We often use our senses to design menus for hosts that are looking to for a wow factor with an unexpected experience. Using the senses to guide the culinary journey creates a more fun and memorable moment. By mixing current and classic trends you can curate unforeseen and pleasing adventures for guests to discover throughout the entire event.
Sight
Food and beverages should always be visually appealing, but when you add an action element, the food becomes experiential–an added wow! For example, the Pasta Dalla Forma Station is always a crowd pleaser. The chef starts with a fresh wheel of carved-out Parmesan cheese. They flambe the inside of the wheel to melt the cheese, then add the hot pasta and stir it around. This allows the melted cheese to stick onto the pasta. Seeing the large wheel of cheese ignite from the flambe provides guests with a showstopper moment. Add in the smell of the melting cheese and then taste all the comforting goodness and you have a mouthwatering dish guests will talk about and remember. The latest version was a Carbonara style with chicken, alfredo, smoked bacon, asparagus, onions and chili flakes, in addition to all the Parmesan. You can offer gluten-free pasta for an added crowd-pleasing experience.
Taste
We always want our food compositions to taste amazing, but we also like to mingle together some flavors guests never saw coming. The Hot Chicken Donut has that unexpected flavor pop that becomes instantly addictive. Our chef uses fresh glazed yeast donuts from a local bakery and this becomes the ‘bun’ for our sandwich. He double fries some pickled juicy chicken breasts with a spice blend that is just hot enough to awaken your tastebuds. That crunchy spicy chicken with the soft sweet donut is almost the perfect combination. To finish the taste sensation, the chef adds some tangy umami with pickles, creating the ultimate taste and texture experience for the tastebuds.
The Harissa Macaron is another unexpected flavor! The base is a chewy harissa spiced macaron, topped with whipped goat cheese, candied pecans and fig glaze. The sweet and spiced combination blended with the creamy goat cheese is a bite-sized triumph.
Touch
A fun little sushi bite hits on a lot of our senses. For touch the mini bamboo chopsticks add a delightful tactile experience. Smiling servers pass the sushi roll pieces on a beautiful colored glass charger that complements the vibrant ingredients. Each sushi piece is placed in the middle of the dainty wooden chop sticks. All the guest does is squeeze and enjoy the various textures that make sushi a standout culinary bite. It is a mess free and playful way to enjoy popular sushi rolls during a cocktail hour or standing reception. For example, we served vegetable sushi with tempura sweet potato, cream cheese, and avocado. This bite is so flavorful, it appeals to many and is a unique twist on familiar sushi.
Another trending touch is passing foil-wrapped meatball sliders as a way to bring a station to the guests. The warm touch of the foil as the guest unwraps to find the perfectly steamed slider bun with our famous Marcella’s meatball, house marinara, and melted cheese. The experience of unwrapping, the hospitality of larger station sized food finding the guests, and the warm insulated slider is irresistible to the touch and taste.
Smell
The smells that waft in the air usually lead the guests to find the culinary delights that await. Whether it is the garlic and marinara, or the sweet smell of sugar emitting from the dessert tables.
A classic trend that is still requested is the smell of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies served on top of an ice-cold glass of milk with a fun straw poking out. Baking the cookies on site has guests sniffing their way to the station.
One modern aromatic station had the chefs making basil granita to serve on top of fresh heirloom tomatoes with balsamic pearls. The fresh smell of the tomatoes with the sweet smell of basil enticed guests quickly over to the station. As long as the event environment is appropriate to incorporate the aromas of the food and beverage, use this as part of the experience.
Sound
Butter boards have been a big trend. For a large event that requested unexpected trendy tastes, our chef decided to play on this creative trend. Individual butter boards were an interesting spin, especially for a large crowd. These really crossed many of the senses because they were visually appealing and cute, half were savory, and the other half were sweet. The little boards were fun to touch and pick up too. But what you heard when you stood by the station was the ‘crunch’ from the house baked crispy crostini slices and then ‘oh yum’ as the guests experienced the creamy flavor punch, whether sweet or savory.
For a full sensory experience, it doesn’t come only from culinary masterpieces; it also comes from your guests. The sight of a foodie happy dance. The sound of ‘oos’ and ‘yums.’ The smell of something delicious passing by on someone’s plate. The touch of friends grabbing your hand to take you to their favorite experience. The taste of shared joy and love of food. Food brings people together… and unites the senses.
