Going beyond made-to-order stations, caterers are letting guests customize their own dishes and drinks with D.I.Y. garnishes.
At the Museum of Science & Industry’s Black Creativity gala in Chicago in January, Sodexo provided a table that held hanging terrariums of flavored salts including red chili, pink Hawaiian, smoke, and rosemary. Also on hand: grinders holding pink, green, white, and black pepper, as well as a variety of flavored butters such as lavender honey and garlic.
Photo: J. B. Spector/Museum of Science+Industry
For a corporate party held last year in the Washington area, Magnolia Bluebird Design & Events worked with Occasions Caterers to design several made-to-order food stations, including one that let guests customize champagne cocktails. Garnish options included herbs, fruit, house-made syrups, and flavored sugar cubes.
Photo: Geoff Chesman/Imagelink Photography
At the February opening of Washington venue the Powerhouse, Design Cuisine added a D.I.Y. element to the cheese and charcuterie buffet: Guests topped their selections with unique spices displayed in suspended glass bowls or flavored olive oils and vinegars housed in squeeze bottles.
Photo: Rodney Bailey
New York’s Great Performances can set up a dessert station featuring hanging pastry bags filled with flavored custards that guests pipe into mini beignets and profiteroles. Custard flavors include tangerine, mint, three-berry, Earl Grey, and vanilla bean.
Photo: Courtesy of Great Performances
For an event in April, Scoozi Events NYC designed a “foraged” custom cocktail bar that allowed guests to pick garden-fresh herbs, fruits, and veggies for bartenders to add to their drinks.
Photo: Courtesy of Scoozi
Wolfgang Puck Catering offers a poutine station that lets guests top individual plates of French fries with beef or vegetarian gravy and mozzarella or cheddar cheese curds, plus a variety of other toppings including brisket, ham, or duck confit.
Photo: Bridget Kenny for BizBash
