Amazing Winter Wedding Menu Ideas
Getting married in the Winter has many advantages – including discounted rates for booking suppliers in the off-season – which means you can cut costs and use that to treat your guests to the most scrumptious and comforting Winter meal. Make sure your guests are happy, warm and well-fed with these Amazing Winter Wedding Menu Ideas.
We are seeing buffets disappear and rather chefs plating and serving all food items in an individual way on its own vessel. Still focus on hearty winter foods but steer away from too much starch and more so on vegetables. Think slow cooking, vegetables and smoking meats.
Not much of a reader? No problem! Watch the video here from Niel van Zyl at Concept Food:
Pre-Drinks
Consider serving mulled wine or cider for your pre-drinks. This will not only warm your guests up but loosen them up a little too! To go along with the warm drinks, play around with cups of Ossobuco and soup bars where a chef would dish soups for your guests. Other amazing options would be along the lines of skewers made of fresh ravioli with a thick truffle and mushroom duxelles.
Warming Starters
Nothing beats a hearty soup – even at a wedding. To make sure that it doesn’t feel like an ordinary everyday soup, ask your caterer to get creative with the flavouring or the accompaniments. Serve a spicy tomato soup with crusty garlic ciabatta, or an earthy wild mushroom soup with rosemary and thyme rolls. As long as your starter is steamy, your guests will be happy!
Winter Mains
For your main course, you have plenty of options! As mentioned, be more bold and place emphasis on flavourful vegetables. Vegetables has never been the hero of many dishes at weddings but we certainly see it becoming more prominent as South Africans are focussing on being more eco-friendly and health conscious. Make sure your caterer uses vegetables that are packed with flavour and comfort such as auberge’s, cabbage and organic tomatoes. 
Don’t be afraid to incorporate South African comfort food in your menu like biltong and nutmeg soup, slow cooked oxtail and cape Malay lamb curries. 
Fermentation and pickling is going to make a comeback this winter with dishes like Sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, miso, kombucha and tempeh. These are rich in probiotics and then of course add more spice and aromas to the food.
Cooking stations will still be a popular root to take even if it is just for certain elements of your main. Image charred vegetables on an open fire and full portions of meat cooked in front of guests. This will definitely add to your entertainment element and get your guests mouths water.
Warm Desserts
Dessert is the course people look forward to the most – reward them with something spectacular! Desserts play a much bigger role in winter than what it does in summer. We are pulling more attention to desserts and winter desserts such as waffles in a cone, cookies and cream shots and coated doughnuts on a stick.
We all know food is a universal comfort. To warm the hearts and bodies of your guests, your wedding menu should reflect the season. If you need more ideas, your caterer is sure to have a variety of menus to choose from – come rain or shine!
