F&B Concepts

The Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Hotel often uses a festival-style setup to serve large meeting and convention groups. The hotel's director of food and beverage, Tony Porcellini, says the staff will prepare some of the food in advance, while other items are cooked to order in the tents.

The book party for Ben Mezrich’s Seven Wonders, held at the W Boston in September, featured food station signage inspired by vintage postcards and stamps from the locations mentioned in the adventure novel. The food labels were accented with world atlases to complete the look.

Passed hors d'oeuvres, like deviled eggs, were served on slate boards with item names written in chalk for an event at the Breakers Mediterranean Courtyard during the Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival in December 2013.

At Thinkery's Imaginarium gala, held in Austin in September, vintage games and throwback toys popped up throughout the “Playing It Forward”-theme event, including classic Slinkies as part of the hors d'oeuvres presentation.

A vintage TV display advertised series-inspired cocktails at the ATX Television Festival in June.

Great Performances decorated the dessert table to look like a boudoir for the opening night after-party for New York City Opera's Anna Nicole production, held at Skylight One Hanson in September 2013. The menu was written in red lipstick on vanity mirrors, and presented alongside jewelry boxes and glass jars filled with chocolate truffles, pink meringues, and candy lips, plus cones of pink cotton candy.

Taking inspiration from comic books, the dessert table at the Shiraz Events-designed Unicef Masquerade Ball in 2012, held at New York's Angel Orensanz Foundation, included bright, action-packed signs to play off the superhero theme.

At the annual Rammy awards gala, held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in June, food pavilions made from pallet wood were covered in chalkboards that featured the each station's sponsor and the menu items in decorative writing.

At The Knot's “Knot-so-Typical Industry Event” at Miami's Studio 743 in January 2013, servers from Hugh's Catering wore apple-shaped food signage on their foreheads and were encouraged not to speak during the surrealist-theme party.

At the Chefs’ Tribute to Citymeals-on-Wheels, held in June at the ice rink in Rockefeller Center, lampposts with the names of the chefs and dishes helped guests navigate the food and drink stations.

For Unicef's Adventures in Wonderland Masquerade Ball, held at Marquee in New York in October, apothecary jars filled with sweets tempted guests with "Open Me" tags and the name of the candy inside.

At the Museum of Science & Industry’s Black Creativity gala in Chicago in January 2013, Sodexo presented hanging terrariums of flavored salts—including red chili, pink Hawaiian, smoke, and rosemary—that were designated with labeled stones.

Servers from the Catered Affair wore appetizer badges with food allergy information, in case guests couldn't hear over the band performances, at the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay's “Big Night” event at House of Blues Boston in February 2013.

Mac ’n’ cheese; chicken wings served with assorted sauces; kielbasas; Bavarian pretzels; and grilled chicken Caesar salad wraps, by the Garden at Studio Square NYC in New York

Grilled corn on the cob with assorted toppings; roasted potato salad on chive sticks; watermelon cubes with feta and spinach; spinach salad with chopped eggs and microgreens in bacon cups; “hot dog” and “hamburger” macarons; and apple pie parfaits, by Windows Catering Company in Washington

Occasions also catered MSNBC's after-party at the United States Institute of Peace. There were multiple flights of food for the buffets as well as fixed and roaming specialty stations. One of the roaming stations featured traditional and sweet potato french fries with a variety of toppings including chili, cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, truffle oil, onion, and cheese curds.

More fruit was found at the Diffa Farmer's market from Steelcase by Nelson. The whimsical installation invited guests to take home bags of fresh produce.

Catering from Food in Motion included breakfast foods like mini Belgian waffles with fresh fruit, avocado toast, and pomegranate smoothies.

Use session breaks to energize and refresh guests with options such as Wolfgang Puck Catering's spa-water hydration station. Fresh fruit and herbs can be added to water, and combinations include orange, mint, and lemon for an immunity boost; blueberry, apple, and raspberry for an antioxidant boost; and cinnamon and strawberry for a metabolism boost.

Wolfgang Puck Catering also offers a variety of energizing snack options with brain-boosting foods such as almonds, walnuts, and flax seeds. Options include a customizable trail-mix bar, a build-your-own parfait bar, and a build-your-own oatmeal bar (pictured).