Affairs With Flair

Look what’s new and popping up everywhere…

yszikla — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 08:06:46 +0000

First it was cupcakes, then cake pops and now look what is coming back from our childhood favorites!

Marshmallows!

They have come out from under gooey s’mores and taken center stage with these reincarnations:

With infinite adaptations, set your imagination on fire and include these in your next menu!

2012 Tabletop Design winners....

yszikla — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 19:13:28 +0000

Nature themes abounded at the recent Catersource tradeshow.

The rustic place setting design below from Exclamations! in North Carolina used repurposed elements and moss for their award winning entry.

Best of show – and a David Tutera pick -went to the jungle theme setting from Common Plea Catering in Pittsburgh.

Most creative design went to Exclamations! in North Carolina for a clever, “under construction” theme ( bottom center photo).

Spring trends in catering..

yszikla — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 18:24:16 +0000

I always know spring has arrived when I see the first blooms of calla lilies in my garden! It’s that time of year to start planning more outdoor events and here are some new twists on the usual favorites to include in any outdoor party:

Forget the usual sub sandwiches and try this Chicago’s caterer version of panini sandwiches – a spicy capicola and aged provolone on pressed sour dough makes a fun and different addition to any menu. You can easily adapt this to a children’s party with animal shaped cookie cutters or andy other shape to fit a theme.

For dessert, how about a grilled fruit bar: Fruit kebabs with a chambored spiked white chocolate sauce or grilled peaches served with spicy pork tenderloin. Shown here is a grilled peach creme fraiche and dark chocolate.

What’s new…

yszikla — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 22:42:00 +0000

Every year I look forward to attending the Special Event Convention to mingle, learn and see what’s new and fun in the industry.

A few of my favorites from this year:

A variation on the cake pop, cake shooters were featured in different flavors – hard to try just one!

cake shooters from cake shooter.com

Everyone always looks forward to the table top displays I think these were the most interesting:

Lit trees were popular this year!

Loved the leather table cover

colorful!