4 Trending Foods to Incorporate in Your Next Event’s Menu

Whether you’re hosting a wedding, corporate event or fundraiser for a non-profit, the hallmark of a great gathering is an exceptional menu. You want your dishes to captivate your guests’ taste buds and set the tone for the event, but you can’t do that with unimaginative dishes or been-there-done-that catering.

If you really want your menu to stand out, try incorporating trending dishes and drinks that will delight and captivate guests. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Elevated Beverages

Custom cocktails have long been a staple of event catering, but non-alcoholic beverages can be just as fun and inventive! Teas are getting their time in the spotlight, despite being around for over 4,500 years, with unique takes on the classic beverage, including lychee bubble tea and blue and red matcha. Or, if you prefer a decaf option, pickle-juice mocktails and cucumber-melon refreshers capture the freshness of spring, despite how odd they might sound.

Creative Condiments

Gone are the days of using basic tomato ketchup and yellow mustard to dress up your meals. People are now incorporating condiments from global cultures, like banana ketchup (popular in the Philippines) and chili crisp (from China), into their dishes. Other popular choices include cherry ketchup, tandoori mayo and vegan butter. At Cotton Culinary, we love incorporating foods from all different cultures into our meals, and we’re happy to customize your menu to include whatever flavors inspire you.

Croissant Hybrids

While cronuts (an ingenious croissant-donut mash-up) were all the rage in 2013, the hype was short-lived, and people began to revert to their love of the traditional croissant. Now, a new fad has taken over, and people are craving different croissant hybrids, including the cruffin (croissant/muffin) and crookie (croissant/cookie). Maybe in the future, we’ll even see the creation of the crake (layers of croissants interspersed with frosting?) or a crie (a croissant pie crust)!

Main-Course Mushrooms

As more and more people opt for a plant-based diet or simply try to incorporate more meat-free dishes into their diet, mushrooms have become an “it” food. From familiar types, like shiitake and portobellos, to more unique varietals, like lion’s mane and oyster, mushrooms can provide a meaty texture, umami flavor and overall pleasing experience.

If you’re planning an event and want the perfect menu to delight your guests, trust in Cotton Culinary’s chefs to work with you to create a custom plan, whether you’re looking at classic favorites or trending flavors. Call us today at (281) 712-9769 to get started.