The food served at an event can make or break the occasion. If you’re a new age event planner, then you should work with some best catering service online. Online reviews for catering should be taken into consideration and through these reviews you can understand their nature of work. Apart from that, when you plan an event, you need to book a catering service before one month of your event schedule and you should discuss the menu and the guest list with the caterer for better services.
Tips that will help you to select the right kind of catering service:
- Where to start off: When you look for a caterer, referrals are a great way to start you off in the right direction. You can ask your friends, relatives or even colleagues for a recommendation and then follow it up with a discreet call to the catering service company.
- What kind of event is it: You have to define exactly what kind of event it will be? Is it a sit-down dinner or a party with cocktails? You should decide it before and then you can search some experienced catering services in this niche. There are several types of caterers available in the market such as wedding caterer, birthday caterer, and corporate event caterers and lost more. So, you need to choose them according to your requirement only.
- The guest profile: You need to take into consideration the guest profile of the attendance. Will there be a larger sprinkling of older and staid guests rather than younger ones?
- Older people will prefer a mild menu, not too spicy or rich.
- Those concerned about fitness will always go for seafood or vegetarian courses, due to less number of calories.
- Middle aged or young attendees will want spicy and adventurous food.
So, you need to include every type of dishes in your menu and you can take help from the catering services in this regard.
- Needs and expectations: The caterer will offer you various menus and pricings. So, comparing one to the other will prove to be a challenging affair. You have to be specific about the kind of event, the kind of food, and what your expectations are regarding the menu and pricing.
- Experience: Here you need to take into account the caterer’s specific experience in a specific type of event. Very few caterers are an all-rounder who can deliver on each and every type of event. Go for a caterer who has specialization in your kind of event.
Additional requirements for hiring the catering services:
Remember that you are hiring the caterer for three reasons, food, services and beverage, so make it appoint to spell out your expectations to them. Particularly, you should enquire if they have sufficient hands on board to handle the event proficiently.
- The proposal: The common rule of thumb is to ask for three proposals. So, seek out three good caterers and ask them to submit proposals. Go for the one which checks the right boxes on quality, price, and service.
- Tasting: Once you must narrow down your caterers, ask each of them to prepare a menu that will be served, and demand that you be given a tasting opportunity. Some caterers have this option as a standard operating procedure, for others, pay if you have to. Because it makes sense to taste what your guests will be having before the event.
Before you sign on the dotted line, make sure you read the fine print and there is a cancellation policy included in the contract. You should check their license and food safety certifications before hiring.
Author: Amelie Lawrence.
