Fandango Catering Offers Tips for Creating a Themed Food Bar for Your Event

We sometimes see guests overwhelmed by too many food choices at events.  The trend in entertaining has gone towards more passed trays and less buffet style, and also towards fewer pieces of hors d'oeuvres or desserts set out, but in a more impactful visual style.

So fewer pieces are set out on more statement-type serving pieces; this does mean more refilling of food on the trays, but it gives a more chic look to the food.

One way to create a wonderful, distinctive event is to create a themed food bar, or two--food variations on a theme.  What's the difference between a themed food bar and a food station? A food station is bigger, so it's for larger events.  A themed food bar is for private parties of less than 50 guests.

A themed food bar offers the advantage of not overwhelming guests with too many choices and too much leftover food, and if done right is a way to make your event very cool and of-the-moment.

The idea is to concentrate on the themed food and making the guest experience of the themed food special.  And with themed food bars it's pretty easy because by definition you don't put out many different dishes.

Here are our tips for creating a themed food bar:

Choose the theme--for example, desserts (such as all mini desserts) or a special kind of dessert (such as all panna cottas or mousses) or an ethnic or regional food (such as Thai or other Asian rolls or Indian finger foods) or a certain type of food (such as panini or tapas or Greek meze)
Choose three--no less, and not more than four.  With fewer dishes you need to concentrate on quality not quantity.
Work on the presentation--since it's only three or four foods, put a little effort into making the presentation nice with nice plates or trays or dishes or whatever. 
For example, when we do our signature Bailey's tiramisú bar for a client (consisting of a regular tiramisú, chocolate and raspberry tiramisú shots, and tiramisú ice cream), we use lovely trays, dishes, and spoons in styles traditional or modern, as the client wishes.  We put the tiramisú bar on a sideboard or dessert table or even in the middle of a large dining table, and people love it! They don't say, "Oh, it's only three desserts"--no, they enjoy the variations on a theme, the quality of each food, and the nice presentation that makes those three foods a special experience.  That's the secret.

Try a themed food bar using the above tips for your next smaller party, when you don't want to cook twenty things, and see if people don't enjoy themselves and the food wonderfully.

Warmly,

Kristina

Fandango Catering and Events
(713) 522-0077
www.fandango-catering.com