Melbourne Cup Lunch Catering 2013

We normally customise menus for each or our customer, however we know how everybody loves to do something special for Melbourne cup in the office. So that we could cater for many of our customers and some new ones, we decided this year to develop a special menu for the day that suited the event and all customers could enjoy.

MELBOURNE CUP 2013 MENU

Smoked salmon and herb cream blini 

Cold Beef minions with spiced onion comfit (Gluten Free)

Vegetarian quiche (Vegetarian)

Chicken roll with bacon and sun dried tomato cream (Gluten Free)

Devils on horseback (Gluten Free)

Coconut prawns (Gluten Free)

Saffron roulade with salmon roe 

Crusted chicken drummets (Gluten Free)

Caramelized onion tarts with blue butter (Vegetarian)

Sushi (Vegetarian)

Themed cup cakes (1/2 vanilla, 1/2 chocolate)

Here is what some new customers had to say.

Thank you so much for all your hard work.  The spread was lovely – lots of positive feedback and a couple of people wanted your card which we passed on to them, so maybe some future work there!

All in all a big success so thanks again and hope to use you again in the future.

Karan
Savills Australia

I just wanted to say a very big thank you for catering our Melbourne Cup function.  The food went down a treat and no-one was left hungry.

Everyone was very impressed with not only the quantity, but the quality of the food – nothing could be faulted.

I will definitely be keeping you on the top of our caterers list for future events.

Rowena
RDC Partners






Melbourne Cup 2014

Thank you to all our customers that decided to use the Small Food Caterers for their Melbourne cup lunch.

Due to the success of the menu we will create another one for next year and we will ensure that the double dipped strawberries are on the menu.

Creating a Canapé menu

We are ask to create all different styles of menus, We will take the time to work with our guests to ensure the menu will meet their expectations and provide the variety required to ensure all guest are able to enjoy a selection of beautiful and delicious canapés.

In this bloq we will high light a couple of the key elements to creating a fantastic menu.

First things first. How many canapés will be required for the event. This will depend on the type of event, the time of day and how long the event will be going for. The following points are just guides to help decide on the number of items;

• Light lunch - 6  Pieces
• Normal Lunch with alcohol served - 8 pieces
• After work cocktails - 5 pieces
• Evening meal - 9 pieces
• Evening celebration over 3 hours with alcohol served - 13- pieces

As the number of items to be served increase, it becomes easier to create menus that meet every bodies dietary requirements. Guest with dietary requirements always appreciate serving staff that know the food and there is more than 1 item that they can eat.

• Gluten free or intolerance is very common. Target having a menu with at least 1/3 of items that are gluten free.
• Vegetarian requirements are also common and are a good healthy option for menus as long as they are not all deep fried. Again having 1/3 of your menu items that are vegetarian  is highly recommended.
• Make sure there are plenty of healthy option for people watching their weight. In general stay clear of mass produced pies, pasties and sausage roles, deep fried food, especially mass produced spring roll and dim sims.
• The Small food caterers has a large repertoire of canapés and can modify canapés to suit all sorts of dietary requirements.

Generally mixing it up the menu to make sure everybody enjoys the menu and the presentation of the canapés matches the style of the event 

• Keep some of the food simple. Most people, especially seniors, are not over adventures with food, having approximate 2/3 of your menu with recognisable flavours and food items is important. Otherwise most of it will be returned to the kitchen.
• If there are going to by lots of big eaters or you want to make sure people to have a better ratio of food to alcohol, consider fork and talks. They are a great value option.
• Selecting items that can be served hot or cold, can also help creating a menu that guest will enjoy on a hot day of the fine day we are all hoping for. By working with the Small Food Caterers, this can be achieved and or an agreed alternate menu can be used depending on the forecast.
• Depending on the function, consider the visual appeal of the food. Having between 1/3 and 1/2 looking very fancy yet still meet the requirements above will help people remember your event positively. This all can be achieved by using the services of a professional gourmet caterer such as the Small Food Caterers