Under its subdivision Jewell To Go, Chicago's Jewell Events Catering supplies an Asian-inspired alternative to more traditional box lunches. The company's sleek bento boxes hold items such as salmon over a seasonal grain salad, grilled asparagus spears, sesame noodle salad, and fresh fruit tartlets.
A timely option with Mardi Gras coming soon, Bayou Bakery, Coffee Bar, and Eatery in Arlington, Virginia, offers platters of "Muff-o-Lotta" sandwiches. Prepared by chef David Guas, the sandwiches are stuffed with salami, mortadella, smoked ham, provolone cheese, and olive salad. They're topped with toothpicks bearing New Orleans's signature fleur-de-lis.
For lunch meetings at the office, Pure Kitchen Catering in Chicago drops off jarred salads. Flavors include the Southwest salad, made with spiced nuts and pepitas.
Austin, Texas-based Royal Fig Catering has a Limited Service Menu tailored to office events. Options on the menu include a cheese and antipasto display with house-pickled vegetables, fruit spreads, rustic breads, and crackers.
Catering With a Twist in Austin, Texas, serves boxed "Cuban Sammies." Served with a side of arugula-corn-tomato salad, the sandwiches are filled with roasted pork tenderloin, honey ham, mustard, pickles, and onions and served on a sweet roll.
At Washington's Design Cuisine, a new division called Prepped by Design focuses on seasonal foods that make for quick buffet-style service. Menu items include a five-mushroom tart, made with roasted mushrooms, a Gruyere custard, and house-made pie crust.
Arthur's Catering in Orlando can set up salsa stations at meetings. The stations are stocked with chips, guacamole, hot sauce, and several types of salsa; there are also bamboo trays for guests to stash their snacks.
Aruthur's also provides Thai chicken meatballs for in-office gatherings. Accompanied by a cup of toothpicks, the meatballs can be passed or set up on a buffet for guests to serve themselves.
In Philadelphia, Brûlée Catering brings British cheese and beer pairing stations to offices. One pairing offers oatmeal stout with Huntsman cheese.
The 2011 Emmy Governors Ball had the theme of "mod illusions" with a 1960s-style black-and-white decor scheme that hearkened back to the era of Truman Capote's famous bash.
Similar to the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, Esurance's SavorBand kiosks let guests tap N.F.C.-enabled bracelets to receive recipes and other information from vendors.
For the second year, the Travel Channel's Andrew Zimmern hosted an Oktoberfest-theme affair at Long Island City beer hall the Garden at Studio Square. Thanks to Samuel Adams, attendees sported traditional Bavarian hats in honor of the German festival.
Yoplait Greek invited festival guests to vote for their favorite yogurt in a taste-off at the Esurance Rooftop at Pier 92. The rooftop space was used for a number of events during the festival's run, including the Blue Moon Burger Bash, Ronzoni's La Sagra Slices, Tacos & Tequila: A Late Night Fiesta, and Meatopia X: The Carnivore’s Ball.
For Jets & Chefs: The Ultimate Tailgate, the cruise line served football-friendly Kobe beef hot dogs with pickled vegetables and push pops filled with chocolate mousse and crushed Oreos. Celebrity was also promoting its four-night NY Jets Cruise featuring current and former players onboard, which takes place March 26 to 30, 2015.
For the kid-friendly Jets & Chefs event, Ronzoni set up a station for younger football fans to create works of pasta art.
Thrillist's fifth annual Barbecue & the Blues was hosted by the cast of Food Network's The Kitchen (Katie Lee, Marcela Valladolid, Sunny Anderson, Geoffrey Zakarian, and Jeff Mauro). Guests were issued "passports" with perforated tickets, each adorned with tiny animal icons, that were used to redeem one dish from each station. The black token coin was used to vote for their favorite dishes, as part of the event's annual competition.
The media group offered branded stain-remover pens for the barbecue-sauce-loving crowd, along with mint and toothpick packs. Sweet Chick was voted "Best in BBQ" by The Kitchen cast and guests.
At the Grand Tasting presented by ShopRite, the pasta brand showed off its brand-new trailer—a renovated shipping container with a high-tech kitchen. Barilla hopes to build more of these mobile units in order to do demonstrations across the country, as well as to offer help to charities like Meals on Wheels.
Throughout the two-day Grand Tasting event, Barilla chefs prepared 20- to 30-minute recipes to promote the brand's pasta, as well as a new pesto product, which will be available next year.
To support the premiere of Cutthroat Kitchen: Superstar Sabotage, Food Network created an interactive activation for the special series. Prior to the Grand Tasting event, a glass-paneled truck, which resembled a briefcase, drove around New York with Cutthroat Kitchen dollar bills blowing around inside. At the Grand Tasting, participants had a chance to go inside the truck for 30 seconds to grab the bills.
In the spirit of the show, each participant also had to spin the "sabotage" wheel, which would determine their sabotage for the 30 seconds (e.g. you can only use oven mitts, you have to wear an eye patch, or you may have your hands cuffed together). The bills collected could be exchanged for real dollar bills.
This year at the Grand Tasting, Delta highlighted its farm-to-tray-table approach and its relationship with nutritious culinary partner Luvo. The space at Pier 92 featured onboard wines and mini wraps and snacks by Luvo. In addition, Delta flight attendants were on site to greet guests and hand out branded wine lanyards. Attendees could also enter for a chance to win a pair of economy round-trip tickets.
With football season in full swing, Beanitos staff, dressed as referees, handed out tailgate-friendly samples and posed for photo ops at the Grand Tasting.
At the Grand Tasting, culinary demonstrations took place on the stage outfitted by KitchenAid appliances. The brand also used the event as an opportunity to get valuable feedback from the chefs who used the equipment throughout the festival.
At the Grand Tasting, representatives from Mexico City were on hand to promote the city as a destination for conferences as well as a vacation spot. Guests could enter a chance to win a trip south of the border.
Well-known Mexico City chefs Azari Cuenca, Alejandro Ruiz, and Daniel Telle served authentic regional cuisine with a modern twist, such as a Mexican mincemeat wonton.
