One of the best benefits of belonging to a professional group such as Caterbuzz, the global social media hub for professional caterers is the sharing of catering concepts through discussions and photos. Almost everyday on the private members only caterbuzz facebook forum catering trends, new photos from our members events, or catering concepts, situations with clients, triumphs + tribulations, marketing ideas and such are posted and discussed by our 525 plus caterbuzz members.
One popular trend and topic of discussion this past few months on the Caterbuzz facebook group has been S'mores Stations
(sometimes spelled Smores ).
Starting at the turn of the last century and since the invention of commercial marshmallows Americans and Canadians have been enjoying this simple dessert treat that offers sweet/crispy/crumbly /gooey and chocolate tastes all rolled into one delicious treat. The word s'more comes from the words "some more" abbreviated... presumably because it's hard to have just one!! The Girl Scout Handbook, published the first recipe for s'mores in 1927, and that marked the official introduction of this delicious campfire treat into popular culture here in North America.
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| Chef Andrew Alexander-Crossan proving that s'mores bring out the kid in all of us!! |
In today's post we are going to look at a variety
of creative S'mores presentations that Caterbuzz members
have posted and shared with each other.
S'mores are a comfort food dessert that everyone
seems to love and have traveled the world
from it's humble campfire origins to
upscale parties and events around the world.
If you are an experienced event or catering professional
and wish to join in the Facebook caterbuzz group,
please email me @queenbee@caterbuzz.com
with a brief note indicating your
professional experience + current position,
your catering website and your facebook catering page.
Membership is restricted to experienced professionals
so that the level of conversation provides
peer to peer communication.
If you are a new caterer or someone looking to become a caterer, by all means contact me as well, and I can guide you to many resources that will be helpful for starting your business.
In the meantime enjoy a sampling of Smores or shall we say S'mores Presentations.
When Caterbuzz member Debby Stein
of Cartewheels Caterers, Kerrville, Texas
shares her lovely displays
most of us buzzies tuck away the idea
to present to our own clients
for upcoming events and proposals.
Cartewheels Caterers S'mores Station offers
house-made graham crackers
+ artisan marshmallows
along with a gourmet chocolate selection.
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| River rocks + moss make are a signature display for Cartewheels Caterers S'mores Station |
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| Guests toast their own marshmallows at the s'mores station by Cartewheels Caterers |
Cartewheels Caterers uses a lovely garden tray
interspersed with river rocks, moss and sterno
for guests to toast their house-made marshmallows.
for guests to toast their house-made marshmallows.
S'mores are not just for kids parties, bar mitzvahs and sweet sixteens. S'mores are well received offerings that evoke a sense of nostalgia at a adult birthday celebrations, grand openings or milestone events and have become a popular wedding or rehearsal dinner dessert station too.
Love it! A dear friend and diva of catering, Mary Crafts-Homer, also a Caterbuzz member generously shared S'more Station photos from her own recent wedding rehearsal dinner in Utah, where her Culinary Crafts crew custom constructed a lovely wooden s'mores station box filled with gravel and topped with black river rocks. The sterno jets were sunk into the rocks and heartfelt signs perched across the base spouted sweet sentiments of love related to S'mores.
Absolutely LOVe these sweet signs!
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| s'mores station signage |
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| rustic + elegant s'mores station for rehearsal dinner |
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| Ultra long skewers held the house made Culinary Crafts cloud like sweet vanilla marshmallows |
On bridal blogs I have seen S'mores Favor boxes for guests to take home, with a variety of fun packaging.
Having a s'mores station at an event not only evokes nostalgic memories but also
- encourages guests to interact AND have fun, creating lasting memories for your clients and guests
- gives you an opportunity to personalize the station with fun skewers. Ideas could include tying ribbons on your skewers for example or use a pretzel stick instead of a bamboo skewer.
- create wonderful signage such as Culinary Crafts did.
- offer the tradition or offer different flavors of marshmallows and varieties of chocolates.
- is a wonderful photo opportunity as you can see from the pictures posted here on this Caterbuzz blog.
Caterbuzz member Lynn McKenzie, The Terrace Restaurant, Bar + Catering at the foothills of Yellowstone National Park in beautiful Cody, Wyoming (and a subject of another caterbuzz feature on their annual Artini Festival ) shared her version of the S'mores Station.
Using glass marbles adds glitter and glam
to this rendition of the Smores Station.
Using glass marbles adds glitter and glam
to this rendition of the Smores Station.
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| Toasting Marshmallows in Cody, Wyoming s'mores station at The Terrace Restaurant + Bar |
Doesn't that look delicious!
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for Lunch, Naturally Catering's facebook page |
Steve McAllister, a Caterbuzz member from Fenton, Michigan's Lunch, Naturally Catering, offers guests a house-made artisan organic graham cracker spoon as the base for their unique Smores presentation.
The graham cracker spoons are then set out and assembled on a metal tray at the S'mores Station. As the guests line up, some chocolate chips are placed on the edible spoon, then the attendant torches the chocolate, adds a few marshmallows and the torch is applied again, resulting in the perfect S'more for one.
Steve mentioned that the pantry at their catering kitchen only has organic flour, sugar, chocolate, spices, etc. stocked, so that "naturally", when their kitchen make products and catering offerings from scratch as they mostly do, the end product is already organic without having to think about it.
Serving the s'mores on an edible spoon speaks to Lunch, Naturally Catering's mission statement of "Reduce, Reuse and Recyle", as well as their quest to serve "the highest percentage of organic food available, prepared and served with the greatest of care and creativity, while maintaining the lowest possible environmental impact."
Lunch, Naturally Catering also offered gluten free versions
of their signature S'mores Spoon.
Enjoy this recipe for Lunch, Naturally Catering's edible graham cracker spoons that Steve so generously shared. Obviously these could be made a round or square graham cracker cookies as well.
of their signature S'mores Spoon.
Enjoy this recipe for Lunch, Naturally Catering's edible graham cracker spoons that Steve so generously shared. Obviously these could be made a round or square graham cracker cookies as well.
- Graham Crackers Spoons
submitted by Lunch, Naturally CateringYield: 85 servings of spoonsPreparation time: 30Total time: 558 1/2oz graham flour2 oz all-purpose flour3 oz dark brown sugar3/4 tsp baking powder1/2 tsp baking soda1/2 tsp kosher salt1/8 tsp ground cinnamon3 oz unsalted butter - cut into 1/4-inch-cubes and chilled2 1/4 oz molasses1 1/2 oz whole milk1/2 tsp vanilla extractPlace both flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon into the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles cornmeal. Add the molasses, milk and vanilla and process until the dough forms a ball, approximately 1 minute. Press the ball into a 1/2-inch thick disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.Unwrap the chilled dough and place it onto a large piece of parchment paper and top with a second sheet of parchment paper. Roll the dough out until it is 1/16 to 1/8-inch thick. Cut out with spoon shaped cookie cutter and arrange into spoon molds. Press to fit. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 20 minutes or until the edges just start to darken. It is very important to watch them closely, as the thinner the dough the faster they will burn. They will go from perfect to wasted very quickly. Remove from the oven, and remove from the mold onto a cooling rack immediately, as they will continue to cook. Place in ziplock and freeze if not using immediately. They will keep well at room temp for about 2 weeks if sealed well in an airtight container.
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| Festivities Catering, Norwalk, Ct. |
caterers came up with
very simple yet elegant + effective presentations when the event
doesn't have the space or budget
to have an attendant torching the
marshmallows in front of guests.
Simply dip the marshmallows in melted chocolate and then into graham cracker crumbs and voila - S'more Bytes.
Thanks to Caterbuzz member, Bill Kaliff co owner of Festivities, the Art of Celebrating who created this beautiful dessert display that included S'more Bytes.
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| dessert buffet with S'more Bytes, Festivities The Art of Celebrating |
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| how clever is this ? Adding a colored straw to up the presentation! |
Marshmallows submitted by Joan Taylor
- 2 Tablespoons Gelatin
- 1/2 cup cold water
- Combine water and gelatin in stand mixer bowl, let firm up
- 3/4 cup hot water
- 3/4 cup corn syrup
- 2 cup granulated sugar
Combine water, corn syrup and sugar in saucepan + heat until 245 degrees f/ 118 degree c.
Stream hot syrup into gelatin mixture on med-high speed in stand mixer until thick ribbon
.... add flavor of choice and pour into well greased 8x8 square pan
....mix equal parts corn starch and powdered sugar and sift over marshmallow, allow to set overnight then cut into squares or strips, put into bag filled with cornstarch mixture and shake to coat well.
This product can also be poured into individual molds (I like to make peeps),
or into round pvc pipe that has been well greased, there are many possibilities really.
Some flavor combinations that Diva Catering used in the shop: Hazelnut syrup (used for espresso)
1 TB Espresso Powder (Starbucks Viva)
1 TB, Butter Rum syrup
1 TB Cocoa
1 TB Dark Dutch Cocoa
& 1 tsp Vanilla
Alcohol of different flavors work very well...here at Diva Catering,
we've made a Pina Colada, Ameretto & Margarita that were top sellers.
We have also dipped the marshmallow in chocolate
or added toasted coconut (right after pouring),
made marshmallow pops and specific shapes for custom orders.
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| culinary crafts housemade marshmallows |
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| S'mores push up cake pop |
Caterbuzz member Diane McNulty,
has made a business out of push pops,
and with her S'more Pushup Pop has managed to delightfully combined childhood favorites.
So of course the S'mores Pushup Cake Pop was a natural offering.
Theses are made with three layers of graham cake combined with two of chocolate ganache and house-made
marshmallow cream topped
with mini marshmallows
and a drizzling of ganache.
Find them for purchase at www.pushupcakepops.com
Michelle Clausen and her husband Mark, run two businesses, a catering business and a local deli in Scarborough Maine but this is not your mom + pop oldschool deli.
Michelle often shares the innovative creations that come out of their catering business. An active Caterbuzz member, Michelle saw Kim Lauria's version posted on the Facebook Caterbuzz forum earlier in the year and created their own take on mini S'mores parfaits in 4 oz. glass jars, much to the delight of their catering clients.
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| These S'mores Parfait Jars are made onsite with crushed graham crackers in the bottom topped with warm house-made marshmallow fluff, then a layer of warm chocolate ganache topped with hand made bruleed marshmallows with graham crackers for dipping. It was a HUGE hit! |
Another favorite poster on Caterbuzz's facebook group is Kim Lauria
the very talented chef/owner and food artist from Elegant Touch Catering in the Albany area of New York State.
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Kim Lauria of Elegant Touch Catering
shared this s'mores parfait presentation
with the Caterbuzz group.
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At a grand opening for Hannaford Supermarket in upstate New York, featured last year in a Caterbuzz blog post Kim and her partner Debbie put together an awesome S'mores Station featuring a river of chocolates, jars of sprinkles and toasted coconut that the "attendant torched" marshmallows could be dipped in. The station created quite a buzz at the grand opening, delighting kids of all ages from 2- 90 !
Canadian, Cherylle Winacott of Country Style BBQ/Great Event Creations sure lives up to her catering company's name with this great s'mores idea and centerpiece.
Placing a sterno into a hollowed out pineapple as a centerpiece for guest tables not only delighted Cherylle's clients at the Children's Wish Foundation benefit, but won their catering company an award from The Sterno® Caterplus™ Innovator of the month contest.
Anyone who knows John Homrighausen,
the friendly Texan caterer fondly known as Cowboy John,
knows that his companies, Ranch Bakery,
J-BAR-H and Americana Catering
always do things the Texas way,
BIGGER THAN BIG.
At a recent holiday event for hundreds of guests
John and his team built this amazing S'mores Station Tower
and not content to serve just the traditional
plain marshmallows, hershey's chocolate
and graham cracker J-BAR-H Catering
offered 5 varieties of marshmallows,
10 kinds of chocolate and 4 different graham crackers
selections perched onto their signature vertical buffet display.
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| Caterbuzz blogger and culinary fashionista Lisa Teiger gets lite up! at Elegant Touch's fabulous s'mores station |
BBQ Caterer, Randy Twyford, of Twyford BBQ + Catering, in Jacksonville, Illinois knows a thing or two about fire. We were all tickled when Randy posted his version of the Smores station, with little fire pits that came with skewers that he purchased at a local Sam's Club store.
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| Twyford BBQ and Catering Fire Pit S'mores Station |
Placing a sterno into a hollowed out pineapple as a centerpiece for guest tables not only delighted Cherylle's clients at the Children's Wish Foundation benefit, but won their catering company an award from The Sterno® Caterplus™ Innovator of the month contest.
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| Notice how Country Style BBQ pre-torched one marshmallow so the guests would get the idea of what to do. The presentation could be as simple as a brown paper bag or gussied up with mini marshmallow decor, pink tulle fabric (careful to keep it away from the flames) and glass brick risers. |
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| GIANT PINK + WHITE MARSHMALLOWS are skewered into the pineapple centerpiece for guests to toast at whim during a Country Style BBQ fundraising event in Canada. |
Anyone who knows John Homrighausen,
the friendly Texan caterer fondly known as Cowboy John,
knows that his companies, Ranch Bakery,
J-BAR-H and Americana Catering
always do things the Texas way,
BIGGER THAN BIG.
At a recent holiday event for hundreds of guests
John and his team built this amazing S'mores Station Tower
and not content to serve just the traditional
plain marshmallows, hershey's chocolate
and graham cracker J-BAR-H Catering
offered 5 varieties of marshmallows,
10 kinds of chocolate and 4 different graham crackers
selections perched onto their signature vertical buffet display.
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| just a few of the 10 flavors J-BAR-H catering guests could choose for their own s'mores creation |
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| fabulous display on this unique s'mores station |
To get the creative juices flowing - there were "recipe"
suggestions posted around the s'mores station.
Clever ideas like "the Grasshopper" using Andes Mints
or "Almond Joy" with toasted coconut marshmallows
and dark chocolate invited guests to go beyond
the typical Hersheys Chocolate, plain marshmellow
and graham cracker combo.
Not that there is anything wrong with the traditional "recipe".
Caterers, especially Caterbuzz members,
are always looking to bump up their clients experience
and leave guests with a taste for more!
Talk about a great marketing idea!
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| J-BAR-H Catering's innovative s'more station recipe suggestions |
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John said he got his river rock presentation inspiration for the s'mores station
from Debby Stein's Cartewheels Catering
Of course John, as most of us do, added some signature touches
such as the custom made chafer stands seen here
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and lastly this year at the International Caterers Association CaterArts 2011 Symposium, as well as the Catersource 2011 Convention in Las Vegas, my own catering company,
CuisinEtc Catering and Special Events NYC was honored to presented a waffle sandwich concept - one of the offerings demoed by Chef Andrew Alexander-Crossan was a nutella/marshmallow fluff "waffle".
Chef Andrew took two pieces of thick Texas toast, spreading nutella on one side and marshmallow fluff on the other and buttering the outside of the bread, he placed the ultra thick sandwich in a waffle maker and toasted it to gooey perfection.
Viola - a s'more waffle sandwich - cut into 4 quarters and serve as a passed dessert hors d'oeuvre with an ice cold milk shot for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Similar to the nutella and fluff waffle concept - CuisinEtc has also been offering s'more poptarts on lollipop sticks.
Through mutual connections and caterbuzz, CuisinEtc was hired by Holiday Inn earlier in the year to reproduce Holiday Inn's newest food being previewed by the press for the Holiday Inn's Social Hubs. The menu is very comfort food oriented and here's a shot of the dessert offering we produced from their specs: S'more Waffle Sundae.
Since then the S'more Waffle Sundae has become quite a popular offering on CuisinEtc's bar and bat mitzvah menus, with chefs torching the marshmallows for the bar mitzvah guests.
Melissa Tibbens, from Attitude on Food, an extremely innovative Omaha Nebraska caterer sent me this fun s'mores rendition
a frozen s'mores ice cream shooter
Vanilla ice cream layered with graham crackers and dark chocolate ganache, finished with house made marshmallow cream, dramatically torched in front of guests at the station and topped with a finger of graham cracker.
A CaterBuzz member, Karyl Kent, did a savory twist on the s'more.
creating Pork Belly S'mores for a benefit they catered in Vermont.
CuisinEtc Catering and Special Events NYC was honored to presented a waffle sandwich concept - one of the offerings demoed by Chef Andrew Alexander-Crossan was a nutella/marshmallow fluff "waffle".
Chef Andrew took two pieces of thick Texas toast, spreading nutella on one side and marshmallow fluff on the other and buttering the outside of the bread, he placed the ultra thick sandwich in a waffle maker and toasted it to gooey perfection.
Viola - a s'more waffle sandwich - cut into 4 quarters and serve as a passed dessert hors d'oeuvre with an ice cold milk shot for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
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| cuisinetc catering + special events s'mores waffle station |
Through mutual connections and caterbuzz, CuisinEtc was hired by Holiday Inn earlier in the year to reproduce Holiday Inn's newest food being previewed by the press for the Holiday Inn's Social Hubs. The menu is very comfort food oriented and here's a shot of the dessert offering we produced from their specs: S'more Waffle Sundae.
Since then the S'more Waffle Sundae has become quite a popular offering on CuisinEtc's bar and bat mitzvah menus, with chefs torching the marshmallows for the bar mitzvah guests.
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| Holiday Inn Social Hub Sundae |
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| Attitude on Food frozen s'mores shooter |
Melissa Tibbens, from Attitude on Food, an extremely innovative Omaha Nebraska caterer sent me this fun s'mores rendition
a frozen s'mores ice cream shooter
Vanilla ice cream layered with graham crackers and dark chocolate ganache, finished with house made marshmallow cream, dramatically torched in front of guests at the station and topped with a finger of graham cracker.
A CaterBuzz member, Karyl Kent, did a savory twist on the s'more.
creating Pork Belly S'mores for a benefit they catered in Vermont.
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| Wonton "cracker", Chocolate Mole, crisp braised pork belly, topped with smoky chipotle marshmallow, nicely toasted. They were the talk and the hit of the party! |
AND just in case you were wondering whether it is safe
to use the sterno for toasting marshmallows
or any other food product,
our caterbuzz members were discussing this very issue and
wondering the same thing.
One member went as far as to emailed Sterno to find out.
Within 5 minutes Sterno's customer service had responded.
Dear Glenn,
It is fine to roast over the Sterno flame.
You want to take the normal precaution though that you would with any flame.
Just make sure not to get any gel on the food you are roasting.
Sterno actually has a S'mores and More kit.
You can find that product on Amazon.com.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.
Best regards,
Roselyn Mazzone
Customer Service Representative
The Sterno Group, LLC
999 E. Touhy Ave. Ste. 450
Des Plaines, IL 60018
847-795-1223
Customer Service:
Linda Daugherity ldaugherity@sterno.com
(19943)
(19943)
Could you imagine that a concept as simple as s'mores could be twisted up and served in so many different yet equally creative formats. As you can see being a member of Caterbuzz has many benefits. Being exposed to the minds of many creative souls whose passion and love for all things catering is ever present. If you are a seasoned caterer or event professional, with a similar passion for growing your catering business, please join us in 2012 and beyond for a great creative experience and professional support group.
