A typical Indian wedding is all about grand celebrations, great food and happy families… And whether you’re a Punjabi or a South Indian or a Marathi, no wedding food menu is easy to narrow down!
So we bring you the latest trends in wedding food menu, platters and desserts in this chit chat with Rahul Mutreja of The Cuisine Factory.
Please tell our readers about The Cuisine Factory story!
It is believed that good food is the soul of an occasion!
Sharing the same belief since almost 20 years, The Cuisine Factory aims to satisfy the discerning diner. We are result of a passionate dream of Akshit Malik and Rahul Mutreja, who bring their experience, professional training and individual styles to the table.
Akshit with a family background in catering for over 20 years and me being the management guy, discovered our interest in bringing food and management together and The Cuisine Factory was born!
So what’s your specialty?
Our style has a strong classical influence combined with a modern and clean look. We believe less is more!
Our team of professionally trained chefs is dedicated to serving clients with both traditional and western meals with an impeccable attention to details. We strive to give our clients more than expected and love to wow our clients and their guests.
What’s the hottest new cuisine at wedding counters this season?
Ice-cream cookie sandwiches, shawarma, chana palak chawal, watermelon cheese skewers, Mac & cheese, apple & cheese!!
These are few food items which are trending in any wedding food menu! Though all of these already exist in the market, you’re only starting to see them at weddings now.
What kind of new food presentation ideas are trending?
Mini portions are really trending. I suppose this trend would never go out of style as it’s the most convenient way of having a floater – whether it is a snack, dessert, salad or chaat!
The idea behind serving small portions is – presentation doesn’t get spoiled, guests can taste more items and it is easy to eat on the move!
We’ve heard your brand specializes in starters! So two veg and non veg starters I must have on the menu if I’m getting married this season?
Two veg starters that you must keep on your wedding menu are Dahi Aam Papad Tikki and Mini Tacos! If its a winter wedding, you can also look at Makki ki roti topped with sarson ka saag and white butter, served with gudd.
For non-veg starters you can look at including delicacies like Shrimps with guacamole, Chicken satay. Again Sushi is doing very well – both as veg and non-veg starter on wedding menus!
What kinds of desserts are people preferring these days?
View this post on Instagram
Among western desserts we’re seeing a lot of demand for waffles, pan cakes, tarts and rumballs!
Then there are lots of innovative Indian desserts that are trending at weddings these days. Think of a kheer station (cold) with varieties like orange pulp kheer, rose kheer, cherry kheer, kesar kheer.
Others like matka kulfi, fried ice cream, pineapple halwa or jalebi topped with rabri are must have’s on your menu!
What’s the biggest mistake people make while choosing their caterer?
I think the biggest mistake is comparing the cost quoted by different caterers without knowing much about their work. Or just comparing the number of items being served with the cost quoted!
Ideally your number of guests, venue & occasion should decide the number of starters, main course, and desserts. Just increasing the number of items without factoring in other things can lead to a disaster.
Say, for example, if we are offering our Royal Veg Menu for Rs. 2300 per person for 600 pax. Anyone could easily reduce this to 1800 per person and create a Difference of 3 Lakh Rupees in the food budget! But how does that happen?
Usually the cost of cooking, presentation, good quality raw material is almost same for all carters. So the only way to give a lower quote is by compromising on things like quality of raw material, service staff quality, crockery, quality of outsourced chefs, number of live counters, quality/count/presentation of chaat etc.
This is something you need to understand carefully and then make your choices.
How different – easy or challenging is it to plan the food for a destination wedding?
Its is not difficult to plan the food for a destination wedding if you are doing it with a right! A perfect mix of different cuisines, including local ones is always a good choice.
Make sure to discuss the complete suggested menu in advance and make additions or replacements with sufficient time in hand.
Leave us with Top 3 ideas for drinks we must keep at our bar counter!
Sangria! A lot of times people miss it, but this is always one of the favourites at a bar. Interesting summer coolers with or without alcohol like ganna mojito, orange mojito, French 75, Lynchburg Lemonade.
Then there’s the whole masala gang – anardana, imli, ram ladoo, aam panna, kaala khatta and more!
Thank you so much Rahul! From lip-smacking ideas like mac & cheese to sipping lynchburg lemonade, we louuuved these interesting additions to our make our wedding food menu ‘hatke’ & memorable! What do you feel sweets?
Nicely written!
Awesome idea, Thanks for sharing