Family Style: The Latest Catering Trend

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Harsanik is excited to announce that we teamed up with Anoush Banquets & Catering to bring you a monthly blog series featuring the latest news and trends related to catering!

We know that when planning a wedding, one of the topics that engaged couples and their families have a lot of questions about is the food & catering! Should we go with a plated meal?  What about a buffet? What type of food should we serve? 

Anoush - Family Style Catering


There are a few things to consider as you make a decision between plated and buffet style. First, your guest list can guide the style of catering chosen. A formal sit-down meal might not be the best option for a reception with lots of hungry, impatient children. On the flip side, guests with difficulty walking might not be very happy with you if they need to stand in a buffet line. Another thing to consider is the style of your wedding. Plated meals provide a feeling of elegance and formality, especially with tuxedo clad servers attending each table and presenting a plate in front of each guest.  A buffet or reception style allow for a more social and casual environment for you and your guests. 

A new trend that has been getting pretty popular in the last few years is family style dining. Family style dining is something new, a little out of the ordinary, and somewhere in between formal plating and informal buffet lines.  What’s great about family style dining is that it works really well for Armenian and Mediterranean cuisines, since you can have large platters of grilled meats and colorful fresh salads which can be both delicious and beautiful


Family style is a great way to keep guests engaged by mingling, passing dishes and of course enjoying a wonderful selection of food. It combines the best of both buffet service and a seated dinner, enabling everyone to enjoy table side service while also allowing them to sample a variety of different dishes.

Of course, family style wedding meals require the proper setup, which happens to fit the trendy new look of long reception tables set with colorful table linens. The food is delivered by catering staff to each table in separate dishes, and placed in the center of the table, just like a holiday meal at home! 

According to Vrej Sarkissian, owner of Anoush Catering, the typical number of appetizers for a table of 10 to 12 guests is about 25, which will be placed on the table prior to guests’ being seated. Once dinner starts, three to five entrees are typically served with predetermined intervals to give guests the opportunity to try out all the various menu options. Meals like baked salmon with asparagus, beef skewers, lamb chops, and roast chicken are perfect for this style of catering. Accompanied by a variety of salads, grains, and freshly baked breads, tables are filled with wonderful dishes to share and pass.  Naturally, your guests will grab for the dishes and pass them around the table to the other guests. Family style creates a sophisticated, yet social service that truly allows guests to eat at their own pace, enjoy the company at their table, and create some wedding memories to be shared for years to come.

So to recap, when you’re deciding on your catering style for your wedding or upcoming event, you have several options to choose from: plated for a formal event, buffet for a more casual setting, and family style for something in between!

We hope you found this blog helpful and we look forward to partnering with Anoush Catering to provide more catering news and trends to you in our monthly blog series!

Tags: armenian food , catering , tips , trend

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