How many courses? That’s the question. Typically, a standard wedding breakfast is a three-course feast, consisting of a starter, main and dessert, but why keep things as standard. There is always plenty of flexibility when it comes to nailing down your menu and we can accommodate both the addition and removal of courses. With the addition of courses, is where you can get really creative, should your budget allow. We’ve catered for multiple different courses, here are some of our favourites.
APERITIVO
To begin the meal, opt for an Aperitivo course. This usually consists of small dishes for your guests to have a nibble on whilst enjoying a light bubbly beverage, such as Champagne or a Sparkling Wine. Normally something small and ‘picky’ as such, items like olives, nuts, or cheeses. This doesn’t always have to be super light and you could incorporate things like cured meats, focaccia, and crisps for instance – the choices are endless!
AMUSE BOUCHE
A French term to ‘amuse the mouth’, an Amuse Bouche is a small bite that packs a lot of flavour. Typically served before Starters as a way to awaken the palette and prepare for the more substantial meal to follow. There are a multitude of options, hot and cold, including, a tuna sashimi, a simple tomato & mozzarella bruschetta or a shooter of soup or gazpacho. Again, there are lots of ideas, and this is hugely based around seasonality.
PALATE CLEANSERS
Another small but mighty dish, a palette cleanser is used to removing lingering tastes in the mouth and prepare the palate for the next course. Traditionally these are either a sorbet or something similar, usually very fresh, and sharp to refresh your taste buds. These simple, neutral flavours can help aid digestion and avoid heartburn and indigestion, whilst being equally as tasty and gearing your guests up for the next dish.
PRIMI
Primi is the first hot course, usually heavier than the starters and antipasti dishes. Nonmeat dishes are the staple for this course, whilst maintaining a fine and luxurious feel for ingredients. Typically, a filling and hearty dish, usually something simple like, pasta, risotto, lasagne, soup, or broth, featuring a firm flavour, like pesto or truffle for instance. Something to cure the hunger yet also prepare you for the main course.
SECRANDO
A fish course, typically served after the primi, is usually a small fish dish, to prepare for the main event. This could however be something light or heavier, with fish like tuna, cod, salmon, hake, or lobster. Dishes tent to be relatively simple for instance, a seafood risotto, grilled tuna steak or a roasted cod, with a variety of components like roasted veg, potatoes, rice, or pasta.
CHEESE
To finish, a popular choice is a cheese course. This containing a selection of cheeses, with crackers, chutneys, crudites and fruits. Most commonly served as sharing to the middle of the table for guests to graze on as they please. Usually heavily based on the region or just a selection of your favourites. Served before dessert, a light savoury snack before the sweet stuff.
There truly are an abundance of different courses you can incorporate into your wedding menu. It’s great to have a variety of different dishes and to keep guests interested with a variety of different food and flavours. There are also a whole lot more out there, depending on your culture or region. If you’re thinking of including additional courses, then hopefully this is a good place to start!