The Wedding Cake Tradition

One of the greatest traditions of a ‘traditional’ wedding is that of the wedding cake.

Where does it come from?

Tradition

Here at the Belair Park Country Club, we pride ourselves on offering the best location around for wedding venues  Adelaide couples hosting their wedding here can be sure of a function entirely customised to their needs, including anything related to ancient traditions such as the wedding cake.

The origins of that tradition are difficult to state with certainty.

It is known that the ancient Romans used to break bread over the heads of the marrying couple as a good luck and fertility symbol.  Whether that is directly linked to modern tradition is unclear but certainly many experts argue that today’s wedding cake can probably be directly traceable back to medieval England.

At that time it was customary to make a pile of sweet bread rolls that the couple would kiss over at the ceremony and if they didn’t knock any off the top it was a sign of good luck.  The rolls were then shared out amongst the assembled guests.

A contributory tradition in ‘Olde England’ was that of baking the savoury Bride’sPie.  That was then again shared out amongst guests.
Eventually the two traditions merged and by the late 19th century the savoury component had largely disappeared to be replaced by the idea of a single sweet tiered delight called the wedding cake.

Today

The 19th century British tradition was for the wedding cake to be typically a heavy, sweet and spiced fruit cake covered in icing.
During the latter twentieth century that tradition started to shift a little, perhaps driven by cost considerations, towards having a cake that was largely sponge-filled.

Today both types of cake continue to be popular.

Oh yes, if you’re wondering wherethe tiers come from, that is a direct link back to thatMediaeval English tradition of piling those bread rolls high into a conical shape modified by a baker’s bright idea in 1703, as he looked at the spire of St Bride’s Church in London – something that bears a stunning resemblance to the traditional wedding cake shape of today!

What Are Amuse-Bouche?

Here at the Belair Park Country Club our catering is second to none in its excellence and diversity.

We are sometimes asked though, “just what exactly is Amuse-Bouche”?

There is no prize for guessing that this is a French expression.  It translates very roughly to the English equivalent of ‘Mouth Pleaser’ or perhaps more meaningfully ‘pleasant taster’.

The Amuse-Bouche is a tiny piece of food normally served to guests upon arrival for a meal.  It is usually given at the time the menus are handed out(or people first sit down when home catering).

It represents a piece of complex showmanship on the part of the chef who is demonstrating his or her talents on a tiny nibble-sized but complex and delicious morsel. They’re thereby sowing the anticipation of the delights to come on the menu.

In terms of function rooms, Adelaide and surrounding areas might tend to describe these things in English as little snacks but they are quite different to hors d’oeuvres.

If you are interested in the difference and French culture, in France hors d’oeuvres would normally be served at around 6 or 6.30 PM and consist of a number of different little snacks.  They may be as simple as some crisps and nuts or might incorporate things such as vols-au-vents, cheeses and so on.

Unlike in what the French would call Anglo-Saxon cultures, hors d’oeuvres do not always necessarily act as a precursor to a meal.  In France if you are invited for hors d’oeuvres, you will normally be expected to arrive at about 6.30pm and depart around 7.30-8pm to leave the hosts to have their main evening meal.

The amuse-bouche is therefore quite different!

Our chefs don’t usually need much of an excuse to show off their skills and that’s why you will see some interesting little snacks and treats (whatever you want to call them in whatever language) on display at many of our catered events.  

Be Careful with Surprise Birthday Parties

The surprise birthday party is the stuff of legend and also much beloved by TV sitcoms and some Hollywood movies.

When successfully executed and well received, it can be a great success and a wonderful expression of affection on the part of family and friends for the birthday boy or girl.

However, as we can say for sure at Belair Park Country Club, there are some issues and risks that need to be carefully managed.

We know we have some great birthday party venues. Adelaide party-goers typically love them but do keep in mind a few of the following practical points:

·         It won’t be much of a birthday party if the person concerned does n’t actually turn up. That is a very real risk with surprise parties if the secret has been so well kept that the individual targeted for the surprise has disappeared at the last moment due to a change of their personal plans and now nobody can find them.  It has happened! 

·         A related issue arises when the surprise is successfully sprung but to everyone’s horror, the major guest has to shortly depart because they have committed to something else on the same evening because they did n’t know the party was taking place.

These sorts of events may sound funny and they probably are when they happen to someone else but not if you are the chief organiser of and plotter behind, the party.

Yes, it’s really important to keep everything a secret and for the eventual surprise to be total but it’s also necessary to do an awful lot of very discrete communication behind the scene to avoid some of the above disasters taking place.

Above all, try to make sure that someone is shadowing the target an hour or two in advance of the party just to try and make sure they don’t disappear somewhere else!

Why Use Function Rooms? Adelaide Residents’ Questions Answered.

At The Belair Park Country Club, we are sometimes asked questions about the pros and cons of using function rooms to host an event.

Here we’ll deal with some of the more commonplace subjects.

Why should I use a function room rather than my own home?

The question presumes that you have rooms in your own home that are large enough to accommodate the number of guests you are considering.

Even if that is the case though, it might be worth considering that when using our function rooms, Adelaide residents won’t need to worry about things such as preparing and perhaps more importantly, clearing up afterwards!

We also have an extraordinarily beautiful location here and the risks of accidental damage to your property or possessions during the function are reduced to zero.

Won’t a very large room be intimidating?

Firstly, we have a range of rooms available and some of them are small and intimate in size.

Even our larger rooms are decorated with the intention of softening their outlines and that can be customised to suit the specific nature of your function.

Will I need to circulate a lot to make sure that everything is running okay?

No, not at all and in fact this is a huge advantage over using your own property.

Our expertly qualified staff will be discreetly on hand to make sure that you and your guests have everything you need. 

What about the cost?

You might be surprised at just how affordable many of our rates are for function room hire.

Why not discuss your requirements with us and we will outline the options and costs?

Can the room be decorated to my requirements?

Yes – within reason of course!

Obviously the decorations you might want for say a birthday party may be very different to those of an anniversary.

Let us deal with all that for you.