Tips for Planning the Perfect Family Reunion Meal
While we do not often think about it in the course of our everyday life, food is a very important consideration when planning a family reunion. The family reunion meals can effectively make or break the success of an event. The culinary experience at a family reunion should be planned with all of the guests in mind. Proper planning can avoid many unpleasant affairs at the family reunion and make it truly an affair to remember for years to come.
Time of day is a major factor in deciding which meals to serve at a reunion. If the reunion is among local family members, and it will be a relatively short event, than usually only one meal is needed, with some snacks added in for good measure as well.
Usually a family can trace its genealogy back to a certain ethnic group. While the traditional foods of their ethnicity may or may not be acceptable as culinary fare for the reunion, it is something that should be considered. Could you imagine the traditional Italian family sitting down for corn grits and pone? It hardly seems likely. While this may not be appropriate for all family reunions, it is something that can be considered. A major consideration is what percentage of the family attending the reunion is still actively involved in any celebration of their ethnicity and diversity or if they are more open to the culture that they are living in.
More often than not the family reunion is a long day of events at least. If this is the case, careful planning should be made in regards to the food that will be served. Cold cuts are a great idea for lunches and snacks. They can be easily prepared in advance of the event and stored easily without the need for anything more than a little wrapping and some refrigeration. During the family reunion, the cold cuts can be set out on the table with cheeses, spreads and bread for sandwiches that everyone can make individually. This alleviates the need for spending vast amounts of time in the kitchen for food that people may or may not eat, and will ultimately detract from the traditional family reunion evening meal that everyone usually partakes in.
The big meal is usually one of the culminating events at a family reunion and its grandeur should be reflected in the dining atmosphere. Quite frequently there will be a theme style meal for the family reunion. Whether this is geared towards a specific ethnic background of the family or towards a more general family reunion theme, it is an important factor in deciding what foods to serve at the reunion.
Maybe you have a very ethnic family, but many of them have married outside of that one particular group of people. One option is to serve a variety type meal for the actual dinner, while supplying an ample supply of snack foods or side order items that are unique to the culture of the family as a whole. Having a more generalized main course will prevent anybody from feeling nervous about sitting down at the table, and perhaps even feeling ostracized simply because they do not enjoy the taste of something new.
A selection of foods could be offered for the actual main courses that reflected the diversity of the family at the reunion. This is quite frequently beneficial in that it offers everybody there a personal selection for the foods that they are comfortable with and gives them the option to try new and exciting culinary adventures. This will also prevent anybody who is not familiar with the foods of any particular culture the opportunity to try something new and find out more about their new family as a whole.
A traditional main course serving served with a selection of cultural side dishes is also a popular option at many family reunions. If there is a large and diverse cultural representation at your family reunion, the simple act of offering a more traditional main course will allow everyone there to eat freely. By adding a number of more ethnically specific side dishes, the guests at the family reunion have the option to partake of many foods that may not otherwise be generally available to them.
Whatever is being planned for the family reunion, the food and culinary selections should be a very important part of the whole family reunion experience. Whether it is for a relatively small affair or an extremely large gathering, the family reunion should be enhanced by and remembered for the culinary expertise and dining experience of the family reunion.