Sharing is caring - and it's also one of the best ways to break the ice between guests at your wedding. There's nothing like passing around bowls brimming with tasty foodstuffs to spark chatter and laughter, bringing hitherto unknown people together as they bond over the pork belly and crack jokes over the seasonal vegetables.
The rise of a more laidback approach to celebrating - characterised by rustic weddings, festival parties and beachside bashes - has seen the popularity of relaxed dining options, and in particular sharing platters, reach astronomical - or should we say gastronomical - proportions. Many a modern wedding now sees guests seated at long trestle tables, passing around vintage china platters or rustic logs topped with scrumptious dishes, savouring the warm atmosphere of a big family meal as much as the flavoursome food.
It's a cool, relaxed way of eating that strikes a compromise between the modern mode of celebrating and more traditional tastes, offering that all-important meat and veg option for Great Aunt Hilda. What's more, serving bowls brimming with vegetables, salads and meat-free dishes allows vegetarian guests to dig in happily along with meat-eating guests.
Kerra Buchanan of Kerra's Catering has seen a huge rise in demand for sharing platters. "It's an incredibly popular request for weddings in 2014 and 2015," she comments. A menu of roasted meats alongside colourful bowls of vegetables is sure to set the taste buds a-tingling; think seasoned pork belly wrapped in crackling; zesty medleys of carrots, asparagus and broccoli; butternut squash laced with spinach and garlic roasted chicken.
Embrace an Italian mood and serve platters of bruschetta, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes and cured meats. And opt for flavoursome vegetarian dishes such as luscious cooked peppers topped with halloumi.
With the abundance of delicious local produce on our doorstep, the choice is endless. Let Kerra's mouth-watering menu ideas whet your appetite - and dive in!
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Rosemary and Cornish sea salt roasted pork belly
Garlic roasted chicken portions with deep-fried sage
Roast rib of Cornish beef with mustard
Blanched green beans, griddled courgettes, seared lemon
Roast butternut squash, baby leaf spinach, hint of chilli and soy
Asparagus, tender stem broccoli, chantenay carrots
Garlic and fresh herb roasted baby potatoes
Kerra's Catering
www.kerrascatering.co.uk
words Rebecca Matthews
photography Adam Gibbard
Copyright Wed magazine 2014
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