What do you eat if you don’t eat bread? – My Paleo Wedding Menu
I hate how some people think that Paleo is not delicious to eat.
Have you ever had people ask you: “What do you eat if you don’t eat bread?”
I get asked this a lot, and my reaction is usually a fake laugh while inside my head, I’m thinking “ARE YOU CRAZY??”
But they’re not crazy, because we’re so bombarded by the food industry with crappy food that we forget what truly good food really is. One of my first reactions to Paleo many moons ago was: “What can you eat if there’s no cereal for breakfast, sandwich for lunch, and pasta for dinner?”
I was faced again with this issue when planning my wedding (which is this Saturday). I have 60 non-Paleo family and friends attending, and they’re probably all wondering “ARE THEY GOING TO SERVE ME JUST BACON AND SWEET POTATOES?” (That’s a pretty delicious image, but not really wedding style.)
So, I had to go in search of a caterer who would cook a scrumptiously delicious and visibly beautiful wedding meal. Many of you probably think that was seriously difficult. After all, it’s hard to even find a single Paleo restaurant to eat at!
But it was surprisingly not hard at all, and Joshua Charles is the man who is making my wedding so special. I can’t thank him and Marian enough for making our Paleo Wedding dream become reality. (His team is even going to cook EVERYTHING in olive oil, coconut oil, or butter/ghee!)
In case you don’t believe me, here is the menu and some photos from the tasting (courtesy of my good friends, Caroline and Wayne, who did the tasting in California for us while we were still in NYC).
Passed Appetizers
Lemongrass Braised Pork Belly
Chilled Melon Soup Shooters
Kampachi Tartar Spoons with Kaffir Lime
Gravlax of Arctic Char with Eggplant Caponata and Black Pepper Creme Fraiche
Main Courses (carving station)
Grilled Herb Marinated Bavette Steak
Grilled Leg Loin of Marin Lamb
Main Courses (non-carving station)
Leg of duck confit with dried cherry-grainy mustard glaze, over sauteed pea vines
Rosemary skewered Alaskan Halibut cheeks, grilled and served with with arugula, preserved lemon, and green olives
Sides and Salads
Summer ratatouille and goat cheese bake – Heirloom eggplant, peppers, and zucchini stewed with tomatoes and baked under a goat cheese crust (we normally only eat raw or fermented dairy, but we’re making an exception)
Roasted baby beets with chevre, parsley and shallots – Organic gold, pink, and purple baby beets dressed in lemon vinaigrette with crumbled Laura Chenel goat cheese
Butter lettuce with aged balsamic vinegar, strawberries, mint, and candied pecans
Sushi Bar action station
Fresh fish and vegetable nigiri sushi and maki rolls (yes, there will be some white rice in this…but it’s not the worst thing)
Dessert??
We’re really unwilling to compromise and have even a gluten-free cake – yep, you read that correctly, there will be NO WEDDING CAKE. Instead, “dessert” will consist of 4 wine and food tastings, a dark chocolate tasting (3 different chocolates), and a tea sampling with 8-10 different teas to choose from.
Wine and Food Pairings
I’ll post a more detailed post on this after the wedding, but we’ve got oysters and champagne, walnuts & stilton with port, and more!
OMG – I’m so excited just looking at this menu again! Don’t get me wrong, we did have to compromise on a few issues. For example, we are having cheese (many of them raw cheeses though) and sushi, as well as plenty of alcohol of course and several specialty cocktails (although we refused to supply ANY soda regardless of whether it had corn syrup or cane sugar)!
Spread the Message – Paleo is DELICIOUS!
[Tweet “I don’t eat crap!”]If you know someone who thinks Paleo is full of crappy food and that there couldn’t be any good food without grains and processed sugars, then PLEASE PLEASE send them this menu created by Joshua Charles.
Click the Tweet button above to let everyone know you don’t eat crap.
And let me know below what you think of the menu in the comments below!
PS – the amazing photo at the top of this post is by one of Jeremy’s close friends from high school, who has now become one of THE BEST photographers in the Atlanta area. He’s flying out with his fiancee to take our wedding photos too. You can find more of our engagement photos at http://jasonhalesphotography.com.