When it comes to wedding food, couples always tell me that they want their cocktail & dessert stations to really ‘wow’ guests….In my opinion, every canapé\station\dish\dessert needs to have a ‘wow’ factor….how great is it to go to an event where even the salad is to-die-for?
Having established a superb menu for our main meal with Tuck Shop, Jason and I decided it was time to recruit some real local talent into our cocktail hour and sweet table.
I’m not a fan of ‘international buffets’ but I do love well-done food stations at cocktails. Three things are important to consider if you plan on having food stations:
Easy access – Balanced Variety of Food – Presentation
In our case, we selected three of our favorites that we know will surely be a ‘hit’ with our guests and have hired the best of the best to execute them.
TUCK SHOP’S RAW BAR – Chef Theo loves anything from the sea and serves up the best oysters, Snow crab and Tiger shrimp at his Interactive Raw Bar Station.
NICOLINA SERVELLO’S RUSTIC ANTIPASTO STATION – Nicolina is a gem in this city. A caterer & food stylist, her food stations are such art pieces that you barely want to eat from them…..until you get a whiff of the fresh salumi & cheese!
MIKADO’S SUSHI STATION – I fell hard for Kimio and his catering skills when he created a ‘lobster cooked in boiling champagne’ station at an event a few years back. He is the nicest man in the world and his sushi and other specialties are delicious.
THE SWEET TABLE
I thought long and hard about our wedding sweet table and how I could make it a little unique. After months of indulgence, I realized what it is that incites people to eat certain sweets. 1) the ‘sexiness’ or ‘attraction factor’ of the particular dessert and 2) the flavor of the specific dessert. For instance, I will eat anything hazelnut-flavored whether it is gelato, Nutella, Hazelnut biscotti….anything…
From these observations, I decided to theme each dessert station by flavour. There will be 5 stations at our wedding: NOCCIOLA\ CAFFE\ MAPLE\ FRUTTA\ CREMA (I am naming them in Italian because anything Italian is sexy – except for Maple which translates to ‘acero’ ?!??) and each station will have a variety of sweets based on that flavor.
Staying true to our ‘hood’, we sought out the best bakeries in St-Henri to bring our sweet table concept to life..
LÉCHÉ DESSERTS – I held back from going to Leche for a long time after I heard it opened as it is way too close to home (my office is a block away) and much too dangerous for my thighs.
RUSTIQUE – If I could bottle the smell that you inhale when you walk into Rustique, I would. It’s heaven and so is every single one of their little pies, squares and cookies.
Being Italian, we headed a little east and made sure to include a little bit of authenticity from PASTICCERIA SAN MARCO.
What better way to end a great meal than with a good Italian coffee? CAFÉ MILENIO does it best. John and Josée are self-sufficient, show up with their machines and hang out making the most delicious espressos, caffe lattes and cappuccinos. You can even request a yummy “hot shot’’.
Montréal is a playground for foodies so take advantage & bring in local favorites. What I’ve noticed in the past few years is that pretty much any restaurant or chain is willing to set up a food station for a wedding…all you have to do is ask. I once had Chez Cora do a breakfast station at 2 am……
TANIA
TUCK SHOP – www.tuckshop.ca
NICOLINA SERVELLO – http://nicolinaservellofood.wordpress.com/
MIKADO LAURIER – www.mikadomontreal.com/
LÉCHÉ – http://lechedesserts.ca/
RUSTIQUE – www.rustiquepiekitchen.com/
PASTICCERIA SAN MARCO – www.sanmarcocakes.com
CAFÉ MILENIO 514. 898.6904