Weddings & Receptions
West African Wedding Catering in Memphis & Cordova, TN
A West African wedding reception rarely has one appetite to feed. The couple’s friends will empty the Jollof Rice and the Fried Rice. The aunties, uncles and elders will go looking for Pounded Yam with Egusi Soup or Efo Riro, and they will notice if it is not there. Plan for both lines instead of choosing between them, and the food stops being a source of argument two weeks before the day.
The maths is easier than it looks once you have a headcount. A Full Pan serves 20-24 guests and a Half Pan serves 10-12. If rice were the only starch, 150 guests would be seven or eight Full Pans and nothing else, but almost nobody plans a reception that way. A more honest split at 150 is four Full Pans of Jollof, two of Fried Rice, two Full Pans of Pounded Yam, and Egusi or Efo Riro matched pan for pan against the swallow rather than stretched thin across it. Ofada Rice is what you add when you want one course that reads as deliberately traditional. Goat Meat (Asun), Beef Suya and Peppered Chicken carry the protein table, and Puff Puff keeps guests occupied while the photographs run long.
Drinks scale on a different unit. A gallon of Zobo or Chapman serves 8-10 and a 2-gallon jug serves 16-20, so 150 guests with one traditional drink each is fifteen to nineteen gallons, which is eight to ten of the jugs, before anyone goes back for a second. We do not supply ice — that comes from your venue, your bar or your rental order.
Weddings are the one occasion where our lead time is not the binding constraint. We need the quote request 72 hours before the pickup window at the very latest, but couples normally settle the menu weeks out, and after that anything inside 48 hours of pickup cannot be cancelled or moved. What actually goes wrong on the day is never the cooking, it is the collection: every order is picked up from our kitchen at 1890 Berryhill Rd in Cordova, so name one person who is not the couple, not the planner and not in the bridal party, give them a vehicle with a flat boot, and confirm the window with us in writing.
The Reception Table, Twelve Dishes Deep
Two rices and a native rice, two soups with the swallow to match, three proteins, the two drinks guests ask for by name, and something to hand round during photographs.
Half Pan: Serves 10-12 guests
Full Pan: Serves 20-24 guests
Before You Lock The Reception Menu
Name Your Collector Early
Pickup is from our Cordova kitchen. Put one named person on it who has no role in the ceremony, and agree the time window with us in writing well before the weekend.
Chafing Racks Come From Your Venue
Food travels in food-grade aluminium pans that drop straight onto a chafing rack. Racks, fuel and serving spoons are on your rental order, not ours.
Changes Need Forty-Eight Hours
Quote requests close 72 hours before pickup. Once inside 48 hours of the window, the date and the order are fixed, because the cooking has already started.
Questions We Get About This
The three that decide how your reception day actually runs: who collects the food, what it arrives in, and how late a change can be made.
All catering orders are pickup-only. We do not offer delivery at this time. We will coordinate a convenient pickup time window with you at our kitchen location once your menu is finalized and confirmed.
Hot delicacies (like Jollof Rice) are packaged in food-grade aluminum pans (Half or Full sizes) ready to be placed on chafing racks. Drinks are packaged in secure cups, bottles, or multi-serve gallons depending on your selection. Chafing trays and serving utensils are not included by default.
Because our catering orders are cooked fresh to order, cancellations or date adjustments must be made at least 48 hours before the scheduled pickup time window. Cancellations within 48 hours may be subject to a partial preparation fee.