How To Choose Your Wedding Food

Aside from the ceremony itself, wedding food is one of the most talked about parts of your day. People expect to be treated to a fine spread of food and drink - be it a buffet, silver service, BBQ or spit roast - and they'll certainly remember if it's not up to standard. This short little guide will help make the all-important decision on what to and what not to go for on your wedding day. 

First of all, you have to decide what type of food you are going to offer. BBQs are great for sunny days, but not so much on wet wintry afternoons. Silver service meals ooze quality and grandeur and are a perfect way of celebrating your day. Make this decision first, before moving on to the next step.

Next, you need to decide who is going to do your catering. Do you try and save a few pounds by getting a family member to look after things, or do you outsource the job to a professional catering company? If you choose the latter option, do your research and go for a company that has a good reputation. Have friends got married lately? Was their food any good? If so, get a quote.

While you are getting quotes, request a sample or a tasting session. If the company are serious about what they do - and indeed confident of their service - this should be automatically prepared for you. And whatever you do, make sure you take your partner with you; it's their day too.

We all know a fussy eater that's not going to like what you've arranged, so consider giving multiple options. Ask your caterer to provide a good variety of meat, chicken, fish and vegetarian dishes so that everyone is catered for.

Avoid wastage by serving food hot. This rule applies mostly to buffets as nobody likes to eat cold food. Who knows how long it's been out for? What's more, if you've had guests hanging around for a few hours, they are more than likely going to be wanting a hot meal to keep them going into the evening.

At the end of the day, if you are looking for a really special event, cutting corners is ill-advised. You will pay for quality, and if there's one day in your life when you can afford to splash out, it surely has to be your wedding day.
   
Source: Article Snatch

How to BBQ Chicken

BBQ chicken that has been cooked perfectly will taste delicious. Although it seems that with its increased popularity and careless manner of BBQ cooking, many people cannot enjoy this.

When the chicken has been barbecued improperly, it looks still pinkish in the center and burnt on the outside. Not only it will affect the taste but it also becomes unhealthy.

Here is a guide to BBQ chicken in a good way it can be enjoyed.

Things Needed: 

- Chicken pieces 

- Gas grill or charcoal grill 

- Brush for the sauce 

- Meat thermometer 

- Marinate 

- Rub or seasonings 

- Side dishes 

- Oven 

- Sauce

Procedure: 

Step 1: 

First, select the type of chicken which has to be barbecued. Legs and thighs are preferred by some while others like skinless and boneless chicken breasts. If barbecuing more than one chicken part is desired, then the cooking times would have to be adjusted. White meat like breasts and wings cook faster than dark meat like legs and thighs.

Step 2: 

Now, pick the grill which is desired to be used. This will rely on how one wants to cook the barbecue. This will also depend on the neighborhood one is living in plus the lifestyle. If a person is a beginner at grilling, then the gas type is recommended. However, this might not be easy to use during the holidays.

Step 3: 

The chicken has to be marinated. This process will allow the flavor to sink in to the chicken making it taste great after it is grilled. A marinate flavor can be selected as preferred. There are variations available from lemon pepper to teriyaki. If the chicken is marinated in the fridge, it has to be made sure that it is not left in there for more than 48 hours. At room temperature, it has to be leaving it for an hour.

Step 4: 

When the chicken has been marinated, it can be now rubbed with the seasonings. This will depend on the type of flavor which is needed to be given to the BBQ chicken.

Step 5: 

The chicken has to be pre-cooked by pre-baking. The ideal temperature for baking it is 360 degrees in the oven until partially cooked. This will seal in flavors and will ensure that the chicken has been cooked before it goes to the grill. Others do boiling. However, boiling takes away the flavor and makes it taste weak.

Step 6: 

Now the grill has to be made ready while the chicken is baking. If a charcoal grill is being used, ignite the coals and they should be left to burn until a white coating of ash appears on the coals. In case of gas grill, it has to be preheated to a medium heat temperature of 360 degrees. The grate also has to be sprayed.

Step 7: 

Put the seasoned chicken on the rack and cover it with the grill lid. It should be given at least half an hour to cook. With time, it has to be checked and turned after every five minutes for ensuring that it is evenly cooked. The pieces can also be rotated to balance the cool and hot spots on the grill.

Step 8: 

The BBQ has to be glazed again with the seasoning nearly 10 minutes before taking chicken off the grill.

Step 9: 

After grilling, the chicken pieces can be checked with a meat thermometer. The bone should be never touched when the thermometer is inserted. The internal temperature of the meat must be 175 degrees.

Step 10: 

Finally, the BBQ chicken is ready. It can be served with delicious side dishes like coleslaw, pasta salad, potato salads, baked beans and biscuits.

Preparing BBQ chicken is not a boring work, it is fun and these easy steps will help to make a perfectly barbecued chicken that everyone will love!

Source: Ezine Articles

Choosing a Name for Your Food and Catering Business

Name Your Food & Catering Business

Do you serve up bland, boring buffets and mediocre meals? No, of course not. But if your name is bland, boring or mediocre, potential customers may well draw the conclusion that your food is too. The words Fresh, Tasty, Gourmet, Supreme, Bon Appetit and Upper Crust are all overused in business and have become meaningless. They tell people nothing about your business; after all, wouldn't you expect a catering company to offer tasty, fresh food?

A catchy, original name can help your business stand out from the crowd and distinguish you from the hundreds of competitors. A name that indicates what you specialize in will ensure that you don't waste your time dealing with vague enquiries, that may or may not lead on to a sale. No-one who doesn't like Chinese food would think of contacting Oriental Express and someone looking for a caterer for their wedding is not going to phone Working Lunch. Those companies' names are acting as advertisements, attracting the right sort of customer.

So, before you decide on a name you must identify your unique selling point. Perhaps you offer a particular country's cuisine. Your name can indicate this. You don't have to use a real Italian word if you specialize in pasta and pizza; you can tag a suffix like -issimo or -eria to an English word, or a made-up word, to come up with a name such as Delissimo (which will make people think both of 'delicious' and the Italian 'bellissimo') or Feasteria (on the lines of pizzeria). Think about common suffixes or letter combinations in the language of the country concerned. Anything ending in -ski or -sky has to be Russian or Eastern European, -ito is a typical Spanish ending, and -aki suggests something Japanese.

When we hear or see particular words and phrases they conjure up images in our mind. Aunt Jessie's Kitchen suggests that this is a business offering traditional home cooking; a name based on slang, abbreviations or informal language, such as Big Bite, Tuck In or Buffets2Go, suggests that you cater for informal events, not society weddings. Don't expect any calls from Muslims or Jews if you call yourself Piglets Catering (an actual name that is in my local phone directory) or The Flying Hog.

Catchy names are often based on alliteration, assonance or rhyme. Pesto Parties and Kids' Cuisine are alliterative names because both words begin with the same sound (note that it is the sound that is important, not the spelling). The names Top Nosh, and Nice and Spicy have assonance, in other words the same vowel sounds appear throughout. Snappy Snacks combines alliteration and assonance. Posh Nosh, and Menus and Venues are examples of rhyming names.

The letter M is often associated with delicious food, as it's what we say when something is tasty -- mmmmmm! It also features prominently in related words such as yummy, scrummy and nummy. That is why M is a popular letter to begin chocolate brands: Maltesers, Munchies, Milo and Milka. Don't rush into choosing a name. Do your research -- a dictionary and a thesaurus will help you with this. A winning name will attract the right sort of enquiry, can save you money on advertising and will create a positive image.

Resource: Ezine Articles