Buffet Style Service - Tired or Necessary?

I say this over and over that the best part of my job is meeting the couples.
Each and every one is so full of joy, excitement, and ideas.
Their stories are unique, yet very similar in many ways. We talk location, we talk appetizers, desserts, favorite dishes for the main entree, what types of craft beer they are going to have, but one
of the hottest topics during the meeting is this - Style of Service.

One word is mentioned and many of the young brides make what I call the "Icky" Face.
The same face a baby makes when they don't want the food in the spoon you put in front of them.
Nose wrinkled up, etc, etc..... That word is "buffet."

Couples don't call on their favorite food trucker to put on a buffet style service.
Food trucks are so hip and trendy, while buffet service is often viewed in the same category
as Scrabble - acceptable, but no fun.
There are actually many factors to a successful wedding meal, believe it or not.
By success, I do not mean getting the people fed.
My personal nemesis - I am at a wedding, stuck in assigned seating (Insert Icky Face),
and like usual, my table is one of the last to get their meals. The meat has been under a warmer for what tastes like 2 weeks, the veggies are now cold and chewy like bubble gum, while the mashed
potatoes now have butter that has seperated back into a cube.

This is one example of a wedding meal that failed in many people's opinions, mine included.

Obviously buffets were born of necessity, not glamour.
Which brings us back to initial problem - Hip and trendy is part of the draw for these young whipper snappers. Let's insert some cool to your wedding service.

Here are 3 things to help your service be effective, tasty, and amazeballs cool.
 1. Mix it up - Do a different style of service for every course. We do a lot of these weddings.
Cocktail Hour/ Appetizers - Family Style for 2 of the appetizers. They are arranged on plates at the table for your guests to pick and choose as they like. This is a great place for apps that require a fork or that have sauce. Passed for the other 1 or 2 Appetizers.
Guests that are walking around looking for future dance partners can also nosh on hand held bites.
Great place for skewers and one biters.
Main Course - Great place for a station - Perhaps a grill style setup - pick 3 meats and let your guests choose from freshly grilled meats. Toppings are also very effective here - Grilled flank steak and the guest adds some bruschetta on top. Another hugely popular station is a build your own anything - Insert taco bar. No Taco Bell, we are talking nicely done fried tilapia, smoked pork belly, fresh qucamole, and all the fixins. Guests can take as much as they like and all the food is super fresh.
Your food trucker can make smaller batches as the service goes on, so the food is perfect.
Sides - We also see a lot of family style sides, or even a....buffet table or two.
Guests can get their food in a timely manner, no waiting and no fuss.
Dessert - Truckside!!!! Let the guests go get their dessert on their time.
Pie Holes (Bite Size Pies) with a milkshake station is the perfect end to any meal. If someone wants to make three trips, let them - That is the fun of a food truck style service.
2. Really go over the flow of the service with your food trucker. Waiting kills a service like nothing else. We shoot for 75 people max at any one station. If you have 180 people at your wedding, you would need 3 stations. That way nobody ever waits very long. And let's be honest, stations are so much fun - The more variety, the better.
3. Be realistic. A wedding service with 125 people ordering from the truck for every course is not a good idea. Make sure you are talking to the right crew to handle your wedding. If a food trucker tells you otherwise, they are not being realistic. There are a lot of factors, like the crazy summer humidity that make a 15 min wait seem like 3 hours. Nobody wants crabby pants at the reception.

If you don't want your wedding dinner to have the same feel as a church pot luck, just follow
these three steps. If you have any quesitons, please leave a comment or email us at
info@wanderingdago.com. If you get a chance, please sign up to follow this blog or share
on your Facebook Page.
Thank You -

Brandon - Chef/Owner
Wandering Dago Catering Co. & Food Truck