You have the date, the room and the guest list. Now somebody has to pick the food, and that somebody is usually you.
Most Baltimore showers run two or three hours in the middle of the day. Guests graze, gifts get opened, and people leave. The food has to work standing up.
It also has to be safe for the guest of honor. That rules out a few trays most hosts would order. Evolved Catering runs baby shower catering in Baltimore in homes, restaurants and event halls every month.
This guide covers menus by time of day, finger foods, what the mom-to-be should skip, how much to order and the sweets table. The Baltimore catering service can take the whole list off your hands.
Pick the Time of Day First, Then the Menu
The start time decides the food. A shower at 11am needs a real meal. A shower at 2pm does not.
Morning and Brunch, 10am to 12pm
Quiche bites, fruit, yogurt parfaits, pastries and a waffle or pancake station. Add coffee, juice and a drink people can toast with. It feels like a meal without sitting anyone down for an hour.
Lunch, 12pm to 2pm
Guests arrive hungry and expect to leave full. Sandwich or wrap trays, a salad, soup cups in winter, or a pasta station all work. One hot dish is enough.
Afternoon, 2pm to 4pm
This is the easiest slot to feed. Finger foods, a grazing board, tea sandwiches and a sweets table cover it. No main dish is needed and the budget goes further.
Evening, After 5pm
People come straight from work and want dinner. Passed appetizers plus one hot station holds a room, or a small buffet if the guest list is over 40.
Tell us the start time and the guest count. We build the menu around it, instead of handing you a package to pick from.
Finger Foods Do the Work at a Shower
Guests hold a plate, a drink and sometimes a gift. Anything that needs two hands and a table gets left behind.
Food People Can Eat in One Hand
Tea sandwiches, chicken salad on brioche, caprese skewers and quiche bites all travel across a room. So do stuffed mushrooms, hot crab dip with crostini and fruit skewers. Cups and small plates beat a full dinner plate.
Skip Anything That Needs a Knife
A carving station or a saucy pasta sends everyone looking for a seat. Save those for a sit-down party with real tables.
Label Every Dish
Showers bring mixed crowds and a lot of questions about what is in things. Evolved Catering labels gluten free, vegan, dairy free and nut free dishes on the table so nobody has to ask.
Keep One Tray Plain
Kids and picky eaters need something with no sauce and no spice. One plain tray keeps the line moving and saves a trip to the kitchen.
What the Mom-to-Be Should Skip, and What Is Fine
Pregnancy changes what is safe to eat, because the immune system is working differently. Two or three trays need a second look. The rest of the menu is fine.
Heat the Deli Meat
Hot dogs and luncheon meats are off the list unless they are reheated until steaming hot. A cold cut tray is the thing most showers get wrong. Warm sliders or a hot sandwich tray fixes it.
Check the Cheese Board
Soft cheeses are out unless the label says they are made with pasteurized milk. That covers feta, brie, camembert, blue-veined cheeses, queso blanco, queso fresco and panela. Hard cheeses are fine. Refrigerated pate and meat spreads stay off the board.
Seafood, the Baltimore Question
Cooked crab sits on the FDA and EPA Best Choices list, along with shrimp, scallops, salmon and cod. During pregnancy that is 2 to 3 servings a week, and a serving is 4 ounces. Crab cakes and hot crab dip are fine when they come out hot.
One Seafood Tray to Leave Off
Refrigerated smoked seafood is out, the nova-style or lox kind. It is fine only when baked into a hot dish such as a casserole. A smoked salmon platter at a brunch shower is the easiest one to miss.
Rinse, Cook, and Skip Raw Milk
Fruit and vegetables get rinsed under running water, and meat is cooked all the way through. Raw milk, and anything made with it, stays off the table.
If a crab feast is on the calendar after the baby arrives, here is how much crab to order per person in Baltimore.
How Much to Order, and How to Set the Sweets Table
Showers do not eat like weddings. People nibble for two hours, then eat dessert and go home.
Count Bites, Not Plates
For a two-hour afternoon shower we plan on 6 to 8 bites a guest, plus dessert. A brunch or lunch shower moves up to a full plate a person with one hot dish behind it.
Order for the Maybes
Shower guest lists run high and the yes list moves all week. We build in a little extra so the last guest through the door still eats.
Watch the Clock on the Table
Bacteria grow between 40 and 140 degrees. Perishable food left out longer than 2 hours gets thrown away. Above 90 degrees that drops to 1 hour. Put hot trays out for the busiest hour and let cold platters carry the rest.
Cups and Bars Beat a Sheet Cake
Parfait cups, dessert bars, macarons and cupcakes need no cutting, no plating and no washing up. Guests pick one up on the way past and can carry it out.
Keep One Cake for the Photo
Most hosts land on a small cake for the cutting photo plus a tray of cups for everybody else. It costs less than a cake big enough for the room.
Feeding a crowd in a house follows the same rules whatever the occasion. Our guide to planning a repast meal after a funeral in Baltimore walks through the same at-home setup.
Baltimore Baby Shower Food Questions
Start with the time of day. A morning shower suits quiche bites, fruit and a waffle station. A midday shower wants sandwich trays, a salad and one hot dish. An afternoon shower only needs finger foods, a grazing board and a sweets table. Keep everything small enough to eat in one hand.
For a two-hour afternoon shower we plan on 6 to 8 bites a guest, plus dessert. A brunch or lunch shower moves up to a full plate a person. Order a little extra, because shower guest lists change all week. Tell Evolved Catering the start time and the guest count and we work the order out for you.
Hot dogs and deli meats are out unless they are reheated until steaming hot. So are soft cheeses like feta, brie and queso fresco, unless the label says pasteurized. Leave off refrigerated pate, meat spreads, refrigerated smoked seafood and raw milk. Cooked seafood is fine, and crab, shrimp and salmon sit on the FDA and EPA Best Choices list. Call Evolved Catering at 443-272-4386 and we will build the menu around it.
Send Us the Date and the Guest Count
Give us your date, the start time and how many people are coming.
We will come back with a menu, a delivery time and one price.
Evolved Catering handles baby showers in homes, restaurants and event halls across Baltimore.