The heart wants what it wants, and so do the senses. Wedding food should excite all five – taking guests and the couple on a journey through their culture, the seasons, the local offerings and most importantly, their love. Join Western Australia Wedding & Bride’s Hannah McDonald as she sits down with Natalie Ferreo, director and chef at Creative Catering, to explore the art of crafting a culinary experience that delights every sense, allowing guests to savour the moments the couple will treasure for a lifetime.
With a spirited love of food and making memories for those she serves, Ferreo was drawn to the idea of a catering business for several reasons. “At Creative Catering, we are a passionate team of professionals that love creating memorable events with top-shelf hospitality. I have been a chef for twenty-five years and fifteen years ago I created this business to cater to people’s individual tastes, themes, cultures – you name it, we do it. Customisation is our forte,” she shares.
When it comes to creating the dream culinary experience for a wedding, the first meeting with the couple is where the magic really starts. “You’re building a relationship – getting to know them so you can bring their dreams into reality. To see it all the way through to their special day and see the smiles, the tears, the lifelong memories made… Now that is special. It’s an honour to be invited into that space – to be trusted to be part of that. We love to hear about their personal tastes with food, beverages and environments, it helps us create bespoke weddings,” Ferreo explains.
From Vision To Plate
It may sound simple, but often a great place to start on the planning journey is with personal likes and dislikes. Then, Ferreo relishes getting into the finer details that make the catering experience truly special for the bride and groom. “We then lean towards what cultural considerations there are, what colour theming there is if any at all, what season it is, what the location is, and what the budget and facilities are. These are all considered in the creative process to ensure the full scope is looked at before customising the menu options,” she says.
To get to the heart of what makes the couple special and how this can be translated into food, Ferreo has some imperative questions. “We ask Keep It Local When it comes to serving food with heart, there is no better way than sourcing food from the local area, celebrating the incredible offerings right on how they met, we try to visualise a picture of what makes them unique as a couple and how we can create special moments for them. We ask what is important for them and their family and friends during the wedding events, if there are formalities or traditions that they would like us to include,” she lists.
More Than Just Food
It’s common knowledge that when food is prepared well and comes together beautifully, it is an incredible thing to encounter. However, the experience of food reaches a new level when creativity and innovation are brought into the mix. “Interactive experiences with food are always a fun surprise and add some theatre,” Ferreo adds. Furthermore, marrying this up with contextual intricacies can take the food from showstopping to mind-blowing. “It is the relationship to the environment, the season, the destination, the culture that creates the personalisation of food, resulting in experience and engagement,” she expands.
Just as love at first sight captures the heart, presentation captures the eye. An example of this in action was at The Kingman Marquee overlooking the Swan River, where a couple had a food experience guests could not stop raving about. “It was in a class of its own – Champagne and oyster bar on arrival, roaming canapes, free flowing drinks all evening, a feast style shared main course, pear liquor and dessert grazing bar. The piece de resistance was a custom-made half metre pavlova wedding cake, built live by two chefs and decorated with local seasonal berries, hand dusted with icing sugar by the bride and groom to create a special photo moment and spooned into cut crystal glasses. Sunsetting on the swan river, dancing under the mood lights. It was simply spectacular,” Ferreo recounts.
Keep It Local
When it comes to serving food with heart, there is no better way than sourcing food from the local area, celebrating the incredible offerings right on our doorstep. “We sometimes get asked to cook local or farm produce. We love it when we have brides and grooms that are open to our chefs creating bespoke menus for them. It allows us to showcase the best of the season. We particularly love cooking local. We are proudly Western Australian, and we have some of the best produce in the world. The biodiversity of our landscape means we literally have it all. From lamb, beef, duck and pork to western rock lobster, Exmouth prawns, marron, fish of all varieties, truffles, grains, nuts the list goes on,” Ferreo exclaims.
To give the essence of a homegrown love affair, Ferreo agrees that nothing beats native. “It is very easy to incorporate native foods and seasonal ingredients with all cuisines and themes. We have professional chefs that know how to create menus and balance flavors. You can do anything from a wattle seed butter with bread to an entire menu with native ingredients themed in any style you like,” she says.
Happily Fed After
As a delicious takeaway, Ferreo leaves us with this: “Consider your needs and wants first, then consider the guests you have and what the majority will be happy with. It is also imperative to consider the environment, season and location, don’t force a winter meal in summer, for example. Lastly, think about what sharing a meal means to you and about any special food moments you have that you would like to share with your guests.”
Image courtesy of Creative Catering.