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No, I??m not going
to sing nor am I auditioning for ???Oliver!?????¦but I??ve been to enough
weddings to know my likes and dislikes. As a wedding guest, my role??s
simple ?? buy an appropriate gift from the wedding list, get that killer
outfit to make myself gorgeous without upstaging the bride, behave and
enjoy myself.
But one important
thing that, in my opinion makes a ???good??? wedding in many people??s mind is
food, glorious food ?? or not as the case may be.
For those of us
still mentally planning our weddings, we know that besides our choice of
partner, we score marks out of 10 for the venue, decorations and most
crucially, food and drink - and plenty of it.
Two years ago, I
went to two weddings a fortnight apart ?? one was family, the other a
long-time friend. Both were on tight budgets (and which couple isn??t?) but
both used creativity for their beautiful weddings in gorgeous settings.
But when it came to the sit-down dinner (and I??ve never been to a wedding
feast where it was a stand-up buffet), I??m afraid it was no contest.
My cousin went
all out for her wedding ?? National Trust venue, lovely sunny day (thanks
to God), good company and a lovely service. But when the wedding dinner
was served at the reception, it was literally designer food ?? an excellent
presentation (for food photography and I??m pretty sure those glossy
pictures secured their decision to take the all-inclusive package) but as
my cousin Nigel put it: ???Is this it????
Yeah, cuz ??
that??s it??¦ Dinner comprised fancy rocket salad, posh bread rolls and
slices of terrined p??t?©, glazed chicken leg quarters (and no, there wasn??t
any breast pieces seen on anyone??s plate) julienned carrots, saut?©ed
asparagus tips and new potatoes, followed by mango sorbet and raspberry
coulis (very Delia) ?? food better suited to slender girls who lunch on hot
air and little else rather than mere mortals who know they had dinner and
left the table well-fed.
Nigel was
miserable: used to solid home cooking and weekend treats such as KFC??s
Bargain Bucket, he asked the forbidden question ?? ???Can I have some more????
?? to a waitress who looked at him like he needed to get skinny. All of us
cousins on this table gave him that ???how could you ask that at a wedding????
look. His response: ???Well, if I can??t have any more food, I??d better find
the nearest Kentucky and eat something.??? Oh, for the want of a fiver to
get myself two pieces of chicken and chips!
I hasten to add
that cousin Judith married an English guy ?? so I suspect the food was a
huge compromise. Chicken Tikka Masala may be the UK??s favourite dish but
for me, it??s not a patch on curried goat and rice ???n?? peas with homemade
coleslaw and potato salad??¦ which I had with relish at my friend??s wedding,
a typical Caribbean affair. And yes, she and her man pulled out the
stops too??¦
Most weddings
I??ve attended have been Caribbean in style; I??ve been to other ethnic
weddings and one thing stands out: there??s definitely food on the table.
On the rare occasions I??ve been invited to an all-England wedding, I??ve
often wondered - are the British afraid of food or something at weddings?
When it comes to wedding feasts, minorities have this nailed: weddings are
celebrations and many minorities celebrate with food. Once the ???politics???
are sidelined, people use food to make a statement ?? they??re saying ???We??ve
invited you to celebrate and feast with us.???
Although wedding
guests would never say this out loud, many will treat going to a wedding
as an opportunity to skip cooking ?? regardless of marital status. I
doubt many wedding guests go to starve themselves at a sit-down meal,
never mind concern themselves with its cost.
As important as
the ceremony is, I suspect it??s the food that makes ?? or breaks ?? a
wedding. Weddings are causes for celebration and food is a huge part of
that ?? are the British more into their drink (and how much they can ???down???
without throwing up?) as opposed to feeding their guests? I wish I knew
because all the times I??ve been to weddings where the British have been
invited, they??re fascinated with the food being served (and eat as though
they??ve been starved) but seem reluctant to extend that interest in
catering to their own weddings. Any particular reason ?? surely with all
those cookery programmes on TV, a bit more effort could be made ?? both in
style and portion size? Is it because the Brits aren??t much cop at
cooking good food?
All I know that
when me and sweetie??s wedding comes, the catering is going to cost a small
fortune ?? and we??re probably looking at world cuisine with a definite
focus on US-Barbados cooking at our wedding. He??s very epicurean and I
can cook up a storm in the kitchen, so there??s a good match. And when our
time comes, no-one??s leaving our wedding hungry enough to go looking for
KFC to fill the gap!
?© April 2004 Caroline Lashley, The Editor??s
Office, London. All rights reserved. |
