In the past, event planning and theming would come first and the food menu would follow. It didn’t matter if it the menu didn't quite fit. But a more interesting approach is to pick your food trend first and then design the event around it.
Here are three food trends we think will make for great events:
Street food
Street food is a trend we don’t see going away anytime soon. The smaller bites and the ability to carry it around will always make it an attendee favorite. And we have seen that time and time again with our great local restaurants, such as Gomez Salsa and Senate.
If you want to tackle this food trend, we recommend your event design take the form of a carnival or food truck court. Both are great ways to present food stations, since you will likely be dealing with smaller bites, and they both cater to the portability of the food. The carnival will hearken back to your attendees’ childhood, and the food truck court will pay respects to a favorite way of getting a meal.
Food technology
Technology and food is only promising to get cooler and cooler. From 3D printers to machines that make your food at just the touch of a button, food technology is growing faster than ever right now. And what does this make you think of?
For us, it’s all about magic and science. Why not design your event as a magic show or a science fair? The magic show can present the food technology as magic tricks. The science fair can present all of the food as science projects. Both allow for a lot of opportunities to go a little zany with entertainment and decorations that will definitely leave your attendees delighted.
Craft Alcohol
Craft liquor and beer are ways to connect attendees to local tastes that they will never get anywhere else, and it’s yet another way to experience your event’s location. And with Cincinnati’s local breweries, such as Christian Moerlein, it’s one of the tastiest ways to experience what Cincinnati has to offer.
The easiest event design you can start with is to simply host your event at the brewery or distillery. Events at a location like Rhinegeist will connect you with Cincinnati beer’s past and future, since it is a newer brewery located within one of our past breweries. Or you can pick a distillery like New Riff. The location itself makes you feel like you are in a liquor bottle while getting spectacular views of Cincinnati. Plus, each event room allows for a view of the production of their spirits, so your attendees are almost guaranteed to come away with a better understanding of what it takes to make what those spirits.
Whatever you choose to do, make sure your event design includes local flavors that your attendees will never forget. Because you came to that location for a reason, and your event is the place to show it off.
