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You could sit me down in front of an assortment of cured meats and smelly, gooey cheeses and I would – quite honestly – be in heaven! Toss in a decent Cab Sauv and a home-made chicken liver pâté…and well, there are simply no words in my dictionary!

When it comes to catering for your wedding, or for any social gathering for that matter, we tend to expect that our guests would not have seen a meal in a month coupled with an innate feeling that the act of a celebration needs to include a minimum 5-course over-abundance of food.

True – the ritual of eating is often leant on as an ice-breaker, softening the potential awkwardness of the coming together of a large group of people, many of whom don’t know each other…

True – in the old days, ‘celebration’ and ‘feast’ went hand-in-hand coupled with the levels of lavishness being viewed as a display of power, status or wealth.

But – I tend to feel it more important to guide a bridal couple down the path that leads in the direction of a quality food experience rather than down the ‘more the merrier’ road so often travelled.

With the above truths in mind, surely a wedding celebration that allows for its’ menu to naturally inspire guests to interact whilst delectably partaking of locally crafted, artisanal, lovingly prepared, organically minded fare – is a hands down winner?

We think so, and hence it’s why we are in love with the concept of what we call a ‘Harvest Table’ – perhaps our favourite spring trend, but certainly not limited to any particular season.

A Harvest Table – according to the kind that Cape Town based The Flying Pan has become so well known for - is a rustic arrangement of fine, locally sourced charcuterie coupled with assorted cheeses that cross the smoked/ matured/ soft/ hard/ veined/ infused canvas; and an abundance of seasonal fruits – broken, crushed, scattered, sliced for a riot of texture and colour. Starch baskets of assorted warmly baked breads and simple crackers fill the gaps together with olives, pots of home-made pâté and sticky preserves made from local fruits…

Suddenly you have a pre-reception ‘help yourself’ feast that is a natural conversation starter and fills a period of time where commonly guests are left to their own devices; and the energy and ambience created by the ceremony begins to thin. Without being an over-abundance of food, you have an over-abundance of flavour, meaning that picks and nibbles abound allowing for a deeper quality of experience that is refreshingly honest, naturally relaxed but social and celebratory at the same time.

More often than not, we find that a good quality, well stocked Harvest Table serves to take care of both the pre-reception as well as the traditional entrees – as the protein and starch combination goes a long way to satiate.

There is an undeniable peasant-like charm with the inclusion of a Harvest Table in your celebration, which is often paired beautifully with the likes of a botanical craft gin or beer-on-tap tasting. It is also hard not to support this culinary concept when many of our wedding locations are Cape winelands inspired – and we all enthuse over the synergy that exists between wine and cheese.

You could always take it just a step further to round off your wedding menu experience with an artisanal chocolate and locally produced dessert wine pairing instead of your traditional pud…and you’ve pretty much included one of each of the fundamental culinary favourites that are cheese, wine, chocolate and charcuterie!

Happiness is.  

Words by: Nancy Hoepner (HEARTISTRY Creative Director)

Photo cred: The Flying Pan (Cape Town based caterer: https://theflyingpan.co.za)