News

'Tis the season to celebrate, but what tasty morsels can you expect to find on the schmooze circuit this year?

Chefs and caterers agree that small plates - miniature 10-course "meals" passed on spoons, sipped from tiny cups or dished in stemware - are hot, but partiers can expect everything from savoury macaroons and house-smoked salmon to classic foie gras and artisanal charcuterie.

Marc Thuet is already in the thick of party season, and for him it's all about tradition. "I started to prepare my Christmas puddings in July," says Mr. Thuet from his busy Toronto catering kitchen, where stollen (a rich bread with dried fruit and nuts), choucroute (sauerkraut) and bacalao (salt cod) are all part of his "around the world" festive menu.

"It's my réveillon menu - festive foods from everywhere in Europe," the Alsatian-born chef says, "because at Christmas, it's always really traditional."

While it might not be as traditional when Mr. Thuet serves it - the boudin blanc pan-seared and served with foie gras atop a squash crème brûlée, a little coulis with duck emulsion to sip alongside - he says the roots of his menu go back to the village in France where he grew up.

Across the country, Don Letendre, the chef at the Opus Hotel in Vancouver, has been busy creating chic party menus for luxury clients - from Tiffany & Co. to BMW, Ralph Lauren, and Dolce & Gabbana.

Working from the contemporary Yaletown hotel, and serving guests in stylish boutiques, lets Mr. Letendre riff on edgy global themes. He has served petit fours (small iced cakes) from the jewellery cases at Tiffany and turned the hotel coffee shop into a Spanish tapas bar for parties.

His most recent appetizer creations range from crispy prosciutto cones filled with herbed goat cheese and topped with mini-melon balls doused in limoncello to savoury curry macaroons with smoked salmon crème and black pepper foie gras truffles.

His pecorino lollipops - shredded cheese and quince jelly baked on a stick - look like a field of sunflowers, standing in a flat of wheatgrass or a deep dish of black sesame seeds. "It can't just be food - it's an experience - and if you're on your game, that's what people remember," says Mr. Letendre.

That applies to drinks, too. While the Opus Bar is known for its "lifestyle cocktails" complete with personality profiles - like the Billy All-Nighter with Red Bull and vodka and the Dede cocktail with Alizé Rose and edible flowers - Mr. Letendre is considering other festive ideas for the holidays, such as a huge bowl of "daily" champagne punch, rolled out on an elegant trolley, or a Mexican chili-infused hot chocolate with rum and cardamom marshmallows.

Mini-meals served from chef-staffed stations will be seen everywhere this season. At a recent soirée at the Banff Springs Hotel, executive chef Martin Luthi served small plates of mixed wild mushroom risotto topped with just-seared slabs of foie gras, while sous-chefs carved lamb chopsicles - cocktail-sized morsels of meat on their natural bone sticks - and served roasted beet and goat cheese, and grilled seafood salads in martini glasses for easy transport.

Canapés, especially for large groups, are fleeting and extremely labour-intensive to create, so many caterers opt instead for small tastes of more substantial dishes.

But it looks like it may be a tough holiday season for vegetarians. Meaty offerings, from charcuterie to pink peppercorn-studded pork tenderloin and mini-Yorkshire puddings with rare roast beef, are hot.

"In Canada, it's really changed," says Mr. Thuet, busy making dried landjaeger and blood sausages, and hanging legs of salted Berkshire pork in his specially designed cooler. "I did a big batch of boudin and already I've run out. It's crazy."

Chef Aaron Cruerer of Red Tree Catering in Calgary caters to large groups but offers many of his signature dishes to customers who want to cater their own affairs. "It's catering without catering," says Mr. Cruerer, who recently opened a second takeout gourmet food shop in Calgary's trendy Kensington neighbourhood.

Mr. Cruerer's takeout menu is stylish but simple - crispy pumpkin risotto balls, birchwood-smoked chicken-stuffed gougère with stilton and walnuts, crab cakes with mango relish, or ready-to-serve rare tuna with ginger lemon aioli.

On the sweet side, Calgary dessert diva Rebekah Pearse of Nectar Desserts fills party buffets with groovy retro sweets, from artfully arranged bowls of gumdrops and fresh fruit jellies, to giant, hand-pulled lollipops. "I'm moving away from fussy to fun," says Ms. Pearse, whose dessert shop serves up pretty pink mini-layercakes and red velvet rum balls, along with sticky towers of profiteroles (cream puffs).

Desserts, like her popular panna cotta parfaits, are offered in individual portions, but she'll also organize an ice-cream bar (with adult-style single malt Scotch ice cream) or a s'more station. "People want whimsy," she says.

Party pointers

Make sure you have enough food for your cocktail party - but not too much. For a short, pre-dinner party (one to two hours), you'll need four to eight pieces per person; for a four-to-six-hour party, in lieu of dinner, each guest will consume 14 noshes or more.

Home parties call for simple dips and crackers, hummus, red pepper muhammara or artichoke dip. Prepare homemade crostini or pita chips or buy interesting crackers such as Raincoast Crisps.

Platters make buffets easy. Think about a side of wild salmon cured with salt, vodka and fresh herbs; or thickly sliced beef tenderloin, served cold with baguette and horseradish aioli.

The cheese tray is an absolute. Pick three to five cheeses - something young, something middle-aged and something old. Choose a young goat cheese or spreadable Boursin; creamy wedges of brie or camembert; sliceable selections such as a good gouda or a washed-rind style cheese like Port Salut; and something sharp, whether it's a wedge of old Canadian cheddar, Manchego, stilton or parmigiano reggiano.

Unless you're planning to hire a bartender, limit beverages to two red and two white wines, a non-alcoholic punch and one cocktail (such as a red cranberry or pomegranate martini, berry mojito or egg nog), offered to guests as they arrive.

Cinda Chavich