If you search the hashtag #jarcuterie on Instagram, you’ll get more than 300 results. That’s just one indication of how popular “grab-and-go” options are on catering menus, and the trend will likely continue in 2021. Jarcuterie is just one trend, others include skewers, shot glasses, waffle cones and popcorn buckets.
Sweet to savory, the individual portion-size trend runs the gamut. Because, let’s face it, small things are adorable! Options are as endless as the imagination.
The container and the dish merit equal billing
Visual and culinary impact can meld beautifully on single-serve catering menu options. Hors d’oeuvres served on bamboo soup spoons or fruit salads brimming from the rims of ice cream cones or meatballs on individual bamboo fork skewers are not only pretty and tasty, they make serving and clean-up a breeze. Lunch boxes are another part of the single-serve craze, and are perfect options for a corporate picnic or wedding with a barbecue menu. Paper hot dog containers are ideal for single-serve charcuteries or fruit and cheese crudités, while sandwiches can be wrapped in deli paper and tied with a pretty ribbon to elevate their standing on the table. If you’re hosting at home, think about breaking out those old teacups or mismatched pieces of china for single-serve displays.
Full-service caterers can easily adapt pass hors de oeuvres to single-serve options
Passed hors de oeuvres easily lend themselves to single serve options by their very nature. Experienced New Orleans caterers like can serve signature dishes in a variety of ways, such as Louisiana crab-stuff mushrooms in mini muffin cups or shrimp remoulade and cocktail sauce shooters in disposal Jello shot cups or Polynesian shrimp kebobs on a skewer served on a piece of banana leaf. (natural-cure.org) Working with a catering pro can help you pair the menu, its delivery, and food staging to fit virtually any event or theme.
Let the bowl be part of the dish
Bread bowls, hollowed out watermelons, avocado halves, lettuce leaves, cucumber, and carrot skewers can make the entire single-serve catering menu item edible and fun at the same time. Better yet, these options can eliminate the need for single-use plastics, giving any event a green thumbprint. For dessert, consider a s’more kit complete with graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate bars served up in a napkin tied onto a roasting stick. Again, you are only limited by your imagination.
Messina’s Catering & Events are masters of individual-serve catering menus
Single-serve options give our Messina’s chefs the opportunity to perfectly and proportionate pair ingredients so guests get the exact balance of any dish in a bite-size version. We’ve been serving up menu options like sliders, oyster shooters, and mini desserts since our start 60 years ago. Together, we can come up with the menu and the presentation that will make a lasting impression. To learn more, visit https://www.messinascatering.com.
