food presentation

Fried chicken with buttermilk dressing, served with a house-made biscuit, long-cooked cavolo nero, summer succotash salad, and a chocolate chip or oatmeal cookie, by the Larder in Los Angeles

Slow-roasted salmon with cucumber-dill yogurt sauce, served with a mixed grain salad, broccoli with arbol chili, and berries with crème fraîche, by the Larder in Los Angeles

Roasted salmon with citrus vinaigrette served on a bed of fresh greens, served with a baguette roll, seasonal fruit, or a chocolate chip cookie, by Bi-Rite Catering in San Francisco

House-made hummus, handmade dolmas, cucumbers, marinated olives, halloumi cheese, and pita triangles, by Bi-Rite Catering in San Francisco

Artichoke and four-cheese focaccia flatbread with marinara sauce, by Bi-Rite Catering in San Francisco

For a colorful, interactive food station option, Encore Catering in Toronto offers its Artisanal Antipasto Harvest Table that features a number of cured meats and European cheeses from Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Spain. The table also serves veggies including sun-dried tomatoes, grilled artichoke hearts, roasted peppers, and Spanish olives, along with mostarda, quince jam, crackers, and toasted crostinis. Pricing starts at $32 per person, with larger group pricing scaled to the event size.

Washington-based pizza shop &Pizza recently opened a location in New York’s NoMad neighborhood, offering a bevy of its creative oblong pies like the Farmer’s Daughter with spicy tomato, spinach, mozzarella, Italian sausage, egg, red pepper chili oil, and Parmesan; or the Gnarlic with garlic ricotta, mozzarella, grilled onion, basil pesto, garlic oil, and Parmesan. Large catering orders are also available for dining out.