Farm-to-table, craft cocktails and global cuisine are three of the hottest trends in group dining, gracing tables at restaurants as well as from catering operations.
While these trends aren’t typically considered “budget dining,” there are steps planners can take to make a fantastic impression without breaking the bank.
Farm-to-Table
Farm-to-table refers to the trend of using seasonal, locally sourced food, and covers everything from cultivation to distribution and consumption. It also is a backlash against GMO (genetically modified organisms) in our food supply. And, the food just tastes better. You cannot compare a vine-ripened tomato with one that was picked green and has been sitting in a warehouse being artificially ripened with ethylene gas.
“A farm-to-table menu should be less expensive,” says Patrick Cuccaro, from Atlanta’s Affairs to Remember. “Fewer food miles translate to less fuel for transportation, and buying local can mean cutting out the middle man.”
Yet, there are other factors to consider in pricing a farm-to-table event, he explains.
“If you have a client request such an experience, ask why it is important,” Cuccaro adds. “There are generally three reasons that the farm-to-table movement has gained traction: local and seasonal foods generally taste better if freshly harvested; the food is often healthier if your farmer uses sustainable farming practices; and buying from your local farmer supports the local economy. None of these reasons leads intrinsically to less-expensive food. Local produce, for example, and animals that have been humanely raised for consumption can be considerably more expensive.”
Given such issues, he believes the choices are limited for today’s meeting planners, who he says must be budget-conscious when serving their farm-to-table clients.
“Proteins are the biggest difficulty,” Cuccaro continues. “If it’s winter, less-expensive cuts of beef, pork and chicken can be braised. At a party with attended stations, braised meats can be one component of a small plate featuring a less-expensive starch and vegetable. There’s nothing more delicious than smoky braised brisket atop a dollop of mashed sweet potato garnished with sauteed kale. In summer, smoke the brisket, put it atop a potato salad true to the region of your meeting and top that with fried okra or a thick, crispy onion ring. Make sure that it’s composed and served by an attendant, rather than offered at a buffet, so that the protein portions are limited.
“With produce, saving money is about what’s available in the moment,” he adds. “Any farmer can tell you what he or she hopes to be available during any given week, but a true farm-to-table experience is unpredictable more than a few days in advance. Weather patterns rule, so the best antidote to bad weather is to trust your chef to make the decisions for you. Give her or him some parameters. (‘We don’t like eggplant.’ ‘Please, no radishes.’) But the freedom to choose what’s plentiful in the moment is the money-saver when it comes to produce. We live in a world where choice reigns supreme. With a true farm-to-table approach, choices are limited and last-minute. For the right client with the right party, that can be exhilarating.”
At the Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas, a highlight of the property’s banquet menu is a farm-to-table menu for those seeking fresh and organic options. Salad options range from an organic red quinoa salad to Weiser Farms grilled vegetables or hummus served with potato crisps. Entrees include grass-fed beef vegetable kabobs, organic-herb grilled salmon, whole wheat pasta with vegetables and eggplant bolognaise sauce and tofu marsala. Following the entree, dessert options incorporate fresh fruits, warm scones and artisan breads.
Kennesaw State College, outside of Atlanta, has instituted a degree in Culinary Sustainability and Hospitality. The college has its own 65-acre organic farm, where future chefs learn how to grow herbs and heirloom-variety fruits and vegetables. It also harvests honey from 42 bee colonies. Future plans are to produce aged cheese, an organic dairy, olive orchards and an oil press.
Craft Cocktails
Novelty drinks are extremely popular with millennials.
Craft cocktails are more complex because each element should be fresh and designed specifically for an establishment or an event, so meeting planners can expect them to be pricey.
Mary Ann Reilly, chief creative officer of M.A. Special Events, has a tip for saving a few dollars, however.
“When working with the mixologist or F&B director at a property, ask them about classic cocktails that can be batched in advance without taking away from the flavor of the cocktail,” she explains. “Then you can utilize bartenders with one lead mixologist who can put the already batched cocktail in a shaker and give a bit of a show. Then slowly pour it in a circular motion and finish with the appropriate garnish. If you are going to rim a cocktail glass. only rim half a glass. If someone does not like the rim they can drink out of the other side of the glass.”
All juices should be fresh. Fruits can be mashed, muddled in the glass, or pureed in to juices. Many craft cocktails contain fragments of fruit and/or herbs. Some drinks may be seasonal, depending on what fruits are available locally and in season.
Simple syrups can be infused with a variety of flavors, including ginger, cardamom or cucumber.
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“Many hotels will use simple syrups that are made by a number of manufacturers,” Reilly adds. “These can also be found in stores such as William Sonoma. One of my favorites, if you like a dirty martini, is Sonoma Syrups Dirty Martini blend. This ensures that all your dirty martinis are consistent. Using the juice from the jar of olives varies depending on brand, how long the products has been opened, etc.”
The Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas built a specific kitchen to make all of its syrups and garnishes. And purists even use purified ice.
“Brown spirits are making a huge comeback and many restaurants will utilize a small machine that sits on the bar,” Reilly says. “It’s square in shape and they will put purified water into the vessel and within three minutes you have a beautiful solid round piece of ice. This is placed in a special cocktail glass and the scotch, bourbon, etc., is poured over the sphere. It gives the perfect chill without melting and diluting expensive spirits the way ice cubes will.”
Serving just beer, wine and one cocktail crafted for your event can save you money, especially when you are paying by the bottle. This eliminates having five different types of spirits with only a couple of drinks made from them, because you still have to pay for the whole bottle if it is opened.
Craft beers and beer cocktails are also gaining in popularity, and custom glassware, selected for specific drinks, can set a tone.
And creativity is at an all-time high with today’s spirits; Andre’s, in the Monte Carlo in Las Vegas, offers a Foie Gras Martini, as one example.
“I believe that the classic craft cocktails from over a century ago are here to stay,” Reilly contends. “Mixologists are very passionate about what they do and are continually seeking education and new twists on classics. It’s not just having a cocktail, it’s all about having an experience.”
Global Tastes
International cuisine is comprised of cooking traditions and practices found around the world. It is influenced by culture, geography, religion, history and locally grown ingredients.
For example, the Calabria region has the spiciest food in Italy. That food was developed to pair with the harsh wine that comes from that region. Kosher food comes from Jewish dietary laws.
Ethnic foods have always been a part of American culture. They may seem new at first, but over time, they become accepted as American.
My mother opened the first pizza restaurant in Oakland, Calif., in 1952. Pizza was so new that we had a neon sign in the window that read: “Pizza, an Adventure in Eating.” Now, pizza is as American as the hot dog—which actually came from Germany.
Asian food is hot today. If you are bored with typical banquet meals, and your attendees welcome change, consider introducing Asian food that isn’t mainstream in the U.S.—yet. Asian countries are as unique as European countries, with different cultures, languages and cuisine.
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Just as in Europe, the cuisines developed around foods that were available locally, with integration over the years, across borders and from explorers and merchants that started trade.
For example, tempura—a Japanese staple—was brought to Japan by Portuguese explorers. Vietnamese cuisine is heavily influenced by French cuisine, since France occupied Vietnam from roughly 80 years until 1954.
Different regions of countries have distinct cuisine, also. Northern Italian food, for instance, is lighter than the robust flavors of Southern Italy.
China has distinctly different regional cuisines, such as Cantonese, Hunan, Jiangsu, Anhui or Sichuan. These styles vary dramatically based on geography, climate and history.
Kim chi is uniquely Korean. Sushi is uniquely Japanese. Satay (which translates to “meat on a stick”) with peanut sauce is credited to both Thailand and Indonesia.
You could set up stations, with each one offering the food of a different Asian country. Like the typical international stations, only just Asian countries represented.
Most American cities have a substantial Asian population, and many have cultural centers where language and traditions are taught to children. Some teach music and dance, and maintain traditional costumes. Many of these cultural centers love the opportunity to perform in exchange for a donation to the center.
Street foods and food trucks are driving many of today’s trends. The Kogi Food Truck, for example, has taken Korean food into the spotlight with its tasty fleet of Southern California vehicles.
Back in the 1970s, fusion cuisine burst onto the scene, mixing food from two disparate cultures. Today, that is being brought to a new level with the blending of flavors from all over the world into a single dish. It is a multisensory, multiethnic experience where flavors clash on purpose.
Peru is a country where the food is influenced by Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and Italian, as well as traditional Andean flavors and cooking techniques. Many predict Peruvian food to be the next big cuisine trend.
Traditional sliced bread is being replaced in sandwiches by taco shells, pita wraps, waffles, naan, chapati and other ethnic wraps, and stuffed with unique items.
Chefs are creating their own vegetable and fruit pickles. These are not the pickles most Americans grew up with—mainly dill or sweet pickles. They include ingredients such as fish sauce, yuzu, star anise and ginger.
One of the challenges of serving “new” ethnic foods in mainstream settings in the U.S. is getting attendees to try them. One way is to introduce new flavors as appetizers. Just about every culture has them, from Spanish tapas to Greek mezze platters.
So, think out of the box when planning your next banquet menu—and give your attendees something to talk about, with food and beverage that breaks away from the everyday.
Patti Shock, CPCE, CHT, has written several books on catering, including A Meeting Planner’s Guide to Catered Events, published by Wiley.
