Food

Savory s’mores with short rib and feta, by Limelight in Chicago

Chicken liver mousse skewer with Chinese five-spice cotton candy, by Eat & Smile Foods in Washington

Savory cones, featuring carrot-parsnip-and-turmeric mash, purple potato mash, and maple bourbon sweet potato mash, by Marigolds & Onions in Toronto

Also at Stella McCartney's Resort 2013 collection preview, dessert stands offered sweets from Coolhaus and Pie Corps (pictured). At the latter, guests could also pick up prepackaged jars of fruit cobbler.

For the grand opening of the Miami Airport Convention Center in Miami earlier this year, the venue's catering team created an edible garden using toasted pumpernickel crumbs as "dirt" with spears of baby carrots, asparagus spears, and zucchini, as well as baby tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella "flowers."

At this year's Luminescence gala in Chicago, passed canapes included cured salmon lollipops, displayed on beds of wheatgrass.

For a fun spin on a summer favorite, LoLo Event Design has caterers serve passed bite-size ice cream cones and ice cream sandwiches.

Markus Daly Ryan produced Univision's Deportes launch in New York, where picnic tables formed the bulk of the seating and found lumber was turned into cocktail tables for a neighborhood-block-party feel.

Spring hors d’oeuvres table with lobster tacos, parmesan truffle popcorn, beef short rib sliders with mini shots of Guinness, shrimp tempura lollipops, and mac ’n’ cheese canapés, by Boutique Bites in Chicago

The blue-hued bite was Parisienne potatoes topped with blue-dyed whitefish mousse and blue sea salt.

Emulating the bright red colour that marks a number of comic book superheroes, Sublime Catering served beef tartare with beet-dyed horseradish served in an heirloom tomato.

Other dessert options included bites of cotton candy that, with LED lights, looked as though they were glowing in the dark.

At a panini station, attendants used irons and an ironing board to toast ham-and-cheese and tomato-and-cheese sandwiches.

Urban Picnic bento box including a chicken ’n’ waffles sandwich; a prosciutto, parmesan, and sherried fig jam sandwich; gazpacho in a cucumber bowl served with a pipette of vinaigrette and a dusting of avocado snow; a Caprese potato salad skewer; and a trio of sweet-and-savory suckers, by Truffleberry Market in Chicago

Alliance Bakery created an eye-catching confection for the artist's birthday bash April 12, an affair that was presented by Hennessy Black and held at Lacuna Artist Lofts in Chicago. Weighing about 30 pounds, the red velvet cake with cream-cheese frosting was inspired by Andy Warhol's famous soup-can paintings.

At the Campfire Ball benefit for Children’s Oncology Services in May at Venue One in Chicago, Cork Catering set up a make-your-own s’mores station.

At the doughnut station, guests could top freshly baked plain doughnuts with white or milk chocolate sauce, powdered sugar, chopped nuts, or colored sprinkles.

An ice sculpture held push-up pies in nostalgic flavors such as banana cream, cookies and cream, and mixed berry parfait. Nearby, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and oatmeal raisin cookies were served warm on griddles.

Health-conscious guests will be happy to pop a few of New York-based Elegant Affairs’ gluten-free lemon-scented hummus and zucchini roulades into their mouths while lounging poolside.

A warm-weather take on the food-and-drink pairings trend: one-bite paella skewers served with red and white sangria, by KG Fare Catering & Events in New York.

Nothing beats an ice pop when temperatures rise. At the 2013 mtvU Woodie Awards and Festival, held in March in Austin, Texas, guests beat the heat with more than 7,000 custom-flavored all-natural frozen pops from Mom & Pops.

Chicago’s Truffleberry Market reports recently receiving requests to create finger-friendly versions of classic desserts. The catering company's banana split cones feature strawberry mousse in a mini waffle cone dipped in dark chocolate and topped with fresh strawberries, banana chips, and shaved hazelnuts.

Nothing says summer quite like fresh fish. At the Carlu’s recent 10th anniversary gala in Toronto, L-Eat Catering was in charge of the fish station. Among the offerings were individual portions of liquid-nitrogen-chilled, fennel-crusted tuna with green apples and pomegranates.

A perfect passed hors d’oeuvre for a beachside bash: Trufflebery Market’s Fish on Chips, with key lime zest and Sriracha aioli.

Maria Zoitas of Maria’s Homemade recommends adding fruit-infused ice cubes to drinks at summer parties. Just add berries, grapes, or pomegranate seeds to the water in ice cube trays, then toss the final product into champagne mixed with hibiscus syrup.

Chicago restaurant Allium served a swimsuit-friendly 500-calorie lunch at a recent beachwear fashion show at the Four Seasons Chicago. The three-course menu included beet salad with Greek yogurt, fennel, and mache lettuce; wild Alaskan halibut with smoked fingerlings, pickled ramp bulbs, asparagus, and English peas (pictured); and 99 percent pure chocolate sorbet.

Guests at the Lacoste Live pool party during Coachella in 2012 could cool off with snow cones at a station provided by sponsor Fiji Water.