What Dining Format to Choose when Hiring a Caterer?
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Posted On :
May-11-2009
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Article Word Count :
780
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When you plan a special catered occasion like a wedding or business reception, you frequently must choose between buffet or sit down style dining.
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When you plan a special catered occasion like a wedding or business reception, you frequently must choose between buffet or sit down style dining. Still other options like cocktail receptions with appetizers and food stations or family-style catering are terrific too. Each alternative has benefits and drawbacks, so figuring out what you want to achieve and what's important lets you choose the ideal event style. Will your event have a more formal or casual ambiance? What is more important -- having good quality food or several foods to choose from in large amounts? Would you prefer those you invite to mingle about as they dine or be seated for a period of time?
Sit down service requires food served at its peak of freshness and plated up at service time. It is a common practice for many hotels and lower cost caterers to prepare entrees ahead of time and hold them under warming lights, and then just add a sauce when they are ready to be served. This method frequently results in meals served for big groups that are too dry or rubbery. Always ask the catering service how they plate up menu items, or visit the hotel's kitchen and watch what their practices are.
Sit down style service promotes eating items as they were intended, with the right sauce and menu service portions. According to the style of your event, you can choose a presentation that is refined or more casual. In each case the menu items retain their integrity and can be served at the right temperature and with meticulous care. Optimally, it is served straight from the pot onto the attendee's plate, with no delay.
Family-style refers to a seated arrangement where menu items are served on platters passed from person to person at the table. A service staff member serves each guest, or they can serve themselves from the platters. This service style conjures up a Tuscan villa with several lengthy farmers or lord's tables that are placed end to end. You sacrifice a little in terms of presentation and temperature when menu items are passed about, however it is possible for family style service to be done attractively and less casually with the right menu. A disadvantage is that by the time it gets around to the final guests, they miss out on the original presentation.
Buffets have been declining in popularity since hosts often prefer to avoid requiring guests to wait in a line. When guests pile their plates, the food often gets mixed, with the various tastes and sauces blending together. Another problem with buffet style dining is keeping foods at the right temperature. A typical solution is using chafing dishes, yet these can leave food dry or rubbery, and high-end caters now prefer buffet items to be arranged on warmed and rotated serving trays. Warm weather can make it a daunting task to maintain chilled food like salad or sushi at a buffet; however talented caterers concoct imaginative solutions. A lot of food is wasted with a buffet due to people taking more than what they could possibly eat.
The main benefit of buffet style is that it facilitates providing a broad array of menu items, a great choice for a group with varying tastes. Because it usually requires a smaller number of servers, buffet style is often cheaper than sit down options. In addition, buffet style promotes conversation among guests since they have to leave their table and join a line.
A more ideal alternative for promoting mingling among guests, as well as variety, is a cocktail reception or food station service. As a rule, there is the opening of individual food stations, with the addition of passing of hors d'oeuvres. This style has surpassed conventional buffet style in popularity. Various food stations can be found in different parts of the room, and each one can offer different types of foods or they can all share one theme. "Action stations" are a hot trend, involving the preparation of menu items by a chef in view of the guests, lending itself to food that is fresher than buffet style food, being served piping hot. Meat carving, oyster shucking, salad tossing, and sushi rolling can be done to order and served directly to the guest's plate. Guests are continuously mingling together as they proceed to each station, receiving small separate plates at every station.
A lot of great events combine styles, like starting with sit down for the first and main courses, then dessert buffet style, or a plated first course, and then family style main menu items.
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Article Source :
http://www.articleseen.com/Article_What Dining Format to Choose when Hiring a Caterer?_670.aspx
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Author Resource :
As a gourmet chef, Ethan Mantle enjoys using seasonal and organic ingredients in all his Napa catering dishes. He currently owns Componere Fine Catering, a well-known San Francisco wedding catering company.
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Keywords :
San Francisco catering, Napa catering, Sonoma catering, San Francisco caterers, San francisco caterer, Napa caterers, Napa ca,
Category :
Food and Beverage
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Food and Beverage
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