’s favorite peach cobbler.”
Okay, so the choices are out there. How to narrow them down? And how can you be sure everything will be delicious?
Many caterers will offer tastings of one kind or another; so before you get started, you might want to ask whether you can sample the fare. Riverhouse invites clients to a large, seated tasting dinner where they can sample a variety of dishes. The tasting is complimentary for the bride and groom; there’s a fee for other guests.
Sweet on sweet
When it comes to dessert, most guests expect wedding cake, but this centuries-old custom may be fading a little these days. Many couples are choosing cupcakes instead and a few have even opted for pie—or candy buffets (see page 13).
Bountiful Viennese tables are falling out of fashion, according to Kerzner. “There was always too much food. Whether it’s because of the economy or the green movement, brides these days are more conscious about being wasteful,” he says.
But no dessert at all? Never!
At A Thyme to Cook, dessert always carries with it the element of surprise. Says Linda Sample: “Dessert should be fun! Not everyone does cake anymore. We sometimes have a giant pie or tiramisu.” Some of her clients even opt for bite-size desserts or lemon meringue pie served in shot glasses.
Dessert is frequently served buffet-style, even following a formal meal. It’s partly because the visual beauty of chocolates and other sweets, pastries and confections lends itself well to displays. But it is also because most guests, even older ones, need a break from the table.
Rutty says dessert stations are among the most sought-after items on the Riverhouse wedding menu. “If a couple has dreamed about having a cappuccino station after dinner, they’ll have it. One of our most popular dessert stations is the chocolate fountain,” she says. “Like the old champagne fountain, but with flowing melted chocolate and biscotti, strawberries and pieces of cake to dip.” Emily’s offers a shortcake station, complete with biscuits and fresh fruit; Bank Street has a cheesecake station with four varieties to choose from.
Says Rutty: “People may downsize their guest lists but they don’t cut the food, especially dessert.” i
