Portion sizes are shrinking at holiday parties this season

Portion sizes are shrinking this holiday season.

The corporate events chef with Oliver and Bonacini, Jamie Meireles, says clients are more frequently requesting bite-sized morsels.

The trend is moving to home kitchens too.

“You’re seeing more and more reception-style parties,” he said, adding it allows for “more variety.”

That craze started (and continues) with tiny hamburgers, known as sliders but the options have blossomed. One trendy choice is  mini soup, served with petite grilled cheese.

Foodies like Nicole Karmali, the operations manager for Oliver & Bonacini Events, suggests part hosts allow about four pieces per person.

That applies to crudités, as well as items like cake pops, cheese and crackers.

Karmali reminds hosts to keep it simple.

“You also don’t want things that are going to get stuck in people’s teeth, that could drip on their chin,” she said. “Because they’re trying to make a great impression with people they probably haven’t met before.”

With fewer awkward moments, the food itself can quickly become part of the conversation.  Guests who are otherwise strangers, can chat over ‘build your own’ stations that have become a hit at Oliver and Bonacini events.

A ‘build your own’ taco station can accommodate a variety of food preferences including gluten free and vegetarian, Meireles said.

At parties planned by Eatertainment, the same goes.  Sebastien Centner, the company’s director of special events likes grazing stations because they apply to all tastes.

He applies the so-called “power of four”

“Make sure that you have at least four types of cheese,” he said, suggesting hosts layer a display with large wedges of cheddar, soft cheese, sharp blue cheese and goat cheese.

The extended beauty of this kind of service is, “you can set it up ahead of time,” he said.

“You can cover it with saran wrap – then just before your guests arrive – pull the saran wrap off – and you’re ready to go.”

If a warm dish is something you’d rather serve, Chef and Owner of Ruby Watchco, Lynn Crawford, serves a salt-enrobed fish.  It is baked for about 30 minutes, then “It’ll keep it warm for – you know – about an hour.”

Crack open the salt wrap when you’re ready to serve and ” it’s a wonderful preparation for the holidays.”