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Split Plate vs. Guest Choice

CragleWeddingCragleWedding member
First Anniversary First Comment
in Wedding Cakes & Food Forum
I am having a hard time deciding between a split plate option and giving guests a choice for dinner.  We have decided on beef tenderloin and crabcakes, and my fiance and I really like the idea of serving smaller portions of both (generally, when we go to weddings, we each order one option and share anyways).  This way, guests don't have to chose what they want and get to taste both.  That also solves the problem of asking what guests want when they RSVP, and the logistical work of assigning meals to guests based on seating.  My mom, however, thinks that that will cause food to be wasted, because she thinks that not everyone will like both options.
Any pros and cons for either option?
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Re: Split Plate vs. Guest Choice

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    lyndausvilyndausvi mod
    First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    edited March 2013

    We had the same duet plate (plus a veggie option).    We had a few guest who we knew had shellfish allergies and the got 2 filets. (we took cross contamination very seriously).  We had a couple of non-red meat eaters and they got 2 crabcakes.

    Even though we ha 145 people between us, my parents and MIL we knew the eating habits of our guests.  We knew it as a good option for us.   We are a big meat and potato, shellfish boil type of crowd.






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    GoodLuckBear14GoodLuckBear14 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Combo Breaker First Comment
    If you are putting any kind of shellfish on that plate my mom would not be able to touch anything on there without going into anaphylactic shock.  Keep food allergies in mind if you go this route.
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    flojo973flojo973 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    I had a tough time deciding this as well.  I like being able to taste more than one thing but I also like being able to pick my entree.  Our venue said that if we did the split plate and someone didn't like the beef, the could do a double portion of the fish (or vice versa).  But I don't think most guests would know to ask for that and to me, a lot of food might get wasted if you're guests are not big beef or fish eaters.

    In the end we decided to do the guest's choice.  Yes, we had to put the options on the RSVP card but it really wasn't difficult to do or difficult to keep track of.
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    jess9802jess9802 member
    First Comment First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    I don't eat seafood and can't stand the smell (and no matter what people say - I always think seafood smells), so it always bothers me to go to a function where it's a split plate option. I vote guest choice.

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    NOLAbridealmostNOLAbridealmost member
    5 Love Its Name Dropper Combo Breaker First Comment
    I happen to love both filet and crab cakes so I'd definitely prefer the duet. You could include an insert saying "Dinner will be a duet of filet mignon and crab cakes. Please contact _________ with any special dietary requirements." Then be prepared to double up portions of one or the other for anyone with an allergy and have a vegetarian option by request.
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    Ven&RadioVen&Radio member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its First Answer
    I attended a wedding over the summer that served split plates.  The RSVP cards with the invitation offered a choice of chicken, fish, or vegetarian.  When the meals were served, the chicken or fish also had beef on the plate with one sauce over everything.  Several guests at our table were *horrified* because they didn't eat red meat, and now their chicken/fish was in a sauce that was also touching red meat.  I definitely wouldn't do a split plate without notifying your guests ahead of time.  Personally, I think the guests' choice and letting people share if they wanted to is a much better option.
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    hyechica81hyechica81 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment First Answer
    you should offer a veg option and if anyone has any alergies to alert the servers. my brother did filet, stuffed italian style bonless chicken, and poched samon, for the vegitatians they had a vegetible neoplian it was various stacked veggies and a biig portobello mushroom cap on top sitted on a bed of polenta 
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