I was excited to receive the invitation to design a stunning spread for an election night campaign event for Maxine Dexter- Oregon House of Representatives! The atmospheric wood-trimmed setting at Polaris Hall provided the ideal setting for the exciting evening of grazing in Portland. Catch the KGW News segment about Maxine's win here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0TvWmBDNDs
With only 3 days to plan the grazing table and a couple of other events in between, I knew I wasn't going to mess around with shopping around and headed straight for Trader Joe's the morning of the graze to pick up what I needed. I know I can always count on TJ's to have literally everything for crafting a beautiful table on the fly!
Below is everything I picked up and how I styled the table. The grocery ingredients + some additional supplies I use for my grazes totaled around $350-$375.
100-person Grazing Table
(supplies & ingredient list)
Supplies: Coated parchment paper 18", footed dessert cups, mini dessert cups (from Hobby Lobby - get the link here - https://www.instagram.com/p/C6636FQP3Ys/
Cheeses: Spanish Manchego, caved Aged Blue Cheese, Taco Gouda, Shallot & Chive Boursin, Triple Cream Brie, Truffle Mushroom Brie, Wine soaked cheddar, Dill Havarti, Cheddar cheese slices
Dishes: Grilled Chalkidi Olives, Sour cherry spread, Sri Lanken Mango chutney, Garlic stuffed olives, Crunchy Chili Topping, Sliced dill pickles, Garlic Hummus, Beet Hummus, dill pickle mustard, Toby's original spread, 3 mini Dalmatia fig jams (found these at Safeway for $2.49/each)
Meats: Genoa Salami slices, peppered salami slices, calabrese, prosciutto, Italian dry salami
Fruit & Veggies: Whole papaya as a garnish, cotton candy grapes, strawberries, rainier cherries, English cucumbers, Persian cucumbers, Apricots, clementine oranges, whole and sliced apples, whole green pear
Yummy Goodness: Lemon Sandwich cookies, EBTB mixed nuts, Smoked almonds, salt and pepper pistachios, strawberry yogurt almonds, sesame cashews, dried cranberries, dried apricots, freeze-dried raspberries, dark chocolate pretzels, rosemary La Panzanella crackers, GF sesame crackers, water crackers, cracked pepper crackers, 3 ciabatta loafs, purple ube yogurt pretzels, mini cheesecake truffles, dark chocolate peanut butter cups, Beach Day gummy candies
Garnishes: Fresh mint sprigs, whole papaya cut in half, micro-greens, peonies and other pretty florals
How to Style a Grazing Table
The basic elements of a grazing table are the same as creating a platter or board but you get to display the ingredients directly on the table and on a large scale which can be very thrilling but also quite intimidating.
For this table I went with a flat lay style graze for a super artistic display. I always start by laying down a nice large piece or two of parchment/butcher paper where I know the food is going to go. Make sure to position it correctly, taking a few steps back to get a good look at whether it all looks balanced and you leave room on the sides of the graze to add your greenery, florals, and plates, napkins, toothpicks and any other decorations and signage.
Once my parchment paper is down and I like the placement I will arrange my sliced cheeses down on the parchment along with the dips styled in little cups.
I always follow my 5 step Eat Beautifully method when I create a graze big or small - follow the steps when stacking your ingredients to achieve a super pretty balanced look every time.
EAT BEAUTIFULLY METHOD
1. Cheese and dishes go down first
2. Meats - rolled and fold
3. Fruit and veggies for lots of color
4. Yummy goodness is the crunchy snackers to fill in gaps
5. Garnish with pretty non-toxic florals and herbs
Check out the Instagram Reel Tutorial where I share the full video BTS of how this graze came together and give me a follow so you never miss a graze! Leave me a comment here or on Instagram too - I truly love to hear from you!
XOXO,
Lea
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