Miniature bottles of Round Pond Estate’s olive oil and vinegars, $9 each, allow guests to take home a taste of Napa Valley. The 50-milliliter vessels contain artisanal flavors like Meyer lemon olive oil and Cabernet-Merlot vinegar. Items can be shipped throughout the United States and Canada.
Photo: Courtesy of Round Pond Estate
Say cheers with dressed-up gummies courtesy of Sugarfina. The delicate, sweet champagne bears, $7 per box, taste like sparkling wine, and are available in personalized packaging. Items can be shipped globally; same-day delivery is available in Los Angeles.
Photo: Courtesy of Sugarfina
Customize the two-bite macarons, $30 for a box of 12, from Dana’s Bakery with your event colors, favorite flavors, or stenciled imagery. The bakery ships nationwide.
Photo: Courtesy of Dana's Bakery
Veronica’s Treats will transfer any photo, logo, or business card to the top of fresh-baked cookies, $22.20 per dozen, which are glazed with white chocolate. The baked goods have a shelf life of two weeks and can be shipped anywhere within the United States and Canada.
Photo: Courtesy of Veronica's Treats
Made from scratch and dipped by hand, the customized cake pops from Haute So Sweet are available in a range of flavors such as cookie dough and vanilla rose champagne. Display towers, from $250, can be shipped nationwide.
Photo: Courtesy of Haute So Sweet
The small tin sampler, $5.50, from Tea Forté contains two silken tea infusers and comes in five different blend collections, including coconut and white tea. Orders can be shipped throughout the United States and Canada.
Photo: Courtesy of Tea Forte
The sweet four-piece sampler box, $7.50, from Laughing Moon Chocolates includes a mix of dark- and milk-chocolate-dipped truffles and buttercreams. Orders can be shipped throughout the United States and Canada.
Photo: Paul Rogers
Guests will gobble up the gooey goodness of Madyson’s Marshmallows. The individually wrapped, chocolate-dipped marshmallows, from $2, arrive topped with corporate logos and can be shipped nationwide.
Photo: Courtesy of Madyson's Marshmallows
Edible Gifts Plus offers take-out containers, $14.95 each, filled with six hand-dipped fortune cookies, which can be customized with an edible logo and matching sprinkles. Shipping is available nationwide. Correction: The price for the fortune cookies has been updated.
Photo: Courtesy of Edible Gifts Plus
Each custom logo s’more kit, $4.50, from Candy With a Twist contains all the ingredients—including a branded marshmallow—needed to put together the campsite snack. Kits can be shipped throughout the United States and Canada.
Photo: Courtesy of Candy With a Twist
Vosges Haut-Chocolat‘s truffle favor comes with two confections presented in a white customizable or plain purple box. Plus, the company offers expert chocolate concierges to help with your order. Orders can be shipped throughout the United States and Canada.
Photo: Courtesy of Vosges
For a Los Angeles media event in April announcing the nationwide sale of chef Duff Goldman's Cake-in-a-Jar, guests could sample the product, which features layers of cake, frosting, and sprinkles encased in a Mason jar.
Photo: Courtesy of Duff's Cakemix
A "cotton candy girl”—dressed in an outfit made from the confection—passed out the dessert to guests of M.A.C. Cosmetics' Los Angeles celebration of its Playland collection on April 10.
Photo: Eric Faamausili for MAC Cosmetics
Catering company Good Gracious! Events affixed cotton candy bags to a branded wall for the M.A.C. party, which was held at the cosmetic brand's North Robertson Boulevard shop.
Photo: Eric Faamausili for MAC Cosmetics
In late February, fashion retailer Ted Baker hosted a private event in New York to preview its Spring/Summer 2014 line. Inspired by the circus theme of the collection's ad campaign, caterer Creative Edge Parties served carnival finger foods in a playful, mess-free way. That included staffers circulating with what they called a cotton candy tree—cotton candy clipped to a willow-tree-shaped metal frame that guests could easily pull off with their hands.
Photo: Erik Valind
Funnel cakes were attached to parasols at Ted Baker's New York preview. To add to the circus-inspired atmosphere, the waitstaff were trained to imitate tightrope walkers as they passed the bites.
Photo: Erik Valind
At Nordstrom's grand-opening gala at California shopping center the Americana at Brand, Command Performance Catering eliminated guests' need to juggle desserts and drinks by creating such items as a shot of strawberry milk topped by a lemon-raspberry checkerboard cookie.
Photo: Courtesy of Nordstrom
For a two-in-one dessert option, Command Performance Catering wedged raspberry macarons atop servings of panna cotta for Nordstrom's grand-opening gala at the Americana at Brand.
Photo: Courtesy of Nordstrom
For a grab-and-go option that eliminated the need for servers, Grand Performances hung bags of doughnuts from hooks at Nordstrom's grand-opening gala.
Photo: Courtesy of Nordstrom
For a camp-theme event in 2012, KG Fare Catering & Events offered a mess-free take on s'mores by displaying the gooey treats on clothespins.
Photo: Courtesy of KG Fare Catering & Events
At the C2MTL conference this year, Montreal-based caterer Agnus Dei created a popular interactive sorbet station. Rings of raspberry, mango, and coconut sorbet spun around a wheel, while guests simply had to hold up a scoop to the device to build their own cone.
Photo: Beth Kormanik/BizBash
A display from Wolfgang Puck Catering put vanilla-and-wild-strawberry cake topped with tiny lavender macarons into gilded eggshells and set on a bed of grass.
Photo: Courtesy of Wolfgang Puck Catering
A Thyme to Cook in Connecticut used string to hang cake doughnuts from the branches of a living tree at a recent event.
Photo: Blue Diamond Photography
New York’s Creative Edge Parties introduced the “Bar Bar” last year, a selection of bite-size brownies, blondies, and dessert bars in flavors such as peanut pretzel, Oreo cheesecake, and apple crumb displayed in repurposed desktop file sorters.
Photo: Jenny Anderson
Dessert buffets don't have to be simple tables: for the Boston Children's Museum's 10th anniversary gala in October last year, the catering team at the Intercontinental Boston used a giant prop cake to display and serve sweet treats, including cake pops, mini whoopie pies, mini Twinkies, and chocolate-dipped strawberries. The oversize piece was a champagne tower from the New England Country Rentals warehouse, and staffers from Rafanelli Events dressed it with festive paper flowers.
Photo: Scott Indermaur
Playful Details: Oscars
At the Elton John AIDS Foundation Oscars after-party, a dessert display included espresso milkshakes topped with mini doughnuts threaded through straws.
Photo: Alesandra Dubin
Jar Cakes
As a trendy alternative to a traditional wedding cake, Toronto-based catering company Eatertainment offers colorful layered cakes served in jars.
Photo: George Pimentel
Roaming Hunger
For a way to bring food truck eats to the office, Roaming Hunger—a booking service for food trucks for events across the United States—has launched an in-office catering program. Companies can order from more than 8,300 vendors listed on the booking site and app for team meetings, company parties, luncheons, and more.
Photo: Courtesy of Roaming Hunger
New York-based sweets company Treat House recently introduced mallow pops: marshmallows dipped in chocolate and covered in colorful nonpareils. The flavors and decorative colors are fully customizable for events. The pops cost $3 each and are currently available at the Treat House store and for delivery in New York City.
Photo: Courtesy of Treat House
Spindler Confections in Boston sells artisan caramels, chocolates, and brittles and recently opened a brick-and-mortar store in Cambridge. The company provides custom event favors and can create “sugar banquets”—or elaborate sweets tables—for meetings and events.
Photo: Courtesy of Spindler Confections
At a 40th birthday party, the JDK Group strung doughnuts as decor above the serving table.
Photo: Shannon Confair Photography
