subject: Three Easy Steps To Great Catering [print this page] An essential part of any event planning process is catering. It doesn't matter whether you're planning a wedding reception, a birthday or graduation party, a fundraising event, or a small office get together, good catering and good food are absolutely essential to hosting a successful event. This means that you need to not only choose your catering company wisely, you also need to know exactly how to put in your order, and how to choose suitable foods for your guests. It can be a big task, but it can also be fun, and it doesn't have to be difficult if you know what to do.
First you need to set a budget for your catering expenses. Consider how much money you have to spend on your entire event, and then consider the importance of food compared to other elements of the event. For instance, if you're hosting a party where there will be lots of activities and moving around, you might not need an entire three-course dinner. However, for your sit-down charity dinner, food is definitely going to be one of the most important expenses! When dividing up your budget, allot an appropriate amount to catering to ensure happy guests.
Secondly, you need to know your guests' needs. If you know, for instance, that some of your guests have special dietary needs, you need to provide at least some options for them. If you're going to have vegetarians and vegans at your event, then at least some of your dishes should not have meat in them, and also consider religious diets such as Kosher and Halal as well. In addition, when shopping for a caterer, consider how many foods they offer that contain no common allergic content, such as dairy, nuts, or shrimp, as these allergies can often be devastating if provoked.
Third, you need to order the right kind of food for your event, and keep your personal tastes out of it. If you were ordering food just for yourself, then it would be a different story, but it's your task as a host to make your guests happy, and it's inevitable that some of them will have differing tastes from yours. Therefore, you need to select a general theme for your food that will match your event, and then provide lots of options within that theme - even if you don't personally like them!
Once you've selected a caterer and your food, your event can begin, and the right catering can make or break a party. So you need to know exactly what to get from the caterers. It doesn't have to be hard if you know what you need.
