Photo by Travis Anderson photography
D’Amico catering spread
D’Amico
Look, it’s 2022! We can kick our preconceived notions of catered food out the window. Goodbye, rubbery chicken! See ya, limp green beans and dry vanilla cake! Local caterers of all sizes are leaving behind set-and-structured menus for apps, mains, cocktails, and desserts that let hosts show their guests who they really are. If they love old-fashioneds, they may want to feature a top-shelf whiskey bar from A’BriTin. If pie’s more their jam than cake? Mintahoe can whip up a hundred hand pies in whatever flavor you want. The current trend: It’s all personalized, all the time.
“There are a lot of people inquiring about events,” says Meghan Larsen, director of sales and events at Chowgirls Catering in Northeast Minneapolis. “We’re seeing at least a 75 percent increase in inquiries over our busiest year, 2019. But what I’ve noticed is people want to be really intentional about how they’re gathering, who they’re gathering with, and what it looks like.”
But what does that intentional food, beverage, and catering service mean at events now? What’s going on at these interactive stations? And what are we sipping at the bar? We asked the experts to see what they’re forecasting and booking for 2022 and beyond.
Photo by Bellagala
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Mintahoe
Mintahoe Catering and Events
Sure, you can still serve a buffet or plated dinner through Mintahoe at its seven exclusive venues (and plenty more off-site options)—or they can create a personalized food hall of dinner-and-dessert performance stations. “Stations get people moving around and get people talking to each other,” says Suzi McMerty Shands, copresident of Mintahoe. “You’re not stuck at a table for a couple hours, and you’re able to try something new and fun.”
Not craving a sit-down meal at all? Mintahoe can set up a few stations throughout the venue for the bulk of the reception and allow guests to grab bites when they want, where they want. “You could have a street taco station, mashed-potato-martini station, Chicago-style hot dogs, all set up here and there,” McMerty Shands says.
For something slightly more traditional, but still out-of-the-box, Mintahoe can also add a station to a plated or buffet dinner. “In the past, couples would say, ‘OK, I want this chicken and want this vegan meal,’ whatever it may be, but now people are really trying to make their food more individual and more unique to themselves,” McMerty Shands says. mintahoe.com
D’amico Catering
With 10 signature venues and endless off-site spots, D’Amico is one of the biggest names in Twin Cities catering—but that doesn’t mean each wedding looks the same, or even similar. Creativity reigns supreme at D’Amico, and its chefs are prepared to whip up food-and-bev options that fit any couple’s theme and personality, from completely customized menus to transformative interactive stations and playful dessert offerings.
“We had a fun wedding recently where the couple really hated cake, but they wanted that cake look and that cake-cutting moment,” says Christie Altendorf, director of marketing and senior event planner at D’Amico. “So, we created a chocolate chip cookie cake for them that was 12 layers high and six inches across, and it was cookie layer/frosting/cookie/frosting into a two-tier ‘cake,’ and people could have slices of cookie.”
D’Amico’s staff also makes sure to stock the bar with the couple’s favorite local beers and spirits, and planners always ask couples what establishments they want to share with their guests. “We see a lot of couples trying to support the places they support in their daily life,” Altendorf says. That might mean a beer on tap from their favorite trivia-night locale or a spirit from the distillery where they had their first date—anything that can tell their guests a bit of a story through sips, adding an element of intimacy to the day. damicocatering.com
Catering by Kowalski's
Whether couples are planning an intimate soirée in their favorite park or a 300-person bash at an event center, Kowalski’s will bring the heat—and the barbecue, and the wild rice meatballs, and the entire bar, of course. “What’s really big right now is the bar,” says Roxanne Kielbasa, Kowalski’s director of catering. “Craft cocktails, dry ice, smoke and bubbles. People want a unique bar experience.” And Kowalski’s is happy to oblige, giving couples options to create custom and specialty cocktails as an add-on for any event’s bar service.
As for what couples are pairing with the drinks? Kielbasa says she’s been booking more weddings and parties that exclusively serve heavy apps, not a full sit-down dinner. “That’s it,” she says. “It’s anything picked, skewered, or boxed. Individual charcuterie boxes are super popular; you can hold those with one hand and a cocktail in the other.”
This allows guests to focus on the people around them, not just on sitting down to eat a big meal. “Couples have reevaluated what’s really important,” Kielbasa says. “It just comes down to family, friends, good food, and cocktails. They want to have a more intimate experience and be able to talk and mingle with everyone. ”kowalskis.com
Chowgirls Catering
Couples—and guests—love Chowgirls for the team’s locally sourced and sustainable dishes that reflect individuality. “We don’t have a standard buffet menu,” Lindsay Erstad, Chowgirls’ sales and events team manager says. “Rather, we talk with a couple and make sure they’re getting their most favorite foods, because it’s their day and they can have whatever they want.”
And what they want, more than ever, is a local and sustainable element to both food and drinks. “This was obviously a growing trend before COVID, but everyone wanted to see businesses survive the pandemic, and we have even more couples who come to us really interested in where their food is coming from and making sure that we’re supporting local,” Meghan Larsen, director of sales and events at Chowgirls, says. “That’s something Chowgirls has done from the beginning.”
Chowgirls sources beer from Twin Cities breweries and wine that’s organic, biodynamic, or sourced from women-owned vineyards and buys produce and ingredients from organic or Minnesota-based farms and vendors whenever possible. Food scraps that can’t be saved are composted, but leftover food (if the hosts don’t want the leftovers, that is) gets donated to Minnesota Central Kitchen—which makes the day meaningful for more than just the couple. chowgirls.net
Photo by Blake Ziemer
pouring chocolate sauce on a pastry
A’BriTin
A’BriTin Catering and Hospitality
With multiple catering companies under one umbrella (and 16 exclusive venues and dozens of preferred venue partners), A’BriTin can help just about any couple find what they’re looking for—such as farm-to-table options with Apples 2 Apples, elegant plated dinners through Distinctive Catering, and BBQ fun with This Little Piggy. But one thing all the brands and venues have in common? Menus are customizable, and presentation is key—whether food’s coming out of an interactive station or heading to an intricately set table.
“Every season, we look at our menus and revamp, refresh, add new items, or totally redo them,” says Jordan Feist, A’BriTin’s vice president of business development. “So not only are we trying something new; we also create an experience out of whatever we serve. If we just set food on a hot plate, it’s not going to work.”
Those experiences range from “build your own waffle on a stick” tables to full-on pig roasts or constantly refilled champagne walls. Plus, A’BriTin can serve local beer, wine, and signature organic cocktails out of its five rentable bar trailers (Hitch and Sip), which add elements of surprise and whimsy to any outdoor event.
“Catering’s a whole different scheme than it used to be,” Feist says. “If your food and drinks aren’t as good as you’d find in a restaurant, you can’t compete in our market.” abritincatering.com
