Can you help me with menu choices for an event please ?

[TheDogsMother]

We are hosting a lunch for a celebratory event. The venue offers lovely food from locally sourced produce and beautifully presented. The venue has given us lots of sample menus and have asked us to pick three options for each course. We then need to get our guests to choose one dish from each course in advance. So my question is this, which combination of three main ingredients is likely to appeal to most guests. There are no vegetarians/vegans amongst the guests.

Options of dishes made with beef, lamb, chicken, fish (inc gurnard, plaice, hake, sole, salmon, cod, brill, sea trout, halibut, haddock), duck, pork.

It's a nice problem to have but the pages of delicious dishes are making it impossible to choose. Haven't even tackled starters and puds yet . Thank you in advance

For me I'd like the choice of:

Salmon
Chicken
Beef

Same as above

Salmon
Chicken
Beef

Starters

Cheese soufflé
Pate/terrine
Prawn something

Dessert

Chocolate something
Banoffi pie
Vanilla cheesecake

((Which I know you haven’t asked for but 🤷🏻‍♀️))

And I would choose

Terrine
Beef
Banoffi

1 fish, two meat - safe choices are Beef, Chicken and Salmon or Cod. Lamb, duck and pork are not universally loved; ditto trout.

Ooh thanks, this is great. A couple of pudding choices so you can see how difficult it is to choose !

Dark chocolate and hazelnut mousse, raspberries and milk sorbet

Lemon posset, meringue and lemon verbena

Steamed marmalade sponge and orange sauce

Drools

Marmalade sponge sounds quite heavy albeit delicious.

Dark chocolate sounds divine

Hit me with starters

Salmon is a bit boring; mid-week meal at home. I'd go for sea trout.

But def not chocolate/banoffee/cheesecake - too cloying and sweet. Something light and fruity - and something puddingy. And then chocolate if you must. Although I'd far prefer cheese.

Lemon posset and marmalade sponge both sound perfect!

They will probably make the sponge small and delicate but wondering if it is more winter than spring food.

Another couple of puds to tempt you

Rhubarb panna cotta and ginger custard
Strawberry and basil cheesecake, champagne sorbet

I might need a trio of desserts

Definitely rhubarb panna cotta please!

Starter I'd choose something like scallops, pate, terrine, cheese soufflé

If I were planning....

I’d go with beef/chicken/veg because even if there are no vegetarians, that is an option that many who are ethically restricting their diet in some fashion will eat.

For dessert, something chocolate and something fruity. Preferably not something ephemeral. If people are full they can just nibble and if they aren’t, sweets often pad out a low choice meal.

For starters, no more than one seafood option. No soups (mess)

Interesting point about the cheese. We can offer it as a pud choice but we were wondering about just having some brought out after pudding. Too much ?

Ok starter main ingredients- crab, mackerel, pork belly, Terrine, chicken, beef (tartare), veloute (various), smoked salmon, smoked haddock, duck (hash), cheese soufflés or mousses, bisques, salt cod (scotch egg), pigeon

I'd pick Hallibut and the lemon posset!

Beef/chicken/salmon is terribly dull! Why not take advantage of what sounds like a tremendous chef? I would go for lamb/duck/sea trout.

For puddings, the dark chocolate mousse and strawberry and basil cheesecake plus something else but that should not be in a pot and nothing more than medium-heavy given that its for spring!

How are the starters shaping up?!

Beef
Chicken
Cod

These are all excellent points thank you. Though I said no veggies there is a veggie starter I like the sound of. Please tell me if it's too dull

A particular locally grown tomato which is delicious with goat curd, pine nut and fresh basil

Ooh starters - crab, cheese soufflé and .....terrine. Yum! When are we all getting our invitations ?

I think you need to have at least one ‘safe’ / relatively bland option per course

So smoked salmon, chicken, plain dessert (fruit / ice cream)

So, when I come to your lovely lunch please may I have:

Cheese soufflé
Salmon
Rhubarb panna cotta

Nothing chocolate or hazelnut for pudding thank you .

I have to make some similar choices soon for a May-time thing I do every year so know that it is quite difficult!

Just because there aren’t any vegetarians, doesn’t mean you can’t offer a non meat dish.

Salmon
Beef
Vegetarian

Would be my suggestion

There are some lovely choices of fruity, light puddings. I'm wondering whether to omit the chocolate choice

Lamb
Chicken
Hake

Crab
Terrine
Soufflé

Lemon posset
Mousse
Cheesecake

I’d choose
Soufflé
Hake
Posset

Beef, chicken and salmon or cod are going to have the widest appeal I’d say.
For the pudding, something light & fruity such as lemon mouse, something chocolate, and something traditional like rhubarb crumble.

For the starter, something with fish, something with cheese, something with pâté maybe duck or pork as they won’t be included in the main course menu.