What Is Street Food?

Street food is one of the most exciting elements you can add to your event, whether it’s a wedding, party, corporate function, market, roadshow, concert, sporting event, fair or other celebration. The idea of ‘street’ food comes from Asia, where standing in amongst the mouth-watering aromas, sounds and smoky atmosphere of street food stalls is a must-do experience, but the trend is now inspiring caterers all over the world. There are even dedicated street food events popping up where consumers can go and sample bites of heaven from lots of different cultures, giving them a taste of foods they may not have had the chance to ever try. The food is high in quality, delicious, vibrant and offers talented chefs and caterers the opportunity to put their own spin on various cuisines.

Cooking With Fire & Smoke

As our name suggests, we’re no stranger to cooking ‘with fire’ and smoke, and we love creating street food options for all different types of event. These elements are essential ingredients in what makes people feel so passionate about street food. It’s a cooking style which ignites all of the senses, which is why it causes such a buzz and brilliant atmosphere at events while also conjuring up feelings of relaxed, wholesome food you can enjoy and share with others.

Street Food Ideas for Events

One of the best things about street food is that you can tailor it to your event, allowing caterers to inspire you with menus ideal for your theme, venue, size and occasion. You can incorporate flavours and ingredients from all around the globe, whether it’s Mediterranean style salads, meats rubbed with local spices or fresh Neapolitan pizzas. You could even stick to one theme such as recipes from a particular cuisine, with Mexican and South American foods standing as two popular choices. Or why not think about lots of smaller dishes which people can put together as they wish, such as roast potato sides, pulled pork buns and delicious meats which fall off the bone?

Street Food Catering for Any Event

Street food can be served in both formal and informal settings, which makes it ideal for any occasion. For example, if you love street food and want to incorporate it into your wedding theme, lots of smaller dishes could be served to guests who can then build their own plate from the temptations before them. Or if you’re having a private party, why not invite your street food caterer to cook live and allow guests to attend the station themselves as they would at a festival, creating a real talking point.

Tailor street food catering to your event.

Looking for a skilled caterer?

At With Fire, we have years of experience, offering event catering using smoke and fire in locations such as West Sussex, Kent and Notting Hill. Contact us now to get started.

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Weddings

Weddings can be stressful to plan when each element of the day needs to come together perfectly. At With Fire, we’re a knowledgeable, reliable Hampshire wedding caterer, who can offer you different menus tailored to anything from the number of guests to your theme. We also work alongside other local caterers who can help you create the feast you want, including the Gourmet Hog Roast Hampshire team. They offer authentic hog roast catering, served by skilled chefs.

We work in many different types of venue across the area, including hotels, golf clubs, vineyards, barns, country houses and more. Our style of catering is suitable for all types of wedding, from those who want a traditional sit-down wedding breakfast to informal celebrations with grazing stations. We can cover all aspects of your menu, including canapes, sides, starters, mains, desserts and evening snacks.

Private Parties & BBQs

Many people want a BBQ for their celebration, especially in Hampshire, but the thought of the same old chicken drumsticks and burgers doesn’t quite cut it. We offer BBQ and private party catering for events of all sizes. This could be anything from a big birthday bash for your friends and family to an event with guests to mark a special occasion. Our BBQ menus can be incorporated into your event theme, and you can choose some unique ideas to really impress. This includes gourmet burger bars, wood fired pizza stations and international cuisine (think Asian BBQs or American low and slow feasts).

Corporate Functions

Businesses are always looking for innovative and exciting ways to enhance their corporate functions, whether they’re treating staff, entertaining clients or showcasing their products and services. We offer specialist corporate event catering, designing menus around the atmosphere you want to create. This could be something as simple as a delicious buffet or street food style stalls to a three-course meal. Our cooking techniques using smoke and fire are always a real talking point of the day, creating a buzz and excitement. We can even slow-roast whole meats in front of your guests, creating exciting visuals, aromas and theatre to enhance the atmosphere of the day.

Book Our Hampshire Event Caterers

At With Fire, we love talking to our clients, whether you’re an event organiser, planning a party or recently engaged. It’s a pleasure for us to inspire you with the full range of ideas we can offer you, through our exceptional cooking techniques to delicious menus for everyone. We work across the South East, including Hampshire locations.

Call now on 07825 533 440 or use our contact page to get started.

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Why Throw Your Staff a Christmas Party?

Christmas also marks the end of the year, so it’s often a time to look at what’s been achieved and the direction you’d like to go in the year ahead. For businesses, staff have often put in a lot of time and effort over the last 12 months to meet their goals, so throwing an office Christmas party is a great way to thank them. Showing your appreciation for everything they do can help to motivate them and give a positive end to the year. However, many office parties can struggle to encourage people to attend, with many tired of the same clichéd options time after time. So, one of the best ideas is to provide a refreshing twist on traditional options and surprise them with something a little different, which will get staff attending who wouldn’t normally consider it.

Choosing Sharing Feasts & Platters

If your staff are tired of the usual bowls of crisps, nibbles and cheesy music, spice things up with sharing feasts. It’s an excellent way to help everyone let their hair down a little, break the ice and provide talking points. Sharing platters from an expert caterer keep that informal feel you want while ensuring attendees feel they’ve been treated to something special. One of the things many people miss about the warmer months is barbecued food, which is why you often see a surge in popularity of hog roasts on festive stalls and at Christmas events.

Festive Menu Ideas

When it comes to the style of catering or sharing platters you want for your staff, there are plenty of options to choose from. You could even base the theme of your office party around your menu. We’ve seen with wedding banquets how dishes such as hog roasts with crackling and delicious sides can be piled high on platters on long tables, for example. You could even set up your office party in-house rather than hiring a separate venue if you have the space. A good caterer can also incorporate seasonal flavours into your chosen menus, so speak to them about festive options. In December, ingredients such as apple, chestnut, cranberry, clementine, dates, pear, pumpkin and turnip are really delicious, not to mention an array of meat options.

Chat to With Fire about the ideal sharing platters for your team. We’re a professional caterer, specialising in the art of cooking over smoke and fire, creating exciting dishes for your corporate event. We cover areas in the South East such as the City of London, Mayfair and Berkshire. Call now on 07825 533440 to discuss ideas.

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Perfect Feast Food

By working with a wedding caterer who loves sharing platters and innovative wedding food ideas, you’ll receive lots of inspiration for your banquet menu. Popular foods for this style of wedding breakfast including hog roasts with crackling and side dishes piled high in bowls to create that real sense of a ‘feast’. The presentation used should make the dishes easier for sharing, where people can dig in and create the plate of food they want from lots of different options on the table. Slow roasted meats are always a tantalising choice, as the meat falls off the bone and can be easily pulled apart and shared among your awaiting guests.

The Right Venue Space

This type of wedding breakfast doesn’t always work as well if you have many smaller tables, especially if you want everyone to tuck into what feels like a feast. In history, banquets were typically held on long tables, so this is a great idea if your venue space allows it, especially in outdoor areas, marquees or barns. It’s also the perfect idea if you have a long and narrow space to fill. Don’t worry if you only have the choice of round tables. Smaller sharing platters could also be placed in the centre of each one, so guests still get the informal food sharing experience you want them to have.

Pick a Theme

Wedding banquets create a great atmosphere in your venue, but so can a good theme. You can often match your wedding menus and venue to each other if using an experienced caterer who doesn’t just specialise in traditional wedding breakfasts. For example, if your wedding takes place in a large historical hall, you could create a medieval-style feast. Or if you’re going for an outdoor banquet, big sharing bowls full of zingy salads and sizzling, vibrant flavours is a great way to create a summer-themed wedding. Speak to your caterer about in-season ingredients and how to deliver a wedding banquet menu which fits your theme perfectly.

Plan Your Wedding Menu Now

If you’re looking for a wedding catering company who can provide banquet style menus and sharing platters, the team at With Fire would love to help. We specialise in the art and theatre of cooking over smoke and fire, so the food menus we offer are perfect for large feasts. We cover a wide area of the South East, including Surrey, London and Westminster and Chelsea. Contact us now to discuss your wedding breakfast plans.

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A Laid Back Atmosphere

A festival style wedding isn’t just for those who love attending them but for anyone who wants something a bit more laid back on their big day. This type of wedding is great for helping guests feel more relaxed, offering an alternative to some of the events you may have attended in the past. Use music and food to create a real buzz on the day, allowing your friends and family to mingle, chill and unwind. Your guests will love throwing themselves into the celebrations, especially if you choose a theme within the festival such as ‘summertime’ or food you love, including gourmet burgers, wood fired pizzas or an international twist such as American food.

Worried about Rain?

One of the main concerns many couples have with any type of summer wedding celebration is the weather. We all know how unpredictable the Great British summer is. One minute you can have bright sunshine perfect for an outdoor wedding, and the next, you’re grabbing an umbrella as the rain pours down. If you’re planning a festival style wedding, consider venues which allow you to use a marquee tent. Experienced wedding caterers will understand how to set up in a variety of environments, so you can still create a festival vibe, even if it’s raining. In fact, sometimes it’s easier to decorate a marquee in the style you want, including bunting, lights, wildflowers and rustic touches. There will also be extra warmth if your festival style wedding is being held in colder months.

Informal Serving

One of the best ways to achieve that relaxed atmosphere you look for in a festival style event is the informal serving options for your food. If you’re trying to create an alternative to the usual sit-down wedding breakfast, why not choose ‘grazing station’ style food in which guests can dip in and out, building a plate of food with as much or as little of the different options as they want. This takeaway style is going to help your guests to break the ice, talk about the food on offer and feel more at ease. You could even go for a pig pan option such as paella with fresh seafood or chicken, which is really easy to serve and has guests coming back for more.

Planning a festival style wedding?

Get in touch with the team at With Fire. We offer wedding catering services in the South East, including South London, Buckinghamshire and Hampshire, including festival style wedding food.

The post Non Traditional Wedding Food – Create a Magical Summer Festival on Your Big Day appeared first on With Fire.

BBQ Wedding Food

Cooking using smoke, wood and fire is a great way to add those festival style elements to your wedding food. Creating a festival themed wedding isn’t just about the napkins you lay out or the bunting you choose, but the sounds, aromas and excitement you create with your food. This is where BBQ style options, rotisseries or hog roasts are a great idea, as guests will delight in the sizzling sounds, the vision of delicious food being slow cooked in front of them and their mouths watering throughout the day.  Perfect for weddings in Mayfair or events in Westminster.

International Delights

When attending any type of festival, one of the best parts is trying popular foods from different cultures from around the globe. So why not choose some of your favourites for your wedding dishes? If you’re opting for a BBQ feast, you could combine your menus with anything from Asian flavours to Mexican spices. You could even include various cooking styles from around the world, including Argentine Asado style cooking. It uses wood and fire to slowly roast food so that you end up with succulent meat on the inside while the outside becomes crispy and smoky.

Summer Flavours

Whatever the time of year you’ve booked your festival style wedding for, there’s no doubt that this style of food is going to bring out the summer vibes. When thinking about summer flavours to add to your party menu, ideas include choosing in-season ingredients. Speak to your wedding caterer about the freshest flavours at this time of year and how they can be incorporated into your dishes. You could even think about adding some fiery spices in combination with cooler flavours such as sour cream which cut through the heat.

Wood Fired Pizzas

Pizzas are a great option for those who want a few fun aspects to their festival style celebrations. Wood fired for a crispy base and packed with the taste of fresh ingredients, this type of festival style wedding food is ideal for all ages and could be chosen as your main food or an evening snack.

Sweet Treats

Think about the desserts you’d like to serve, as you can veer away from traditional options and go for something a little different. If your wedding is in the summertime, something like strawberries and cream, or Eton mess are great ideas or incorporate some of these flavours into other treats such as doughnuts. You could even go for smaller bites to stick with the informal theme, including chocolate brownie bites which you could serve with vanilla ice cream.

Planning your wedding menus?

Speak to the team at With Fire. As an expert outdoor wedding caterer, we can help make your festival style wedding in Surrey, London or further afield a success. Call now on 07825 533440 to tell us about your ideas.

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Building Connections with South East & London Venues

The team at the Gourmet Hog Roast Company love forming great relationships with South East venues, including those based in and around London. It means we get to know the setup of each place, have the contacts to help our clients organise their event catering and can provide amazing ideas for your menus. Our reputation for providing out of this world event catering using smoke and fire means we’re often recommended by the venues themselves, knowing we provide authentic menus, seasonal ingredients and an experience their clients will enjoy. Equally, if we’re approached by a client looking for wedding, party or BBQ catering, we know some of the ideal settings which meet your requirements. This gives clients a more personalised experience tailored around the specific event their planning.

Working with the Hurlingham Club

One of the most exclusive venues we’ve had the pleasure of working at is the Hurlingham Club in Fulham, in the affluent SW6 postcode of London. Our style of catering suits any number of venues, from country houses to vineyards, and this private member’s club provides plenty of options and versatile spaces to host an event. This includes its Georgian clubhouse and a large estate set in 42 acres of magnificent grounds. Whether clients are planning a Christmas party or summer event, there are spaces for outdoor catering, grand indoor events and a host of suites for exclusive parties.

A Recent BBQ Feast

We work with a wide range of clients, and we recently provided catering at the Hurlingham Club for a Premiership footballer, who had chosen the location for a birthday party. Their event organisers found us through our relationship with the venue, and we were delighted to provide them with a scrumptious BBQ feast for their guests. This included a hog roast, piri piri prawn skewers, fillet steaks and Bratwurst sausages. One of the best parts about what we do is when we get to hear what clients thought of our food, and in this case, we received resounding feedback from our client.

“An amazing event! With Fire have been everything I wished for and more. From the very beginning they were quick to respond with any questions I had as well as create a bespoke menu to meet my clients needs. On the day they were quick with their set up as well as creating an entertaining environment with the live cooking. The food and service were exceptional, I have had many compliments on the authenticity of the food and I can’t wait until the next event to work with Marco and the team!”

Looking for London event caterers?

If you’re looking for a BBQ event caterer who understands the needs of clients, the With Fire team can help you. We work closely with venues throughout London and the South East, providing outstanding food menus while creating a great atmosphere through the art and theatre we bring to our cooking style. Speak to us about your requirements now on 07825 533440.

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