Food and drink choices for your wedding day

Fortunately, our experienced Events Team, not to mention our brilliant Head Chef, Ben Upton, are here to help and advise you with your food and drink conundrums, to ensure that you get the best possible outcome when it comes to your choices.

We want you to really enjoy this element of the wedding planning process and so we have put together some helpful tips for you.

1.Vegetarian or vegan?

If you and your partner are either vegetarian, or vegan, there is no reason why your menu couldn’t be predominantly this way too, and we love nothing more than the challenge of making vegetarian or vegan choices just as inventive and delicious! We are really proud of the variety in the menus that we offer and our aim is always to help you select a menu based around what you think your guests will also enjoy but most importantly, what you and your partner will love! Head Chef Ben Upton has picked some of his favourite dishes as ideas for those that are considering a fully vegetarian or vegan menu.

Starters

Somerset Brie, Thyme infused pear with walnut bread and an apple salad (vegetarian)

Bruschetta of chargrilled Mediterranean vegetables with basil oil (vegan)

Main Course

Wild rice risotto, roasted cauliflower, cep mushrooms with hazelnuts and salsa verde (vegetarian and vegan)

Desserts

White chocolate parfait in a dark chocolate shell, with honeycomb, raspberry crystals and passion fruit coulis (vegetarian)

Layered summer fruit pudding with berries, fruit coulis and speciality ice cream (vegan)

2. You’re teetotal

It might be that both yourself and your partner are teetotal, or you have lots of guests attending that don’t drink alcohol. If so you can still make an impression with our selection of Reception Drinks. Aimée, Director at Rockbeare Manor, suggests the fresh fruit and elderflower cooler as a lovely non-alcoholic alternative. Visually it’s impressive, served in a wine glass with a mint garnish, and it’s really refreshing too. Another option is to do a mix of two drinks so that you have an alcoholic and non-alcoholic option. Prosecco is always popular, accompanied by Elderflower Pressé served in Champagne flutes to create that sense of occasion.

We would always recommend making sure that wine is available for your guests during the meal, but in addition, you could choose some of our locally sourced soft drinks as well, such as cloudy lemonade or perhaps apple juice, which comes from Four Elms Farm in Sidmouth, Devon.

3. For those with a sweet tooth…

At Rockbeare Manor we LOVE food and drink!! The team here have put many hours into refining our menus, constantly improving them and seeking out those quirky ideas that will make weddings here stand out. If you have a sweet tooth, why not consider our mini-afternoon tea stands for your canapé reception?

Or, our Ice Cream Tricycle which serves luxury Devon Dairy ice cream. Both these options can be amended to suit guests with dietary requirements or intolerances if required.

4. Is it gluten free?

This is a question we get asked very frequently as many people are now choosing to go gluten free as a lifestyle choice. Most weddings that we host here at Rockbeare Manor have at least one guest who is gluten intolerant or Coeliac and so our Chefs are used to amending our menus to suit.



The below menu is entirely gluten free and would make for an incredibly impressive wedding breakfast menu for all guests.

Starter

Poached salmon and crayfish with seared scallop and saffron crème fraiche

Main Course

Roast rack of lamb with a herb crust, grilled artichoke, gratin dauphinoise, pea puree and rosemary jus

Dessert

Summer fruit and elderflower Champagne jelly with clotted cream ice cream and nougatine crisp

As all of our food is made from scratch, our Chefs just amend the recipes where necessary, using gluten free flour in our cakes and desserts for example. And, if you ever want proof of how yummy they are, you must visit and try some of our famous gluten free chocolate brownie!

5. Is it local?

Devon and the West Country is a beautiful part of the country and we are so lucky to be able to host weddings here. Our delicious menus are made with only the finest ingredients from suppliers who we know and trust, and we use the local influences in our menus wherever possible.

Our ‘West Country Platter’ is served as a sharing board on our Barouche menu. It incorporates all kinds of lovely things such as Quickes Vintage Cheddar, Cornish Brie, Devon glazed ham and local belly pork served with cider chutney to name but a few.

For your evening food you could select our homemade pasties. As well as Traditional pasties, our vegetarian version is to die for….Butternut squash, spinach, with ricotta and toasted pecans!

Whatever you decide to serve your guests, with Rockbeare Manor as the venue for your wedding, you can’t go far wrong, but our biggest piece of advice is that it’s your day!

Don’t feel that you need to play safe – embrace the sense of occasion and choose something that will WOW your guests!

We’d love to help you to plan your picturesque Devon wedding at Rockbeare Manor. If you’d like to discuss your requirements, call us 01392 797444.