FOOD TRENDS
1
2
Plating up new ideas
From live cooking stations to Instagrammable platters, Brittney Levinson explores what’s trending in event
catering and how delegates are fuelling up for conferences.
1 The sharing trend
2 Food gets interactive
Rather than a traditional buffet, organisers are more often opting for
shared plates and grazing menus where dishes are scattered along
the table and guests can help themselves. But more and more
the food is becoming part of the event styling, like in the case of
Gold Coast catering business Your Platter Matters. Owner Megan
Fernandez started her business after putting together a medieval-
style food platter for her own birthday party. Now she creates
platters for all types of events, sometimes for 200 or more guests,
and her creations are both delicious and oh-so-Insta-worthy. Interactive food stations that allow guests to decorate their own
desserts or watch their meal being prepared is another big trend in
the conference and event space.
Fernandez says people are choosing the platter option over traditional
catering as it’s cost effective and allows for more social interaction. “With the amount of cooking shows and the growing media around
food, I think more and more the guests want to see the chefs at the
front and being involved in their event,” he says.
“These days, people want to reconnect over good food and they are
opting for a less formal style of dining and socialising,” she says.
“This type of catering gives people the variety to please almost any
guest and to eat as much or as little without feeling obliged to finish
the plate. It’s usually much cheaper than the formal, sit-down dinner
style and people can keep going back for hours.”
Fernandez says there are a few rules to follow when styling
platters for events.
“Always take your dips, olives and other goodies out of the original
containers and be sure to swap them for something a little nicer,”
she says. “Add as much colour as possible and chocolate, don’t
forget the chocolate!”
The Star Sydney Event Centre offers an extensive range of
interactive stations, from live sushi bars to waffle carts with endless
choices of toppings. The Star Sydney executive chef Jason Alcock
says many organisers opt for a sit-down entrée and main, followed
by a stand-up dessert with a variety of food stations, giving guests
the opportunity to interact with other guests and even the chefs.
“We see a lot of clients having live stations for a dessert as they
find that’s a better way to end their night, especially if they have
live entertainment, to get everyone up, roaming and interacting.”
Alcock says with the amount of dietary requests that large events
often bring, live stations give guests the flexibility to choose what
they want.
“Interactive stations give guests that choice and flexibility, and it gives
them the ability to go up and identify what they can or can’t eat,”
he says. “Then if they’re unaware, I think they feel a little bit more
confident to ask the chef because they know that’s the person that has
prepared the food, so they have that underpinning knowledge.”
28 Convention & Incentive Marketing, Issue 4, 2017 www.cimmagazine.com