With Halloween just around the corner, many event planners are looking to provide guests with more than just candy in a plastic jack-o-lantern. This season, chefs and mixologists aren't coming up short on creative and decorative treats, with options such as ice cream-filled fried pumpkins, a spooky Jägermeister punch, and chocolate eyeballs. Here's a look at some fresh and festive food and drink ideas from restaurants, caterers, and specialty food purveyors across the country.
New York's Bounce Sporting Club has partnered with Jägermeister to serve Wicked Black Forest Punch throughout the month of October. The Halloween-inspired punch combines the German digestif and kirschwasser brandy with passionfruit, pineapple, and orange juice, and other ingredients including hibiscus and ginger beer.
To get into the Halloween spirit, Party City has introduced original cocktail recipes that encourage mixologists to use Party City products including skeleton straws, eyeball ping-pong balls, and skeleton hand rings. Cocktails include the Grave Digger, which contains citrus vodka, sour apple schnapps, lime juice, bitter, and ginger beer.
The blue Boneyard contains gin, rum, silver tequila, vodka, blue Curaçao, and sours mix, complete with a Party City skeleton straw.
GT Fish & Oyster in Chicago unveiled its fried pumpkin dessert for the month of October. Created by pastry chef Andrea Coté, the decadent dish presents a deep-fried pumpkin filled with sweet potato and cinnamon ice cream, apple sorbet, gingerbread cake, and meringue.
Willa Jean, a Southern cafe in New Orleans, has introduced a boozy cider slushy for the fall. Created by executive pastry chef Kelly Fields, the festive treat is made with apple cider, bourbon, Gingeroo, chai tea, and lemon juice.
For Halloween this year, Chicago steakhouse and seafood eatery Maple & Ash is "dressing up" up as the Frontback Steakhouse by offering Australia-inspired menu items created in the restaurant's whimsical style by chef Danny Grant. Aussie-style offerings include white sturgeon caviar with an onion blossom and steak add-ons such as barbecue and coconut shrimp, and onion rings.
Brooklyn-based specialty food and gift company Mouth has released a collection of Halloween-theme treats, including Tumbador peanut butter and jelly chocolate eyeballs.
Mouth, which ships products throughout the U.S. and Canada, also offers Veruca brand spiderweb milk chocolate bars.
Elegant Affairs, which offers off-premise catering and event design in the New York area, has Halloween-theme food options including mac & cheese muffins topped with mini spiders.
Elegant Affairs also offers butternut squash served over savory pumpkin and curry flan in pumpkin bowls.
