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Buffet Dilemma! Need to impress.


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Old 30-11-2010, 13:40
fluffsta007
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Hello food forum once again!

I had a £50 bet with my sister that I won't supply decent buffet food for her birthday. To run this all down she has everything sorted for her birthday (venue, DJ, food) and I told her I would surprise her by bringing a unique dish along to the buffet.

Me and my Sister have a good laugh and even though I consider myself a decent cook/chef I really want to impress and surprise her by supplying a unique dish for her buffet.

Please give me ideas! The amount of people due is 200 and she is already catered for 200. I just want something maybe for 50-80 servings I can impress with.

I have a budget of £50 (the buffet is already sorted) This is extra food!

Please help me Bring your expertise together! What would you do with a extra £50 to impress on a buffet?

I forgot to add that I have until 23rd of December to get this together. I will be happy to provide a progress report with pics during this thread.
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Old 30-11-2010, 13:44
sazzleperkins
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Whole poached, dressed salmon? My friends had 2 on their wedding buffet and they looked (and tasted) incredible.

Easy to do as well if you have a fish kettle.
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Old 30-11-2010, 14:10
sy278
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Hungarian Goulash?

Stovies?
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Old 30-11-2010, 15:07
RootsFran
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I would do a terrine of some kind with cooked meat, maybe turkey, and try and build it with coloured aspic and asparagus so the cross section looked colourful.
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Old 30-11-2010, 19:49
grassmarket
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You've got to get a whole boar's head with an apple in its mouth.
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Old 30-11-2010, 20:00
Double Decker
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Dressed salmon look fab, we had some for our wedding, displayed on mirrors with slices of cucumber as the scales. Our fishmonger has a fish kettle which customers can borrow or hire if you buy the fish from them.

Alternatively as the food is already sorted, how about an ice sculpture? Or shots in ice glasses?

Or a couple of large platters of fruit, these always look stunning with pineapples, melon slices, kiwi halves, blueberries, strawberries etc. You could have three types of melted chocolate to dip them in.
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Old 01-12-2010, 02:06
Jackie45
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a suckling pig is quite an unusual sight at a buffet and it tastes yummy!
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Old 01-12-2010, 02:53
cakehole
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How about a fruit bouquet? Dead easy, I did one for a summer party with choc dip and cream - everyone loved it. I used a new flower pot with an iceberg lettuce inside to hold the sticks. Ideal for a party and deffo impresses. I did a lot of separate fruit sticks as people were scared to upset the design - they got over it though

There are loads of clips on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fibfWXK9t-s
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Old 01-12-2010, 10:03
reginald1981
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Sweet or Savoury?
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Old 01-12-2010, 13:28
bristol pixie
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how about a chocolate fountain?
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Old 01-12-2010, 13:31
Gogfumble
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how about a chocolate fountain?
Impressive (although that would be stretching the word even then) when they first came out. But now they are so cheap loads of people have them and now they just look a bit cheap and common.

Sorry, I am not normally a snob about things like that. But chocolate fountains are tacky beyond belief. In my opinion of course.
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Old 01-12-2010, 13:48
Specktater
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How about making the fruit bouquet a little more seasonal and make it xmas tree shaped? You could make concentric circles of card and attach cabbage for foliage (darker green and possibly a bit more durable than lettuce, you could even use flower arranging foam to extend the life further). Then stick in the fruit as xmas decorations, you could even include nice chocs on some.

My other suggestion would be a gingerbread castle, see the gingerbread house thread for some great ideas (the poster that has a party every year has some amazing photo's and designs!)
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Old 01-12-2010, 13:57
Gogfumble
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I quite like the fruit bouquets actually. Never seen them before reading this thread. So easy to do too.
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Old 01-12-2010, 14:22
bristol pixie
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Impressive (although that would be stretching the word even then) when they first came out. But now they are so cheap loads of people have them and now they just look a bit cheap and common.

Sorry, I am not normally a snob about things like that. But chocolate fountains are tacky beyond belief. In my opinion of course.
yes it's just your opinion and I think they're a bit tacky as well. It was just a suggestion, that was aimed at the OP not you, but thanks for your opinion
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Old 01-12-2010, 14:46
whackyracer
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yes it's just your opinion and I think they're a bit tacky as well. It was just a suggestion, that was aimed at the OP not you, but thanks for your opinion
Bit harsh, they were only offering their opinion aswell after all.
OP, I think the suckling pig idea would be brilliant, or maybe a whole fish that's been nicely dressed....or maybe lobster?
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Old 01-12-2010, 14:50
Gogfumble
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Bit harsh, they were only offering their opinion aswell after all.
OP, I think the suckling pig idea would be brilliant, or maybe a whole fish that's been nicely dressed....or maybe lobster?
Suckling pig would be great. But I should imagine it would cost a lot more than £50.

I know when my cousin had a hog roast at a party. The pork alone was £70 and I think that was 'mates rates', the rental of the BBQ thing was more on top but not sure how much.
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Old 01-12-2010, 14:52
Gogfumble
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yes it's just your opinion and I think they're a bit tacky as well. It was just a suggestion, that was aimed at the OP not you, but thanks for your opinion
This is a discussion forum, I am more than allowed to give my opinion/input on any post that I like.

I just said it wasn't my thing. Sorry that offended you so much but don't know why it did when you think they are tacky too.
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Old 01-12-2010, 15:01
whackyracer
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Suckling pig would be great. But I should imagine it would cost a lot more than £50.

I know when my cousin had a hog roast at a party. The pork alone was £70 and I think that was 'mates rates', the rental of the BBQ thing was more on top but not sure how much.
Oh yea, forgot the budget....guess that blows my lobster idea out of the water (pardon the pun)

A whole fish, nicely dressed might still work though.
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Old 01-12-2010, 15:05
Gogfumble
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Oh yea, forgot the budget....guess that blows my lobster idea out of the water (pardon the pun)

A whole fish, nicely dressed might still work though.
Lidl do Lobster which is quite nice (and cheap too). don't know if they have any at the moment though. But even with cheap lobster, I think you would be stretched to get 50-80 portions of Lidl lobsters for £50.
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Old 01-12-2010, 15:06
I love Ellie
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Cheese and pineapple chunks on cocktail sticks, which are then stuck into half an orange.
Go for the retro feel.
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Old 02-12-2010, 13:53
Flyboy152
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How about making the fruit bouquet a little more seasonal and make it xmas tree shaped? You could make concentric circles of card and attach cabbage for foliage (darker green and possibly a bit more durable than lettuce, you could even use flower arranging foam to extend the life further). Then stick in the fruit as xmas decorations, you could even include nice chocs on some.

My other suggestion would be a gingerbread castle, see the gingerbread house thread for some great ideas (the poster that has a party every year has some amazing photo's and designs!)
If this was a Christmas party then I would tend to agree, bu as this is a birthday, it may not be the most appropriate thing to do. Mrs Flyboy's birthday is in a couple of weeks and we try our best to not make it "Christmassy" for her. It's not fair on someone having to share their birthday with Christmas. When she was growing up she would often get joint birthday/Christmas presents, when children whose birthdays where in the middle of the year get separate ones.
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Old 02-12-2010, 13:56
Flyboy152
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How about some chocolate covered fruits. Strawberries coated half in white and half in dark chocolate etc.on a bed of chocolate shavings.
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Old 03-12-2010, 15:02
cdtaylor_nats
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If its a late night party in Winter why not give each guest a cup of soup as they leave to absorb the alcohol a little and keep them warm while they get to their transport.
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Old 04-12-2010, 21:11
scorpio man
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Why not go for something unusual.
Plenty of ideas HERE
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Old 08-12-2010, 13:59
Dazzaschofield
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Forget unusual or grand things like whole salmon, I'd go with simple but delicious.

Now I know vol-a-vonts are a bit tacky but this filling is delicious, I did these for my mothers wedding and everyone was raving about them.

Take some cooked chicken and cooked bacon and dice fine, finely dice some wild mushrooms, fry and add them, put into a bowl and add mayo, 1 spoon of wholegrain mustard and 1/2 a spoon of Dijon mustard. Add a handful of chopped chives and spoon the mix into the cases, you could do 200 portions with the 50 quid you have.
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