Plated Dinner

A seated dinner of three or four courses, plated in the kitchen and served to the whole room at once. It is the most formal of the service styles and the one that holds a timeline best, which is why it suits weddings and galas where speeches and service have to interleave. Every menu is designed for the event rather than chosen from a fixed list.

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Sauce being poured from a copper pan over a plated main course.

How it works

The shape of the service.

Three or four courses

Typically a starter, a main, and dessert, with a soup or intermediate course added where the evening has room for it. Canapés before dinner are usually planned as a separate service.

Served synchronised

Every table is served at the same time, which is what makes a plated dinner feel plated. It sets the staffing ratio, and above roughly 100 covers it is the main thing driving how many people we bring.

Built around your timeline

Courses are placed against your run sheet — speeches, first dance, presentations — rather than run back to back. Nothing is fired until the room is ready for it.

Designed, not selected

We start from what you want to eat and what the season offers, then build the menu. You taste it before committing and we adjust from your notes.

What’s included

Comes with it.

Kitchen and service staff sized to your guest count and venue
Full plating and service equipment
A tasting before the menu is confirmed
A run sheet agreed with you and your venue
Clear-down of everything we bring in

Dietary requirements

Designed in, not worked around.

Dietary requirements are collected in advance and tracked per guest rather than per table. Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and allergen dishes are designed as their own course and plated at the same moment as everyone else, so nobody waits and nobody gets a compromise assembled from what is left. Tell us at the tasting and we will design for it.

Questions

The things people ask first.

How many courses should we have?: Three works for most events and keeps the evening moving; four suits a longer dinner with speeches between courses. We will tell you which fits your timeline rather than upselling the extra course.
Can we taste the menu first?: Yes, before you commit. You taste it as it will be served and we adjust it afterwards from your notes — that step is what turns a proposal into your menu.
What if our venue has no kitchen?: Plated service is still possible; it changes the equipment we bring and how dishes are designed to finish on site. Tell us early and it goes into the quote rather than surfacing later.
Do you use Ontario produce?: Wherever the season allows. Ontario has a real growing season and a real off-season, and we would rather tell you what is genuinely good in February than claim local produce year-round.

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