Fandango Catering and Events Launches Food Stations Menu

At the request of several clients and prospective clients we are happy to announce the launch of our new Food Stations Menu.

As many readers know I have blogged several times on the food stations trend, so, in collaboration with our chefs and event team, we have designed some great food stations that are unique to our market and our brand as an eco-friendly and eco-chic catering and event production company.

For example:

• A REAL tapas station, designed and prepared by a REAL Spanish chef
• An avocado station--we really love our avocado down here! And our Avocado Station features Avocado Lime-Cream Dip with House-Baked Tortilla Chips; Shrimp and Avocado Paté (it's a terrine, no liver, I promise); Guacamole Mousse Tartlets; and Avocado, Seasonal Fruit, and Shrimp Salad served in martini glasses--so it's a nice variety by type of food and by visual presentation
• A seafood station--Made up of seafood finger foods, which is unique, and including Txangurro (Basque sherried deviled crab) Tartlets found nowhere else in the U.S. (or Spain/the Basque Country, for that matter); all shrimp wild caught
• A shooter station--Featuring both savory soup sips AND smoothie and shake sips, so it's a lot more fun!
• A skewers station--Featuring two kinds of Asian satays as well as our very popular Banderillas de Emparedados (Spanish ham and cheese French toast sandwich brochettes with cherry tomatoes) and some cool local fresh fruit brochettes with an amazing Sugar-Mascarpone Dip
• An ORGANIC LOCAL crudités station--With trio of dips and presented in martini glasses

And just confirmed! We are proud to also be able to offer the wonderful specialty coffees and house-made artisan sodas and other artisan beverages from Café Luz, the delightful collaborative chefs' café at our kitchen facility in downtown Houston, with trained barista, as a station choice for our events!  So cool.

For more info:
info@fandango-catering.com

Warmly,

Kristina

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

Fandango Catering and Events Provides Ideas for Creating Food Stations

Food stations are popular at larger events, from corporate conferences to weddings.  Because food stations require going to different tables (stations) to taste all the food, stations tend to promote a more interactive, "social" experience for guests as they travel to the different stations and get to talk to more people on the way to and from the stations.

Pros and Cons
There are a few things to keep in mind when deciding to use food stations.  Here are a caterer and event planner's viewpoints.

Pros

• Already mentioned--Stations promote a more interactive, social experience for guests
• They promote a wider variety of food as each station is generally made up of variations on a theme
• They can also provide, if the host(s) wish(es), for a wider variety of decoration as each station can be decorated differently if desired

Cons

• Food stations are more expensive whether you do them yourself or pay someone to handle them, due to increased number of trays, dishes, table linens, servers, chafing dishes, ice bowls, and all manner of necessary things to create each station and also because they are more work for the food professional (caterer, hotel, or restaurant), so if you decide to go this route expect to pay more
• They take longer to set up and break down
• The event space must be fairly large as there is much coming and going around the stations
• If the event space is not very large and open (or you don't have the food in separate rooms or on separate floors), food stations can make your event seem crowded and chaotic
• If not handled tastefully with great table designs, stations can make your event seem like a trade show

Ideas for Specific Stations
Here are some ideas for specific stations; each station should have a minimum of three variations on a theme. Your choice of foods will also depend on whether your event is more formal or informal.

• Macaroni and cheese
• Quesadilla
• Seafood
• Avocado
• Mini entrees served in custard cups (mini beef wellingtons, mini lasagnas, mini gratins)
• Crostini
• Shooters
• Sliders
• Mini desserts
• Gourmet hot dogs
• Frittatas
• Dumplings (potstickers, wontons, rangoons, etc.)
• Rollups (Asian or on tortillas)
• Fajitas
• Sangría, Margaritas, or Craft Beers
• Artisan Cheeses
• Gelato, ice creams, sorbets, ice cream sandwiches
• Kids' foods (for big and little kids)

We suggest you avoid carving stations and hot pasta bars as the food dries out terribly.

More nice ideas that can be used at any large event, not just weddings, at http://www.intimateweddings.com/ -search for "food stations"

Decoration
You can use all the same decor at each station to unify the event or vary a little on each station.  We advise against using a completely different decor at each station unless the event is in a private home or space where each station is in a different room and then the station decor complements the room decor.

Enjoy!

Kristina

Kristina Ríos de Lumbreras, Ph.D.
Fandango Catering and Events
(713) 522-0077
http://www.fandango-catering.com/