A Pud to Reflect an Event

If you frequent social media sites (which I must admit to), you will have seen plenty of photos of other people’s food. It could be an exquisite, Michelin-starred celebration meal or a quirky cake; maybe it’s served in edible bowls or comes with a pair of comedy glasses, a stunning picture ready for its spotlight on your news feed. If it fires up the imagination and the palette, it’s a guaranteed talking point for weeks to come.

Fantastic food hits the senses like a pinball machine. It looks beautiful, it smells divine and each bite tastes delicious, flavours firing in every direction. Who hasn’t been transported down memory lane or inspired to try something new by a taste or smell? It can create and stimulate powerful emotions, so it’s no surprise that food is such a popular topic in cultures all across the globe.

When it comes to events, food could easily play a starring role in helping your guests enjoy and remember a wonderful dinner, exhibition or conference they attended. We saw a wonderful example of this at Welcome to Yorkshire’s White Rose Awards in November as our catering partner, CGC Events Catering presented a unique pudding to over 1,100 guests from the region’s tourism industry.

The theme was a “A Night at the Movies; Lights, camera, Yorkshire!” After a delicious fish starter and melt-in-your-mouth fillet of beef for the main course, CGC’s chefs put a remarkable twist on the traditional burger and fries. Guests could be forgiven for thinking another savoury course was on the way as the plates were presented to the tables. However, what Welcome to Yorkshire’s guests found instead was a chocolate mousse ‘burger patty’, sandwiched in a Victoria sponge bun!  The attention to detail was amazing with the traditional sesame seeds on top of the bun were replicated by fragments of popping candy; that literally danced on the tongue. The ‘French Fries’, were delectable Madeira cake, drizzled with a raspberry ‘ketchup’ and cream ‘mayonnaise’. These elements were accompanied by a mini milkshake, popcorn and a tub of ice cream, so the theme of a ‘Night at the Movies’ was truly complete.

Judging by the delighted guests’ reactions on the night and the posts that began to populate twitter and facebook, the result was a great success.

So, whether it’s a product launch, a large dinner, a trade show or something else entirely, why not revisit the menu and think about whether there’s a way for your food and drink to reflect your event?