Event Planning | Food Stations

Tips from a catering and event planning expert

When designing an event, adding a hot chocolate bar is a charming and delicious way to instantly add a little je ne sais quoi. This can be a daunting station to provide, but with Cuisine Unlimited, you can have an epic hot chocolate bar at your next event!

The Magic of Hot Chocolate

As a child, I loved hot chocolate. Something about its rich flavor and hot temperature was so comforting. I always craved it around Christmastime. I escaped the summer heat by daydreaming about snuggling up on the couch with a plush blanket, watching my favorite movie while the Christmas tree shone in the background, sipping a cup of cocoa.

Although I dreamed of having it at Christmastime, I was equally excited to have hot chocolate throughout the rest of the winter months, and living in a snowy climate, that meant any time from October to April. If a winter storm rolled through, I wanted a cup of hot chocolate. If I spent a snow day sledding with my friends, nothing warmed me up quicker than a nice cup of cocoa. So naturally, when it comes to designing an event, I’m a huge fan of a hot chocolate bar.

We’ve written about food stations before (you can check out the post here), and it’s pretty clear we can turn your favorite food or drink into an unmatched station, and that includes hot chocolate. We understand this task is intimidating, but that’s why we’re here to help.

Whether you live on the other side of the world and want some tips on how to create this sublime station yourself, or you live in the area and want to enlist our event planning services to create the best hot chocolate bar for you, we’re going to share how you can make one yourself, as well as what we can do to take it above and beyond.

The Basics of a Hot Chocolate Bar

To set up any hot cocoa bar, you need to start with the basics. Here are some items and ingredients every hot chocolate bar needs, no matter how elaborate you plan to make it.

Ingredients

Start by gathering ingredients. You’ll of course need the elementary ingredients - cocoa, a liquid, and marshmallows - but you’ll have to make some decisions concerning those ingredients, too.

Cocoa - First decide whether you want powder or liquid, as well as pre-made or not.
Liquid - You can use water or milk for your liquid. If you choose milk, keep in mind you’ll want to provide milk alternatives for guests with dietary preferences.
Marshmallows - For a basic hot chocolate bar, keep it simple and stick to white marshmallows for ease of execution, but elevate it just a bit by offering choice in size.

Serving Items

Once you’ve decided what ingredients you’re going to serve, you need to choose what you’re going to use to serve them.

Cocoa - If your cocoa is pre-made, serve it in either an insulated carafe or a thermos with a spout. This will keep the hot chocolate warm and make it easy for guests to pour. If guests have to assemble their cups themselves, keep the liquid in the carafes or thermoses and store the powder or syrup in other containers, like mason jars with spoons.
Marshmallows - Put your marshmallows in bowls with spoons.

how to video

Arrangement

Either arrange your hot chocolate bar procedurally so guests can quickly and easily walk through to get their cup, or have a few mini stations set up with duplicates of the ingredients so multiple people can make a cup at once.

Make sure you provide mugs, stirring sticks, and spoons, and label everything so your guests know exactly what they’re consuming!

How to Elevate Your Hot Chocolate Bar

When designing an event, It’s simple enough to throw together a basic hot chocolate bar, but if you want this to be a memorable station, here are some ways we can elevate it:

Ingredients

Once you’ve landed on your basic ingredients, it’s time to add fun extras, and we can provide anything you want. These are some of our favorites:

Whipped cream - Hot chocolate is simply better with whipped cream, and we can whip up a tasty homemade version for guests to top their cocoa with.
Peppermint sticks - Skip the stir sticks and use peppermint sticks! These are an easy, adorable way to incorporate some holiday flavor into your cocoa bar.
Sprinkles - Don’t stop at whipped cream. Top your topping with colorful sprinkles that match your theme for a totally over-the-top treat, or add cinnamon and chocolate chips to the mix for some added flavor and texture.
Flavors - A classic cup of hot chocolate is delicious, but adding other flavors is delectable. Take your bar up a notch by offering flavored syrups so your guests can enjoy a hazelnut, vanilla, or caramel twist.
Alcohol - Put the bar in hot chocolate bar with some alcoholic options for your adult guests to enjoy. Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey, RumChata, and Baileys Irish Cream are some of our favorites.

Serving Items

Now that you’ve raised the bar on your hot cocoa offerings, think past a carafe and thermos and decide how you want to incorporate your theme. Or tell us, and we’ll take care of it for you!

We can deck out the station in a cheeky theme with mismatched mugs. We can make it rustic with mason jars wrapped in twine. We can even go Polar Express-style and serve everyone the richest cup of cocoa they’ve ever had in tea cups (no promises on performing a choreographed routine, though). Guests will be dazzled by the attention to detail, and appreciate the thought.

Extras

To make your hot chocolate bar extra special, get creative and offer every ingredient in a unique way:

Marshmallow skewers
Hot chocolate bombs
Flavored stir sticks
Cinnamon sticks
Chocolate-dipped spoons
Homemade marshmallows
Caramel suckers

Arrangement

We’ll arrange your station so no one is waiting too long to have a taste of delicious hot chocolate. The bar will be replete with a variety of trays, and we’ll display everything on levels so guests can easily see their options.

Offering an unbelievable hot chocolate bar can be overwhelming, so let Cuisine Unlimited provide it for you. As the best event planning business in Utah, we can provide you with the hot cocoa station of your dreams!