What would you rather served at a wedding? Hog roast or paella?

[TheLuckyPearlCat]

Trying to decide on the cuisine for 100 people!
Thanks!

Allergic to shellfish so hog roast for me!

Is this for the main meal or evening supper?

Hog roast. It is easy enough to do a veggie alternative with roasted mushrooms/peppers and cheese for those who have it plus the stuffing and bread.

Hog roast is an insensitive option. I'm not even veggie but the sight of it makes me very uncomfortable.

Hog roast if it was tender and not dry, with nice bread, chips and salad to go with it.

It makes me feel sick and I’m not even a vegetarian, I just find it quite grim to look at.

Neither. Paella is terrible for seafood allergies and hog roast is disappointing and smelly. Depending on what kind of reception it is I would rather have chicken potatoes and veg (formal, sit down), fish and chips or pizza (informal) or sandwiches and crisps (pub)

Pork is so disgusting in those circumstances unless it’s hot hot it’s inedible in my opinion and it gets cold really quickly
Plus all the congealed fat stinks to high heaven. It’s just revolting.
Paella all day long

I walked out of a restaurant in Mexico because they had two baby pigs with olives stuffed in their eyes staring at me at the entrance. I nearly 🤮

Same. I find them disgusting and upsetting to see. Honestly it’s no different to me to seeing a human being roasted (I know many will disagree or think that’s stupid but that’s how I feel, and I can’t help judging people who have them). Are you going to provide anything for vegetarians?

A hog roast is such an occasional treat, and smells divine. And really not keen on seafood (or, indeed, food poisoning!). So for me it would definitely be the pig.

You'll never please everyone so go for the one you like most!

Personally, I love both. DH couldn't eat paella if it has mussels in though.

As long as there's enough food for everyone (I've been to more than 1 wedding where they ran out) and you cater to any allergies or dietary requirements, then you are good to go.

Paella imo for me but sadly it wouldn’t work for lots of people due to the seafood

That’s awful! I think it’s one thing to eat meat but it’s another to relish in disrespecting the animal and using it as a prop for shits and giggles. Which is what I think a hog roast does. I find it really disrespectful and just a sign of how cruel we can be as humans.

Interesting. I find it very atavistic, harking back to ancient feasts and celebrations.

You know your guests better than we do; where I live (semi-rural) a hog roast would go down a storm but I imagine if your crowd's more metropolitan the paella would be a better bet. If the paella is from a well-established caterer who specialises in it they are unlikely to food poison your guests, they should also have some reasonable veggie/vegan alternatives. Also most hog roasts I have been to they don't have the whole pig out on display, it's normally just platters of meat you help yourself to.

Neither would be great options but paella is better. Hog roast is just grim, smells horrific and is a food poisoning waiting to happen scenario. Plus no good for veggie, gluten free etc.

Being perfectly honest I don’t think either are a great option for wedding OP.
So many other foods that would be safer, tidier to eat (with guests dressed up) & both hold a bit of a “marmite “ theme for everyone.
could/would you consider alternatives?

Hypocritically, I eat pork but the sight of hog roasts make me feel ill 😕 and it seems a lot on this thread feel the same. So I guess I’d choose the paella option.

Neither.

I don't think either is a good choice for an event where you are catering for 100 people, many of whom you won't know about allergies / preferences, etc.

I mean, I like both, but a hog roast can really turn the stomach of quite a lot of people. They rarely cater well for vegetarians either. But paella has lots of things in it that people don't like or are allergic to.

Is there not a third option ?

But I think that’s just it, in ancient times there was inherent respect there as the animals lived naturally and were hunted individually with every part used etc. Our contemporary treatment of animals for food is so far removed from that that I think it’s even more disrespectful to try and hark back to ancient times in that way.

both me and dh got food poisoning from paella at a wedding 4 years ago! I still can’t face eating it since then.

so my vote is hog roast.
rice and seafood can be so risky especially for large amounts of people

But that's a problem with the choice of caterers, not the choice of dish.

Completely biased vegetarian here so I vote paella. Easier to adapt to different dietary requirements if that needs to be a consideration, and personally I find a big obvious corpse as a centerpiece a little un-festive - it doesn't exactly make me think of enduring love. Again, appreciate I'm very biased, but you did ask.