Catering Trends

Pinch Food Design offers a different spin on babyback ribs, serving the barbecue classic on a spoon-shaped skewer with creamed corn and jalapeños.

As a late-night snack, Marcey Brownstein Catering & Events serves mini pretzel bites alongside whole grain mustard and shots of Hefeweizen.

SD26 Events' eggplant terrine features sauteed eggplant that is layered with fresh tomatoes and herbs then baked in the oven. The dish is served with a dab of basil pesto and garnished with a parmigiano reggiano-flavored milk foam.

Great Performances can set up a dessert station featuring hanging pastry bags filled with flavored custards that guests can pipe into mini-beignets and profiteroles. Custard flavors include tangerine, mint, three-berry, earl grey, and vanilla bean.

This cucumber feta salad with roasted pepper hummus by Abigail Kirsch makes for an interesting alternative to the standard mixed green salad.

Created by Hell's Kitchen contestant and chef Guy Vaknin, Beyond Sushi is a new store serving vegetarian sushi. Offering catering for private events, the organic menu features unrefined fruits and vegetables wrapped in six-grain and black Chinese forbidden rice, topped with tofu and veggie puree sauces in flavors like jalapeno-wasabi, toasted-cayenne, carrot-ginger, shitake-teriyaki, mango-chili, and white-miso.

Thomas Preti Events to Savor will be serving their s'mores cheesecake as part of their dessert lineup this fall.

Caterers report that pies filled with seasonal fruit are becoming a popular dessert item at events. These latticed fruit pies are by Tip of the Tongue Caterers.

Feast & Fêtes' new "Aioli Presentation" is a spread featuring dishes like poached wild Alaskan salmon, cod confit, and jumbo Carolina shrimp.

Sant Ambroeus is offering an appetizer called "salmone fresco," consisting of smoked salmon topped with chives and a light balsamic reduction.

Savory s’mores with short rib and feta, by Limelight in Chicago

Leek cheesecake with arugula pesto, caramelized onions, and a sweet grape tomato served in a pesto cracker spoon, by Puff ’n Stuff Catering in Orlando

Gorgonzola panna cotta with yellow beet gelée and prosciutto crisps, by Love Catering Inc. (323.936.7400, lovecateringinc.com) in Los Angeles

Chicken liver mousse skewer with Chinese five-spice cotton candy, by Eat & Smile Foods in Washington

Sesame-and-hummus and truffled foie gras macarons, by Canard Inc. in New York

Savory cones, featuring carrot-parsnip-and-turmeric mash, purple potato mash, and maple bourbon sweet potato mash, by Marigolds & Onions in Toronto

Upgrade tents by creating multiple levels and adding decorative touches like chandeliers and French doors.

Using traditionally interior furniture adds a new twist to outdoor events. Zill suggests shopping at thrift stores for inexpensive furniture that can be updated with slipcovers or reupholstering.

Tasting bars with bourbon, rye, gin, and even moonshine are a current trend.

For an event to announce a new canning initiative by a local food bank, Zill designed a bar made from 2,500 cans. On the top of the bar, he placed statistics about hunger under clear Lucite slabs so guests could learn about the issue while getting a drink.

Andrew Zill of production and marketing firm Feats Inc. said a hot trend is bringing the outside in for event decor. For a dinner event, he upholstered tables with preserved moss.

To create an interactive s'mores station, Zill filled a five-foot-long box with black river rock to simulate charcoal and embedded Sterno cans in the rocks.

For a new spin on cupcakes, turn them into an interactive experience by teaching guests how to decorate a cupcake like a professional.