Faraway Weddings News : Meaty Feasts, Fishy Dishes and Super Servings.

We only use one catering company – we’ve worked together since 2004 and we are very proud of them. They are long-established on Samui and have cooked for tourists and Thais alike. They have even cooked for members of the royal family on various occasions and in Thailand where the royals are widely-loved, that is considered a real accolade.

They provide a number of different Dinner menus to choose from, let’s talk through the options…

Thai food (by far the most popular):

The 4-course Thai Set and the 5-course Thai a la Carte menus offer a great selection of dishes and also have the option of adding a seafood barbeque. We serve Thai food “family-style”, where the appetizers (a selection of 3), soups, salads and desserts are served to each guest individually. The main courses are served in large dishes at the centre of each table for everyone to share – it’s a little bit like a buffet, only no one has to leave their seat! We like this style of dining as it offers guests the opportunity to try a number of different dishes – some they perhaps wouldn’t order themselves in a restaurant. If you add the seafood barbeque; the fish, prawns, crab, mussels and squid are freshly flame-grilled and brought around on big platters for guests to take their selection.

We are often asked about quantity and portion sizes – we can only reassure you – there is always LOTS of food! Each main course serving is enough for the appropriate amount of people on that table and the cooks are generous to boot. We’ve had people requesting doggy bags, asking for food to be left out for a second sitting or emailing afterwards to apologize for not finishing everything.

Some of our favourite dishes are the spicy apple salad, chicken with cashew nuts and the roasted duck curry to name just a few.

Western food:

Our caterers offer 4 western menus - all with 4 courses; for these menus they will also have a chef from one of the island's five star resorts present to oversee the cooking and presentation and ensure the same quality as our Thai food. Starters, soup and desserts are a set dish but the main course is a choice of 2 options. Each guest’s choice of main course must be confirmed before the wedding, which makes a little more work for you, sending the options and collecting the orders. This is because the kitchen is stocked specifically for your wedding – not like a restaurant which has a constantly revolving supply of foods. Each guest will be given a small tag with their name place setting to show staff which dishes go to whom, so it’s OK if a guest forgets what choice they made perhaps a few months earlier.

On occasion, some hosts choose to alternate dishes around the table – perhaps the least risky with the dessert course but we think it’s risky all the same – there’s nothing worse than being envious of what your neighbour is eating!

Vegetarians:

When you enter your guests details in the guests list, there is a box in which you can enter dietary requirements – note vegetarians here. For western menus, we will provide vegetarian (or pescetarian) options if we can see any in your party. For Thai menus depending on your choices, the catering company will substitute a veggie version for appetizers, soup and salads where appropriate. If there’s at least 3 vegetarian-friendly main courses, there’s no need for any special portions but if you have a meat-heavy menu, we will have the caterers whip up some vegetarian treats.

Allergies and Intolerances:

Again, enter any requirements in the guest list so we can offer appropriate alternatives. In Thai food, use of gluten and dairy is actually quite uncommon. However, we do have a gluten-free menu if this intolerance affects any of your guests. We will inform the catering company of all allergies you make us aware of. The guest/s in question will have a small tag at their name setting so that they can be easily identified and served accordingly.

Kids:

Children can either order a kid’s meal or share the Thai food with the adults for half price.

Coming Soon…

In response to recent requests, we’ve been working with the catering company to come up with a new pick and mix Thai and Western Barbeque – it will offer a choice of meats, seafoods, side orders and sauces. We think it’s going to be an enormous hit… Watch this space!