Childhood Treats at Your Wedding

Bring something a little different to your upcoming wedding menu with some gourmet treats that will have your guests reminence back to their childhood.  Remember mom used to say "don't play with your food", we've all heard it growing up as a child.  Several American chefs have decided to ignore the age-old adage, re-creating childhood favorites with playful yet adult angle.  Brides will love to take a page from their book of borrowing a soul-warming classic and reinventing it to add a bit of nostalgia and creativity to your wedding cuisine.

Adult Style

“Our entire food philosophy is ‘playful American,’” offers chef Jeremy Barlow. At his Nashville restaurant Tayst (taystrestaurant.com), Barlow whips up an array of familiar childhood favorites with an adult sense of flavor. One winner that would work well at a wedding is his Duck Confit Sloppy Joes.

“We serve them on mini brioche buns with tomato sauce and a side of tater tots made from risotto,” he says. “But for a wedding you could use all sorts of fillings and fun twists on fries or tater tots. I think weddings are so built on memories—whether you are recalling them or creating them—and having small bite-sized portions of things that help you recall childhood, well, kicks your event up a notch.”

Simple Goodness

Celebrity chef Rick Moonen also sees this trend in comfort foods we loved as children being brought back coast-to-coast. “I’ve worked in fine dining my whole career, but I’ve never grown up,” Moonen laughs. “I think my advice is, ‘don’t.’ Weddings can be elegant, sure. But if it were my own, I’d fire up the grill outside and offer delicious, inventive yet simple food.”

Moonen competed on the TV show Top Chef Masters and owns the infamous Las Vegas restaurant rm Seafood (rmseafood.com), where guests can try his Shrimp Moon Doggies. They’re made with sustainable shrimp and fish, and standard ketchup and mustard are substituted for Asian slaw, mint pesto and toga chips with dressings made from chipotle, ginger or horseradish.

“Wedding food can be really stuffy, and I think brides should work with their culinary team to bring lightheartedness and inspiration, not staid, typical things no one will recall years later,” he continues.

 

Playful Twists

When Mercury Amodio got married, she had a chicken liver station for guests. But she loves the idea of a dessert station with peanut butter and jelly mini sandwiches. This past August she opened the popular Wayne, PA, spot PBandU (pbandu.com). “It’s easy to make the most iconic childhood sandwich playful yet mature,” she says. “I would definitely say it only fits with the more casual affair, though. It’s going to be a bit messy, and you have to just let go of that.” She adds toppings like apple slices, bacon, pickles and sharp cheddar to a home-processed gourmet peanut butter base.

For a dessert bar, try mini marshmallows roasted over a tableside flame, topped with chocolate morsels or coconut shavings. If colder desserts fit your craving, ask if your chef can get them super-chilled. The chefs at FLIP Burger Boutique in Atlanta, GA, and Birmingham, AL, (flipburgerboutique.com) offer liquid nitrogen milkshakes in flavors like burnt marshmallow nutella and orange creamsicle, alongside the very-adult “Offaltine,” which calls for fois gras and chocolate.

Cocktail Treats

When thinking whimsically, don’t forget your bar—it’s a great place to poke a bit of fun at childhood treats. We love the idea of tequila snow cones. Your bar chef or caterer might have to do a few trial runs, but try mixing a silver tequila with a flavorful syrup and lightly layering over packed ice. La Biblioteca deserves the credit for these in New York City (richardsandoval.com/labiblioteca). And there’s nothing like a thick, rich, frozen milkshake. Try making them a little more adult by adding a bit of premium bourbon to your vanilla version or peaty scotch to your chocolate variety, and serving in a silver julep cup with a beautiful sprig of mint.