Most wedding menu conversations start with dish names and end in confusion. It works better in reverse: decide the shape of the menu, then fill it. Here is how we build Bengali and North Indian wedding menus for Richmond weddings.
Start with the shape, not the dishes
Every one of our packages is a shape: a number of starters, mains and sides. Bronze £25 gives 1 starter, 2 mains and 1 side. Silver £35 gives 2/3/2. Gold £45 gives 3/4/3. Platinum £60 gives 4/5/4. For a wedding with a genuinely mixed guest list, Gold is the level at which every group — meat eaters, vegetarians, spice-averse guests, children — has more than one thing they want.
Starters: balance, not volume
Pick across categories rather than three variations of the same idea. A vegetarian starter, a tandoori-grilled item and a canapé-style bite covers a drinks reception without anyone circling the table looking for something they can eat. Guests eat more at the starter stage than hosts expect, particularly during a long photographs window.
Mains: one anchor, one contrast, one gentle
The pattern that works across hundreds of events is simple:
- An anchor: a rich, slow-cooked lamb or chicken dish — the dish people remember.
- A contrast: something drier or grilled from the tandoor, so the plate is not all sauce.
- A gentle option: mild and creamy, for older relatives and children.
- A substantial vegetarian main: paneer, lentil or vegetable-led, chosen because it is good, not because it fills a box.
Where a dish comes in more than one protein, choose deliberately — lamb and king prawn carry a per-head premium over chicken, paneer or vegetable, and we show that on the quote rather than hiding it in the total.
Rice and breads
This is the question we get asked most: rice, bread, or both? For a buffet of 100 or more, both is worth it — bread empties fastest and rice carries the volume. Where the tier allows only one side, most couples take rice and add bread as part of a bespoke selection.
Bengali versus North Indian character
Our kitchen draws on both. North Indian cooking gives the tandoor, the creamy gravies and the breads most guests recognise. Bengali cooking brings a lighter, mustard-and-fish tradition and a distinctive way with lamb and lentils. A good wedding menu borrows from both rather than picking a side — the full menu shows the range.
Practical constraints worth designing around
Menus have to survive the room. At a venue with no kitchen we serve from professional warm holding in silver or copper chafing units, which suits slow-cooked and saucy dishes better than anything meant to be eaten seconds off the grill. We do not offer live chef stations, so a menu built around theatre is not what we do — a menu built to taste right 40 minutes into service is.
Dietary requirements
Label everything and give the plant-based section real weight — see vegetarian and vegan catering. Allergen information is available on request; our kitchen handles multiple allergens, so we cannot guarantee an allergen-free environment. Meat and poultry come from trusted suppliers providing halal-certified products; Jaflong is not independently HMC-certified.
Next steps: browse the full catering menu, check package prices per head, build a quote with your date and guest count, or send an enquiry. We cater across Richmond, Twickenham, Kingston upon Thames and every area we serve.
Written by the Jaflong Tandoori catering team, family-run in Richmond since 2008 and led by owner Syed Bashar. Last reviewed September 2026.