It’s usually one of the most stressful decisions of any event, what food to serve. It can be the make or break, and making sure everyone not only has enough to eat, but at the very least has the option to eat something suitable to them can be tricky. Balancing budgets and dietary restrictions is a fine art, and making sure you’re serving up easy to eat, satisfying canapés can be quite the mission. Here are some tried and tested tips for selecting canapes and avoiding classic event faux pas.
Consider your vessels
Before you even get excited about how retro cool mini sloppy joes would be, or the glamour of towering roe topped ceviche spoons, think about how your guests will physically eat the canapé. Often trying to hold conversations and holding a beverage while nursing a purse or coat, the physicality of eating a canape should be your main priority. Anything that even remotely looks like it will fall apart, slip off a spoon, or have excessive sauce explosions will be avoided by your guests. Be pragmatic about how logistically feasible your canape is before you get ahead of yourself.
Don’t assume, always give dietary options
Just because no one has RSVP’s specifically with dietary requirements doesn’t mean by the time your event comes around there won’t be a newly converted vegetarian or someone trying to avoid gluten or dairy. Making sure you always have options available is the best way around this, with the easiest option to include at least one hearty gluten free vegan option that ticks all the boxes. HOT TIP: make sure your event staff are aware of the ingredients in each canape, they are guaranteed to be asked multiple times
Think about your venue’s kitchen capacity
Whether you have caterers coming in to a venue, or you’re selecting canapes from a venues food package options, make sure you discuss the kitchen capacity with the venue/caterer. While it is their job to make sure their timing is right with hot and cold food, making some sensible decisions around how many hot items/cold items are served can help with hold ups in the kitchen.
Make sure there is enough
There is always a fine line between fine dining and hungry. If you are just serving canapes and your event is around a meal time, make sure at least a few of your selections are a bit more substantial. Hungry guests will always be your harshest critics, so ensuring no one is standing around starving and commenting on the lack of food is important. It also slows down the effects of alcohol indulgence, which can help avoid any unwanted scenes.
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