Wedding Cakes & Food Forum

Is it ok to not have a chicken option?

We can chose 3 entrees from the list and the cost is the same for all of them. I want to do salmon, steak, and pasta (for the vegetarians) because I figure why would I chose chicken when salmon & steak are more expensive so it's a better value. And those are my personal favorites. Do you think those options are ok or that there are a lot of picky people who prefer chicken?

It is buffet so there are vegetable, potato, bread, soup, and salad.

                                                                 

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Re: Is it ok to not have a chicken option?

  • I think that is more than fine. Frankly, if someone is picky to the point of only eating chicken and not eating veggie pasta, fish or red meat, then there is no catering for that. The only thing I can think of is vegetarian gluten intolerant people, but if you have some salads and sides they could have, I think that will work.  They all sound like good options!
  • no that is not ok sorry but you need to have a chicken option, i dont eat red meat nor do i eat fish so i would be left with no protein option and lots of starches carbs and veggies  you should really re think the chicken option,


    veggie pasta is more of a side dish and not a meal but it works as meal  for vegetarians cant do you chicken fish and steak pasta potato and veg ?

    i know if that was my wedding i would be eliminating a huge chunk of people who wouldnt be able to eat the fish or red meat
  • jenna8984jenna8984 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    edited February 2014
    hyechica81 said:


    veggie pasta is more of a side dish and not a meal but it works as meal  for vegetarians cant do you chicken fish and steak pasta potato and veg ?

    No unfortunately the pasta is only offered as a main entree, not a side. But it does have artichokes, tomatoes and mediterranean vegetables mixed in to make it more of an entree and not just plain spaghetti. Thanks though, gives me something to consider if more people have your tastes.

    Why do you not eat those items? Since you eat chicken, I assume you just don't like the taste? (I would die without steak hahah)

                                                                     

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  • I think that is fine.  In fact it is exactly what we are doing.

    Our reception location is known for their grilled salmon and we are doing a filet also.

    We have a couple vegetarians and have something set up for them but it is not an option on the response cards.

  • I absolutely hate salmon (any fish for that matter) but love steak so I would be happy with your choices.  But with that being said, the reason why chicken is offered so much is because it is liked by many people and is usually a safe choice.  If I didn't like steak then I would be left with the pasta. Well I am not a fan of veggies either so I would just be picking out the noodles.

    Is there a way to offer all four options?

  • I have a friend who doesn't eat red meat or fish. She mostly eats chicken and turkey. Normally a pasta option would be ok for someone like her, except she is also gluten free so she would be left eating salad and potato at your wedding. 

    While I like steak, that would be my only option at your wedding because I don't eat fish or white pasta.

    I think with so many people having dietary restrictions, allergies, etc. that most people have chicken because it is a safe option. There aren't very many people that don't eat chicken.
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  • I don't eat red meat or fish (just don't like the taste), but i think your choices are fine - i'd be happy with the pasta and buffet side dishes.  I recognize that I'm a picky eater, and i know that as a result sometimes i have to plan ahead (like having a snack before i head out, or hitting the drive through on the way home) just in case I don't care for the offerings.

     

    If you have people with legitimate food allergies that truly CAN'T eat any of those options, you may want to have something on hand for them.  But as a person who just doesn't like the taste of red meat or fish, I wouldn't hold it against you if these were your choices.  My weird eating habits are my own problem, and you obviously tried to include options for everyone.

     

    I will caution one thing though: of the fish eaters i know, it seems that salmon is more of a "love it or hate it" fish than most white fish are.  So as a general rule, i think more people would select chicken than salmon.  Also, ask your caterer if they can offer gluten free pasta in the event that you have someone who is allergic to gluten and also doesn't eat steak or salmon on hand.  The may be able to make a special pasta dish using gluten free pasta just for that person (rice noodles are pretty widely available).

  • You certainly can't please everyone.  You know your crowd best- would people be happy with this?  We didn't have a chicken option, but we did have a red meat, fish, and several vegetarian pasta option.  Pasta dish is a main course, so if nobody eats red meat or fish, they can have this.  I think anybody who wouldn't be happy with this option for one night is ridiculously picky and has their own issues.  

    I agree with the gluten free pasta suggestion.  
  • Salmon, steak, and pasta sounds fine to me.
  • This is absolutely fine.  
  • We didn't offer a chicken option at our wedding (we had salmon, steak and pasta).  There was a chicken app at cocktail hour, though.  All I heard about the food was how delicious it was, so I don't think anyone minded.
  • No chicken option at our wedding either. It was a pig roast, so we just had pork, and vegetarian food.
  • You're not required to have a chicken option.  What you have sounds fine.
  •     I've been to a few weddings with no option so having options at all is great. I'm not picky, but if you were I wouldn't expect you to cater to my finickiness. If I couldn't/wouldn't eat dinner, I'd be just fine with two pieces of cake ;-p
  • Generally, I would advocate for chicken b/c I am super picky and can at least always eat chicken pretty much any way it is prepared. I would like all of your options, though. I think you can skip chicken.
    What did you think would happen if you walked up to a group of internet strangers and told them to get shoehorned by their lady doc?~StageManager14
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  • A large portion of the guests attending my wedding keep kosher at home, so they wouldn't pick any meat options (since it wouldn't come from a kosher butcher) but would eat the salmon entree, so we're doing steak, salmon, and a vegetarian plate (that would be more than just pasta with veggies mixed in).
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  • Those are great choices!  Chicken free is just fine with these buffet choices.
  • I think that you are offering many varied options already.

    It's a wedding, not a restaurant. Not everyone will get their favorite meal.
  • I was so dead-set against chicken when we chose our menu. I know it's a popular choice, but I didn't want to feel like our menu was boring or 'safe.' Knowing our crowd, we knew that pretty much anyone who would eat chicken would also eat beef tenderloin, so we went with beef as an option. I thought I wanted a fish option, but ended up falling in love with the venue's duck confit. Finally, we needed a vegetarian option, so we chose a mushroom risotto.

    There are no rules when it comes to menus. As long as there is one 'neutral' option that the majority would go for, I think it will be fine. We also ensured that one of our cocktail hour hors d'oeuvres is chicken satays, just so that any pickier eaters will have some options before dinner, too.


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  • We went the no chicken route too. I hate chicken for large events. it's just too hard to hold over without getting dry. 

    I could eat really happy off your buffet. 
  • We very nearly chose steak/salmon/veggie (my veggie pasta sounds very similar to yours) but ended up going with a stuffed chicken breast instead of steak for $$ reasons. I think there's absolutely no problem with that. If people have a specific allergy or dietary need they'll likely tell you ahead of time and you can ask for a specific meal for them without making it one of your general choices.

    I put my foot down on NO crudite. Absolutely every party I've ever been to has had veggies and dip but that doesn't mean I have to serve it. Just seemed so boring to me. There will be plenty of other apps; hopefully nobody comes to my wedding really hoping for some carrots and ranch because they'll have to make do with brie en croute and foraged wild mushroom baguettes and turkey cranberry meatball sliders. :)

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  • Lolo8383 said:
    We very nearly chose steak/salmon/veggie (my veggie pasta sounds very similar to yours) but ended up going with a stuffed chicken breast instead of steak for $$ reasons. I think there's absolutely no problem with that. If people have a specific allergy or dietary need they'll likely tell you ahead of time and you can ask for a specific meal for them without making it one of your general choices.

    I put my foot down on NO crudite. Absolutely every party I've ever been to has had veggies and dip but that doesn't mean I have to serve it. Just seemed so boring to me. There will be plenty of other apps; hopefully nobody comes to my wedding really hoping for some carrots and ranch because they'll have to make do with brie en croute and foraged wild mushroom baguettes and turkey cranberry meatball sliders. :)
    This is going to sound really stupid, but we went to a fundraiser on Saturday and during the cocktail hour everyone was talking about how they didn't have a veggie or fruit tray out even though they had 5 or 6 appetizers. LOL I guess it was just expected that they would have that because all the other fundraisers have them.
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  • I see no problem with having no chicken. Chicken always seems to be overcooked at weddings anyways! We have a few people with special dietary needs (One of our groomsmen is allergic to Gluten, Soy, All nuts (peanuts AND tree nuts) and something else as well!!), but will be working out alternatives with the caterer for those specific people.

  • Lolo8383 said:
    We very nearly chose steak/salmon/veggie (my veggie pasta sounds very similar to yours) but ended up going with a stuffed chicken breast instead of steak for $$ reasons. I think there's absolutely no problem with that. If people have a specific allergy or dietary need they'll likely tell you ahead of time and you can ask for a specific meal for them without making it one of your general choices.

    I put my foot down on NO crudite. Absolutely every party I've ever been to has had veggies and dip but that doesn't mean I have to serve it. Just seemed so boring to me. There will be plenty of other apps; hopefully nobody comes to my wedding really hoping for some carrots and ranch because they'll have to make do with brie en croute and foraged wild mushroom baguettes and turkey cranberry meatball sliders. :)
    This is going to sound really stupid, but we went to a fundraiser on Saturday and during the cocktail hour everyone was talking about how they didn't have a veggie or fruit tray out even though they had 5 or 6 appetizers. LOL I guess it was just expected that they would have that because all the other fundraisers have them.

    Hahaha that is pretty funny. I have to say I love crudite NOT for the actual veggies but that it's something I know I can take a good amount of. I'm all about the fancy delicious apps but when they walk around and give you one bacon wrapped scallop and one brie puff I am frigen starving. This is why I like being able to take 10 carrots and 10 broccoli from the veggie platter.

                                                                     

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  • jenna8984 said:
    Lolo8383 said:
    We very nearly chose steak/salmon/veggie (my veggie pasta sounds very similar to yours) but ended up going with a stuffed chicken breast instead of steak for $$ reasons. I think there's absolutely no problem with that. If people have a specific allergy or dietary need they'll likely tell you ahead of time and you can ask for a specific meal for them without making it one of your general choices.

    I put my foot down on NO crudite. Absolutely every party I've ever been to has had veggies and dip but that doesn't mean I have to serve it. Just seemed so boring to me. There will be plenty of other apps; hopefully nobody comes to my wedding really hoping for some carrots and ranch because they'll have to make do with brie en croute and foraged wild mushroom baguettes and turkey cranberry meatball sliders. :)
    This is going to sound really stupid, but we went to a fundraiser on Saturday and during the cocktail hour everyone was talking about how they didn't have a veggie or fruit tray out even though they had 5 or 6 appetizers. LOL I guess it was just expected that they would have that because all the other fundraisers have them.

    Hahaha that is pretty funny. I have to say I love crudite NOT for the actual veggies but that it's something I know I can take a good amount of. I'm all about the fancy delicious apps but when they walk around and give you one bacon wrapped scallop and one brie puff I am frigen starving. This is why I like being able to take 10 carrots and 10 broccoli from the veggie platter.
    We'll have other things out... the baked brie platter will be displayed rather than passed (and include a bunch of fresh fruit), and we'll likely have some imported cheeses displayed too... but I shall give zero f***s if anyone misses the baby carrots. We are going out of our way to be as accommodating hosts as we can in every other regard, but I put my foot down at baby carrots! And sweet baby Jesus, the broccoli farts. I will not miss walking through wafts of those.

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  • We are having chicken, but it's one of 3 choices the other two are a carving station and fish. Will your caterer let people request a vegetarian dish?  When we've done banquets (I'm in an organization and done a LOT of banquets) they usually prepare a vegetarian dish (and actually gluten free dishes)  just for those that request it. We have one "vegetarian" in our friends and family list, but she eats fish (I know.. not really vegetarian). We also have a ton of people with various allergies and food sensitivities but none of them have ever been shy about asking. I am planning on putting our menu on our wedding website with a "please let us know if you have special food needs" notice.  We are planning on under 100 guests and are close to most of them so word of mouth and conversations will probably take care of most of them anyway but just in case... 
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  • Overcooked chicken is definitely common - our chicken option is going to be a Chicken & Broccoli Penne with a cream sauce, so we should be able to avoid that issue.  I don't think chicken is required, it's just edible to most people so a common option.  (We are also having steak tips, schrod and vegetarian lasagne.)

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  • We are very fortunate in that our caterer's package offered chicken, seafood, and pasta dishes to go along with the beef carving station. As in, we get to eat ALL THE THINGS! I think, as long as you have a few entree choices, guests for the most part won't miss the chicken.
    ~*~*~*~*~

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