Whether your planning a wedding reception, graduation ceremony, birthday party or any other special event, hiring professional catering services is crucial. People have different reasons for hiring a caterer for their events. Some do it because it’s more convenient while others prefer it as it offers a hassle-free food preparation. Regardless, you want to be sure that your guests enjoy every second of the event, particularly the meal time.
, servers, cleaners, and dishwashers, while ensuring their staff is familiar their timelines, table settings, custom menus and food safety and hygiene. Other than meal preparation, a caterer may also be responsible for some of the decors such as table setting and food presentation. Before you hire special event catering services, it’s worth to have some of these tips under your sleeve to ensure your event is a success.
Narrow your selection
The first tip on how to get the right catering service is to develop a small list of vendors. If it’s your first time hiring caterers, you may find the process a bit challenging, and you’ll have to begin from scratch. You can start by getting recommendations from family, friends and co-workers, or visit online catering platforms for more reviews. Other places you can get recommendations from include culinary schools and event venues.
If you are throwing a party at a hotel or an exclusive event venue, consult the management to find out if they can recommend you some of the quality caterers they’ve worked with previously.
Make a point to visit the caterer’s premises
This is particularly important when you want to assess the capacity the caterer has in providing your event with excellent catering services. Book an appointment to tour their kitchens. While at that, look out for things like general cleanliness, staff courtesy, and professionalism. A caterer may provide delicious cuisine, but without excellent service backing it, your guests may not feel much appreciated.
While at the premises, get to know the speciality of the caterer. There are special event catering services that specialize in small parties. So, it’s important to find out if the caterer can adequately and effectively meet the catering needs of your event.
Menu options
Another important thing to consider before choosing a catering service is the menu options. Find out what’s the caterer’s specialities to make sure they are aware of various event menus. Catering services often differ depending on various factors that surround an event, and you want to be sure that the services you’ll get match your specific needs.
A caterer may specialize is something different than what you want. For instance, if you are looking to treat your guests with some Italian fare, but the caterer specializes in French cuisines, this may be an issue if you won’t settle for another menu. This doesn’t mean that they incompetent or anything, it’s only that they have experience with other menus. Discuss the menu options and ideas with the caterer to establish a common ground.
Cost of service
Lastly, you need to have a clear budget on how much you want to spend on food and beverages. The cost of catering service can help you find the best special event catering services. Other than the standard price quote covering the entire catering services, ask if there are any potential hidden costs before agreeing on anything.
Event planning and catering can be a frustrating experience, that’s why you need to have a definite plan when approaching this process. With these simple ideas, you are certain to find a caterer who can meet all your event needs.