Top Food Catering Trends at Indian Weddings for 2019

Unique counters, global cuisines, fusion and variety have replaced chafing dishes at the high-profile weddings; thanks to the luxury catering services available across the country.

Alisha Shirodkar Aggarwal, VP Business Development of Tamarind Global, shares her views on how the catering trends at the high-profile Indian weddings have evolved in past few years in India.

Regional Flavours

The traditional Indian cuisine will never be done away with at weddings. The backbone of food will always be Indian to cater to the majority of the guests and provide the traditional element. However, there are many unique flavours and cuisines that add to the overall exoticness of the spread. Chefs from the particular regions in India fly down to national and foreign destinations just to make justice with the Indianness in the food. 

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Exposure to Global Brands

The common non-Indian cuisines that are represented through the functions are typical Asian, Middle-Eastern, Mexican, Italian and more. The innovation within these cuisines is unique. Niche cuisines such as cocktail idlis, mini dosa stuffed with halloumi cheese, caviar crackers, lobster rolls, gulab jamun trifle, taco chaat with a fusion make the food interesting. Various cuisines are served at exotic counters - oyster bars, truffle bars, DIY counters.

International food brands are also gaining ground - names like Hakkasan, Zuma sometime make a prominent appearance at Indian weddings. 

Designing Avant-garde Menu 

Artisanal cheese like Burrata from Puglia, Truffle and Mushroom bars, Black radish have also made their way into high-profile weddings. Guests who come to these weddings are now better travelled, exposed to a variety of exotic world cuisine, and have developed much more evolved palettes. This makes it imperative to design an avant-garde and well thought-out menu.

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Adding Street Food Flavours 

An Indian wedding wouldn’t be complete without street foods! For Mumbaiyya wedding, a Vada Pav stall is a must; similarly, a chat counter is must if the destination is in Delhi. Families focus on highlighting their cultural and regional heritage with wedding themes.

Elements of Authenticity are a Must

That’s why people prefer to bring the best chefs from the particular region. Even if the wedding is being held abroad, say at Lake Como, Italy, the hosts want to delight their guests with a set-up of Indian foods, such as ‘Chaatwala scenes’ from Delhi, assorted variety of Muthuswamy’s South Indian spread, Kolkata’s famous street food ‘Jhalmuri’, the “PanwalaBhaiya” of Banaras and a lot more. The catering companies must successfully execute the destination weddings - put the setups in order but give them your own twist, rather Indian. Keep it simple and budget-friendly by using the local materials available at the destination or the city.

Advice to Catering Companies in India

Every catering company, these days, has an array of gastronomical delight to offer - niche cuisines in the house, international cuisines, food styling, concept brunches, molecular gastronomy and much more. However, Indian Regional Meal is something that is imperative to any Indian Wedding. It is a reflection of the culture of the families that gives them a sense of belonging, so it is essential that a catering company must have expertise in authentic Indian cooking. Whether it is the tasty samosas or whipping up some amazing jalebi and rabri – Indian regional cuisine is a must have on the menu and is always a crowd pleaser. 

About Author

Alisha Shirodkar Aggarwal is VP Business Development at Tamarind Global. Started in the year 2006, Tamarind Global began as an inbound destination management company. In the span of 10 years, this award-winning company, now, has four distinct verticals (tours, weddings, events, and corporate services) and a growth rate of over 400%.