Nashville weddings

In Season: Perfect Food for Your Fall Wedding, By Chef’s Market

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Fall is in the air and if you're newly engaged, you might be inspired to have a Fall wedding.  If so, today's post is just for you. While there aren't hard and fast rules when it comes to wedding fare, it's always nice to keep with the seasonal themes.

We turned to Jim Hagy, owner of Chef's Market & Takeaway, for ideas for an autumn wedding reception.  Jim has been in the restaurant business all his life and his team at Chef's Market knows how to put together a menu and food presentation that you and your guests are sure to enjoy and remember. Here's great advice for creating your fall Nashville wedding menu, by the folks at Chef's Market.

Image by Jonathon Campbell

Autumn is one of my favorite times of year for a reception; although I find it difficult to define exactly why. It could be that the local vegetable and fruit harvest is at its peak, the warm, rich colors of fall, or (more practically) it could be that the outdoor temperature is 20 degrees cooler on average and I can mark a summer heatstroke off my to-do list. Based on the number of receptions we have booked this year, fall is a favorite time for couples as well. Below are some new and exciting ideas and trends I see for this upcoming fall season.

Tablescaping and Design:

Wanting their guests to feel at home, couples have long been breaking free of the tendency to think that a fall wedding reception has to be formal or traditional. The trick is to make it comfortable and elegant at the same time. A stylish look for table tops and food presentation for the autumn 2011 season is what I call “rustic bohemian”. The look is clean and earthy, incorporating farm house tables, antique baskets, wooden cutting boards and using roughly torn brown butcher paper as under-liner for food. In the past, this style might have been accented with an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables on the tables for a farmers’ market look -- no more. Cleaner lines are in. A look of abundance is a must, but it should come from the prepared food, not the props or randomly thrown fodder. Decor should have function (i.e. fresh herbs in rustic pots with silver scissors for guests to snip and add to their food).

Left: Image by Jonathon Campbell. Right: Image by Dixie Pixel Photography

Colors:

I love the warm, comfortable colors of fall -- ivory, taupe, black, eggplant, marigold, browns, and copper. These hues are classics that have long been on autumn wedding inspiration boards and are still popular. The surprising color I am seeing this fall is red, a bright red, and it makes sense. What color is your eye drawn to when seeing a hillside of trees with turning leaves? Vibrant red. In the past, I have played it safe with a rusty red, but this year I’m taking a clue from Mother Nature and throwing in cherry red.

Food:

Because couples really want a comfortable environment that’s not stuffy or pretentious for their guests, comfort food continues to be on trend. But there are new trends in comfort food, such as grits, boneless beef ribs, savory cupcakes, and home-style desserts.

Grits: Shrimp and grits have been around receptions for a while…for so long now that it was just added to Shoney’s menu. In other words: Bye, bye shrimp and grits; it was fun while it lasted. However, we’re not ready to give up on grits just yet. A grits station where guests pick from a smorgasbord of grit features can make the whole concept a fresh idea again. Maybe Lobster and Brie Stone Ground Grits, Smoked Gouda Grits, or Wild Mushroom and Gruyère Grits, with an awesome display of toppings like apple wood bacon, caper berries, and fire roasted corn for guests to garnish however they’d like.

Boneless Beef Ribs: Something we continue to perfect here at Chef’s Market are boneless beef ribs, which are reasonably priced and versatile with an endless number of ways of preparation. The way I describe boneless beef ribs to brides and grooms is to ask them to imagine the best pot roast they have ever eaten then multiple that by ten. Whether they are French Braised with a Mushroom Duxelle, are marinated in Jack Daniels Barbecue Sauce, or are one of our many other short rib recipes, reception guests always rave about our ribs. In addition to being affordable, beef ribs travel well from our kitchen to the reception site.

Left: Image by Dixie Pixel Photography. Right: Image by Chef's Market

Dessert:

There will always be a place in a wedding reception for the classic wedding cake with its manicured tiers and beautiful design, however, current trends in desserts are moving away from the fondant and toward an assortment of the bride and groom’s favorite desserts instead. Ideas include a variety of home-style cakes, a collection of tasty pies, or a combination of the two. Many brides are opting for a smaller wedding cake, surrounded by bite sized favorites such as cheesecake lollipops, our famous cake truffles, mini apple and cherry pies, and pecan diamonds. Another great option is to include a family favorite which our pastry chef will make from your recipe.

Image courtesy of Chef's Market

Image courtesy of Chef's Market

Savory Cupcakes:

A new idea we’re hoping will soon catch on in Nashville is the savory cupcake. We are doing a lot research and development on Lasagna Cupcakes in our kitchen this summer. Expect to see Benton Farms Prosciutto and Butternut Squash and Classic Bolognaise Cupcakes among others on our fall menus. (ABG Adds: I asked Chef's Market to describe these to me and they say these savory lasagna cupcakes are just small baked pieces of lasagna that are easy to eat with your hands. They look like mini cupcakes but are savory. Sounds great to me!)

Image by McLellan Style

Mini pecan tartlettes. Image by McLellan Style.

Thanks Jim! These are all great ideas and the idea of lasagna (or even Mac n Cheese!) in the form of cupcakes sounds delicious to me. For more ideas and to see what Chef's Market has been up to visit their Chef's Dish Blog. You can also visit their website and contact them for more information on how they can bring their amazing catering to your wedding.

About the Author:

Tabitha

Blogging is something I’ve enjoyed doing for years. My interests lie mostly in lifestyle related topics like fashion, style, design, food and weddings. When I heard Ashley was looking to bring on new members to the ABG team, I jumped at the opportunity - I can’t think of a better way to stay involved in weddings than to write about them and to stay in touch with the trends and new ideas. Lucky for me, Ashley likes my blog and trusts my experience to bring me on and so far, it’s been a blast.

See more posts by Tabitha »

send   Posted on September 14, 2011 | Filed under: Cakes & Catering, Inspiration & Trends, Wedding Resources