Buffets

May 28, 2013

Chile sponsored the reception and served salmon ceviche from an ice sculpture in the center of the reception area.

Photo: D. Channing Muller for BizBash

Wolfgang Puck Catering's Chef Shadowboxes

For a recent event at the Perot Museum of Science and Nature in Dallas, Wolfgang Puck Catering employed a "chef shadowbox." Meant to provide a strong visual behind a more standard food station, a chef in a shadowbox prepared appetizers as guests looked on.

Photo: Courtesy of Wolfgang Puck Catering

An Illinois bar mitzvah on March 12 had a Candy Land theme. Designer Event Chicago planned the event, as well as the design and concept for a sweets table—actually part of an entire sweets room—over which colorful candies dangled from multicolored ribbons of varying lengths. HMR Designs handled decor.

Photo: Jai Girard

The Boston Children's Museum’s 2013 gala included a rather meta dessert table: The entire display took the form of a giant cake, decorated with paper flowers, and set with desserts such as cake pops, mini whoopie pies, mini Twinkies, and chocolate-dipped strawberries.

Photo: Scott Indermaur

Patina assumed catering duties for the Recording Academy’s massive “Grammy Celebration,” the official after-party for the Grammy awards in Los Angeles in February. At the Candy Land-inspired event, the caterer’s dessert station offered sweets like blue chocolate popcorn, Pop Rocks shooters, and liquid chocolate s’mores—plus cotton candy trees, where guests could pluck their treats right from the branches.

Photo: Dan Collopy

At an in-office preview for its clients' wares during the holidays in 2015, Los Angeles-based PR agency BWR offered a metallic dessert bar decorated with the word “Joy” in marquee-style letters.

Photo: Alesandra Dubin/BizBash

Last year in Chicago, Restoration Hardware hosted an opening event with a dessert bar that consisted of vintage-style candies presented in apothecary jars and on glass cake plates.

Photo: Jenny Berg/BizBash

To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Sterling Engagements hosted a party in Los Angeles in 2015, where vast catering options throughout the residential venue included a milk-and-cookies dessert bar.

Photo: Alesandra Dubin/BizBash

In 2012, Tori Spelling and J.C. Penney celebrated the launch of the star’s line for kids, Little Maven, in Los Angeles. The glamping-style event included a sweets table where the dessert offerings sat upon rustic wood slabs.

Photo: Michael Simon/StarTraks

In 2013, the New York City Opera staged the United States premiere of the opera Anna Nicole. The dessert table got a boudoir-inspired look, with a menu was written on mirrors in lipstick. Candy overflowed from jewelry boxes and glass jars, and Lucite displays offered pink cotton candy presented in paper cones.

Photo: Elena Olivo

In 2012, Toronto Public Library Foundation hosted its annual Book Lover's Ball. The evening invited guests to dine with big-name authors, and appropriately also included desserts inspired by literature. Books decorated the dessert tables, with typewriters, globes, and glasses adding to the literary look.

Photo: Carla Warrilow/BizBash

A 2012 launch in Los Angeles for Sh*t Girls Say played up the content from the book. To that end, speech bubbles decorated a candy buffet with messages like, “Can you do me a huge favor?” and “Shut up.” Brightly colored gerbera daisies also decorated the setup.

Photo: Chris Pizzello/Invision for Harlequin/AP Images

The Meridian International Center celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2010 with its annual black-tie Meridian Ball in Washington. There, the dessert table had black-and-white trompe l'oeil look. It included candelabras, arrangements of monochromatic roses, and—of course—copious desserts.

Photo: Tony Brown/Imijination Photography for BizBash

At the National Urban League’s annual conference in 2010, a Target-sponsored welcome reception included a sweets table dominated by red—the on-brand color for the mass retailer. Candies included Swedish Fish, red and black jellybeans, and red-and-white Starlight peppermints.

Photo: Tony Brown/Imijination Photography for BizBash

For the launch of the catering and event program at New York’s WTC860 - Riviera at the World Trade event space in December 2015, Riviera Caterers built a 24-foot-long, 8-foot-high pretzel wall. The interactive wall held 600 pretzels of different flavors, including garlic parsley, cheddar, cinnamon, salted, and plain, along with dipping sauces. The setup is customizable and can be converted for a variety of displays such as a salad or bagel bar.

Photo: BFA.com

For a new twist, Riviera Catering also set up stations that resembled food truck exteriors with splashy chrome finishes at the WTC860 event. The mock trucks served iconic New York foods, including baos and mini pizzas, and were approximately 10 feet high and 8 feet long.

Photo: BFA.com

Toronto-based Eatertainment offers an action station focused on serving salmon gravlax. The raw fish hangs from hooks suspended above the station.

Photo: Courtesy of Eatertainment

The salmon is sliced to order and served with root vegetable crisps, miniature greens, and spiced yogurt.

Photo: Courtesy of Eatertainment

To serve fresh fruit, Chicago catering firm Limelight inserts skewers into a decorative wall featuring colorful wallpaper that can be customized for any event. Guests then dip the fruit into accompanying sauces.

Photo: Erika DuFour Photography

Wolfgang Puck Catering created a “chef shadowbox” station for an event at the Perot Museum of Science and Nature in Dallas. There, a chef prepared appetizers as guests viewed the behind-the-scenes action.

Photo: Courtesy of Wolfgang Puck Catering

S'mores

S’mores got their start as sticky, gooey, handheld campfire treats, but events have reinvented them in many ways friendlier to guests, such as this example of a lollipop version at the Engage!14 Wedding Summit dessert party.

Photo: Tammy Swales/Engage!

Fried chicken

At the Watermill Center’s benefit in 2015, Great Performances created dishes that would allow guests to easily roam—all self-serve options designed to be hand-held and didn't even necessarily require plates. Among them was fried chicken served in waffle cones.

Photo: Keith Sirchio for BizBash

Tiramisu

At a September event, Preston Bailey transformed the new Four Seasons New York Downtown in celebration of his relationship with the property. As part of the event’s catering options, the hotel supplied tiramisu served as grab-and-go offerings.

Photo: Beth Kormanik/BizBash

Spaghetti and meatballs

Rather than the traditional bowl of splash-prone red sauce, New York’s Elegant Affairs offered a neater take on spaghetti and meatballs, using mess-free form topped with a micro meatball and marinara and sprinkled with parmesan.

Photo: Jan Van Pak Photography

Paella

Mary Giuliani Catering and Events in New York created a catering option of one-bite paella with shrimp and chorizo with sips of sangria, a take on the hearty rice dish.

Photo: Emily Gilbert for BizBash

Salad

Salad can be messy, with the risk of oily dressing ending up on clothes and hands. Occasions Caterers in Washington created a wedge salad bite hors d’oeuvre, served on a fork, that tidies up salad service.

Photo: Tony Brown/imijphoto.com for BizBash

Hummus and Pita

Always a crowd favorite, hummus can get messy when served as a dip. At the 2014 Washington Humane Society's annual Fashion for Paws runway show, hors d'oeuvres during the reception included beets and hummus on pita points as a tidy alternative to service at a station.

Photo: Tony Brown/imijphoto.com for BizBash

Soup

A popular alternative to soup in a bowl, with all of its messy slurp potential, many caterers offer inventive soup shooters. One example: Chicago’s Boutique Bites' artful soup shooters with popcorn and truffle oil.

Photo: Courtesy of Elaina Vazquez