Are you planning for an event? One of your primary concerns would be the food. How do you plan the menu? What are the considerations to make? An article in About Money discussed the nine foremost considerations for planning an event menu.
Your first step would be knowing your guest profile. This is actually not just for the food but also to guide just about every decision you make for your event. Professional level, frequency of attending similar events, place of residence, and ethnic background of the guests are just some important information to take note of.
Next is to research on their food preference. Your goal is to please the guests in general as opposed to sacrificing general satisfaction just to make sure one or a few guests are happy. The preferences would be your guide, not a solid rule to follow.
Next is providing menu choices. What you want is to make adjustments, according to the preferences, so that your menu contains a choice for any type of appetite. You can make this easy by hiring Philadelphia catering services, like Jerry’s Kitchen, that offer food choices for many eating habits – vegans, vegetarians, meat-lovers, and even gluten-free folk.
Another consideration to make is incorporating fresh and seasonal items. This will help you ensure availability for the time and date of your event. The clock will also be a strong determinant for planning your menu. You consider the type of event and how much time the guests have to eat.
Special needs should also be determined, which you can find out when you are checking the guests’ preferences. Again, you shouldn’t sacrifice the general satisfaction of your guests. It is important, however, to include options for high-sensitivity cases, like those who have food allergies, dietary restrictions, and religious requirements.
Next, make the venue comfortable. Part of the satisfaction in eating is outside the food itself. Guests will enjoy it better if they can have fun while eating – interacting with other guests, being able to watch entertainment numbers, etc. Having a theme can be good – maybe feature cuisine from a certain region. Your event can be more memorable with this. Just don’t forget the concerns highlighted above.
Lastly, you should think about the final presentation of the food and drinks. Food doesn’t just need to taste good – it has to look good too. Understand that a person’s first experience of food is its looks and smell. If you hire event or corporate catering in Philadelphia, make sure to talk to the caterer about all these considerations. You can even get additional advice from them to make your event truly memorable.
(Source: Top 9 Catering Considerations When Planning an Event Menu, About Money, undated)