Club + Resort Chef September 2021

BANQUET

Happily

Ever After THERE’S NO DENYING THAT WEDDING RECEPTIONS look and feel different these days, complete with changed expectations, downsized events, a renewed focus on personalized details and, sometimes, hardly any seating at all.

“If anything, members are concerned about shrinking their guest list,” says Michael Ponzio, Executive Chef of the Union League Club in Chicago. “Brides aren’t looking to serve cupcakes hanging from a flying trapeze in the middle of the room anymore. They’re just happy to be able to hold their events.”

Instead, Ponzio has found, brides and banquet managers are working harmoniously to “get family together.”

Michael Ponzio, Executive Chef, Union League Club of Chicago 28

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Club + Resort Chef

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September 2021

“No one is asking us to serve guests’ food with a rocket launcher,” he laughs.

“It’s more like it was 40 years ago.”

“Micro weddings” are de rigueur, bringing with them intimate touches from the bride and groom, such as sustainable details, DIY beauty touches or individualized food displays. In some cases, live, concert-style music is taking the place of a DJ. As for favors, they’re customized (hello, monogrammed face masks).

For the reception, even if the days of elaborate, buffet-style spreads and over-the-top wedding antics are (at least temporarily) gone, it doesn’t mean weddings are less engaging— they’re simply being rethought.

“We haven’t been doing buffets or action stations, where things are cooked to order and lines get long,” says Kelly Franz, Executive Chef of the Kiawah Island Club’s River Course Clubhouse in Charleston, S.C. “Instead, we prepare everything in back and serve it from the station.”

Ponzio concurs, noting that many guests now want to avoid build-your-own experiences. “An attended buffet ensures everyone can be served, while offering everyone peace of mind,” he says.

Along with attended buffets, Franz has also noticed an emphasis on

Surprising touches, intimate gatherings and purposeful menu planning define today’s wedding menus.

By Jennifer Olvera, Contributing Editor

mingling. “It may still feel a little weird to sit next to someone you don’t know,” she says. “So brides are opting to have Kelley Franz, guests ‘pop’ Executive Chef, around the Kiawah Island Club’s room, talking River Course Clubhouse and dancing.”

Among guests who do favor a traditional approach, a popular choice is plated, three- to-four-course meals with pod seating. “Some people feel more comfortable sitting in one spot versus congregating,” Franz notes.

But the three-option chicken, fish or steak menu selection? It’s not really a thing anymore.

“I recently did a vegan wedding for 240 people, at the request of the mother of the bride,” Franz reports.

To make sure that menu appealed to diverse palates, Franz used standins like hearts of palm or jackfruit over meat substitutes, resulting in preparations like split-pea “ground beef” stippled with mushrooms and beets.

Ponzio has seen an uptick in vegan selections, too. Recently, he served www.clubandresortchef.com