Largely gone are the days when graduation parties consisted of backyard burgers and dogs --; and if you were lucky, a keg of light beer for the adults.
For starters, kids want, well, starters and other fancier fare --; appetizers and additional finger foods can add a touch of class to a party and make for easy pickings for guests.
"Teens these days have pretty mature palates," said Brittny Thompson, field marketing manager for Noodles Inc., with 400 locations nationwide, including in Westminster, Thornton, Arvada, Lakewood and Wheat Ridge. "They are not afraid to try something new."
But beyond that, catered parties have a real appeal to the adults who organize the parties and can't necessarily make time for a grand trip to the grocery followed by a full day of manning the grill.
"We are seeing a trend in graduation parties --; more and more of them are being catered," said Dallas Massey, director of marketing for Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que, with locations along the Front Range, including in the Larkridge Shopping Center in Broomfield.
He said they receive a lot of catering requests this time of year.
"It's already a stressful, emotional day and a reputable catering company ... can help alleviate a lot of that stress," he said. "People are starting to figure out that it's really not that much more expensive to let the professionals handle the hard work, while they enjoy their party."
To help keep this year's party "stress-free," here's a few local catering options for your grad's party:
Biscuits and Berries
Easy and affordable are the key components for most graduation cater events, according to Stacey Skelton, director of sales and marketing with Biscuits and Berries, a catering company based in Golden.
She said hors d'oeuvres are popular choices, "since they're sending kids to college."
Catering companies like Biscuits and Berries offer different levels of service, she said. Having food prepared off-site and brought to a home or event hall is often more affordable, though the special touch of on-site food preparation can also be nice.
Biscuits and Berries also handles catering on the Auraria campus, making it a potential choice for any family looking for nearby event space if their graduate has his or her ceremony downtown.
"Often, we'll get a request for a bartender," Skelton said --; someone to make sure beer and wine are available for adults, but not the teens.
Favorite teenager food items off the Biscuits and Berries menu include authentic Mexican street tacos, a fajita bar and the lasagna, she said.
Noodles and Co.
Fast-casual pasta catering to the health-conscious is pretty popular these days, judging by the success of Noodles and Co., which has opened hundreds of locations nationwide since 1995 and is now a top catering option for all manner of party.
"We are made different," Thompson said. "Real food. Real cooking. Fresh ingredients. Real flavors, unique flavors from all over the world --; American, Asian, Mediterranean."
Building on the same success that has contributed to the boom of many fast-casual eating options in the past two-plus decades, Thompson said people appreciate the chain restaurant's "commitment to quality ingredients.
"(We) target healthy ingredients (like) cage-free chicken and naturally raised pork --; both antibiotic free and hormone free, vegetarian-fed," she said. "No animal byproducts. Our milk, cheese and tofu are made with organic ingredients."
The pasta at Noodles and Co. also is GMO free, and Thompson said the restaurant has gluten-free options to boot.
And while the popularity of traditional mac-and-cheese is no surprise, that sophisticated palate Thompson spoke of is evident in choices like pad thai, Korean meatballs and penne rosa.
The most unique current request?
"Japanese pan noodles with cheese sauce," Thompson said. "I hear it is really good, although I have never tried it."
Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que
Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que offers fare probably most associated with late-spring and early-summer parties like those of the graduation variety: Grilled and smoked meats. The chain --; with more than 200 locations nationwide and a handful along the Front Range --; offers pork ribs, chicken, beef brisket and a variety of flavors of barbecue sauce.
In house, Dave's All-American BBQ feast is served family-style on a trashcan lid. But, rest assured, there's not likely going to be much of Dave's BBQ hitting the bottom of the trashcan at most grad parties.
"Barbecue sandwiches are always a popular choice because they are easy to eat and the meat holds temperature for an extended period of time," Massey said.
And Dave's has learned, much like Noodles and Co., that some "kid" favorites never go out of style. "Dave's Cheesy Mac & Cheese is also a popular choice. It's a grown-up version of every kid's favorite, but Dave's includes jalape os and corn that adds a ... kick."
The biggest challenge to catering graduation parties, Massey said, is figuring out how many guests will stay for a full meal and how many will nibble before moving on to the next party.
"We've gotten pretty good at 'tweaking' the menu to make sure they can feed as many guests as possible, regardless of budget," he said.
Fortunately, BBQ makes for great leftovers, which is good for those customers who go all out and order, say, a fully roasted hog.
"It's not really a strange request, since we are a BBQ restaurant," Massey said. "But we do frequently get asked to roast a whole pig at someone's event."
All the more reason for guests to pig out.
from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.comhttp://northglenn-thorntonsentinel.com/stories/Party-catering-goes-to-the-next-level,213169?branding=15
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