Ideas for a Great Spread

There comes a time on most peoples' lives where the need to lay on a decent spread becomes paramount. This could be for a wedding, a funeral, a bah mitzvah or even just for a delicious Christmas treat. There is nothing that impresses guests quite like a delicious and varied offering of food. The most impressive spread a host can lay out should include as much home made/prepared food as possible, although some favourites like smoked salmon realistically have to be bought off the shelf.

On the day, presentation is everything. Even if you prepare such fine delicacies as a three bird roast (usually consisting of a boned goose stuffed with a chicken, stuffed with a pheasant), the presentation must do the food justice or the luxury of the banquet will be compromised! Ensure that all guests are given plenty of notice before the meal and are aware that it will be a smart affair. This is not an internship after all - this is the real thing.

To Start

A real feast should involve a number of courses, ranging from the savoury to the sweet, the soft to the stodge. A traditional and popular way to start meals in Scandinavia is with a delicious open sandwich. This will usually be topped with a slice of smoked wild salmon, a slice of lemon and a spoonful (never a silver spoon, mind) of caviar. There will often be a small handful of fresh prawns on the rye bread too to add texture and flavour.

A Scandinavian banquet wouldn't usually feature smoked Scottish salmon, but fresh Atlantic salmon. Food standards in Scandinavia are notoriously high and many Swedes, Danes and Norwegians are reluctant to eat any fish from other countries, particularly the legendary fish farms of Great Britain. This is a shame as wild smoked Scottish salmon is among the most delicious in the world!

Main Dishes

A fine banquet should include a variety of dishes. As vegetarians may not appreciate a plate of finest Alderton ham, you should be sure to lay out a good spread of vegetarian options, like asparagus, stuffed peppers and a cheeseboard. Vegetarians appreciate gourmet food too, but are unable to sample most of the finest dishes on offer to omnivores, such as fillet steak, fresh foie gras or deliciously succulent swordfish. A meat eater may think that this hampers vegetarians' enjoyment of fine food, but this isn't necessarily the case.

Dessert

A dessert, or 'pudding' as they say in Britain, should complement the earlier courses in the meal both in texture and flavour. A series of heavy red meat dishes would probably not be well followed by a stodgy chocolate cake as diners would have no space left for such a dish. Desserts should be chosen according to season too - a light lemon mousse may well be delightful in the summer, but would not warm anyone up during the winter!