CATERING GUIDE While good food will elevate your party from shindig to soirée, it shouldn’t distract you from the main goal of the day: having fun. Here are Cityscape’s tips to create a great foodie experience while freeing you up to socialise.
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PHOTO: VICTORIA FOOD SERVICE
really easy to cater for gluten free and vegetarian diets. Plus it’s an excuse for margaritas. If you want people to scatter around the space, set up a few food stations. If the food is served in one place, that’s where people will gather. Hot food on small plates. Keep hot food warm in the oven, and serve small amounts at a time, refilling the dish once it’s empty. The same goes for cold food – keep it in the fridge and serve in small amounts. Refine the bar selection. People freeze when confronted with too many choices. Try a featured beverage – maybe a pitcher of margarita or Campari and soda, along with wine and beer. In cool weather, mulled wine is a crowd-pleaser – and you can keep it warm in a slow cooker. Keep it simple. When preparing food yourself, resist the temptation to cook an exotic dish you saw for the first time last night on Masterchef. Stick with foolproof dishes you know well. Identify your dishes. Rope in your friend with the good handwriting and make name cards for your food. remember to point out the important things like vegetarian or gluten free dishes. Don’t clean – distract. If you’re hosting an event at your house, you don’t need to go into a cleaning frenzy. Just host the party in the evening, dim the lights and use candles to focus attention
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eep sit-down meals balanced. Think about how your dishes are going to go together. If you’ve got a heavy main, keep the starter and dessert light and fresh. People gravitate towards kitchens at parties. Use that to your advantage. Serve food in the kitchen where any mess is easy to clean, and you can keep an eye on proceedings while you chat. Lay out a buffet strategically. Put plates at one end and cutlery at the other. People will start at the plates, and won’t have to fumble with cutlery while they serve. Also, place limited-supply food at the end of the table near the utensils – it’ll last longer there. Try a theme. Mexican food is great for parties: it has big, heavy flavours and fresh, cleansing ingredients, it can be healthy and feel like a treat, and it’s
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on things like a beautiful flower arrangement or a table laden with food. Pre-line your rubbish bin. Kiwis are helpful to a fault – if they see you cleaning at a party, they’ll want to pitch in. Before the party starts, pre-line your rubbish bin with a few bags. Then, when one is full, simply remove it and a fresh one will already be waiting, and your guests won’t have time to notice. Want to go to bed? Get out the tea and coffee. It’s the polite way to tell your guests to wind the boozing down.
TOP TIPS FROM BESPOKE PLATTERS’ MANDY DAVIES: 1 Food safety is super important. You don't want anyone going home sick. 2 Plan your menu, don't overcomplicate it. Simple is good. 3 Doing a DIY dessert such as a dessert platter is a good way to cater for everyone's tastes.
