Types of Cold Platters
If you are looking to host an event and provide food platters, there are a number of different options available. We recommend a mixture of hot and cold platters depending on your event time, delivery time and occasion. Platters are great if you are not sure about special dietary requirements as there is usually something to cover everyone’s needs.
Below are some types of platters you could consider.
Cheese
Your guests will be sure to find a cheese they like if you have three to four different types of cheese. You should go with a soft cheese such as brie or marinated feta and cheddar, gouda, smoked or another type of hard cheese, and a blue cheese. And consider different shapes and sizes of cheese when creating your platter; perhaps round pieces, logs and wedges, as the pieces of cheese certainly don’t all need to be the same shape or size.
And cheese can be paired with several other things to add flavour and variety, including dark chocolate, nuts, strawberries, dried apricots and dates, pickled vegetables, relish or fruit paste wine and lavosh. Lavosh is also effective at cleansing the palate, meaning your guests can mix the different cheese flavours together, and still eat as much as they want to.
Fruit
Feel free to get creative if you go for a fruit platter, whether it’s to provide a healthy dessert after dinner, or it’s for the family to snack on at the weekend barbeque. For bright colours and a great looking tropical platter, go for kiwi fruit, mangoes and pineapple, garnished with passionfruit while if the focus is on refreshing and replenishing, choose grapes, oranges, watermelons and pineapples.
A cherry and strawberry platter along with dark chocolate for dipping is a little more decadent and exciting. Regardless, to keep everything as fresh as possible, don’t prepare your fruit platter more than about 30 minutes before serving it.
Seafood
Prawns and oysters, along with lemon wedges to bring out the flavours, are ideal for a seafood platter, and seafood is a great option during the summer. Seafood sauce for dipping prawns into is a practical addition. Consider adding seared rare tuna, smoked salmon, smoked mussels, crab or lobster and even marinated baby octopus to a larger platter which is intended as the main course. Placing some finely chopped ice underneath everything will help to make sure your seafood platter stays fresh and cold.
Meats or Charcuterie
Hot or mild salami, ham, kabana, prosciutto and cured sausage are just some of the meats to consider if you are going for a meat platter. Delicious tasting Jamon Ibérico can be added instead of prosciutto, and you may want to accompany the meats with breadsticks, a sliced baguette loaf or crackers. Gherkins, zucchini and pickled onions all taste great and are obvious accompaniments to a plate of tasty looking meats.
Antipasto
Antipasto translates as ‘before the meal’ and a platter can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it. Some popular and pre-dinner snacks to think about including sun-dried tomatoes, cubes of feta or Swiss cheese, and thin slices of prosciutto ham or salami.
If you are feeling more ambitious, consider including chorizo, marinated artichokes, chilli mussels, stuffed peppers and perhaps a few dips. The contrasting salty taste and sweet flavour create some interesting contrasts, and all you need to do is add some breadsticks or crackers. You can make a great looking grazing platter by adding some dried fruits and bread.
Crudités
It’s a great idea to have a fresh vegetable and dip platter not only for a beautiful burst of colour but for that healthy option that covers anyone with special dietary requirements such as vegan, Gluten free, dairy free and more. A mixture of sugar snap peas, carrot, cucumber, capsicum, cherry tomato, broccolini and literally anything you have to use will go well with a colourful trio of dips like beetroot, roasted capsicum, pesto or hummus.
Bread and dip
Weather its freshly made seasoned tortilla chips with salsa and guacamole, seasoned pita crisps with hummus decorated with extra virgin olive oil, paprika and toasted pine nuts or fresh Turkish breast with olive oil, balsamic glaze and house dukkha, a bread platter is always a great addition to bulk up a platter menu.
Impressions Catering Platters
For a completely stress-free option that frees up your time to mingle with guests, consider hiring Impressions Catering to take care of your platters for you. We provide a range of delicious platter options which we can deliver freshly made to your home or event venue in Perth or Mandurah on the day. We can also provide wait staff to serve guests so you are truly free to relax and enjoy the day.
