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From cold finger buffets to hot fork buffets, 3 course meals to Bar-B-Q's, many catering companies are wising up to the fact that people are becoming more and more adventurous with their wedding feasts. Nowadays practically anything and everything is possible when money's doing the talking. But remember, when selecting your menu it is always advisable to take into consideration family favourites, as going too OTT and fancy may result in a large amount of wastage at the end of the night.
We’ve listed a few of the options that you can find on a variety of wedding menus from a selection of cultures.
The Traditional menu
A few of the dishes that you would often find on a traditional wedding menu are:
Starters and Side servings -
Prawn cocktail, liver pate, a selection of soups, and seasonal melon.
Main dishes -
Roast beef / lamb / chicken / pork, poached salmon, and vegetarian quiche, all of which are normally served with traditional trimmings and sauces.
Desserts -
Fresh fruit salad, tiramisu (classic Italian dessert of Mascarpone cheese and Marsala wine over a light sponge base), apple pie, and a cheese and biscuit selection.
The Caribbean Menu
Caribbean wedding menus often consist of a selection of main dishes, side servings, and specialist drinks. The typical selections that you would normally see on the menu are.
Starters and Side servings -
Saltfish bakes and fritters, a variety of patties (chicken, lamb, beef, and vegetable), fried plantain and green bananas.
Main dishes -
Curry goat, jerk chicken, fried fish, and rice and peas.
Although Ackee and Saltfish is a traditional Caribbean dish, it is very rare to see it on a wedding menu because of the sheer expense of the dish.
Drinks -
Amongst a variety of drinks, you will also find blends of rum punch, carrot juice, and peanut punch.
The African menu
There are so many dishes that can be found on the African wedding feast menu. A few dishes that you are likely to see on a West African wedding menu are:
Starters and Side servings -
Chin-chin, puff-puff, garden egg (served with a spicy peanut dip), fried plantain, moi-moi, and hot pepper soup.
Main dishes -
Fried rice, jollof rice, coconut rice, pounded yam, fried fish, fried chicken, and a selection of dried meat that can be served separately, or in a African stew or soup.
Drinks - Palm wine and Malt drinks can often be found on the drinks menu.
The Asian Menu
A few of the dishes that you can expect to find on an Asian wedding menu are:
Starters and Side servings -
Kebabs, spring rolls, and samosas.
Main dishes -
A selection of rice dishes / pilau rice, nan bread, chicken curry / masala, lamb curry / masala (with or without spinach), and a selection of vegetarian options.
Desserts -
Sweet rice, halva, and gheer.
Save on drinks
If you feel that the entire catering package may prove a little too costly, you could always opt to purchase the champagne and drinks yourself, as this is an area where a lot of catering firms make the majority of their profits. You can also have a selection of exclusive wines from around the world delivered straight to your door with Oddbins or Virgin Wines. However, be sure to check the house rules as some catering firms charge a small corkage fee per bottle. All in all, you could just go the whole 9 yards by enlisting the help of family and friends and doing the catering yourselves. If you do decide on this option, remember to have a vegetarian selection, along with plenty of fresh fruit desserts. It is also a good idea to hire serving dishes and utensils, as it will look better serving from a dish rather than your Auntie's cooking pots.
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