Select a Menu

The type of function will determine the menu planning process.

Breakfast function — Most people tend to take a light meal at breakfast. Consequently, your menu should have the main beverages such as juice, coffee, tea, and Greek yogurt. It can also include cottage cheese, berries, and oatmeal. Most of the money will go to the main entree and sides.

Lunch function — Salads and sandwiches are the mainstay of the typical corporate lunch. You can make the sandwiches and serve them with thick sourdough or baguettes.

Dinner functions — The majority of the corporate events will happen in the late afternoon or in the evening. Fortunately, you will have multiple main courses that can serve as dinner. The most common options are pork, fish, chicken, beef and vegetarian.

Cocktail functions — You have to supply a variety of mixed drinks to meet everyone’s taste. The leading drinks will include gin, whiskey, vodka, and rum. The most popular mixes are lemon soda, cola, and fruit juices, such as cranberry and orange.

You will require appetizers for any of these types of functions. Normally, appetizers are made from raw, cooked, or stuffed vegetables and fruits.

Dietary Restrictions

Some of your guests may have dietary restrictions due to health conditions, lifestyle changes, and allergies. Although the dietary restrictions are not life-threatening, you should prepare for them.

The most common dietary restriction is a vegan diet. These are people who won’t eat meat. Therefore, you should prepare main courses that don’t have any meat.

Vegans not only don’t eat meat, but they also don’t consume animal by-products. This includes not eating gelatin, butter, honey, or eggs.

While it’s a good idea to include every restriction in your menu, it may not be possible if you are hosting a small corporate event. In this case, you should only focus on those with allergies because this can lead to medical complications.

Similarly, you can reach out to all attendees and inform them of the menu in advance. Those with allergies will make plans or inform you of their preferences. It’d also be wise to label all the food so people can know what to avoid.

Avoid Boxed Lunch

Boxed lunch seems like an easy option for most event planners. All you have to do is place an order, and the food will be delivered to your event. Overall, it may also be a cheaper option.

However, people just like food that is spread out and looks nice. Consequently, the best option is to hire a catering service to prepare the food.

Prepare in Advance

It would help if you did as much prep as possible to reduce surprises during the event. Begin by preparing cold dishes the day before the event. You can then cover them on the countertop or put them in the fridge.

Do minor preparations for vegetables and fruits in the weeks before the event. For example, you can chop onions and peppers.

It would be helpful if you clean and polish the dishes and cutlery. You should also set the tables beforehand and ensure that you have extra chairs for surprise guests.

Prepare Your Staff Ahead of Time

Your team members should know what to expect in advance. Consequently, you should hold two or three meetings before the event where you provide critical information about what will happen.

Each team member should know the schedule and types of meals to be served at the event. They should also know how to reduce wait times for drinks and food.

The flow of work should be seamless to avoid time wastage. A seamless transition from one part of the catering venue to another is essential.

Be Ready for Unexpected Factors
It’s impossible to plan for all unexpected events, but you can work to circumvent some of them. For example, you can have an excess of all items, such as excess food, excess cutlery, and excess tables and chairs.

You should also come up with contingency plans on what to do if something were to go wrong. In this regard, your employees should be equipped with walkie-talkies to make it easier to identify and respond to mishaps in time.