Monday, July 2, 2007

The Right Food for the Right Event

You know that your 7-year-old nephew is probably not going to want Lobster Thermidor for his birthday. And that your mom's retirement celebration is probably the wrong time to showcase your newfound love for freeze-dried ice cream in mole sauce. But knowing what food's right for your business's events may be a little harder.

Here are some steps we have come up with to help you make that decision:

  1. Figure out what time of day your event is happening. Of course, breakfast, lunch, or dinner is an obvious distinction. But, a breakfast-time event at 7.30AM has different contextual needs than one at 9.
  2. Know what else will be going on. Are people paying attention to a presenter? Is there a DJ? Do they want to network with each other?
  3. Determine how people will get their food. Will they pick it up, all assembled in a box? Serve it themselves onto plates? Be served by an attendant?
  4. Know your audience. If your event's going to be attended by a homogeneous crowd, figure out what they'd like, and give it to them. If it's for a diverse group, provide something for everyone, but don't aim for a middle-road no one wants to go down.

When you can determine these factors, and take them all into consideration, you can better craft contextually appropriate food for your event.

These are questions Elemental Catering will be happy to help you answer, and come up with a plan that has your event covered. It's our job to know what to serve when.