Quality, Not Quantity

I went to my cousin's wedding yesterday, which managed to be a very high-end, classy affair while avoiding the gratuitous, garish, excess and opulence that has characterized other such events I have attended in the past. What immediately comes to mind is a bar mitzvah on Long Island a few years back. The cocktail hour featured a full smorgasbord, which had caviar, a carving station, and a whole bunch of other foods. Alone, that could have served as the meal. Once seated in the function room, a salad was placed in front of me, followed a huge salmon filet served off a platter by another waiter. That salad alone could have served as the meal. Then, the actual meal came. For dessert, each of us received a plate containing five or six miniature confections. Afterward, as if that dessert wasn't enough, they wheeled out a full-sized chocolate fondue bar. Finally, it was supposedly the caterer's signature practice to prepare soft pretzels to hand out to guests as they left the function hall.

Now, while I'm no Kobayashi, I can certainly consume vast quantities of food. But at this particular bar mitzvah, I had to wave the white flag after the first dessert. I couldn't look at the fondue bar, let alone think about the pretzels. If I couldn't eat all the food I was given, then I'm sure nobody else could either. Now, I understand that some people use their children's celebrations as an opportunity to impress clients and outdo their neighbors. I don't condone the practice, but I recognize that it happens. But if you're going to pour all that money into a top-notch function, you should channel it toward high-quality food, not vast quantities of regular food that no normal person can consume on their own. Waste isn't classy. I am impressed by the food I eat, not by food that's served. If you have the means to serve Kobe beef and truffles at your function (in moderate quantities that people will be able to consume), I won't stand in your way. But if you have the means to serve gigantic salads that you know will be thrown out half-eaten, I question your motivation. People on food stamps need to survive on three dollars per day, and frankly, I'd be happy to take a salad without the gigantic hunk of fish so that others can eat for another day or three.