'Tis the Season (update from November 2023)

There’s nothing more refreshing than a change in season, and themenu for your event is a great place to reflect those changes.

Seasonality is the concept of being dependent on the season or time of year. It’s easy to think of a fall festival or winter wonderland-type event whose purpose is to celebrate the season, but any event can feature a little ode to the phases of nature.

This means featuring food that is harvested at its peak rather than prematurely, and it relies on sourcing in-season food from local farms and suppliers instead of transporting over long distances when out of season. For example, in the Midwest, tomatoes can only be grown and harvested from outdoor farms during mid to late summer. In the winter, Midwesterners can eat tomatoes, but these crops must be shipped in from places whose climates support tomato growth in the winter months, which often are picked prematurely, resulting in pale, flavorless tomatoes instead of the brightly colored, richly flavored fruit they can be.

As a planner, you can bring seasonality to any event by working with your clients and caterer to create a dining experience grounded in the seasons, with ingredients, dishes, and beverages that complement the time of year.

Head over to Special Events to get expert insights into how to use a seasonal approach to create your event’s menu.