Planning a Caviar Reception with Aquatir: A Practical Menu for Six Guests

A small caviar reception works best when the menu is easy to serve and the portions are planned in advance. For six guests, choose a clear format: a tasting, a canapé course or a combination of both. Aquatir’s four caviar varieties allow you to build a varied experience without turning the table into a complicated buffet.

Choose a format before selecting tins

For a canapé reception, three pieces per guest make 18 pieces. At approximately 2.5 g of caviar on each, you will use 45 g. For a separate tasting at 10 g per guest, one variety needs 60 g. These are suggested menu calculations; adjust them to the rest of the meal and your guests’ preferences.

If you combine both formats, add the quantities rather than counting the same caviar twice. Eighteen canapés plus six 10 g tasting portions require 105 g in total. Check available tin sizes and decide which ones will be opened at each stage.

A simple three-part canapé menu

• Six mini blini: a thin layer of crème fraîche topped with caviar.
• Six cucumber rounds: dry, crisp slices with a restrained dairy topping.
• Six potato halves: small cooked potatoes, cooled before the caviar is added.

This gives each guest one of each canapé. The bases are different enough to create variety while keeping the caviar at the centre. Follow our blini recipe or cucumber canapé recipe, scaling the quantities to your menu.

One variety or a comparison?

Using a single variety across all three bases shows how accompaniments change the experience. Using two varieties is better for a deliberate comparison, provided guests can identify them. Aquatir describes Russian Sturgeon as creamy and nutty, Sterlet as mild with smaller pearls, Bester as balanced and buttery, and Beluga as large-grained and buttery. Choose the contrast you want to explore rather than automatically choosing the largest selection.

Prepare the service in stages

1. Before the event: confirm guest numbers, dietary requirements and the selected products. Check current availability and delivery information.
2. Before guests arrive: prepare and count the bases, arrange clean utensils and label any separate varieties. Keep perishable components refrigerated as appropriate.
3. Just before serving: open the required tins, following their storage instructions, and assemble a small batch.
4. During the reception: replenish in stages. Keep the reserve caviar refrigerated rather than placing every open tin on the table at once.

Make the experience comfortable

Provide a clear description of each bite and remember that caviar is a fish product; the suggested bases may also contain milk, egg or wheat. Offer plain water and keep strongly flavoured garnishes separate. A simple table card naming the variety is more useful than a long tasting speech.

Explore the Aquatir range for your home reception. Restaurants and professional buyers can use Aquatir’s wholesale portal to enquire about their needs. Good planning leaves the host free to enjoy the occasion alongside the guests.