If you are planning an event with food, you know it can make a big difference in what people think of the event. Whether it is a wedding or a conference, the right catering will make a difference. Here are some tips to help you find the right corporate catering company for your event.
- Talk to people you know. If you know anyone who has ever used a catering company for anything, you should ask them how they found the caterer and what they thought of working with them. The special event catering services team that catered your hair dresser’s wedding may be able to help you with your corporate event. You will never know if you do not ask. Getting a personal recommendation is the best way to find quality goods and services. Ask around and you may find a great corporate catering company.
- Make sure the corporate catering company listens to your needs. If you talk to the best event planner, they will admit that there are a lot of details around planning a large corporate event. You need your event catering service to listen to your needs and be there for you. You may have very specific needs and concerns and you need to feel confident that your catering company understand them and will follow through.
- Decide how many people you will have. Before you start talking to professional catering services, you should know how many people you will be feeding. You cannot have the exact number but you can have a general idea. This may narrow down your search for the right corporate catering company. Some are better than others at larger or smaller groups of people.
- Decide how formal your event will be. Just because it is a work event does not mean it will be formal. If you are having a casual picnic type event for your company to get to know each other better and to bond over softball, you may want a different kind of corporate catering company than the one who does your annual shareholders meeting. Just think about what you want before you talk to catering companies.
- Go for an efficient service. If you are catering some meetings, you want to have great food but you also need to take the amount of time you will be taking from people’s day. You should hire a corporate catering company that is speedy and efficient in their service.
- Be careful with buffets. This is often an easy way to work out corporate catering. Find a company that will be very careful about labeling everything. There are a lot of people who have serious food allergies so everything needs to be carefully labeled. The last ting you need to have happen at your event is for someone to have to go to the emergency room or reach for an epipen.
- Make sure the company provides great service. If there will be speakers at your event, you want your servers from the corporate catering company to be respectful and quiet. The best catering companies offer hand service for corporate events. You should ask about this before you hire any company to do your catering.
- Think about variety. Many corporate events have very boring food that is safe. You should ask the catering company about what kinds of options you have. You should take into consideration people’s lifestyle choices and allergies. Make sure you have options available for vegetarians and vegans, people who cannot eat gluten, nuts or dairy. Many caterers have really good food that meets all of that criteria.
- Do a menu tasting. Most caterers will do a tasting for a big enough event like a wedding or a large corporate function. Be wary of any corporate catering company that does not offer this. It can be hard to pick a caterer if you have never had the chance to try their food. You can make sure you have the right caterer when you do a menu tasting before your event. This will increase your comfort level with the caterer and give you more peace of mind.
If you are planning a corporate event, you can get the right caterer if you take your time and do some research.