Image source: Pexels

Summer is the season of entertaining! From home cooked meals to bountiful picnics and beautifully constructed grazing tables, summer is the perfect time to share food with family and friends.

With grazing tables and amazing platter design an ever growing trend, we recently spoke with the owner of Plentiful Catering, Eve Houghton, who creatively designs and builds the most mouth-watering grazing tables fit for every occasion.

Eve began creating grazing tables three years ago, turning her hobby of creating aesthetically pleasing, grazing style platters at events into a successful business that has made over 865 grazing platter tables for events, parties and other occasions.

Read on to learn Eve’s top tips for creating the perfect spread.

Miele: Tell us about Plentiful Caterings and what sparked your enthusiasm for grazing platters?

Eve: What I love about grazing platters is that it bring guests together and provokes mutual conversations, celebrations and a feast! This business brings me so much joy and it’s incredible to be part of my client’s celebrations and see how much happiness they also get out of it. We’ve recently been privileged to work for some brilliant companies, including Mercedes Benz, Google, Samsung and Canon.

Image source: Plentiful Catering

Miele: What are your top-tips and must-haves for anyone trying to create the perfect summer grazing platter?
Eve: Creating the perfect summer grazing platter will be simple if you follow these golden rules:
1. Just add fruit: It is important to always use fresh produce that is in season! It makes for a delicious mix of ripe fruits, will be cost-effective and is also environmentally friendly as the food will have travelled less miles. A standout on my summer platters are fresh berries, cherries and figs – an absolute necessity!
2. Keep it cheesy: Grazing platters and decadent cheeses go hand-in-hand so always source at least two types of local, high quality cheese. At Plentiful, we love using a mix of hard cheese (such as cheddar) and soft cheese (such as brie). Truffle Brie is my current favourite and brie is a crowd pleaser on every platter
3. Sweet & salty: It is always ideal to have a balance of sweet and savoury items on your grazing board. Guests will often have different taste preferences so it’s important to keep that in mind when building the platter as you want everyone to feel catered for. We recommend including cheese, fresh sourdough bread, crunchy crackers, free-range cold meats and antipasti products, along with ethical dark chocolate and dried and seasonal fruits.

Image source: Plentiful Catering

Miele: What presentation tools would someone need to create the perfect grazing platter?

Eve: While some companies use props in their grazing table, we prefer to create a flat lay of products– meaning it is super simple! This method creates a cohesive, organic and premium aesthetic that all of our clients know and love. To develop our signature look, we simply need a table and fresh ingredients, it’s simple, wonderfully effective and perfect for anyone looking to create their own grazing platter.
Miele: What are your top tips for perfecting summer entertaining?
Eve: You can make summer entertaining enjoyable if you keep it simple! My tips are:
Celebrate with a grazing platter company: Of course, if you are based in Melbourne, I would recommend a grazing table from Plentiful Catering. It is stress free, promotes social interaction and is an aesthetically beautiful way to spoil your guests. Alternatively, give it a go yourself! Use my top-tips and play around with the presentation. Your guests will be amazed by the beautiful creation and effort you’ve put in for them!
Pick a theme and location: We love using a neutral palette and décor to support the grazing board. If you’re entertaining outside and don’t have space at home, why not try your local park under a tree? You can bring your own table setting and chairs and enjoy the warm summer breeze. Or, if you would prefer to be indoors, try to find a location that has natural light and a stunning view. Indoor plants also make any space more inviting.

Keep it simple: Everyone wants their event to go off without a hitch and to be stress free in the lead up. It helps to outsource where you can and have a friend help you with the final touches. It’s nice to enjoy the preparation stage too, so why not pour yourself a spritz, listen to some relaxing music and you will be sure to have a fuss free event.

Image source: Pexels

Now that you have all the tips to create your own beautiful platters or grazing table, for your next event, why not try one of our recipes to compliment it? Create the perfect summer entertaining spread with recipes from our Miele for Life portal. Try our Wild Berry Spritz, Carrot, miso dip with seaweed salt potato chips and Fetta and oregano chips recipes.

To learn more about Plentiful Catering and to see Eve’s wonderful creations head to her website or Instagram.