5 Showstopping Food Ideas To Use At Your Next Event
It could be a wedding, a work event that you’re planning, a birthday party, or even a big BBQ with family and friends; whatever event you’re working on, there needs to be a great selection of food items. Speaking from experience, food can make or break any event. It’ll almost always be one of the main talking points after the experience - and people will either rave about the food or speak in hushed tones about how bad it was.
Good food options can elevate your spectacle and make the event far more memorable for all the right reasons. It’s also a chance for you to create a huge focal and talking point, so here are several showstopping food ideas you could use at your next gathering, party, etc.
Chocolate Fountains
Let’s get the cliche out of the way first; you can’t go wrong with an impressive chocolate fountain at your event. This is both a visual and tasty display that will draw everyone’s attention and leave them with beaming smiles on their faces. Chocolate fountains are perfect for all kinds of events because you can get them in different sizes.
A small one works well at a family BBQ, a medium-sized one is great when you’re hosting a party, and then a large one is excellent for weddings.
The key here is to choose quality chocolate for your fountain - and to include plenty of things for people to dip in it. Marshmallows are always a hit, but don’t forget various fruits, nuts, or even mini baked goods.
Grazing Tables
If you’ve not heard of a grazing table, then you’re missing out! Essentially it’s a massive table full of different food platters and snacks for people to graze on. The best grazing tables may include:
Cured meats
Artisanal cheeses
Fresh-baked goods
Local fruit
Jams, chutneys, etc.
Crackers and crispbreads
Olives and tapenades
You’re already salivating at the thought, and nobody will blame you. A grazing table is a wonderful work of culinary art that lights up any event. Depending on what you’re hosting and how many people attend, you could probably use your grazing table to feed everyone. In other cases it’s a great way to provide ongoing snacks throughout an event to go alongside the main food.
You can’t deny that a table full of amazing food will catch people’s attention, and that’s what makes this a true showstopper. It’s not just about the sheer quality and volume of food; it’s about how the table is designed and set up. It can’t help but turn heads and become a genuine talking point.
Donut Walls
Switching back to the sweet stuff, donut walls are one of the biggest Instagram food trends of recent times - and they’re easy for you to set up. You basically create a giant pegboard and place rows of donuts on the pegs for guests to grab and take.
Could you do the same thing with donuts in boxes? Yes, but it wouldn’t be nearly as visually impressive.
Having a donut wall means you can choose colorful donuts to create a beautiful pattern - or even try your hand at creating a piece of wall art from the donuts. That’s probably a step too far for most of you, though it’s worth attempting or hiring someone to attempt for a really big event. Regardless, donut walls are the definition of showstopping and your guests will appreciate them.
Pizza Oven Stations OR Giant Pizzas
You’ve got two pizza-related options here because both are wonderful showstoppers for parties and events. On the one side of things you could set up a DIY pizza station for guests. Get your hands on a proper pizza oven (rent one if you aren’t going to use a proper one that often) and create a space for guests to design and bake their own pizzas.
The interactive element makes this a wonderful showstopper - and the pizzas cook quickly anyway. It also looks really nice when you’ve got the dough and various pizza toppings all laid out on a table. A really good option for parties, BBQs, or any outdoor event.
You might not have enough space for a pizza oven station - or perhaps you don’t think it’ll fit the event’s theme. In which case you should consider giant pizzas. Yep, you guessed it, this involves ordering pizzas that are much larger than usual. They usually come in square sizes, which adds more of a talkable element to them, but the sheer size catches everyone’s attention. You can’t go wrong with pizza, so surely a giant pizza is even better than a regular one?!
Chocolate & Candy Piñatas
The pizza oven idea fuelled the concept of making your food showstoppers more interactive, so how about getting a piñata for your next event? We’re all familiar with the concept of piñatas and how they work: you fill something with chocolate and candy, blindfold a guest, and they whack it to try and break it open.
It’s a brilliant idea because it almost doubles up as a party game. Guests get to enjoy the delicious sweet treats inside, though there’s an element of gamification about trying to crack the piñata open. You could introduce multiple piñatas and turn it into a competition where two or more guests compete to see who cracks theirs open first.
As well as being a fun way to introduce some snacks to an event, piñatas are visually beautiful. You can create one in almost any design or style you can think of, meaning it’ll match your event or a specific theme. For instance, you buy or create a few heart-shaped piñatas for a wedding - or a piñata in the shape of your child’s favorite sport for their birthday party. Whatever way you want to look at it, piñatas are excellent for all kinds of events.
If you’re serious about food showstoppers, then these ideas are the best ones to look into. Some might be suitable for more events than others, so it’s a case of working out what makes the most sense for you. Whatever you end up choosing, it’s guaranteed to make a statement.