food

The event's footprint grew from a 28,000-square-foot hotel ballroom in 2013 to the 43,000-square-foot space at the convention center.

Amaryllis used 20- by 12-foot pallet wood sections to create the center structures for the food pavilions. On the larger stations, chalkboards covered the wood with images affiliated with the station's sponsor.

The chalkboard drawings also included the menu of items served at each station.

Onomonomedia and Amaryllis worked together to create a photo opportunity outside the ballroom using a custom chalkboard drawings of Washington landmarks, echoing the decor used inside for the food pavilions.

A draft-only bar on the upper level of the ballroom overlooking the main event floor served Heineken and Newcastle beers.

A pavilion sponsored by the Citi Open tennis tournament focused on sports-event staples such as hot dogs, pretzel sticks with dipping sauces, and buffalo wings paired with Asian slaw, pasta salad, or potato salad.

Amaryllis also set up a lounge area for Citi Open and its guests with black leather chairs and a glass coffee table encasing tennis balls and paraphernalia.

Nearly 200 tables covered the floor around the food stations for event sponsors.

At food stations sponsored by Chile, dishes included ceviche and marinated shrimp with avocado pebre. Coordinating with the food, the chalkboard centerpiece depicted scenes of the country's harbors and fishing boats.

One of the most popular dishes at the Chilean station: grilled salmon over a rustic quinoa salad.

Chile served a traditional dessert made with Chilean olive oil and yogurt mousse topped with a berry compote.

Australia served Pavlovas—white meringue topped with berries—for dessert, a dish named for 1920s Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova after one of her ballet tours in the region.

Events DC sponsored a food pavilion and a champagne ice bar, while Amaryllis provided a lounge with circular white couches.

Rather than serving wine, as many countries did, the Peru pavilion served a cocktail made with the Macchu Pisco spirit, passion fruit, Earl Grey tea, and apple bitters.

Nearly 1,900 people attended the award show and dinner, after which they hit the dance floor to the sounds of the band Onyx and late-night DJ Neekola.

In New York, Naturally Delicious recently catered a fine-dining wedding. Instead of a more typical seafood entrée, guests were presented with scallops atop wild mushroom risotto.

Eatertainment has served mini bowls of ramen noodle salad as appetizers at weddings.

Sarah Banasiak, chief creative officer for the Revel Group, recently got married in Chicago. Limelight Catering, the company's catering arm, prepared the dinner. Passed appetizers included Kobe tartare on potato crisps with capers, Dijon mustard, and frisée lettuce.

In Chicago, Blue Plate Catering handled the catering for a September wedding at Prairie Productions. The food-loving couple wanted to keep presentation clean and simple, and they served appetizers at several stations. One held charcuterie, including spicy salami, speck americano, and prosciutto piccante.

Another station held local cheeses, including smoked butterkäse from Illinois and a blend of cheddar and Gruyere from Wisconsin.

The couple also had a station—under a "Treat Yo Self" sign—that served artisan donuts. Flavors included passion fruit and triple chocolate.

The Four Seasons Hotel Chicago hosted a showcase of wedding trends in September. Menu items included three variations (and presentations) for tuna tartare.

The hotel showcase served "Queen Anne's Punch" in crystal champagne coupes garnished with edible flowers.

At the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago, takeaway gifts were petit fours shaped like miniature wedding cakes.

A vegetarian dish was poached eggs served with asparagus.

Dishes also included small portions of honey-blossom mascarpone with clementine granita.

Desserts included tiramisu with a shot of espresso on the side.

In Toronto, Eatertainment serves custom bottled cocktails for weddings held at its venue, the One Eighty.

As an alternative to traditional wedding cake, Eatertainment offers layered cakes served in jars.

Banasiak's dinner began with Kumamoto oysters on the half shell with crème fraîche and caviar.

The couple served grilled Kobe beef with foie gras butter, hedgehog mushrooms, and sauteed spinach. Each course was paired with Cream wines from Sonoma and Sicily.

The pasta course was handmade strignoli with torn Tuscan kale, shaved Parmesan, truffled chive butter, and Meyer lemon cream sauce. After dinner, guests headed to a whiskey and cigar bar replete with bacon swizzle sticks; there were also after-dinner snacks of boozy milkshakes, Patty Melt sliders, and cones of French fries.

Thai coconut carrot bite with finger lime caviar, red pepper puree, coconut mousse, toasted cashew, and micro cilantro, by Stephen Starr Events in Miami

Gluten-free waffles topped with maple-pecan coconut-milk-based ice cream and chocolate-maple sauce, by Leslie Durso in Los Angeles

Zucchini cannelloni with truffled tofu ricotta, broccoli fond, lemon mosto oil, and garnished with pine nut Florentine, by Blue Plate Catering in Chicago

Beet panna cotta, served with strawberry puree, pickled rhubarb, sorrel, and Chinese long pepper gel, by Stephen Starr Events in Miami

Italian Caprese summer roll with Napa cabbage, fire-roasted tomato, pesto, mozzarella, and balsamic reduction, by Puff ’n Stuff Catering in Orlando

Springtime risotto made of minced zucchini and broccolini “rice,” served with green pea and lemon sauce, fiddlehead ferns, tricolor baby carrots, and baby fennel, by Blossom in New York

Portobello frites with crispy basil, Parmesan cheese, and balsamic aioli, by Stephen Starr Events in Miami

Wonton lasagna with black garlic coulis, seasonal vegetables, crispy lotus chips, and mushroom tofu ricotta, by Blue Plate Catering in Chicago

Lobster mushroom-crusted, beet-marinated potato and grilled zucchini, served with bluefoot mushrooms, grilled kale, roasted salsify, and chive cream, by Blossom in New York

Grilled vegetable pesto pizza topped with mushrooms, zucchini, and grape tomatoes, by Leslie Durso in Los Angeles

Cashew cheese with triple peppercorns, honeycomb, balsamic syrup, and caramelized apricots, by Blue Plate Catering in Chicago

Grilled North African-spiced tempeh kebabs made with zucchini and cherry tomatoes, served with horseradish crème, by Blossom in New York