Hiring A Catering Company
The right catering company can help make your event one your guests will always remember. Good food is at the heart of most special events. It’s almost as important as the company and can have a lasting impression.
Hiring experienced, professional catering companies is the key to a successful wedding, birthday party, graduation celebration or other special occasion. They know what’s need to make everything happen when it is supposed to happen.
If you want to make a good impression for your next event, planning with a catering service is a step in the right direction.
Why hire a catering company?
Small casual office luncheons, birthday celebrations and formal events can be easier to plan when you hire a professional catering company. A caterer can handle menu planning based on your specific guidelines, preparing food and presentation. They can even arrange to deliver and serve your guests.
What this means for you is that you have one less thing to worry about, and on the day of your event you can spend your time mingling with guests and having a good time instead of preparing food and serving everyone.
During your first meeting with a catering co, start by explaining the details of your event, your budget, date time and any ideas you have about the theme and from there you can work together and create a delicious menu.
Restaurant catering
Restaurant catering works well for both casual and more formal occasions. Some restaurants act as a catering company with private dining rooms or banquet facilities providing service on site or at other locations. This includes weddings, anniversaries, graduations, business events, holiday parties and more.
A restaurant will already have most of the equipment required to cater your party. Plates, flatware, glasses and linens are already on site. Some caterers will rent these items to customers needing services at another venue. In some cases renting these items is more economical than providing them yourself.
Corporate catering ideas
If you’re suddenly in charge of planning the next early morning client meeting, awards luncheon or the holiday office party, remember that the foundation of good planning starts with the menu. Corporate catering doesn’t have to be fancy. Savory breakfast sandwiches can be just as nice as fancy hor d’oeuveres, a buffet meal or a sit down meal. You can often choose the company drop off service or hire a corporate caterer’s experienced kitchen staff complete with servers. It’s all up to you.
At your service
When you hire a cateringcompany to prepare, deliver and serve the food for your party or event, it gives you more time to focus on other important details. Planning the menu, shopping for ingredients, cooking and the clean up after are all time-consuming tasks.
Ask any caterer you’re interested in using whether you can attend an upcoming event so you can see first hand how they work. Feel free to ask questions about the service catering they provide and costs. Make sure that you understand exactly what you’re paying the catering company for. Hiring a company to handle this one aspect of your big day frees you to deal with many other details that need your attention.
Set up an interview
When interviewing potential wedding caterers, ask about their education and training, the number of years they’ve been in the business and for a list of venues they’ve serviced. Find out about their specialty style of cuisine. For example, do they specialize in Italian, Asian Fusion or French cuisine?
Do menu options change with the seasons? Most caterers use fresh ingredients that happen to be in season at the time of a scheduled event. Ask for client references and be sure to follow up.
One important part of the interviewing process is sampling the menu. Even if you haven’t settled on every single dish you plan to serve, a caterer can give you a good idea of their cooking skills by scheduling a tasting with the company.
Keep in mind, some caterers for weddings can also design your wedding cake. You can schedule a tasting of different types of cakes as well.
Different ways to celebrate
There are many different types of wedding food and catering ideas to choose from. If you’re goal is planning for a reception on a budget, breakfast and brunch receptions are gaining popularity. They are usually quite affordable if and can consist of something as simple as a menu of sweet breads, pastries and fresh fruit.
An elegant cost cutting idea for an evening reception that’s very popular is a cocktail style celebration where various hors d’oeuvres are presented along with drinks. Of course an elegant, four course, sit down meal never goes out of style. Buffets also remain popular. Restaurant wedding receptions are ideal for this sort of celebration since everything required to serve your guests is right there at your fingertips.
Whether you’re planning an intimate backyard garden reception, restaurant wedding reception or a reception in a lavish banquet hall, catering can make your life a lot easier. You can request different levels of service from food preparation and delivery services only to a fully trained staff providing food prep, set up, serving and clean up duties.
Stick to the budget
When you’re planning for the day of your dreams, you don’t have to go broke doing it. Here are a few tips that can help control your expenses:
* Caterers usually quote fees based on the number of guests. Many caterers have a base head count of 100. If you will only be inviting 75 guests, ask the company if you will automatically be charged for the base number of guests.
* Find out if tips and taxes are automatically included in price quotes so that you don’t pay them more than once.
* Ask whether the quoted price includes table linens, napkins, glassware, flatware and dishes. Normally there is an extra charge.
Knowing what you want and sticking to your budget can make working with wedding catering expert can be a positive experience.