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Gino Spano

 Tags: Catering Trends

Planning a corporate event is fun and stressful. As the planner, you’ve got a lot of details to nail down, and you want to be sure that all of your workers and party guests are going to enjoy themselves.

Catering corporate parties is easier than you think. The five ideas below are sure to wow all of your guests on the night of the party.

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1. Pick a Theme

Catering corporate parties around a theme can help streamline your ideas, and really settle in on the appearance. The theme can incorporate all elements of the party: drinks, food, and decorations—even dress code, to really be memorable and stand out.

Pick a theme that works well within the unique venue you’ve chosen to show off your attention to detail and emphasize the time and care taken to ensure your guests enjoy themselves. Work with the chef and caterers to bring the theme to life. Whether it’s Rustic Italian or Backyard BBQ, you’ll want to tie everything together to impress your guests.

2. Live Chef Stations

An on-site chef is an unexpected and entertaining aspect. Dinner can be a slow point in the meal, but a chef cooking in front of everyone provides a live action element that’s both fun and exciting. Providing an interactive experience with the guests, it also allows the chef to slightly alter the dish for preference or allergies.

People expect the same thing with dinner. Bringing in the chef to cook for everyone, whether it’s rolling sushi or grilling meat, is a fun part of the dinner guests will be sure to remember. It’s not only dinner: it’s entertainment!

3. DIY Food Tables

Consider setting up different stations when catering corporate parties. Everybody can choose what they’d like to eat and how much to grab, instead of the food coming to them. With this, your guests can spend more time mingling and less time sitting. In addition to chatting, tables help break up the lines that come with big events and allow for optimal socializing opportunities. Again, this can help with food allergies and dietary restrictions.

Charcuterie boards, pizza stations, taco tables, fruit and dessert stations are a few of many creative options. You can do the majority of the dinner this way, including the meal and desserts, or you could take this approach for desserts or appetizer tables.

4. Mix up the Bar

Catering corporate parties can offer much more than just water, beer, and wine. Support local breweries and wineries by offering premium wines and craft brews on tap, and include an assortment of liquors and spirits for fun cocktails. Different types of bubbly bars will allow you to offer rosé and champagne varieties. Local breweries may even work with you and send a representative to explain more about their product.

For guests who prefer alcohol-free, ensure there’s different juices, flavoured water, and mocktail varieties. If the budget allows, consider a professional bartender to mix drinks and wow the crowd. Top the drinks off with fun glassware and garnishes to really make them stand out.

5. Appetizing Presentation

The final presentation of food and beverage is just as important as the menu itself. You want to impress your guests and entice them with the food. Ensuring the food is displayed in a beautiful and delicious way is how to do that. When catering corporate events, you want a company that understands different event needs and knows how to arrange food in a way that makes people want to eat. The tables, linens, decorations, and cutlery are just as important as the food displayed.

If we eat with our eyes and our nose, the food needs to be displayed colourfully, allowing the fragrant smells and flavours to grab our guests’ attention. It’s hard to wow the crowd if the food doesn’t look good. The aesthetics of the food add for creative presentation and show off the artisanal quality of the chef, so your guests will be ready to eat.

Everything You Need to Know About Planning a Corporate Event

Gino Spano

Starting with roots in a kitchen at 14 years old, he worked his way up the ranks and by the young age of 17 was responsible for daily events of 50 to 600 people. Gino continued to use his talents to work in catering, banquet and restaurant kitchens across the GTA. His love for Italian, French and Asian cuisine paired with his wide variety of knowledge brought him success in his new venture at Seventh Heaven in 2001. Over the past 12 years, he has cooked many meals for social events, corporate events and government officials. His love for new challenges brought him into corporate sales where he and the Seventh Heaven team won Best Catered Event for Canadian Linen’s “The Great White North” – Facility Grand Opening in 2009.
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