There’s a quote from the 1990s film Mermaids about cocktail food that never fails to makes me smile. Rachel Flax (played by Cher) is an unconventional, embarrassingly sexy single mother of two headstrong girls, living in a conservative Massachusetts town.   Her teenage daughter, Charlotte (played by Winona Ryder) describes Mrs Flax like this to one of her mother’s potential boyfriends: “…..a word on Mrs. Flax and food, the word is hors d’oeuvres. Fun Finger Foods are her main source book and that’s all the woman cooks. Anything else, she says, is too much of a commitment.”

That may not be as crazy as it sounds. I get asked all the time if cocktail food is going to be enough to satisfy hungry guests, particularly when the function is in the late afternoon or evening and alcohol is being served.  How many times have you attended a cocktail party when the trays of drinks are brought around more frequently than trays of food?

There are various subliminal signals an invited guest receives about whether or not there’ll be enough to eat – such as the timing of the event, for example.  A 5.30 to 7.00pm timeframe definitely indicates that this is technically a ‘cocktail’ function with a drink or two and a nibble on offer, as opposed to a meal.  You’d expect that guests would heed that signal and limit their alcohol intake at such a function, knowing there won’t be too much in the way of food.  But how often does that not turn out to be the case?

My view as a gourmet caterer is that if you are serving alcohol you need to vary your cocktail menu to include some substantial items in addition to the light nibbly pieces.  This can be done very easily and cost effectively with items like:

• Cocktail sandwiches
• Chicken tandoori or vegetarian skewers with bocconcini, tomato, spinach leaves and olives
• Mini quiches or tartlets
• On the sweet side almond cake and ricotta cheesecake slices are light yet filling so guests are able to balance their food and alcohol intake.

You don’t have to put on a full meal for your guests just because you’re serving alcohol – a clever selection of light items and more substantial cocktail food will do the trick. You will have done your part as a responsible event host/hostess and no one will ever suspect that you may, like Mrs Flax, feel that a full meal is too much of a commitment.

Yours in good food and great events.

Kellee

 Call Kellee : 0412 577 323

 Email Kellee : kellee@thebreadboard.com.au

   Connect with Kellee and Chairman of the Breadboard

Our lives are so crazy, mad, busy that few of us are up for entertaining at home the way our parents used to. The very thought of putting on a modest dinner party for friends is too much for most people and I so get that.  Cleaning up the house for such an occasion, let alone buying, cooking and serving the food is daunting.

And what if you are planning a special event like a 21st birthday or wedding reception at another venue? That can be daunting too….unless you have a trail of crumbs to help you create that special sit-down event that everyone will enjoy, even the hosts!

If you’re planning a dinner party at home, try to keep the number of people at the table to 10 at most. Any more people and you’ll find the conversation gets fragmented. As the host, I guarantee you’ll enjoy the gathering more and so will your guests.

For larger sit-down affairs, whether at home or elsewhere, try to keep the number of people at each table to 8. I would also suggest round tables, as this makes it easier for people to interact with one another.

If you’re trying to create a friendly, relaxed event you might like to consider a few alternative suggestions:

1. Serve the entree while everyone’s standing up and mingling. That way they are only sitting at their allotted places for 2 courses and any event formalities like speeches.
2. A self-serve buffet is a great way to get people moving around and socialising with guests at other tables. Guests can also choose from the buffet selection rather than sticking to what’s put in front of them.
3. An entree share plate at each table is a great way of breaking the ice at events where you have a number of guests who don’t know each other – well, not yet anyway.
4. Likewise a shared cheese plate, served with a nice sticky wine, instead of individual desserts can work a treat.

Certainly for larger events you’ll want to hire the crockery, cutlery and glassware so that it matches and only requires a rinse off before packing it up for return to the party hire place. You might also want to think about doing this for your home dinner party too, for the same no-fuss, ease of clean-up. Just make sure you choose a caterer who can supply this service as party hire places only really deal in large numbers.

After years of catering for many in and out of home events I’ve got plenty more suggestions where these came from! I’d be happy to share them with you to help create your ideal sit-down affair.

Yours in good food and great events,

Kellee

 Call Kellee : 0412 577 323

 Email Kellee : kellee@thebreadboard.com.au

Connect with Kellee and Chairman of the Breadboard – LinkedIn, Facebook and Pinterest.

A friend recently introduced me to Pinterest and under the guise of ‘research’ I spent a whole, wonderful afternoon scanning food, entertaining and events boards on this social media site. If I didn’t know it before, I sure do now – I love everything about good food – from planning the menu, buying fresh seasonal produce, preparing it, how it looks on the plate, how it tastes – everything. And I suppose that’s a very good thing given I run a catering company – you’re looking at our new website as we speak!

I’ve been running Chairman of the Breadboard for 12 or so years now and a lot has changed in the catering game in that time with the exception of just one thing – the importance of the food. The fare that’s on offer is the one thing guests always seem to comment on at any shindig they attend – whether it’s a working lunch, a cocktail function or a wedding reception.

Sure, it’s not the only thing that makes for a successful event, but if the food is wrong or the service is too intrusive, it can make your event memorable for all the wrong reasons.

It’s that love of all things food and the smiles on the faces of my clients and guests that keeps me in the kitchen and very involved in every aspect of Chairman of the Breadboard’s catering outfit. And now, I’m delighted to say, we’re online as well as in the kitchen!

So here’s to good food. There are plenty of menus and pictures on this website for you to peruse and see the kind of things we do at Chairman of the Breadboard. Also, check out the testimonials from happy customers – I’d love to hear what you think. Better still, I’d love to help you plan your next event – you can contact now Contact.

Warm regards,

Kellee

 Call Kellee : 0412 577 323

 Email Kellee : kellee@thebreadboard.com.au

   Connect with Kellee and Chairman of the Breadboard