British Invasion: Take Your Wedding Menu Inspiration from Across the Pond

While we love local food, one of the coming year’s big catering trends is to take inspiration from some British favorites.

• Bangers and Mash: This mainstay meal of sausage and mashed potatoes, can be given a gourmet twist. Locally reared sausages and fabulous root vegetables can make this a worthy wedding menu item.
  
• Fish and Chips: For a main meal or a cocktail hour, battered cod and fries are a delicious treat. You can serve them in the traditional newspaper cone for a fun hors d’oeuvre.
• Pies: Another hearty menu option is pie. Steak and ale or chicken and leek pies can be served with a flaky pastry crust. Other pies, such as fish pie or cottage pie replace the pastry with creamy mashed potatoes.

If you want to explore the tastes of Britain at your wedding, give us a call. We can help create the perfect international menu for your San Diego wedding or event.

Treat Yourself to a Beautiful Breakfast

The morning of your wedding will be full of jobs that need to get done. Between your hair and makeup appointments and getting your dress on, you’ll easily lose the whole morning. Your groom will also be busy doing his last minute preparations. One thing you shouldn’t forget is your breakfast.

The saying that it’s the most important meal of the day is even more true on your wedding day. While your guests will have a bit of food before they go out, and small bites during your cocktail hour, you might not get to eat until your dinner.

One way to ensure you have a great and healthy breakfast is to have it catered. As you get ready, you can have a beautiful spread laid out. Whether it’s frittatas or fresh fruit, your wedding caterer can help with this meal that will help you get off on the right foot.

To find out more about breakfast catering before your San Diego wedding, or for any other morning event, give us a call today!

How Should You Cater for Special Diets?

Creating the perfect wedding meal can mean making sure that your guests all feel included, whether they have restricted diets or not. Still, many couples are left wondering just how many special diets they need to cater for.

If you or your fiance have a special diet, it’s perfectly acceptable to have the entire menu fit this. Whether you’re vegetarian, gluten-free, or paleo, you can choose a wedding menu that reflects what you want to eat.

When it comes to your guests, it can get tricky. Obviously you don’t want anyone’s allergies to keep them from enjoying your wedding, but you also don’t want to have to offer every guest a different meal. Instead, work with an experienced caterer to create a menu option that suits a number of dietary restrictions.

In general, you shouldn’t need to provide more than two or three menu choices. If you’re struggling to come up with a menu that suits everyone, a buffet service might give you the chance to offer more dishes so that guests can mix and match to fit their diets.

Whatever dietary requirements you might need to meet, working with a great San Diego wedding caterer can make things much easier. To find out more about our services, or to discuss the perfect menu for your San Diego wedding, get in touch with us today!

How Much Food Should You Have at Your Wedding?

You want your San Diego wedding to be something to remember, but you don’t want guests’ memories to be of how hungry they were. However, you also don’t want to end the day with loads of wasted food. When you work with an experienced wedding caterer, you won’t need to worry about either extreme!

One of the big mistakes people make in trying to cater their own event is under- or overestimating how much their guests will eat. It’s not as simple as figuring out a meal for four guests, or even a dozen guests. When you have a larger guest list, you need to take all sorts of things into consideration.

A professional caterer will also be prepared for the inevitable problems that arise at any event. If you’ve asked guests to choose their meal in advance, some will insist on changing their mind on the day. If you have a buffet, a few items will be unexpectedly popular. A caterer knows that this is bound to happen, and can prepare for it.

Of course, the biggest advantage of working with an experienced wedding caterer is that you don’t need to worry about the food on your big day. You can focus on enjoying your wedding and celebrating with friends while enjoying some fabulous food! To find out what we can do for your San Diego wedding, get in touch today!

How to Plan Your Wedding Weekend Menus

Wedding weekends are a popular option. You get to spend more than just one day with your friends and family, and they allow you to spread out the festivities. Of course, this can also mean making plans for multiple meals. The best way to plan the food for your wedding weekend is to work with a single caterer for all the events.

In most cases, you’ll want to think about your main wedding menu, a rehearsal dinner, and a morning after brunch. This can give you three wonderful opportunities to bring everyone together, but keep you from feeling like you’re in constant event mode.

By planning all three meals together, you can also make sure they all work together. If you’re planning something very rich and decadent for your wedding meal, for instance, you might want to plan something light and fresh for the rehearsal. If you’re expecting a late-night party for your wedding, give your guests something substantial for the morning after brunch to help them recover.

If you’re planning a wedding weekend in San Diego, we can help provide the perfect food for every meal. To find out more about our wedding catering services, give us a call today!

Planning Your Beach Wedding Food

One of the great things about San Diego is that you can have a fantastic beach wedding. If you’re planning a beach wedding, though, you’ll want to have a menu that suits the surroundings. Here are a few wedding menu ideas that are perfect for your beach wedding.

• Seafood: This is a natural choice for a beach wedding. With the ocean as a part of your wedding, make its bounty a part of your menu. From seared ahi tuna bites and calamari to fish tacos and grilled prawns, there are plenty of fabulous seafood options available for any style of wedding.
• Barbecue: Think about the great fun of a beach barbecue pit, and use that for your big day. Elegant twists on barbecue favorites, such as hamburgers, ribs, and grilled vegetables, can give that smoky flavor while still being formal.
• Iced desserts: No trip to the beach is complete without some ice cream! Grown-up versions of icy treats are a great end to your beach wedding menu. Think about gelatos and granitas in exotic flavors.

For more great ideas for your beach wedding, or any San Diego area event, give us a call today!

Ice Cream Sandwiches Are a Fun and Fabulous Wedding Treat

Did you know that August 2^nd was National Ice Cream Sandwich Day? Whether you celebrated this great holiday or not, it can be a great inspiration for your wedding menu. Here are a few ways to make ice cream sandwiches special for your wedding.

• Traditionalists can stick with a chocolate cookie and vanilla ice cream combination. Make it extra special by dipping it in white chocolate.
• Create a south of the border sandwich with a churro style cookie and margarita ice cream combination.
• French favorite macarons can be used for the cookie, with a delicately infused ice cream flavor like lavender.
• Allow guests to create their own combinations with an ice cream sandwich station. Offer a selection of cookies and let them mix and match with a variety of ice creams and sorbets.

To find out more about including ice cream sandwiches in your San Diego wedding menu, get in touch today!

How to Prepare Your Wedding Bar

Along with great food, your guests will be looking for great drinks at your wedding reception. This means planning the perfect wedding bar.

• Full open bar: This is the most expensive type of bar, and means that your guests will have pretty much any drink, with any brand, and not need to pay anything (though guests are always encouraged to tip the bartender). Your guests will love the free choice, but it could cost you around a third of your overall budget.
• Limited open bar: Whether you limit the available drinks to beer and wine, house brand cocktails, or a signature drink, this can help you save money while not costing your guests on a per-drink basis. The key is to offer some choice, but not every choice. This is often paired with offering wine during the meal and a glass of champagne for the cocktail hour and toasts.
• Cash bar: While your guests might not be thrilled with a cash bar, it will certainly help your budget. Consider offering wine during the meal, and a glass of champagne or cocktail during the cocktail hour or toasts. Your guests will still be able to drink whatever they choose, they’ll just need to be prepared to pay for it.

Your choice of bar type is really down to you, your budget, and any potential concerns you have about guest behavior. To find out more about creating the perfect bar for your San Diego wedding, get in touch today!

Pescetarian Menus Are a Perfect Wedding Choice

If you and your fiancé are pescetarians, you might not want to include a traditional meat option in your wedding menu. You also might not want to stick to just vegetarian options, either. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t offer your guests a pescetarian menu that reflects your diet!

With the Pacific right there, seafood is a natural part of San Diego wedding menus. It can be used in a variety of ways, from sushi-inspired nibbles for the cocktail hour to delicate and tasty fish tacos as an evening snack.

For your main meal, offering seafood options like salmon or tuna along with a vegetarian option can give any guest something they’ll love. A fresh ceviche is a great starter, with a sundried tomato bruschetta for those who don’t want fish.

Whether you go with a certain cuisine or a mix of favorites, a pescetarian menu is a great choice. You and your guests can still enjoy a great variety without any poultry or red meat. To plan the perfect pescetarian menu for your San Diego wedding, give us a call today!

Fantastic Fruit Desserts for a Summer Wedding

If you're planning a summer wedding, you might not want a rich, heavy dessert. When the weather's warm, a fruit dessert is the perfect choice.

One choice that is a perfect sweet finger food is chocolate dipped strawberries. With a mix of white, milk, and dark chocolate, your guests will love this elegant yet refreshing treat.

Another great fruit dessert idea is to offer grilled fruit kebabs. This is a wonderful twist on a basic fruit salad and can look beautiful on a plate. Serve this with a small touch of a luxurious ice cream for the perfect light dessert that your guests will love.

For a dessert that brings in fruit without being all fruit, consider a selection of pies and fruit tarts. Your guests can be served individual fruit tartlets or choose slices of larger pies. Either way, it's a tasty and wonderful dessert option.

To find out more about the many great dessert options for your San Diego wedding, give us a call today!

Give Your Wedding Guests Hydrating Foods

With summer approaching, more couples are planning outdoor weddings. While it can be great to take advantage of the great climate here in San Diego, it can leave your guests -- especially those from cooler areas -- feeling a bit parched. Make sure your guests stay hydrated with the right choice of foods and drinks.

While giving your guests plenty of water might be a given, getting them to drink it can be a challenge. Make your water go toe-to-toe with cocktails by serving infused waters. Whether you add citrus flavors like lemon and lime, the fresh flavors of cucumber and mint, or something really different like lavender or basil, infused waters pack an extra punch while offering perfect hydration.

They're also great alongside a hydrating menu. This can be as simple as adding soup shooters to your cocktail hour, or including loads of fresh vegetables to your main course. This doesn't have to be something on the side, though. A fresh salsa can be great for hydration and an excellent addition to your main.

Whether you're planning a summer wedding or not, keeping guests hydrated can help keep your party going longer, too. To find out more about including hydrating foods and drinks in your wedding or event menu, give us a call today!

Rustic Wedding Theme Food Ideas

If you’re looking to hold your wedding in the countryside or want to bring a rustic feel in to your city ceremony, you could always extend the theme by letting it influence your reception menu.  We have some delicious suggestions that you might want to consider.

 

• Serve iced tea and lemonade from pitchers and keep bottles of beer, water and soda in buckets of ice.

 

• A buffet fits in well with a country wedding theme.  Think about offering barbecued or fried chicken, meatloaf, platters of meat, corn on the cob and potato salad.

 

• For a sit down version, you could choose pork loin, baked fish, macaroni and cheese and plenty of roast potatoes and salad.

 

• For a southern style, you could incorporate grilled cheese sandwiches, savory tarts, shrimp and fried green tomatoes into your menu.

 

• In the colder weather, roasted root vegetables are a good idea.  Combine them with traditional cuts of meat for that rustic taste.

 

• For dessert, it’s got to be homemade fruit pie – apple and cherry are ideal choices.  Pick a quality ice cream to complement them for a luxurious texture.

 

We’d love to discuss the ideas that you have for your wedding menu, whether it’s rustic, traditional or vegetarian.  Why not give us a call and let's chat?

What to Serve at a Winter Wedding

 

At this time of year, we see a shift away from salads and meat to soups, beef and lamb and thought that this would be a good time to share our thoughts on what to serve for a winter wedding:

• Slow roast lamb with roast potatoes and root vegetables make for a great main course.
  
• Pork with apple sauce is a delicious alternative to chicken or turkey.
  
• If you’re worried about offering just one type of meat, you could offer a choice of beef, pork and lamb as a buffet or on a platter.
  
• For an indulgent and warming appetizer, opt for a cream based soup.  For those who don’t like soup, you could try a rich pate dish.
  
• Try a gooey dessert such as apple pie or chocolate fudge cake.
  
• If some of your guests are vegetarian, we’re sure they’d love a mushroom risotto or vegetarian sausages with mashed potatoes.

If your mouth is watering at these suggestions, please give us a call to discuss your San Diego wedding menu.  We’re sure we can provide some ideal choices for your day. 

Authentic Flavors Catering Can Now Serve Alcohol on the Beach

Authentic Flavors can now serve alcohol on the beach at a wedding!!!  That's right, Authentic Flavors is excited to announce that San Diego county is now allowing Weddings and Events where alcohol is being served to be held on State Beaches!

What is even more exciting in this new endeavor is Authentic Flavors joins the team of preferred vendors to produce upcoming beach Weddings and Events.  Alongside Authentic Flavors in this preferred vendors list is:

1. Creative Affairs Inc. Wedding and Event Planning, 
2. Event Party Rentals, 
3. Lounge Appeal, 
4. Concepts Event Design, 
5. True Photography, 
6. Alchemy Fine Event Design, 
7. Isari Florals, 
8. Tim Altbaum Productions, 
9. Sweet Cheeks Bakery, 
10. Taylor Films
11. Patricia Coleman Officiating.

As a kickoff to this great new venture of events, Authentic Flavors, along with the partnered preferred vendors, produced a magnificent wedding for Brian and Shoshana Feldman at Pontos State Beach on Friday, July 27th.   

The beautiful wedding started with an awe inspiring ceremony along the Cliffside of Pontos Beach and proceeded with a sun setting cocktail hour with none other than the beautiful ocean backdrop of San Diego.   

A 2,100 square foot tent, draped with fabric and a hard wood dance floor, was perched right on the sand, creating an elegant atmosphere for guests to dine with the incredible food of Authentic Flavors.  Fresh grilled Halibut with roasted tomato and lime Serrano, chili braised short ribs and a Baja achiote chicken taco station were just a few of the mouth-watering items being paired with the serene ocean waves for the evening.  

To book your own event with Authentic Flavors please call us at: (858) 404- 0606 or email us at: contact@sdauthenticflavors.com

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds South Carolina Wedding

Tinseltown has wedding fever..again!  Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds tied the knot Sunday in a quiet ceremony in front of 70 close friends and family members.  The nuptials took place at the Boone Hall Plantation in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.

As a San Diego wedding caterer, we're curious as to who catered the event?  Sources say that a fine dining, downtown Mt. Pleasant restaurant named, Fig, was the chosen caterer.  What they served is being kept secret..but with Lively's love of anything sugary and cheesy, we can imagine that the food was filled with flavor.

If you're still looking for a caterer for you own wedding in San Diego, then please give us a call.  We're committed to San Diego weddings and here to serve you.

Greys Anatomy Jesse Williams Got Married

I know that it's Labor Day and we're supposed to be taking a break from "labor," but I had to share the news.  Did you hear that Tinseltown got wedding fever again? 

Credit: Getty Images

Grey's Anatomy hunk Jesse Williams, who plays brash surgeon Jackson Avery on the hit ABC drama, tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend, real estate broker Aryn Drake-Lee, in Los Angeles on Saturday.

As a San Diego wedding caterer, I'm wondering what they had served at their wedding.  Either way, they got married Saturday in what sources say was a “a romantic, elegant, evening ceremony in front of close family and friends” in Los Angeles. " 

Aww! It's so good to hear about love not only standing the test of time but surviving the test of Hollywood fame.

Congrats to the happy couple!

How to Cut Wedding Food Costs

The average wedding in San Diego costs well over $30,000.00.  One way a couple can cut their budget without cutting their menu is by discreetly printing "finger food reception to follow" or "hors d'oeuvres reception to follow" on their invitations.

From succulent dishes to savory sauces to sweet treats, there are dozens of options for delicious finger foods suitable for a wedding reception.

Here are a few ideas:

• Attractive fruit trays with chocolate, cheesecake, or whipped topping dips
• Fondue stations or chocolate fountains for dipping
• Deli trays with assorted meats and cheeses
• Small snacks such as pillow mints, chocolate candies, or nuts
• Wings with a hot buffalo glaze or barbeque sauce
• Popcorn chicken or shrimp
• Shrimp cocktail
• Mini quiches, stuffed mushrooms, or vegetable rolls
• Assorted cheese and cracker trays with mustards or other sauces
• Meatballs with assorted savory sauces
• Dainty tea sandwiches, such as cucumber or chicken salad
• Bite-sized hamburgers

When choosing a finger food menu, always consider the varied tastes of your guests by providing a wide enough selection, so anyone with unusual diets can enjoy the wedding feast.

If you're still looking for a San Diego wedding caterer, please give Authentic Flavors a call and let's plan your wedding menu.

Stunning San Diego Wedding

Every so often there's a San Diego wedding we cater where the most stunning wedding flowers are on display.  The wedding of Adrianne and Dale was one such wedding.

The entire wedding was coordinated by expert Susanne Duffy of Crown Weddings.  These beautiful floral arrangements created by Adorations Botanical Artistry were elegantly captured by True Photography Weddings ,and we want to share some of our favorite shots with you:

 

...and then, of course, we want to share our work with you as well.  

 

What do you think?  Aren't these wedding floral arrangements by Adorations Botanical Artistry stunning?

Attention to Detail Makes for a Beautiful Wedding

In our years of catering San Diego weddings we've noticed that weddings where attention is focused on the details makes for a truly one of a kind day.

For example, Heather and Luke's wedding at the Coronado Community Center showcased small, vintage elements that not only added to the beauty of the day but made it one of a kind.

Thank you Heather and Luke for allowing us the opportunity to cater your beautifully elegant San Diego wedding.

What a fun San Diego Wedding | Sarah & Sacha

We had a blast catering Sarah and Sacha's San Diego wedding held at the absolutely beautiful Ultimate Skybox.

Photos by True Photography Weddings

The Ultimate Skybox, San Diego

Entertainment was provided by DJ Rooster Entertainment, one of our favorite wedding companies to work with

We served family favorite dishes which were a HIT!

Elegance and class were on the menu

Fruit, Bread and Cheese trays are always a favorite and one of our most popular "finger food" sides

 Thank you Sarah and Sacha for choosing us to cater your once in a lifetime wedding.  We had a great time!