The menu of dishes was similarly color-coded. For instance, the truffled quail egg on a miniature English muffin (pictured) was designed to represent yellow, while grilled lamb with a black sesame seed crust was meant to symbolize black.
Photo: Nilaya Sabnis
Serving Platter: Salt Slabs
Short rib tacos with shredded cabbage, tomato, and chipotle crema served on a slab of pink salt, from Michael Stuart (347.689.9822, mscnyc.com) in New York
Photo: Jika González for BizBash
Catering trays used by Creative Edge were also made with old boxes and shredded pieces of West Elm's old catalogs.
Photo: Jessica Torossian for BizBash
Los Angeles Food & Wine
In one of the Lexus grand tasting's inspiring food presentations during L.A. Food & Wine, Big Sur's Post Ranch Inn served mini shaved ice cones in a metal bucket set up like a beach scene, with sugar for sand. Ingredients for the dessert came from the venue's garden.
Photo: Courtesy of Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival & Tyrone D. Washington
More playful components included bites presented on platters that hung from large white balloons marked with the AOL logo.
Photo: Phillip Angert
Two waiters served hors d'oeuvres on a six-foot tray.
Photo: Elizabeth Renfrow for BizBash
The caterers used tree slabs as trays for passed hors d'oeuvres.
Photo: A. Jesse Jiryu Davis
Among the creative presentations of passed hors d'oeuvres in the Breakers Mediterranean Courtyard was one that included chalkboard signage.
Photo: Lila Photo
Servers from Core Event Staff passed hors d'oeuvres from Daniel et Daniel on trays with armrests shaped like tubes.
Photo: BizBash
Passed on trays covered with a bed of pea shoots, hors d'oeuvres from Creative Edge included chicken summer rolls, Tuscan grilled lemon shrimp with a white bean mousseline, and vegan banh mi.
Photo: Jika González for BizBash
Customized Macaroni and Cheese
At Stella McCartney's Electricity-Free Carnival in New York in 2012, a mac 'n' cheese station was set up as a two-part offering: guests could either select a mini serving on a spinach cone from a Ferris-wheel-shaped stand, or opt for a full cup that could be customized with toppings such as veggie bacon bits, truffle oil, jalapeños, scallions, or sriracha sauce.
Photo: Jim Shi
Wolfgang Puck Catering has set up its playful Easter Egg display at events including bridal shows and the 2012 Governors Ball in Los Angeles. Displayed on a springlike bed of grass, the dish tucked vanilla-and-wild-strawberry cake into gilded eggshells; tiny lavender macarons topped each treat. The company can also use the eggs to hold savory snacks.
Photo: Courtesy of Wolfgang Puck Catering
Jewell Events Catering brought in striped, color-themed appetizer carts.
Photo: Cheri Eisenberg
Pulled pork sliders were placed atop an appropriately pig-shaped platter.
Photo: Lila Photo
Near the entrance, onion rings and French fries hung in colanders attached to chain-link fences. Guests used hanging tongs to transfer the fried snacks into paper cones.
Photo: Bob Carl
"William John Kennedy: The Warhol Museum Edition" Launch
The Warhol-inspired bites from the Villa by Barton G. included roasted Peking duck moo-shoo rolls with hoisin-marinated scallions served in mini take-out boxes adorned with Warhol's portrait of Chairman Mao Zedong. Other items included tomato gazpacho served in mini iconic Campbell's soup cans, kataifi-wrapped shrimp balls, Kobe beef sliders served on a tray of Coca-Cola bottles, tuna tartare with wakame and wasabi-ko.
Photo: World Red Eye
"William John Kennedy: The Warhol Museum Edition" Launch
A chocolate sculpture of Andy Warhol was part decor, part catering at the Andy Warhol Museum and KIWI Arts Group launch of "William John Kennedy: The Warhol Museum Edition" at the Villa by Barton G. December 7.
Photo: World Red Eye
MCM x at60inches Handbag Launch
At the MCM event, waitstaff passed olives in cans, which guests could pick up using the skewers provided.
Photo: BFA
Instead of traditional trays, servers used rolling metro carts to pass hors d'oeuvres.
Photo: Bob Carl
Hors d'oeuvres from C2 Catering were served on granite trays. Items included (from the left) falafel ice cream cones with sweet potato hummus and a mashed potato rosette, miso-glazed black cod burger on a pink glitter brioche bun, candy apple lobster lollypop with a gooseberry plum injection sauce, hot pot chili, and winter melon soup topped with duck salsa and nitrogen-frozen blueberries.
Photo: Emma McIntyre for BizBash
In June, Patina Catering catered the opening of Skyspace Los Angeles, the observation deck that also includes a glass slide 1,000 feet above the city. As part of an elaborate catering offering, Patina served late-night hors d'oeuvres that were passed as the party came to a close. The grab-and-go boxes featured cheddar beef sliders on mini sesame buns, crispy tater tots, and mini milkshakes.
Photo: Christopher Todd Studios
In June, LancĂ´me hosted an artful party to launch its newest products in New York. A unique open tray, oriented vertically, was reminiscent of architecture or candlesticks. It offered bites from Pinch Food Design.
Photo: Taylor McIntyre/BizBash
During the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington in May, The New Yorker hosted a cocktail party where passed hors d'oeuvres from the W Washington D.C. were presented on trays featuring previous covers of the magazine.
Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris
At the flagship boutique opening for Hublot in New York in April, goat cheese and kalamata olive lollipops from CxRAÂ lent a graphic, dramatic, black-and-white look against an all-black tray.
Photo: Jim Shi
In June, the Museum of Modern Art in New York hosted its Party in the Garden, and caterers paid special attention to food presentation on the tray. Sweet pea and pesto crostini from Union Square Events took on artful forms of their own.
Photo: Beth Kormanik/BizBash
At a Los Angeles event hosted by Century 21 Real Estate in July with a futuristic look and feel, hors d’oeuvres—such as lump crab cakes with remoulade and micro arugula—were served on modern-style white platters that included unusual cutout forms.
Photo: Chelsea Lauren
Last year in Los Angeles, Ted Baker hosted an event at Carondelet House, where Tres L.A. whipped up whimsical catering trays reminiscent of organic environments. On one presentation, moss and whole mushrooms surrounded mushroom griddle cakes.
Photo: Alice Dubin/BizBash
Single floral stems framed hors d’oeuvres like mango Thai basil summer rolls from Union Square Events at the Robin Hood Foundation gala in New York in May.
Photo: Beth Kormanik/BizBash
Heinz launched a new yellow mustard last year in May, and hosted a barbecue-style event in New York to celebrate. In a bit of a meta moment—or at least a detail that clearly underscored the host’s marketing message—Heinz served mustard-topped corn dogs on trays emblazoned with the new product’s label.
Photo: Paolo Ferraris/Michael Jurick Photography
For a luncheon with a “hat party” theme, New York caterer Abigail Kirsch created a playful arrangement of desserts, including a white chocolate "fence," citrus macaron "hat pops," peanut-butter-and-jelly tarts, miniature carrot cake, and Devil's Food cakes topped with flowers.
Photo: Courtesy of Abigail Kirsch
Last year, the Peninsula Chicago offered rotisserie potatoes in cones amid river rocks and bamboo shoots.
Photo: Jenny Berg/BizBash
