The Catering: All In Good Taste
Weddings make people hungry. Maybe it’s all
that hugging and kissing and conversation. After that, there’s a
noticeable shift toward the chafing dishes.
The wedding day is a chance in a lifetime for couples to get creative and have fun with food creations and presentation, according to Karen Williams, owner of and chef at Galley Gourmet in Bay Harbor.
“We generally tend to go toward fresh and elegant, and we try to be in step with the times,” said Williams. “We also like to incorporate local items into our dishes. … We market ourselves as more of custom menu, rather than having a cookie-cutter. We feel that everyone has a different vision, and that’s what makes it fun for us.”
Theme events present opportunities for myriad food options. Williams recalled one event last summer on the beach at Bay Harbor where the couple entertained guests for the rehearsal with interactive dessert stations, including fill-your-own-doughnut-holes and Bananas Foster.
“People strolled around and it was a really nice event,” Williams said. “We had a bonfire with gourmet s’mores and people had a great time.”
On another occasion, Galley Gourmet combined the flavors of Polish and Mexican, the couple’s backgrounds, for various taste experiences. “We like to think of ourselves as the go-to shop if you want to do something that’s different,” she said.
Williams said most couples take one of three main routes for serving their guests: the traditional sit-down meal, a family-style meal with bowls of food on each table, and a small-plate buffet that presents a variety of tastes and options in a tapas-style format. A spicy twist involves having cooks prepare the food at the stations fresh for the guests, such as mini-lamb chops on a Hibachi and pasta stations with a variety of fresh toppings.
In Northern Michigan, she has found the small-plate buffet and appetizer buffets to be popular with brides and grooms. “It lets your guests mingle a lot more and it’s a really good option if you have a broad range of ages,” the chef noted.
Galley Gourmet can cater weddings held at any location, and group sizes up to about 300; they also cater rehearsal dinners and morning-after brunches. The staff can arrange wine tasting events either on their own or as part of a meal service.
Plus, Galley Gourmet can also provide elegant pastries, wedding cake and other dessert options, made and baked fresh in-house, including hand-made chocolates that work well as wedding favors for guests, Williams added.
Another local favorite: Sweetwater Catering, Petoskey, owners Matthew and Linda Waterman; www.sweetwatercatering.com.
Since 1984, Sweetwater Catering has offered an array of tantalizing appetizers, soups, entrees, breads and desserts, all homemade and custom to each couple’s preferences. The Watermans can accommodate sit-down dinner groups of up to 350, all the way to an intimate gathering of close family and friends.
Aside from their vast selection of food choices, the company can provide china, linen, glassware, tables, chairs, tents, wait staff, bartenders, event set-up and consultations.
Highlights from Sweetwater’s extensive menu include appetizers like bacon wraps with water chestnuts, parmesan artichoke tartlets, handmade sweet-and-sour meatballs, filo shells filled with shrimp or chicken salad, and Gulf shrimp cocktail. Entrees include breast of chicken sautéed with sauces like Dijon, cordon bleu and “Hemingway,” with leeks, apples and cranberries. Tenderloin of beef, fresh fish and seafood, a half-dozen pasta options and homemade desserts like chocolate truffle torte will surely give guests a taste to remember.
For smaller groups
Aside from a reputation for unique taste combinations and fresh recipes, the Grain Train in Petoskey also uses mostly organic ingredients and locally grown and produced fruits, vegetables and meats.
The downtown grocery and deli is one local option for couples hosting small affairs — those with 50 or fewer guests — and for events related to the wedding festivities, such as providing food for the bridal party as they primp at an area salon.
From petite sandwiches to cheese trays and tasty appetizers like cheese toast, bruschetta and olive and fresh mozzarella skewers, the Grain Train is a natural foods option. Salads, soups, fresh turkey from Mancelona and other locally produced food items set the Grain Train apart from other caterers.
“We can pretty much construct anything that someone would want,” said deli manager John Sheets. “We’re certainly open for negotiation, if you have a firm idea of what you want and you can relay that to us.”
Sheets said virtually everything at the Grain Train is made from scratch, including dressings, dips and tofu. “We have criteria for product usage, that it’s clean, it doesn’t have any preservatives or pesticides and that it be local and/or organic,” Sheets added.
Now serving …
Food trends for weddings in 2009 are predicted to include:
Sit-down dinners will not be as popular as they have been in the past; instead the trend is toward having several food stations with a variety of foods, from appetizer selections to dessert choices.
Caterers will have an opportunity to demonstrate their skills with what’s being called a “progressive wedding.” The idea is to have every course with a different country’s cuisine for each part of the dinner.
Signature drinks and family recipes are extremely popular.
Color will be key in food presentation, with caterers making an attempt to make food even more pleasing to the eye. Ethnic theme dishes such as Middle Eastern, Latin and Mediterranean themes are the newest trends.
Source: weddingandpartynetwork.com
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