They've been slow to take off, but food bowls - miniaturised meals served at drinks parties in place of buffets - can now be found at all the best parties. And it's event caterers who are leading the way.
Miniaturised bowl food isn't a new phenomenon. In fact, it's been around for two or three years. Leading caterers Moving Venue first introduced the idea about three years ago to replace the fork-and-finger buffet. "The classic cocktail party is very rare nowadays, and with some receptions lasting anything up to six hours, canapés just aren't substantial enough," explains John Stockton, the company's managing director.
"The danger is that you either have people leaving a reception hungry and needing somewhere to eat afterwards or you have drunk people staggering around because they haven't had enough to eat. If you have guests at a reception past 7.30pm, I think you're under an obligation to give them something substantial."
Canapés are, of course, single bites. The idea of food bowls developed from people requesting "more substantial" canap‚s. "But that doesn't work," says Stockton. "Canapés are supposed to be miniature - a work of art."
And few clients, says Stockton, want to serve buffets, so the bowl food emerged as a replacement.
Turtle Soup, the party division of caterer Chester Boyd, developed its own food bowls three years ago and started serving them to clients a year later. But the initial reaction was confusion. "It's something that's hard to describe to people and better shown, but aesthetically the food is cute and so once people experience it, it's well received," says managing director Charles Boyd.
Boyd, too, felt the need for something other than finger-and-fork buffets but found that one or two cautious Turtle Soup clients had to be almost tricked into using food bowls. "But they come back with: 'I'd have never have thought to order that, but the guests really enjoyed it.'"
Food bowls for parties are typically mini-meals, such as sausage and mash, salad niçoise and tiramisù, served in rice bowls. They are just about small enough to fit in your hand with a small glass of wine. The bowls are served by waiting staff who circle the room with large trays, while another team go in hot on their heels to remove the empties.
Logistical problems
While clients are now warming to the idea, food bowls can cause logistical problems for guests - juggling a glass of wine at the same time as holding a bowl of food can be difficult, admit the caterers. But this is remedied by the strategic placing of tables around the room.
So are canapés a thing of the past? "I think the majority of people would be surprised about the extent to which canapés are still served by event caterers," says Boyd. "Bowl food does not replace canapés. The difference is that you feel that you have eaten and enjoyed a meal."
For Glynn Woodin, owner of self-styled "boutique" event caterer, Mustard, bowl food's a must if you are holding a party with guests staying several hours. "They're something between canap‚s and supper," he says. "But if you have guests staying after a certain time, you have to give them the equivalent of supper. We do it slowly for our customers - we start with bite-sized canapés with Champagne and then move on to bowl food."
Mustard introduced bowl food to its clients about two years ago at an engagement party, and the idea spread. "People wanted something more than cocktail parties," says Woodin. "They wanted something easier, and with the rise in informality, people enjoyed them."
Spanish tapas and Greek meze have been a big influence on bowl food, he adds. "It's light food and lends itself to cuisine from around the globe." Mustard regularly feeds bowl food to up to 500 guests. "But generally we do it for small, personal parties, because you're constantly cooking throughout the evening."
So is bowl food difficult to serve? Mise en place, surprisingly, doesn't seem to be an issue - food is taken to a certain stage ready for service. Turtle Soup says it simply splits itself up into four sections within the kitchen and runs service more like a restaurant would - the food is cooked and served at the last minute.
"A lot of our customers tend to order their bowl food like a three- or four-course meal, from starter, fish and main course through to dessert, so we divide the kitchen accordingly," says Adrian Brain, Turtle Soup's operations director. And while some customers opt for a selection of dishes served at once, others prefer the dishes to be served as if diners were having a four-course meal (albeit standing up and from bowls).
Cones are next
So what's the next big thing? For Moving Venue, it's cones. Inspired by the French Laundry Cookbook, Stockton says the company has got seven- or eight-course menus featuring "funkadelic" savoury to sweet cones.
For Boyd, while it's important to constantly evolve Turtle Soup's offering, it's important not to step over the line and produce weird food. "A lot of clients get sidetracked and end up with food and service that doesn't work. If we transported someone from 10 years ago to a top event today, they would see far greater development and change than in most restaurants," says Boyd.
"Whenever I have been to or seen events elsewhere it has not been inspiring by any stretch of the imagination, and it would not surprise me if London was leading the way in event catering. I feel privileged to be part of it. And despite the fact that I've been working 31 years, it still excites me - how cool is that?"
Bowl food at Moving Venue
Cold
Prawn cocktail: shredded iceberg topped with prawns and Marie Rose sauce, garnished with slivers of cucumber and cherry tomatoes, a touch of lemon juice and dusted with paprika
Sweet glazed chilli chicken: oven-baked chicken glazed with balsamic vinegar and sweet chilli served on a sugar snap and beanshoot salad
Indonesian lamb, kaffir lime dressing: stir-fried lamb fillet on baby spinach with toasted sesame seeds and ginger
Hot
Lamb vindaloo: sautéd lamb, tomatoes, potatoes, onions and coriander in a spicy sauce served with coriander-scented rice and miniature poppadoms
Smoked haddock, Welsh rarebit crust: baked Finnan haddock topped with a rarebit glaze, garnished with a baby plum tomato and chive salad
Coq au vin: strips of chicken breast, mushrooms, baby onions and bacon saut‚d with brandy, red wine and garlic
Sweetshots
(individual desserts served in shot glasses)
Sherry trifle: layered sponge soaked with oloroso sherry, raspberry jelly and fresh vanilla custard, topped with sweetened whipped cream
Raspberry fool: puréed fresh raspberries folded with organic natural yogurt and vanilla cream, topped with raspberry coulis
Chocolate mousse: rich milk chocolate mousse decorated with white chocolate
Tuna niçoise
Tagine of lamb