Food for Recruitment and Bid Day
 

I am a chef at a sorority house at a major university. This year will be my 7th season starting the year off with recruitment and bid day and all the special foods that come with that. I would love to know what other chapters at other schools do for food during recruitment and what kind of Bid Day celebration they have. Each year a new person is in charge of these plans and yearly I have to remind the ladies that it doesn't always have to be bigger and better, just good and well done. But still, new ideas are helpful and always appreciated.

Some of the things we do are mint chocolate shakes (these were very popular with prospective new members), sparkling grape juice with mini desserts (small cheesecakes, cream puffs, etc), and for bid day we make it a sort of picnic type event at a park so we usually have veggie and fruit trays and hamburgers (veggie burgers), etc.

We advisors have to remind the recruitment chairwoman of the same thing!

Finger foods work well for bid day, and allow for people to circulate, unless they are having a seated meal. Sandwich roll ups, crudite' and dip, chips/salsa, etc.

You might be able to find some clues in things that are important to the sorority. I know that foods with symbolic meaning (the food itself, color, popular food from the area where the sorority was founded, etc.) are used at many pref ceremonies. Desserts are an obvious place to play with colors and symbols.

Obviously, finger foods are easier if it's a mingling-type event. Toothpick-friendly foods will keep fingers clean. You can also look to Tapas or Dim Sum restaurants for ideas - having several different "dishes" with the expectation that people will sample a few bites from each. That can help solve any special dietary concerns, such as a vegetarian, gluten-free, diabetic, or food allergies.

Finger sandwiches in the shape of a symbol, if there's an easy one like diamond, or kite, or star for their sorority.

Wraps are also great, as they are pretty self contained and not messy. Things like 3 inch subs and veggie plates are always great!

For Pref, most people usually do some sort of dessert, like monogrammed cupcakes, cheesecake bites and other treats!

For some reason, everyone does cheesecake of some sort at my campus. I would be so thrilled if they took a step on the wild side and did almost anything else! Since it's almost always desserts, I think a pastry cart/tray would be awesome! And of course, I still love the overgrown petit fours that we were served during our rush, with the violets or stars on them!

Girls are bound to be so nervous and self- conscious during pref, I think anything they could eat neatly would be appreciated. Since cupcakes are so popular, mini or bite sized cupcakes might be a fun and fairly neat option.

Palm tree finger sandwiches would be uber awesome. :)

http://www.google.com/url?source=img...mIhuIF__Ph1tQA


WINNER!

Ok, so it's an entire island with a parsley for a palm tree, but it's still cute. Although I think it would be cuter if the filling wasn't oozing out (from the description:The island portion contains roasted red pepper dip while the sandwich seeking shade is made with sunburned sun chips and a sour cream n’ chive filling).

Last year, we kept it simple & had hamburgers & chips. It was quick & easy & allowed us to quickly get dinner & start bonding with our new girls!

If you are looking for ideas of snacks to feed the sisters between parties, when I was in school we passed around cups of frozen grapes, hot tea with honey, Flavor Ice, soft mints, mixed nuts, chex mix, Toll-House cookies, etc. 1 or 2 between each party. just little snacks to keep our energy levels up, keep us cool, and help keep laryngitis at bay. many of these snacks also made an apperace on Bid Day.

Thank you for some neat ideas that have got me thinking.

I have to say though, that when I look at the island with Palm Tree Finger sandwich for some reason I think of Tom's Gooey Buns.

ewwww! lol!