Beyond the Buffet: 5 Fresh Ideas for Catering Stations

For a new twist, Riviera Catering also set up stations that resembled food truck exteriors with splashy chrome finishes at the WTC860 event. The mock trucks served iconic New York foods, including baos and mini pizzas, and were approximately 10 feet high and 8 feet long.

For the launch of the catering and event program at New York’s WTC860 - Riviera at the World Trade event space in December 2015, Riviera Caterers built a 24-foot-long, 8-foot-high pretzel wall. The interactive wall held 600 pretzels of different flavors, including garlic parsley, cheddar, cinnamon, salted, and plain, along with dipping sauces. The setup is customizable and can be converted for a variety of displays such as a salad or bagel bar.

Toronto-based Eatertainment offers an action station focused on serving salmon gravlax. The raw fish hangs from hooks suspended above the station.

The salmon is sliced to order and served with root vegetable crisps, miniature greens, and spiced yogurt.

To serve fresh fruit, Chicago catering firm Limelight inserts skewers into a decorative wall featuring colorful wallpaper that can be customized for any event. Guests then dip the fruit into accompanying sauces.

Wolfgang Puck Catering created a “chef shadowbox” station for an event at the Perot Museum of Science and Nature in Dallas. There, a chef prepared appetizers as guests viewed the behind-the-scenes action.