With so many restaurants and caterers in Winnipeg, there are seemingly endless catering options available. The tricky part about planning our wedding, at the Victoria Beach Clubhouse, is that there is no kitchen! That's right - no kitchen. So, how does one choose a caterer in a kitchenless venue?
Let's first take a couple of steps back and think about what you need to determine when choosing your caterer. Much of this decision will be based on what sort of a theme you want for your wedding. Are you going for a real white linen, high class affair? Maybe some hors d'oeuvres of smoked salmon canapes and raw oysters in the half shell, followed by an entree filet mignon cooked to perfection served with crumbled roquefort cheese and braised asparagus.
Or are you more of a from-the-earth kind of eater? Perhaps an appetizer table offering up portabello mushroom bruschetta, a main course of eggplant casserole with layers of couscous, spinach, and farm fresh vegetables. And topping it all of, a vegan chocolate torte!
We are neither of the above, although I would be thrilled to attend either of those weddings and chow down! But for my own affair, I am interested in a quality menu that tastes delicious. I love fish, so some sort of salmon or pickerel is a must. I don't really want a buffet, because I just plain don't like buffets. And although I love filet mignon, the price tag starts to get a bit heavy. What we need is something that meets in the middle.
Now, back to that tricky part: the kitchenless venue.
Since we are avid VBers and have many VB friends, it just so happens that Jason and I have been to a couple of weddings at the lake. So, I decided to take a poll of VB brides. I emailed four women I know who all got married at the clubhouse, and asked them about their caterers. Who did they hire? How much did they charge? How was the food? How was the service? And overall, did you like them? Unbelievably, three of the four couples had all chosen the same caterer and were very happy with their choice! The fourth was also singing the praises of her caterer, however I preferred the budget of the majority choice, so I contacted them, Prairie Cuisine Caterers. The best part is that they travel with a kitchen hitched up in a trailer! The kitchen conundrum is solved!
Brides and grooms, I highly recommend you get out there and ask people what they did for their weddings! How are we in the wedding planning stages supposed to know anything about anything without asking. Unless you've been married before and done the whole wedding planning thing, then you are not expected to have a clue. So ask. I did, and it saved a lot of time and headaches.
One of the brides I surveyed was married last June at VB, and Jason and I were in attendance. The delicious food was all served "family style", meaning that they bring large platters and dishes to each table and let everyone serve their own portions. Kind of a happy medium between a buffet and individual servings. The first course was a variety of salads: pasta salad, tossed salad, spinach salad, etc. Then came the main: lemon & dill salmon, steak, chicken, and potatoes. I don't remember all the details, but I remember it was all delicious... except for the steak, which was overdone. That's okay though, we won't make steak part of the menu at our wedding. Finally they had a dessert table set up and guests could help themselves when they were ready, and the desserts were out all night, which means you could go back for seconds - or thirds!
I am looking forward to planning the menu and going for samplings of Prairie Cuisine's fabulous food... Stay tuned for further blogposts regarding catering and menu planning as we get deeper and deeper into the wedding plans in the new year. Bon apetit!
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