Food - Safety vs. Style

I don’t have to say this, but I will.  Wedding receptions are all about the food!  How many times have you gotten an invitation to a wedding and reception and your initial thought was “I wonder what they’ll serve for dinner!”  Well, I have, I’ll admit it.

We’ve all been forced to reprogram our thinking about food service in light of Covid-19.  Who knew there were so many seemingly unsuspecting areas where the tentacles of this pesky pandemic could reach?  We now must consider the basics of social distancing, to wear or not wear masks, hand washing basics.  And now hand sanitizer as a wedding favor?  Come on!  But one glaring area of genuine concern is… food service.  How can you keep your food service sanitary and safe without compromising elegance or the uniqueness of your style?

Hopefully, this blog will give you some ideas you hadn’t considered before.  We just must get creative!

Cocktail Hour Appetizers

Charcuterie took off like a rocket in the early 2020’s as the cocktail hour appetizer du jour.  If anyone asks me what my favorite meal is, I say, quite deadpan…  “Charcuterie”.  I love the variety, the fresh ingredients, the colorful display, the many combinations you can make for one perfect mouth bite after another.  It’s wonderful!  But now days?  A big grazing board and 150 hands dipping into piles of meats and cheeses is a “no go.” 

Many of our couples at Alta House have opted for a buffet for their dinner service.  It’s generally more economical and cuts down on the cost as food served in mass without the need of a full set of wait staff is an area a couple can cut down on the costs.  It used to be slightly taboo but in the 2020’s it’s undoubtedly the go to method of food service.  But how to do that hygienically?  Buffets are just simply less easy to maintain safety standards with.  A buffet is defined as “a meal consisting of several dishes from which guests serve themselves”.  When several guests are using the same serving utensils and dipping into the same trays it just isn’t possible to completely mitigate the potential for cross-contamination.  But that doesn’t mean you have to give up on this cost-effective option.

There are a few simple changes to a traditional buffet that will significantly lessen the risk. 

1.       Hire people to serve.  Servers who wear gloves and are the only ones touching the serving utensils considerably lessens chances of contamination. 

2.       Asks your guests to don a pair of disposable gloves as they pass through the buffet line serving themselves.

3.       Mask up in the serving line.  Even if you don’t require masks at your reception, just having people wear them in a buffet line is a sensible precaution and not unreasonable to ask as it’s for everyone’s safety.

Or try some of these alternate food service options for size…

Plated meals – they can be a little more costly but if you go economical on the types of food and up the presentation with something unique people have never seen before you can still get the “wow” factor you’re looking for.  I love the idea of using Bento Boxes for meal service.  Even if you’re serving pasta, a salad and roll a bento box presentation can give it fresh style. See this example of Martha Stewart’s  Brisket Bento Box

  Dessert – are we over cupcakes yet?

 Sure, cupcakes are the epitome of easy, Covid-19 awareness desserts.  I’m not knocking them.  I myself am a baker and cupcakes are one of my specialties so you won’t hear me shooting down the idea.  However, for the couples that are looking to be a little more creative in their dessert options I can’t sing the praises of mini-dessert cups enough.  Think of all the options!  What CAN’T you put in a cup and serve?  I did a friends wedding desserts a few years ago before Covid-19 had even crossed our lips.  We had smores, lemon bars, pineapple upside down cake and traditional white wedding cake.  All in single serving cups.  This doesn’t require a lot of effort to do, and it makes perfect sense.  Your guest will enjoy a few varities of desserts they can serve themselves.  Check out these charming ideas.

What’s the Take Away?

Personal packaged food is easy to take away but I hope your takeaway this is… you don’t have to sacrifice style and elegance to keep your guest’s safety in the forefront of your mind when it comes to your food service.  I think if we can be grateful for our ability to adjust during this time.  It’s given us a great opportunity to think out of the box (or in it as the case may be) and be unique.  And you know what?  Your wedding guests WILL understand and appreciate the challenges around having a wedding meal that is tasteful, delicious, thoughtfully prepared, and safely served.  Now, get creative!