Ain’t nothin’ wrong with some meatballs or prawn cocktail, but sometimes you need a little global influence to spice up your wedding celebrations. Here are some of the most delicious (and sometimes a bit shocking) wedding foods around the globe.
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China
In many Chinese wedding banquets, eight courses (the traditional good luck number) are served in order to symbolise good fortune. Peking duck, a dish that features the auspicious colour red, is often served in order to represent fidelity, as ducks mate for life. Crispy, sweet, salty, deliciously fatty and loaded with meaning? Yes, please!
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France
A visit to France is always a culinary experience – and a croquembouche is as close to dessert perfection as one can get. A tall tower of cream filled profiteroles draped with lashings of molten sugar and studded with chocolate and fruits. A long standing French tradition has the couple leaning in to kiss over the top of the precarious structure – if they don’t knock the croquembouche over, their love is destined to last.
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South Korea
South Korean brides are the recipients of a unique shower of tasty morsels – guests at the wedding are encouraged to throw dried fruits (such as dates) and nuts at the bride. The quantity of snacks that she collects in her gown is said to symbolise the number of children the couple will have throughout their marriage!
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Ethiopia
If you think bridal hairdos are elaborate in the UK, you have probably not heard of the Gamo people of Ethiopia. Brides have their entire heads slathered in a butter made from animal intestines and draped in ceremonial grass, measures meant to symbolise fertility and fecundity.
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Canada
More and more, brides and grooms are opting to present their guests with a midnight snack meant to soak up the wine, beer and glad tidings consumed throughout the day. Hipster food trucks, sushi buffets and stations serving the Quebecois classic poutine (chips, melty cheese curds and a special gravy) are all increasingly popular options, and guests are voicing their wholehearted appreciation for the tasty late night grub.
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Japan
In Japanese culture, herring roe symbolises prosperity and fertility – two attributes wished upon any young couple. For wedding celebrations, herring roe is preserved in salt (so that it forms one large piece) and placed on a portion of sushi rice, dipped in savoury soy sauce and consumed in one bite as a tribute to the couple’s future success.
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Turkey
One of the cheekiest wedding traditions from around the world is sure to be the custom surrounding coffee in the favourite holiday destination of Turkey. The bride is expected to make a delicious coffee service for her entire family, and to make a special cup of coffee for her new husband – one laden with salt instead of sugar! He is expected to grimace and drink it all down without complaint – symbolic of the fact he will embrace all of the difficulties of their life together.
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India
Visitors to India have long known that this country is place of beauty and contrast, perfect for a holiday getaway – and their wedding traditions are no different. A lovely bit of sweet honey mixed with nourishing, healthy yoghurt – this perfect pairing of life giving foods are consumed by the bride and groom in order to ensure a long and happy life together.
Maybe you don’t necessarily want your head slathered in butter, but some late-night pile of duck sounds pretty good for socking up the bubbly… what are your favourite wedding foods? Have you ever been caught completely off-guard by a wedding meal? We want to know about it!
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