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Impressing Guests With the Perfect Catered Event Menu
Hosting a successful party involves more than just hiring a professional catering company with executive chefs. As an event planner, crafting the perfect menu will help keep attendees happy and make your event a memorable experience. For help impressing your guests at an upcoming gathering, learn the five tips every event menu planner should know.
Know Your Event
First and foremost, the key to successfully catering special events is to consider the atmosphere. Whether you’re hosting a private birthday party or corporate function can influence what kinds of food you decide to put on the menu. Further, the professionalism of your event can determine how you serve the food. Depending on the circumstances, serving the catered food on a plate might be more appropriate than a buffet table. With these details in mind, you can continue narrowing the menu down until it better matches the theme of the gathering.
Understand the Needs of Your Guests
Another important factor to consider when you cater an event is your guests’ preferences. No matter how delicious the food is, your attendees won’t enjoy it if their special needs aren’t met. These preferences include vegetarian and vegan options, as well as dietary restrictions like lactose intolerance and food allergies. You should also remember guests’ religious requirements. Understanding what foods the guests can’t eat makes it possible to create a menu everyone can enjoy.
Provide Multiple Menu Options
Even with everyone’s restrictions in mind, you can still satisfy their personal preferences by providing them with more than one meal option. When you cater an event, plan a menu that has multiple choices so that every attendee can find something they enjoy. This can include having two or more options for snacks, salads, entrees, and desserts. With a variety of flavors to choose from, your guests will be even more pleased.
Use Seasonal and Local Foods
If you want to make the meals at your gathering extra special, then take advantage of what fruits and vegetables are in season. Knowing what month your event will occur will help determine what produce is in season, allowing you to provide guests with the freshest meals possible. Also, research what the local area has to offer so you can source locally grown produce and other regional foods. Doing so will help give your guests a literal taste of the locale and make your gathering stand out even more.
Have Good Presentation
When you cater an event, it’s essential to consider the appearance of the food. Ensuring the meals are visually enticing will help give your guests a good first impression. Additionally, presentation extends beyond just the food itself. Whatever you choose to serve the meals, whether it’s on a plate or catering food trays, should appear aesthetically pleasing and match the theme of the event.
If you want an event menu planner in the Philadelphia area, then Village Catering can help. We offer a variety of high-quality meals that are sure to satisfy your guests’ taste buds. You can also reach out to us if you’re searching for banquet halls with catering. Call us today to learn more and get started.