What Are Interactive Food Stations and How Do They Change Your Wedding Menu? | WDP Ep 89

🎧 Listen to learn:

• What interactive food stations are and how they engage wedding guests
• How to personalize a wedding menu with family recipes and meaningful traditions
• Why creative presentation can make wedding food more memorable
• How signature cocktails and mocktails enhance the guest experience
• Why plated service may offer more value than couples expect
• How intimate weddings can support elevated dining experiences

In this episode of Wedding Day Podcast, host Dan Riggs and Carrie Fisher of Wisconsin Bride sit down with Kaelyn Cervero, owner and president of 41Fork Hospitality, and Colleen Mueller, senior sales manager, at Pearl & Cade in downtown Milwaukee. They discuss how interactive food stations, meaningful family recipes, local ingredients and creative beverage service can turn a wedding menu into an experience guests will remember.

From tomahawk carving stations and pasta prepared in a cheese wheel to color-changing mocktails and espresso martini towers, Kaelyn and Colleen explain how food and drinks can become part of the entertainment. They also share their perspectives on plated versus buffet service, intimate wedding dining and the thoughtful hospitality choices that can make a celebration feel distinct and personal.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:10

Hi everybody, I'm Dan Riggs with Wedding Game Podcast, and today we have Carrie Fisher from Wisconsin Bride Magazine. And uh we're at Pearl and Cade, downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. And today from 41 Fork Hospitality, we have Kaylin and Colleen.

SPEAKER_01 0:28

Yeah, hi there. Hi.

SPEAKER_00 0:30

Super happy to have you on today.

SPEAKER_01 0:31

Thanks. Excited.

SPEAKER_00 0:34

Jake Stop you opened a can of pop. So this is your place.

SPEAKER_02 0:37

It is.

SPEAKER_00 0:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 0:38

Yeah, we're excited to be here. We've been here for a couple of months and we did a little redesign and we've opened and it's been a really popular spot. So we're excited to have you all here so we can showcase it.

SPEAKER_00 0:47

Yeah, it's gorgeous. It's open. It's uh I love the flooring and the and the chandeliers that you have. It's really, really pretty. We're excited to have a Wisconsin bride party here in just a little bit.

SPEAKER_03 0:57

Great.

unknown 0:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 0:58

Very excited. On the Cade side of things. On the Cade side.

SPEAKER_01 1:02

Yeah, that was like all Kalen too. Like her interior design just came out. It's been so much fun to like watch.

SPEAKER_03 1:08

I love that Pearl and Cade. Like you offer kind of this light, vibrant room over here at Pearl, and then Cade's got like the more colour pop, vibrant, deeper tone.

SPEAKER_02 1:17

Little little dark and moody, which we went for.

SPEAKER_01 1:19

So yeah. This is my favorite room now, I think, of all of our spaces. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:24

I saw that was your office earlier today.

SPEAKER_01 1:26

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:27

Your selected office. Yeah. We honestly have a lot of people that like where are they? Because we have people kind of working all over the city and like just go to Pearl and Cade. There's probably three of them over there right now.

SPEAKER_00 1:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:37

So you have three venues?

SPEAKER_02 1:39

So we have we have uh Pearl and Cade, which is the two rooms here. We are the exclusive caterer for the Milwaukee Public Museum. And we are the also the exclusive uh for the Villa Terrace uh Museum and Gardens, which is their new branded name as of a couple months ago. So yeah, we have And that's Noble Catering, right? Noble correct. Noble catering is the exclusive caterer for both of those locations.

SPEAKER_00 2:00

So that's exciting. Yeah. So tell us about uh you know, for couples that are thinking about booking a venue that comes with catering already included, like I'm assuming that it's not a preferred situation. You are the exclusive caterer at these at these different venues.

SPEAKER_02 2:16

At the museums, absolutely. Uh we decided to go a little different route with Pearl and Cade. Uh, as you heard, 414 Cospitality. We have a handful of different brands. Noble catering is just one of them. Uh, we also had meat beverage catering. So Pearl and Cade is a little bit different where Neat is the exclusive beverage caterer, but we are opening it to a different list of preferred caterers to let people have a variety, you know, with different budgets and you know, different uh cultural influences, things like that.

SPEAKER_01 2:41

So we can get our frienders in here and see some new people to space.

SPEAKER_02 2:44

Yeah. Plus, Noble's really busy, so we wanted to make sure that we was like make sure we weren't losing, you know, dates for couples, you know, when Noble isn't available. Yeah. So it's uh it's definitely a priority to get folks in the space and seeing it, and this way there's a little flexibility.

SPEAKER_00 3:01

So tell us about some of your favorite food trends then this year. What are you excited for for 2026?

SPEAKER_01 3:07

I I love like interactive food stations. So like we have one on our menu, and I it's my favorite thing in the world. It's a tomahawk station where they actually carve it but then serve it, but it's a whole experience. Same with like our pasta carbonara station. You actually watch them spin the pasta in the cheese wheel. I just love anything that's an extra touch because food is kind of the center of everything, and it's so fun to watch couples get an experience and a good meal.

SPEAKER_02 3:36

Yeah, we really kind of joke that food is our love language. Uh, it's right on our website. Like, food's our love language. Let's talk about it, right? I mean, I get so excited uh to talk food with people and and Colleen has a lot more conversations with the you know clients. I'm more on the like helping the food beverage director develop the menus, but I get a little geeked out when it comes to the food. So I agree. I think the experiential part is definitely really big. You know, we're always doing local when we can. I think that's a trend that's really never gonna go away. So we we work, we are in Wisconsin, but believe it or not, we can get local fresh, pretty much, you know, a lot of things year-round. Um, and being able to showcase those sorts of things. You know, we do a lot of more unique, approachable, but unique things that maybe not everybody has at their wedding. And it just things that people talk about after the fact.

SPEAKER_03 4:21

Yeah. Well, I love that because guests really do remember the food, you know, and if you're making food, like you said, Colleen, an experience, um, that's something that not not only they won't forget the flavors, but they'll remember how it was presented, how it was served.

SPEAKER_02 4:36

Absolutely. We have these little duck DLTs and we house cure the bacon, the duck bacon, that sort of thing, but it's how we present them. We literally hang them and on this contraption. And when this thing walks around a room, everyone's like, those are so cool. We always tell servers like you are gonna get your picture taken. It's okay, just smile. Always, right? For sure. You know, finding unique ways to, you know, put those memories out to people. And one last thing I think that we really enjoy too is let's talk about what's important to the guests as far as like talk to me about your grandmother's recipes. Talk to me about something that has been at every family wedding for the past 50 years. Just because it's on our menu doesn't mean we won't do it. So let's talk about it. So I think that's another big thing for us is just trying to really get the like oomph, right? The warm and fuzzy and like this is your day, and let's make sure that it's impactful for everybody.

SPEAKER_03 5:26

What a good idea to bring in like a family recipe or something of that sort, like for a personal touch that that you are open to it as well, you know, to have the team behind that to absolutely execute that.

SPEAKER_01 5:36

It's so nice because then it's like it gives us a chance to connect with the couples on a deeper level, too. Like I actually get to learn more about them and see what's important. So then the day of we can even nod further to things. It's just that going the extra step that it's one of the things I love most about my job and what we do. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:53

Gen X loves personalization too.

SPEAKER_01 5:56

They do.

SPEAKER_00 5:57

Absolutely. We've seen it with mocktails, uh, different cocktails as well. And you also own a beverage company.

SPEAKER_02 6:04

We sure do.

SPEAKER_00 6:04

Yeah. Yeah. Tell us about those.

SPEAKER_02 6:06

Absolutely. So we really kind of want it, same thing, focus on the experiential. We do have um a very large selection of mocktails. This generation is just doing things a little bit differently, which is just fine. You know, don't get me wrong, we go through a lot of espresso martinis. You know, that espresso martini tower. It's something we're definitely talking to a lot of people. Things hit the coast and then kind of work their way in. So there's all the TikTok rage of all the different towers. Um, I actually saw a tower this morning of like oysters that are also tower, lots of towers.

SPEAKER_03 6:34

Towers. I just got a tower. I ordered one for a little holiday party in my own house. I need to get one. Yes. Nice. I'm like, it's like perfect. You can put like 10 little champagne glasses in it. I'm like, that's gonna be adding to your Amazon cart today.

SPEAKER_02 6:50

Yeah, whatever is that. So as far as Barbara just go, we are in Bruce City, so we do have a really awesome variety of beers. Again, same thing. You know, people are like, I am not going to a wedding unless it has spotted cow. Okay. You know, so you can definitely get your favorites, but then there's uh just a lot of other really awesome, you know, micro brews and things trying to bring that local component in. And people do come in from other cities and other areas of the country and get to try new things. So keeping that beverage, you know, fresh, um, the mocktails are experiential as well. I mean, we're doing fun things with like the pea powders and like the changing color. They're so Instagram worthy.

SPEAKER_03 7:26

Yeah. Yeah. How do you do that with a large, like you you have weddings up to you know 300 and in pearl hair? How do you figure out a way to cater um a signature drink like that with the artistic blend to such a large group?

SPEAKER_02 7:43

There's really great ways to do some batched cocktails that where you're just like at the very end adding a little splash of something that like changes the color. So we can have things that are batched and ready to go, and then again, have a bartender that's set aside for that. That's like, all right, as I finish it, I'm gonna add a little bit of that lemon juice that all of a sudden changes the color and then hand it off. So it's that same experiential piece of it. You get the fun colors and the changing in the Instagram, but it's also really tasty. I mean, really, the stuff's gotta taste good, right? Um, I think that's the biggest piece of that. And I think too, you know, working with your purveyors, we have we have a machine that we can make the batched martinis, like the espresso martinis, and it's kettle one, it's all the fresh ingredients, but we are it's like basically a nitro tap. Yeah. So there's just fun ways of doing that.

SPEAKER_00 8:26

So I just thought of something. So uh like THC drinks, are those do you carry those?

SPEAKER_02 8:31

So we are starting to look into them. Uh Wisconsin is in a very interesting spot with its legal situation, and we're kind of waiting for some of those things to flush itself out with the Tavern League. I'm on the board for the Wisconsin Restaurant Association. These are all things that we're looking at at a much higher level. Uh, our insurance company has a lot of opinions on these sorts of things as well, and so we're kind of waiting for those things to flush out. However, that being said, there's some really awesome purveyors like Central Standard that are in the area that are doing them that are incredibly popular. So we have been asked to do them. We are not saying no, but we're kind of working through how do we do this the right way. Being smart about it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:06

The right and legal way. Correct. Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 9:09

So you mentioned earlier that uh micro weddings are still kind of a thing here in Milwaukee. They are. Are you uh doing anything to cater specifically to those smaller?

SPEAKER_02 9:19

Absolutely. I think you know, Colleen being in our sales department gets a lot of different types of inquiries. You know, Villa Terrace is just this gorgeous, intimate space. And so, you know, often this specifically this new generation coming up, I feel like is very more on the experience front and how can we make this feel special? And I, you know, they they want to make it about them and they want to make it about their close friends and family. So doing those smaller events, you know, they're doing five-course wedding, uh, five course weddings with like wine pairings and things like that that you wouldn't normally see, and that's kind of really right up our alley. Um, Noble is very into crafting um specialty menus and doing those sorts of things. So I think having the opportunity to roll something out for 20 people and also roll out something for 2,000 people gives us a little bit of a unique um play-in area.

SPEAKER_01 10:04

It's nice because it's especially with couples, some couples maybe don't have the budget, but they really still want something important and special to them and getting to prioritize themselves. Whereas I feel like prior generations it was okay, what does everybody else want? We can really be okay, team couple. What do you guys want? Like what is important? What's something that was big in your love story? How can we help? Yeah. So it's been a nice trend to kind of come back, and it's been fun to be a part of. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:29

So we do something called this or that. Um, and that's where I'm gonna list two things, and you tell me which one you like and why, okay?

SPEAKER_01 10:38

Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_00 10:38

Plated or buffet style.

SPEAKER_01 10:41

Plated.

unknown 10:41

Both.

SPEAKER_00 10:42

Yeah, top one. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:44

Go ahead. Go ahead. I think buffet, in theory, people think it's more affordable, it's an easier option. It tends to be not as conducive for guests. There can be bottlenecking, the food quality is not always what you expect. I'm really big on presentation. Now, obviously, if you've seen our pictures, that's really important to us. Buffets don't always give you that same experience. And I like guests getting served. It adds just a layer of excellence and elegance that I personally enjoy, but I also don't like 85-year-old grandmothers that have to get up and do it.

SPEAKER_02 11:15

You know, it's a thing. But to your point, right? We are big on presentation. We really enjoy putting kind of this really beautiful artistic um plate in front of folks, and I think that's just the best way for us to do it.

SPEAKER_00 11:28

I agree. The only thing I love more about the buffet is that I get to go up for seconds sometimes.

SPEAKER_01 11:33

Fair. If they haven't run out of food though, right?

SPEAKER_00 11:36

Right.

SPEAKER_01 11:37

That's always the scary part. I'm like, I need everyone to be full. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:41

And it's uh it's not the price difference, isn't that vast, right? It's not that big of a different thing.

SPEAKER_02 11:47

I mean, buffets, buffets, depending on what's on the buffet, can be quite frankly, more expensive because we have to plan for family members either going up for seconds or taking them out in food and things like that, where you know we can be a little bit more specific in how we do things with plated meals so that it keeps things on budget.

SPEAKER_03 12:04

Little this or that, food and beverage together. If they have the option to only pick one, let's say a signature drink or champagne tower or you know, that glass when their guest first walks in, or past or d'oeuvres, where would you point them? Which direction?

SPEAKER_01 12:24

I would combine them. Um, we have done in the past a champagne toast where we clip like a little popcorn or a little charcuterie comb to the cup. Yeah. So yeah. I would get the best of both worlds. I wouldn't pick.

SPEAKER_02 12:37

That is perfect. And shoot, like, depending on the cocktail, right? Some of those cocktails could get really expensive if they're putting a lot of really expensive spirits in it. You know, having a really nice champagne or a prosecco or a kava, and then being able to put some truffle popcorn on that, truffle popcorn's not an expensive thing, but it's just this little bit of a like, that's fun. Truffle makes it a little bit more luxurious, right? It's like the it's like the wedding version of a girl's dinner, right?

SPEAKER_03 13:04

Right, exactly. A little popcorn little dinner, it's right.

SPEAKER_00 13:07

I'm unfamiliar with the girls' dinner. What is this?

SPEAKER_01 13:11

Like charcuterie, it's not a full meal, it's just macing. Basically glamorized macade.

SPEAKER_03 13:17

There's my Caesar salad and my truffle fries. Yeah, like that is the perfect little palette on the side. Cosmo, truffle fries, and season. Yes, done. Done. I'm there for it. So do them both. I like that. I like that. I want my cake and I want to eat it too. Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 13:32

I wish we had time to talk about cake.

SPEAKER_03 13:34

Do you now do you do cake, bakery, or do you guys have the bright out uh couple outsource for that?

SPEAKER_02 13:39

So we have a uh one of our very talented uh executive sous chef actually really loves pastry, and so we do a lot of desserts. We are not doing wedding cakes, at least for the time being, but quite frankly, we're seeing a lot of folks like, can you just do a small cutting cake? And then we want to have this variety of desserts, which we do fairly often.

SPEAKER_00 13:57

Well, thanks so much for being on the wedding cake.