
A berry rhubarb sparkler from Beth Parentice at Eco-Bar
Photo: Courtesy of Eco-Bar

C2 Catering Couture serves sugar bubbles filled with chocolate mousse and a fortune cookie. The dessert is served alongside a hammer to crack open the sphere.
Photo: C2 Catering Couture

Lobster risotto is spotted with pomegranate.
Photo: C2 Catering Couture

Lemon "lego" cubes top pieces of grilled chicken.
Photo: C2 Catering Couture

A deconstructed Greek salad is served alongside a dressing injection.
Photo: C2 Catering Couture
Roast Chicken Alternative: Pork

Roasted pork tenderloin rolled with fennel and Badian spice confit served with acorn squash, squash risotto, sautéed baby bok choy, and shallots, from Saphire Event Group (781.784.2400, saphireeventgroup.com) in the Boston area
Photo: Kristin Teig for Bizbash
Serving Platter: Salt Slabs

Short rib tacos with shredded cabbage, tomato, and chipotle crema served on a slab of pink salt, from Michael Stuart (347.689.9822, mscnyc.com) in New York
Photo: Jika González for BizBash
Dessert Ingredient: Vegetables

Caramelized vanilla napoleon with red beet confit, from Windows Catering Company (703.519.3500, catering.com) in Alexandria, Virginia
Photo: Greg Powers for BizBash
Comfort Food: Jalapeno Poppers

Bacon- and date-stuffed jalapeno poppers served with garlic and lime aioli, from Fig Catering (310.899.8595, figsantamonica.com) in Santa Monica, California
Photo: Bridget Kenny for BizBash
Cocktail: Solid Drinks

Sangria, watermelon, and mango Campari spheres served in spoons, from Windows Catering Company
Photo: Greg Powers for BizBash
Hors d’Oeuvre: Breakfast Bites

Buttermilk chocolate chip pancakes with maple syrup, jumbo blueberries, strawberry fragments, and powdered sugar, from Esprit Events Kosher Catering (212.207.3888, espritevents.com) in New York
Photo: Jika González for BizBash
Global Cuisine: Vietnamese

Banh mi sandwiches made with five-spice pork belly, from Blue Plate Catering (312.421.6666, blueplatechicago.com) in Chicago
Photo: Tyllie Barbosa for Bizbash

As a late-night snack, Marcey Brownstein Catering & Events serves mini pretzel bites alongside whole grain mustard and shots of Hefeweizen.
Photo: Courtesy of Marcey Brownstein Catering & Events

Great Performances can set up a dessert station featuring hanging pastry bags filled with flavored custards that guests can pipe into mini-beignets and profiteroles. Custard flavors include tangerine, mint, three-berry, earl grey, and vanilla bean.
Photo: Courtesy of Great Performances

Created by Hell's Kitchen contestant and chef Guy Vaknin, Beyond Sushi is a new store serving vegetarian sushi. Offering catering for private events, the organic menu features unrefined fruits and vegetables wrapped in six-grain and black Chinese forbidden rice, topped with tofu and veggie puree sauces in flavors like jalapeno-wasabi, toasted-cayenne, carrot-ginger, shitake-teriyaki, mango-chili, and white-miso.
Photo: Courtesy of Beyond Sushi

Feast & FĂŞtes' new "Aioli Presentation" is a spread featuring dishes like poached wild Alaskan salmon, cod confit, and jumbo Carolina shrimp.
Photo: Courtesy of Feast & FĂŞtes

Many of the events during the Republican National Convention will be receptions, where networking is the focus and the food needs to be portable. One of the items Good Food Catering Company will serve is a Caprese skewer on a pipette of extra-virgin olive oil.
Photo: Courtesy of Good Food Catering Company

For a new spin on canned tuna, Lacassin will serve seared ahi tuna topped with wasabi sauce on a bed of seaweed salad, all in a single-serving can.
Photo: Caroline & Evan Photography