Benefits Of Catering Any Occasion
Everyone loves great food. It’s the highlight of any event big or small, and a source of great excitement for hungry guests. A fancy blow-the-budget wedding feast is one example, but the same rules apply to all gatherings, simple or grand. Delicious, organic catering always hits the spot whether you’re hosting a breakfast meeting, birthday celebration, or a corporate event to wow employees and clients. This event-by-event guide is designed to help you decide which organic catering option is right for you.
Weddings
The first meal of your new life together. Surrounded by everyone you love. Maybe even multiple meals that span the prenuptial dinner through to your post-wedding day breakfast. No pressure.
Relax. The good news is that you have an array of menu and service options available, from buffet-style to sit down, back of the house to full-service catering. First, of all the catering companies for weddings out there, take your time to find one you trust. Choosing a caterer with bags of experience means you can rely on them to whip up the dinner of your dreams, and know they’ll have your back on the big day.
Let’s start with a few important questions…
How many guests are invited? Is your wedding style formal or informal? Will the ceremony space need to be transformed into the dining area, and possibly a dancefloor? Weddings are heavily choreographed events, even tiny ones, so we tend to advise full-service catering if you want everything to run like clockwork.
That said, if you’re hosting a small informal gathering, a buffet can work brilliantly (with staff on hand to serve, manage portions, clear away plates, etc.). Otherwise, your best bet is the traditional sit-down route with a fully staffed catering team that will serve your guests drinks and appetizers on arrival, ensure dinner arrives bang on time with water glasses topped up throughout, all the way through to cleaning and packing up rentals.
Top tip: We love food trucks and know you do, too. To avoid hundreds of hangry guests lining the building why not opt for a sit-down dinner and hire a food truck for dessert or late night snacks?
Big parties
Milestone birthdays, engagement parties, anniversaries, a big party is likely to involve 50 or more guests, which requires an event caterer or birthday caterer with experience. Whatever the format you’ll likely want to give your guests cocktails and nibbles on arrival, moving on to a buffet or sit down. Bear in mind, even a buffet will need staff to manage the bar, hand round hors-d’oeuvres and clear plates and glasses.
Top tip: If you choose a buffet option without staff be sure to serve your guests to avoid one hungry Horace hogging their favorite dish (it happens more often than you might think). By managing portion control you’ll ensure there’s plenty to go around and minimize food waste.
Small parties
Again, this could be a birthday bash, a family reunion, an engagement or anniversary party. Whatever the occasion, when you’re entertaining up to 50 people choose an event caterer who can provide a drop-off buffet (where you’re responsible for serving and clearing), back of house service only (again, you take care of everything up front), or full service with catering staff to suit a smaller number of guests. This way, the only thing left on your to-do list is enjoying your special day.
Corporates functions
Planning a corporate event is a big responsibility. You want it to reflect well on you and your company whether you’re hosting a meeting, throwing an employee thank you party, launching a product, or schmoozing clients. From early morning meetings to evening cocktails, here are a few ideas to get you started.
Banish boring breakfasts
How many times have you rolled up to a breakfast meeting, tummy rumbling, only to be greeted by the dubious sight of rubbery scrambled eggs, rock solid bagels and a belligerent-looking sausage glaring back at you from a foil tray? {Shudder}
Think instead of Spanish pancakes, golden featherlight rounds with a sweet slick of honey or jammy fruit compote; nutrient-packed granola with yogurt and seasonal fruits; fire-roasted pepper frittatas; and savory quiches with decadent fillings, soft and delicate for summer, rich and satisfying in cooler months. Now that’s how you power up your day.
Simply Lunch
They say that teams who eat together perform better (or something like that) but since your working day is stressful enough the last thing you want to do is agonize over lunch. The solution? An organic lunch delivery program like Simply Lunch.
Business benefits of laying on lunch
Providing your team with a delicious buffet or box lunches at work is beneficial for a host of personal and business reasons:
- Helps to attract and retain talent
- Boosts afternoon productivity
- Improves team bonding
- Underpins your company promise to improve employee health and wellness
Lunch catering has never been easier…
You work directly with your personal chef who’ll get to know you and your team to design exciting, nutritious menus guaranteed delight (and fuel) them. The best bit? It involves minimal effort on your part. You just tell us how many people you want to feed, over how many days, and we’ll prepare your food onsite or deliver to your door.
Corporate
Corporate life is tough enough so when you have something to celebrate, do it in style! From the launch of a new product to flirting with potential investors, make a great impression by hiring a professional business caterer to ensure everything is seamless and the food on point.
Since your role on the night is better suited to being the host with the most rather than server, bartender and busboy, we recommend you leave the event catering and timings to the pros by opting for full-service catering (which can shrink or expand to suit the size of your event).
Holiday parties / special events catering
All work and no play makes for a stodgy team so the holidays are the perfect excuse for you all to cut loose, relax and enjoy some great festive fayre.
Whether you’re holding your event at the office or hiring a swanky venue, your best catering options are back of house service (as long as you’re happy to clear everything away at the end of the evening) or full service catering (which means all you need to worry about is perfecting that Dirty Dancing lift in your bid to enter the office party hall of fame. Alternatively, you could end up in ER, but it’s a risk worth taking.)
Have a question about wedding, corporate or event catering? Get in touch on (858) 246-6129 or email [email protected]. We look forward to making your special occasion one you will always remember!
