5 catering tips for your company dinner party

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Catering – perhaps the most important aspect of any company dinner party. In foodie Singapore, what you serve up at your company event is likely to become the main talking point of the night. Here are five simple tips to help ensure that your guests are well-fed and satisfied.

1. Be sure to check the caterer’s signature dish

Restaurants, caterers or hotels always take pride in having a speciality dish. A speciality dish typically sets the tone for the rest of a catering spread. Hence, it is important to request from about each caterer their expertise and defining style. By doing so, you’ll know which menu meets your event – both in style and budget. To help prevent you from missing out crowd-pleasing dishes, try asking your catering the following questions, “How do you describe your food? What distinguishes you from other caterers?”

 

2. Have sufficient drinks for every guest

Hydration! Not just at a sports game, having enough drinks is the bare necessity at an event. Events are social by nature, and it is inevitable for your guests to get thirsty quick. Or, to have a glass to sip on during awkward conversations. On average, a guest will consume 3 beverages. this includes both plain water to coffee, juice or spirits.

 

3. Manage costs by offering a limited but appealing drinks menu

Having said that, drinks can also be a budget buster. While spirits are pricey, having a limited bar menu can still be enticing. One suggestion is to having a limited spread of wine and beer, but throw in one specialty drink. This can be a local microbrew, a custom-made cocktail or even an elegant sparkling wine cocktail featuring seasonal flavours.

 

4. Serve a good variety of pre-dinner appetizers

Apart from having a good bar menu, appetizers are also a good way to set the tone. Prior to serving the main dinner dishes, be sure to serve up  3 – 5 appetizer pieces per person. Choose lighter food options, while complementing the dishes that is ahead.

 

5. Check your caterer’s deposit and cancellation policies

Finally, before engaging a restaurant or caterer, double check their deposit and cancellation policies. It is common for guests to pull out days before or have last-minute request for special dietary needs. As an industry standard, cancellations can be done at least 3 working days before the event date. If cancellations are made 2 days before, caterers typically charge 0% of the expected bill, 50% if the cancellation takes place 1 event day before, and 100% for the day itself.

 

Image credit: BizBash.com, http://www.bizbash.com/15-brand-new-options-for-meeting-catering/chicago/story/26361#sthash.F0xB2x1e.dpbs

 

Next Step: Find awesome event venues and spaces to rent in Singapore 

We are Spaces is a venue discovery platform for event planners. Browse from over 300 curated venues available for rent, filter spaces based on your specific requirements, and get quotes from multiple venues all from a single enquiry. Visit We Are Spaces to find your perfect venue today!

 

Founded in early 2013, We Are Spaces is Singapore's leading online platform for meeting & event venues. Be it a corporate function or personal party, browse through over 600 venues - curated by fellow Singaporeans!

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