catering

June 5, 2018

Fruit-Infused Ice Cubes

To keep guests' drinks cool without watering them down, Maria Zoitas of Maria’s Homemade recommends adding fruit-infused ice cubes to drinks at summer parties. Add berries, grapes, or pomegranate seeds to the water in ice cube trays to create the refreshing treat.

Photo: Courtesy of Westside Market NYC

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

Wolfgang Puck's Frozen Sushi Station

Other new stations at Wolfgang Puck Catering include a frozen sushi station. The activation displays fresh fish and sushi rolls atop illuminated ice blocks with frozen orchids and other flowers inside.

Photo: Courtesy of Wolfgang Puck Catering

Blue Plate's Caramel Apple Station

In Chicago, Blue Plate Catering brings candy apple stations to holiday parties. Treats include apples dipped in caramel and assorted toppings and sliced up into snack-size portions.

Photo: Courtesy of Blue Plate Catering

Blue Plate's Burrata Action Station

The catering firm also has a new burrata action station. Staffers top the creamy cheese with toasted pine nuts and Italian muscat syrup. The snack is gluten-free.

Photo: Courtesy of Blue Plate Catering

Eatertainment's Salmon Gravlax Station

Toronto catering firm Eatertainment has a new chef action station devoted to salmon gravlax. Salmon is hung from hooks above the station and is sliced to order in front of guests. The raw fish is then chopped and served with root-vegetable crisps, miniature greens, and spiced yogurt.

Photo: Courtesy of Eatertainment

Eatertainment's Bar Cart Station

The Toronto firm is also using bar carts to display food items. One such spread, wheeled to tables at an event, offered snacks such as frittatas, foie gras, sliders, and lobster.

Photo: Courtesy of Eatertainment

Limelight's Fruit Wallpaper

In Chicago, catering firm Limelight has an innovative format for serving fruit skewers. The fruits are inserted into a custom wall with thematic wallpaper design (which varies for different events). Guests approach the wall and pull of a skewer and can dip the fruit in sauces that are arrayed on a nearby table.

Photo: Courtesy of Limelight

Limelight's "One Potato, Two Potato" Station

Instead of serving French fries at a stationary table, Limelight has used a wheelbarrow to deliver Belgian frites at events. The fries are served in cones, and assorted sauces are displayed on the side.

Photo: Artisan Events

Limelight's "Smash It" Station

Limelight's "Smash It" station offers assorted homemade chocolate bark in flavors such as dark chocolate with dried cherries. Mallets next to the sweets let guests "smash" off a snack-size piece of the bark.

Photo: Erika DuFour Photography

Roar Events' Interactive Margarita Station

Roar Events produced a summertime event at Estancia La Jolla Hotel and Spa in Southern California. The dinner had a modern Mexican theme and featured an interactive margarita station. Guests chose the type and flavor of their tequila, as well as one of many specialty salts.

Photo: Courtesy of Roar Events

A bartender makes a cocktail using Seedlip Spice 94, which incorporates all spice, cardamom, oak, lemon, grapefruit, and cascarilla. The brand's other flavor, Garden 108, is made from peas, hay, spearmint, rosemary, and thyme.

Photo: Courtesy of Seedlip

The High Low cocktail is made with Seedlip Garden, Campari, rhubarb tonic, soda, and grapefruit peel. The cocktail will be served at Seedlip's No & Low cocktail pop-ups, which will appear at bars in 15 cities around the world.

Photo: Alexa Fernando

Hamachi crudo with cilantro-satsuma vinaigrette, radish, green onion, and red pepper with cilantro, citrus, and radish flowers, by Twenty/20 at the Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.

Photo: Kristin Guy

Baby kale and blood orange salad with charred cauliflower, heirloom carrots, and golden raisin vinaigrette, by Schaffer in Los Angeles.

Photo: Courtesy of Schaffer

Sweet rosewater rice pudding with candy cane beets, red nasturtium, amaranth, and rose petals, by Drake Catering in Toronto.

Photo: Courtesy of Drake Catering

Asparagus salad with caper bread crumb, lemon creme fraiche, Pecorino cheese, truffle dressing, and edible flowers, by Bank & Bourbon at the Loews Philadelphia.

Photo: Courtesy of Bank & Bourbon

Cocktail made from tequila infused with fresh hibiscus and chamomile flowers, lime, and orange blossom honey, garnished with hibiscus and chamomile flowers, by Cocktail Academy in Los Angeles.

Photo: Courtesy of Cocktail Academy

Pickled beet trio and shaved carrot salad with borage blossoms and bachelors buttons, by Truffleberry Market in Chicago.

Photo: Aimee Mazzenga

Rooibos-orange blossom cake with honey mascarpone cream, by Twenty/20 at the Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.

Photo: Kristin Guy

Pate a choux with blue cheese and honeycomb buzz button, by Truffleberry Market in Chicago.

Photo: Colin Pierson

Provide Plenty of Choices

“We launched the New York City Wine & Food Festival as the agency of record with Lee Schrager of Southern Wine and Spirits, which was our partner as well for the South Beach Wine & Food Festival for many years prior. Now the event has an in-house staff, as it should, but the first few seasons were tremendous undertakings for us, with not only the Grand Tasting Pavilions (pictured), but with events all over the city. We booked every single venue,” Herb says. Herb explained that having tons of choice, “a complete menu” to choose from for these multiday festivals, makes the experience richer for attendees. As an attendee of the event for the first few years, I remember some of the events were a little neater and tidier than others, but the scope and scale of the citywide undertaking was one that I realized was a monumental effort (and inarguably an instant success).

Photo: Courtesy of the New York City Wine & Food Festival

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

Photo: Aaron Cook/AACK Studio

A bento box filled with heirloom beet and watercress salad with goat cheese and spiced pistachios; open-faced roasted chicken salad on a pretzel croissant; and olive-oil-poached salmon with tomato-fennel chutney and balsamic roasted vegetable skewers, by Truffleberry Market in Chicago

Photo: Courtesy of Truffleberry Market

Classic roast beef sandwiches and Italian sandwiches with layered meats, shredded Parmesan Reggiano and Asiago cheeses, red onion, pepperoncini, and Farmhouse vinaigrette served on baguettes, by Santa Barbara Catering Company in Tempe, Arizona

Photo: Courtesy of Santa Barbara Catering

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

Photo: Aaron Cook/AACK Studio

Sesame noodle salad with Asian vegetables, garnished with spicy tuna and California rolls, served in individual take-out containers, by Abigail Kirsch in New York

Photo: Andre Maier

Gulf shrimp with house-made cocktail sauce, by Royal Fig Catering in Austin, Texas

Photo: SMS Photography

Build-your-own tacos with fresh tortillas and assorted fillings, including carne asada, carnitas, and mushroom, plus toppings and sides, by Otto's Tacos in New York

Photo: Courtesy of Otto's Tacos

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

Photo: Molly DeCoudreaux Photography

Nova Scotia lobster in chive mayonnaise, served in an artisanal bun, along with kettle chips, bean, snow and snap peas, broccoli salad, and a chocolate whoopie pie, by En Ville Event Design & Catering in Toronto

Photo: Simon Burn

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

Photo: Molly DeCoudreaux Photography

Deep-dish pizzas with a house-made olive oil crust, tomato ragout, mozzarella, and basil, served with tiny shakers of Parmesan, garlic powder, oregano, and red pepper flakes, by Abigail Kirsch in New York

Photo: Courtesy of Abigail Kirsch

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

Photo: Molly DeCoudreaux Photography

Tiramisu in a jar with chocolate ganache, espresso biscuits, and vanilla mascarpone, by Eatertainment in Toronto

Photo: Courtesy of Eatertainment

At Providence in Los Angeles, head bartender Kim Stodel offers up a menu of zero-waste cocktails and mocktails, giving leftover ingredients new life as infusions and garnishes. The Notify the Mayor! cocktail contains Mell vodka, Jardesca (a California aperitif), espelette, and a celeriac lime cordial that Stodel makes by concocting a syrup with lime juice and zest, as well as celery root scraps from the kitchen. The garnish is made from pickled celery root, which has been marinated in the lime cordial.

Photo: Kyle Deven

A Thai-inspired take on a classic Mai Tai, the restaurant’s Muay Thai is made with a rum infusion that Stodel creates in a cryogenic bag with lemongrass, ginger, and kaffir lime that are left over from the kitchen. He uses the remaining ingredients from the infusion to create a fruit leather-like garnish. The cocktail is also served with an uncultivated rye straw that’s natural and biodegradable.

Photo: Kyle Deven

Angelisco Blanco tequila, Pierre Ferrand curacao, guava, lime, and grapefruit make up the Mano de Chango. A hybrid of a margarita and a paloma, the drink incorporates a house-made guava syrup. Stodel repurposes the guava pulp from the syrup to create a fruit leather garnish.

Photo: Kyle Deven

Stodel turns pea tendril scraps into a green pea oil that floats atop the Peas and Thank You cocktail, which is made with Nuestra Soledad mezcal, Bonal, lemon, pea tendril, and mint.

Photo: Kyle Deven

“This is a French 75 riff using pear brandy. We dehydrate as much of the fruit as possible, while using the odds and ends of the fruit to make preserves. In this way, we are able to have beautiful pear flavors for as long we have these preserves, extending the life of the fruit beyond its regular season,” explains Claire Sprouse of the Tin Roof Drink Community about the Lucky Bounce cocktail, which is made of pear brandy, cinnamon-pear preserves, lemon, and cava. Sprouse, along with Chad Arnholt, offer consulting services on sustainability for the catering, events, beverage, and hospitality industries.

Photo: Courtesy of Tin Roof Drink Community

Sprouse says that they use corn scraps such as husks and corn cobs to infuse the vodka in the Copper & Corn cocktail, which also contains Chardonnay and citrus and is clarified with milk. “This milk punch as a whole is clarified, which makes it shelf stable for at least a few weeks so that we are minimizing the possibility of it spoiling. In this case, the cream and curds were traded back to the kitchen where they whip them into ice cream that has a slight corn and citrus flavor from the punch.”

Photo: Courtesy of Tin Roof Drink Community

At Boleo in the Kimpton Gray Hotel in Chicago, head bartender Jess Lambert has curated a lineup of sustainable cocktails that are crafted with reused and recycled ingredients. Plus, a portion of the proceeds from each drink benefits Zero Waste Chicago, an environmental organization that offers resources and education to increase awareness of alternatives to waste. (Pictured: Inspired by a Peruvian holiday bread called Paneton, the Crossing Seas cocktail combines Cana Brava seven-year rum, Fernet Jellinek, Licor 43, and Appleton Jamaican rum, along with a concentrate made from leftover oranges and orange scraps.)

Photo: Michelle Banovic/Boleo

The One More Chance concoction reuses day-old bread from the hotel kitchen, by toasting it and allowing it to infuse with a house-made almond orgeat. The mixture creates a French toast-like syrup to complement the base of Suntory Toki Japanese whiskey and Rhine Hall La Normande brandy. Lemon, egg white, Angostura bitters, and club soda finish off the drink.

Photo: Michelle Banovic/Boleo

In addition to giving distillery compost to local farmers who grow agave to help minimize waste, Patron also offers low-waste cocktail recipes including the Melon Collins, which is made with Patron Silver tequila, cantaloupe shrub, lime stock, and soda water. The melon shrub can be created by using vinegar and sugar to preserve overripe melons.

Photo: Courtesy of Liquor Lab

The Jardinero Gimlet includes a rosemary-lime cordial, which can be made with excess citrus or citrus juice and sugar. It also contains Roca Patron Silver tequila and mezcal.

Photo: Courtesy of Liquor Lab

The Mother Earth Pepino is made with Patron Silver tequila that's been infused with leftover herbs, along with pressed cucumber juice, simple syrup, lime juice, and soda water.

Photo: Courtesy of Liquor Lab

Coffee grounds infuse flavor into the vermouth in the Old Brew, New Tricks cocktail, which also contains Patron Reposado tequila, cynar, Ancho Reyes liqueur, and two dashes of mole bitters.

Photo: Courtesy of Liquor Lab

Los Angeles mixology company Pharmacie offers a chocolatey take on a mint julep. Called the Chocolate Mint Julep, the cocktail contains bourbon and mint syrup poured over ice with six dashes of chocolate bitters, plus a mint leaf garnish.

Photo: Krista Mason

For post-meeting crowds in the summertime, beverage director Matt Tocco of Merchants restaurant in Nashville, which is within walking distance of the city’s convention center, serves a Pimm’s Cup made with Pimm’s No. 1 liqueur, Pennington’s Strawberry Rye Whiskey, lime, cucumber, mint, and soda water.

Photo: James Beck

Merchants’ fruity Blinker is made with George Dickel Rye Whiskey, St. George Raspberry Liqueur, lemon, simple syrup, and soda water.

Photo: James Beck

Frankie Solarik of BarChef in Toronto puts a twist on a classic seasonal cocktail with his Daiquiri Adaptation. Served in a coconut, the tropical-inspired drink combines spiced rum, fresh lime and pineapple juices, maraschino liqueur, and house-made almond orgeat syrup. Solarik dresses the drink’s service piece with coconut-water snow, toasted coconut, lime and orange rinds, maraschino fluid gel, and rum and vanilla brunoise with edible flower petals.

Photo: Leanne Neufeld

The Chilled Strawberry Ontario is another of BarChef’s summer offerings. Solarik describes the cocktail as a “strawberry-infused gin chilled soup,” made with roasted-black-pepper sugar, lemon and chamomile brunoise, lavender-infused maraschino and coconut fluid gel, and balsamic-lavender syrup that’s turned into a gel and presented in a ribbon shape.

Photo: Leanne Neufeld

Ken Martin, in-house mixologist at Privateer Rum in Ipswich, Massachusetts, makes a strawberry-laced cocktail for the summer. Called the Strawberry Cobbler, the drink contains Privateer Rum, fresh lime juice, and simple syrup, and is served with fresh mint leaves.

Photo: Courtey of Privateer Rum

Martin also prepares another warm-weather libation called the Raspberry Bramble, which includes Privateer Rum, fresh lime juice, simple syrup, St. Germain liqueur, sparkling wine, and raspberries.

Photo: Courtey of Privateer Rum

Pumpkin Cocktails

Therapy restaurant in Las Vegas is serving a variety of fall cocktails, including a pumpkin old fashioned made with pumpkin puree and cognac, served with a spiced orange twist and garnished with a cherry.

Photo: Courtesy of Therapy

Pumpkin Cocktails

Therapy also is serving a cocktail called Mamma Knows Best, made with Scotch, Kahlua liqueur, Bailey’s Irish cream liqueur, pumpkin puree, creme anglaise, Godiva Chocolate liqueur, and heavy cream. The cocktail is poured into a brown sugar pumpkin spice-rimmed glass.

Photo: Courtesy of Therapy

Pumpkin Cocktails

E’s Bar in New York is serving a Pumpkin Moscow Mule, made with crop pumpkin vodka, lemon, and ginger beer and topped with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Photo: Courtesy of E's Bar

Pumpkin Cocktails

Cocktail catering and mixology company Liquid Lab NYC has debuted fall-inspired cocktails made with its original pumpkin spice syrup. The Penthouse Pumpkin, available at the Attic Rooftop, features bourbon, pumpkin spice syrup, lemon juice, pineapple juice, and a dash of allspice dram served on the rocks. The drink is garnished with an orange twist and light dusting of nutmeg.

Photo: Courtesy of Liquid Lab

Pumpkin Cocktails

Americana Las Vegas has introduced new seasonal cocktails, including a golden pumpkin martini made with house-infused apple pie vodka, brown sugar, cinnamon, and Bailey’s Pumpkin. The cocktail is served with a golden chocolate and hazelnut rim.

Photo: Courtesy of Americana

Pumpkin Desserts

Sprinkles Cupcakes at the Linq Promenade in Las Vegas is serving pumpkin cupcakes, created with ginger, clove, nutmeg, and cinnamon and topped with cinnamon cream cheese frosting.

Photo: Courtesy of Sprinkles

Pumpkin Desserts

For a more sophisticated pumpkin dessert, Ballantyne hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina, is offering a Pumpkin Tonka Verrine at its Gallery Restaurant throughout October. The dessert, created by hotel pastry chef Noelle Gogg, consists of Valrhona Orelys 35% Blond Chocolate cinnamon namelaka, pumpkin mousse, tonka bean cream, brown butter sponge, and Orelys chocolate garnish.

Photo: Ray Sepesy

Pumpkin Desserts

Lower Mills Tavern in Boston serves a pumpkin ice cream sandwich that consists of homemade ginger molasses cookies and pumpkin ice cream made for the restaurant by the Ice Creamsmith—a family-run ice cream shop next door.

Photo: Courtesy of Lower Mills Tavern

Pumpkin Desserts

The new MB Steak at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is offering a pumpkin milkshake made with pumpkin cheesecake ice cream and topped with cream cheese whipped cream and a house-made pumpkin pie slice.

Photo: Courtesy of MB Steak

Pumpkin Spice Pizza

For the first day of fall on September 22, Villa Italian Kitchen celebrated the new season by serving pumpkin spice pizza at its nearly 230 locations nationwide. The limited-time dish mixed a classic cheese pizza with pumpkin pie filling.

Photo: Courtesy of Villa Italian Kitchen

Pumpkin Cream Cheese

Becky’s Bites, a new cream cheese shop in New York, offers a variety of cream cheese-based treats including a gingerbread cookie snack pack that offers gingerbread cookie chips with pumpkin spice dip.

Photo: Courtesy of Becky's Bites

Pumpkin Cream Cheese

Becky’s Bites also offers pumpkin spice bites, which include a mix of chocolate-dipped pumpkin spice bites, tiny pumpkin pies, and pumpkin spice-filled cookie sandwiches.

Photo: Courtesy of Becky's Bites

Pumpkin Soup

For another savory option, French restaurant Bleu Boheme in San Diego is serving pumpkin hominy, made with sugar pumpkins and topped with a pistou made with toasted pumpkin seeds, kale, garlic, and olive oil.

Photo: Courtesy of Bleu Boheme

Pumpkin Latte

While Starbucks serves the most famous pumpkin spice latte, the Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay outside of San Francisco has put its own spin on the popular drink. The hotel partnered with Santa Cruz-based coffee company Verve Coffee Roasters to create the Pumpkin Patch Spice latte, which is served hot and iced.

Photo: Courtesy of Half Moon Bay

Dr Pepper Theme

For a recent wedding in Chicago, Truffleberry Market catering created Dr Pepper theme cupcakes for a couple who had bonded over their love of the soft drink on their first date.

Photo: Colin Lyons Photography

Sweets Theme

When is it appropriate to make a cake-theme cake? When it's being served at a party in honor of New York cake designer Ron Ben-Israel. The dessert pro's birthday cake was shaped like a giant slice of cake.

Photo: Courtesy of Ron Ben-Israel Cakes

Fire and Ice Theme

Limelight Catering in Chicago recently created miniature Baked Alaska desserts for a "Fire and Ice" theme event in Chicago. The "flamed-to-order" desserts comprised stacked strawberry ice cream and dark chocolate cake wrapped with toasted meringue.

Photo: Erika Dufour for Limelight Catering

'Alice in Wonderland' Theme

Janina O’Leary, executive pastry chef at LaV Restaurant & Wine Bar in Austin, Texas, created a "Wonderland" theme dessert table for Austin Food & Wine Festival's "Sips and Sweets" event in April. Hanging over the sweets table was a marshmallow chandelier that held forks holding marshmallows. Staffers cut down individual marshmallows for guests, who put them into chocolate teacups filled with homemade rhubarb jam.

Photo: Courtesy of LaV

Big Top Theme

This year's "Give Kids the World" benefit took place at the Hyatt Regency Orlando in May and had an "Under the Big Top" theme. For dessert, executive pastry chef Alain Vergnault put together a confection that combined caramel apple cake, cotton candy, and soft-serve-style vanilla crème fraîche.

Photo: Courtesy of Give Kids the World

A Hat Party

New York caterer Abigail Kirsch created a whimsical plate of desserts for a recent "hat party" theme luncheon at a garden venue. The presentation included a white chocolate "fence," citrus macaron "hat pops," peanut-butter-and-jelly tarts, miniature carrot cake, and Devil's Food cakes topped with flowers, salted-caramel Linzer cookies, and more.

Photo: Courtesy of Abigail Kirsch

Musical Theme

Chicago's Jewell Events Catering recently catered a dinner for a musical instrument company. For dessert, the catering firm's custom cakes division created an edible harp. "The cake designers working on the project utilized fondant to give the cake a realistic look and feel and built it according to the exact specifications of a real-life harp," said a company rep.

Photo: Courtesy of Jewell Events Catering

'Cinderella' Theme

In 2010, the Joffrey Ballet hosted a Cinderella-theme luncheon at the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago. Dessert was a dark chocolate pumpkin filled with mousse and garnished with raspberries, hot pink sugar, and a chocolate "XO."

Photo: Mireya Acierto for BizBash

'Wizard of Oz' Theme

In 2008, the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago hosted a gala with a Wizard of Oz theme. Limelight Catering's desserts included a summer berry and lemonade cake parfait with a ruby slipper garnish.

Photo: Barry Brecheisen for BizBash

Akos Orosz, bar manager at craft cocktail bar Westbound in Los Angeles, is known for making a hot Christmas Tree Punch with Becherovka, one of his favorite herbal liqueurs. He combines it with cranberry, lemon, and pineapple juice, then adds a dash of bitters and a handful of pine tree needles before warming it up.

Photo: Courtesy of Westbound

“Punches can be a little more user-friendly to people that aren’t in the mood for such a strong cocktail,” says Ann-Marie Verdi, co-owner and beverage director of Los Angeles’s the Bellwether. “We make the perfect punch for fall and winter by infusing tequila with fresh cranberries, really capturing the colder season’s best flavors.” The punch is known as the #5 Cocktail on the menu.

Photo: Marie Buck

Bartender Noel Bughao of the Ballantyne Hotel & Lodge in Charlotte, North Carolina, serves up the Last Leaf, which contains Maker’s Mark Private Select bourbon, sour apple liqueur, pomegranate and lemon juices, and a syrup made with cinnamon and cardamom; it’s garnished with a spiced apple chip. “The result is a memory of home—the leaf is a tribute to fall and [leaves] falling.”

Photo: Ray Sepesy

“This has a lot of the appeal of an Irish coffee, but with more delicate, nuanced flavors,” says Morgan Schick of the San Francisco Proper Hotel about the Mile End Toddy, which contains rye whiskey, Cointreau, and Earl Grey tea with marmalade. “The pithiness of the marmalade and the floral notes in the Earl Grey make a nice counterpoint to the rich vanilla and toffee of the whiskey. Perfect for looking out over the fog next to a fire.”

Photo: Courtesy of San Francisco Proper Hotel

“During the winter months, I love working with Dram Pine Syrup. It can be incorporated into so many different types of cocktails and personifies the taste and smell of the season,” says Teodora Bakardzhieva, partner and beverage director at Publico Kitchen & Garden in Boston. “The pine garnish [of the Pine Old Fashioned] brings that element of surprise and delight to the cocktail that makes it memorable for guests.”

Photo: Courtesy of Publico Kitchen & Garden

“Love it or hate it, pumpkin infusions are here to stay,” say Parker Boase and Gregory Lucas of Liquid Lab NYC. “We personally like to pair it with egg whites to give it that frothy consistency and additional spices for an added kick.” The Allspice Pumpkin Flip contains spiced rum, five-spice pumpkin syrup with allspice and pumpkin spice, fresh lemon and pineapple juices, plus an egg white.

Photo: Courtesy of Liquid Lab NYC

Adil Yamin, beverage director at Heirloom Hospitality in Detroit, serves up a RyeChai with WhistlePig 10-year rye whiskey, Averna Amaro, angostura, and hot chai tea. It’s garnished with angostura and Averna-infused whipped cream, a cinnamon stick, lemon spiral, and shaved dark chocolate.

Photo: Courtesy of Heirloom Hospitality

Mixologist Kristy McKinney at the Havana Beach Bar & Grill at the Pearl Hotel in Rosemary Beach, Florida, offers up a flight of eggnog concoctions, including Eggnog Brulée with Bulleit rye whiskey, whipped cream, and turbinado sugar; Havana Nog with Coco Lopez cream of coconut, Appleton Jamaican dark rum, pineapple juice, and freshly toasted coconut; traditional eggnog; Merry Cherry Eggnog with Spring 44 gin, Luxardo maraschino liqueur, and whipped cream; and Eggnog Espresso with Kahlua, Godiva white chocolate liqueur, and espresso ganache.

Photo: Courtesy of Havana Beach Bar & Grill

The Hesitant Elephant cocktail at Cindy’s in Chicago contains Rittenhouse rye, Sailor Jerry rum, Campari, Averna, cold-brewed coffee, cinnamon, and fresh citrus juices. It’s then topped with Edmund Fitzgerald porter.

Photo: AJ Trela

The High ‘n Dry cocktail from mixologist Leigh Lacap at Campfire in Carlsbad, California, combines gin, Douglas fir bitters, blanc vermouth, Indian tea, and cucumber.

Photo: Courtesy of Campfire

“Around the holidays you’ll find most bartenders diving into ingredients that are both seasonal and have the ability to really bring people back to holiday memories,” says Brian Stewart, Belvedere Vodka’s U.S. mixology ambassador. “Warm drinks that use ingredients including nutmeg, cinnamon, apple cider, and cranberries are very popular as the temperature dips. I had a pear tree in my backyard growing up that had a rosemary bush right under it. Because of this, winter herbs with sweet fall fruit remind me of home, which is why you see that combo a lot in my cocktails.”

Photo: Courtesy of Belvedere Vodka

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