Event Catering 101: Planning Tips, Menu Ideas and More!
Just because you love to plan menus and cook delicious food for family and friends to enjoy doesn’t mean that you always have to! Whether you are taking a break from this part of the party preparations or otherwise exploring event catering services for the first time, this basic guide may offer some helpful information to guide you through the process. People often have the following questions about event catering services:
● What does event catering entail?
● What information is it helpful to have prior to choosing a menu or a caterer?
● What are some fun menu ideas for my next event?
In addition to an overview of event catering, as well as planning tips and suggestions to help you in choosing a caterer, discover customizable menu ideas for your next event, featuring options available on Freddy’s catering menu!
What to Know about Event Catering
Reduce your own workload for a party at home or treat your guests to an incredible menu for a special event using professional event catering services. From anniversary parties in your grandparents’ backyard to corporate fundraising galas, event catering can provide the food, beverages and potentially many other services for your upcoming occasions. However, event catering menus, services and more may vary from one company to another.
In addition to the many different menu selections, you may find a single approach to event catering service or a range of service styles to choose from, such as plated dinners, build-your-own buffets or even pre-packed individual meals like the ones that include steakburgers and chicken clubs at Freddy’s. Some catering companies will collaborate in the menu planning, prepare the chosen drinks, dishes and desserts, have trained staff to serve the food, and facilitate all setup and cleanup needs. With other catering services, you may simply choose from the available catering menu and opt to pick up the food or have it delivered to organize and serve as you so choose. Understandably, factors like the size of your guest list or the menu selections themselves further contribute to the variability you might encounter in total event catering costs, as explained at Eventbrite.
What to Do Prior to Meeting with Prospective Event Catering Companies
You’ve got a clear reason for making a party happen. So, what’s next? While you may want to start curating that playlist or coming up with menu ideas, gathering other event details may actually be more important. Here are 4 steps to take before menu planning can truly begin.
1. Determine your budget.
You’ll make many choices in planning for your event. Setting a budget from the beginning of this process, as well as prioritizing how to spend your available funds, helps guide your decisions when it comes to event catering. As highlighted in the guide to wedding catering costs from WeddingWire, the final bills for catering often include more than the food itself and can vary substantially.
2. Set a date and time.
These details and many of the ones that follow may be determined on their own or be influenced by the established budget. Also, the event date may inform menu selections that correspond in some way with the time of year or the availability of local ingredients. Similarly, the time of day may point you to a specific meal or the types of dishes to consider. Also, you don’t want to start getting into menu specifics only to find out that an event catering service isn’t even available.
3. Pick a venue.
Aside from where the venue lands on your list of event priorities, the location of your event may also impact your event catering choices. For example, the ambiance or formality of the space may contribute to your menu decisions or service style. Also, if the venue already offers catering services for events, then your use of that space may require working with on-site caterers or accepting extra fees, if you choose to use other vendors.
4. Prepare your guest list.
Determining the guest list often happens in tandem with putting together the budget for your event. While the number of guests often guides the overall budget and the portion of it allocated to the event catering services, it also significantly contributes to your menu planning. From the type of food to its service, there are many considerations that you’ll discover as you start looking at different event catering options. Plus, some catering services may have minimums or maximums tied to their services or tiered options. For example, one factor that impacts the timeline for placing orders and receiving them from a Freddy’s near you is the size of the order.
How to Choose an Event Catering Service
Even if the food is not the focus of the entire event, it often makes a significant impact on guests’ experiences at weddings, holiday parties and other occasions that may be catered. In its guide to hiring an event caterer, Social Tables emphasizes the importance of getting to know how a potential catering service will perform at your event, not just what’s on their menu. To help ensure that you pick a great event caterer, take time to do your research! In addition to creating a detailed list of questions to ask (like the ones on this wedding catering checklist shared at The Knot), here are a few more recommendations:
Pay attention to your initial experiences. Your own first impressions are important. You’ll gain insight into how a caterer operates by how quickly a company responds to your inquiries or how detailed and concrete their responses are to your questions about menu flexibility, experience, staffing, scheduling, insurance and more.
Experience the food. Sample or current catering menus, pictures of the menu selections (as well as table settings and other event features, if applicable), and service details like cost are just a few of the details that should appear on a catering provider’s website. If you are having an event catered by a favorite restaurant like Freddy’s, you may already have tried a lot of the food on the catering menu. For other event catering services, ask about a tasting. Doing a trial run of sorts helps confirm that what’s on the menu tastes as good, if not better, than the pictures and reviews suggest. It may also help you decide between your menu choices and give you a sense of the attention to detail provided by the catering staff.
Seek out feedback on the event catering service. If you are lucky, then your search for an event caterer may be as easy as getting a name from a trusted source. However, in this case and especially when starting from scratch, you’ll still want to read reviews from other customers or ask for references from the catering company about their handling of other events similar to yours. In terms of gathering information about qualities like communication, flexibility or professionalism, hearing from others about their experiences may provide a better understanding about what working with the company is really like, not only leading up to but also during the event.
Make sure that important specifics are provided in writing. Even if you have a great feeling about a company, make sure a clear contract is in place. Don’t forget to make sure that key details like menu specifics, related pricing, timelines, and other considerations are clearly specified before committing to that event catering provider.
3 Customizable Menu Ideas for Your Next Event
With several essential event details in hand and tips on research to do as you explore your event catering options, you may also be looking for some menu ideas. As you reflect on what might appeal to your guests, you may be particularly interested in options that enable them to tailor their dining experiences to their preferences. Here are 3 customizable menu ideas to consider for your next event, as well as how Freddy’s catering can provide what you need for each one.
1. Build-your-own bars
In exploring dinner party theme ideas, Real Simple highlights that a DIY approach to food offers an engaging and interactive opportunity for your guests. Whether you are looking for corporate catering or are planning your wife’s 50th birthday party, giving people the opportunity to customize meals to their preferences or in relation to dietary considerations is always appreciated.
There are two options for both burger bar catering and hot dog bar catering at Freddy’s. Choose from a standard or deluxe burger bar, as well as a standard hot dog bar or the deluxe variation on this offering. Whether you choose the standard or deluxe version, each order contains 10 hot dogs or 10 doubles with cheese, 10 servings of Freddy’s Kettle Chips, and an assortment of toppings. Standard bar packages include familiar condiments like ketchup and mustard. With the deluxe bars, guests will be able to make their own chili dogs or top their burgers with specialty sauces like Freddy’s Famous Fry Sauce®.
2. Create-your-own treats
In addition to ideas like customizing your own mix of candy or decorating a favorite flavor of cupcake, a create-your-own sundae bar is an interactive idea that invites your guests to decide their preferred treat size and flavor combinations. Freddy’s sundae bar catering includes quarts of both our chocolate and our vanilla frozen custard. Designed to serve 10, this sweet catering selection includes a collection of some of our guests’ favorite toppings like hot fudge, chocolate chip cookie dough and strawberries.
3. Choose your own meal
As an alternative to build-your-own bars or a choice between two plated dinners, individually packaged meals are another way for catering companies to offer convenience and choice for event guests. To get your team out of the office during a long day of training, give them a choice of lunch to take with them to a picnic area outside. Make the birthday party in the park a little easier on yourself with packaged meals for guests that include a main, a side, and a sweet! At Freddy’s, we offer 10 different types of individual bagged lunches. In addition to the choice of some of the most popular items on our regular menu like our steakburgers and chicken sandwiches, each meal also includes Freddy’s Kettle Chips and a brownie!
Frequently Asked Questions About Freddy’s Catering Services
What event catering services does Freddy’s offer?
Freddy’s catering is available for birthdays, corporate events, school events and many other occasions. Our catering orders can be picked up at the Freddy’s near you or delivered to your chosen location. At this time, we do not offer on-site catering services.
What do I need to know about placing a catering order?
The size of your intended catering order and the location at which you plan to place your order may impact the order process. The order size may determine the timeline between order submission and its availability for carry out or delivery. Additionally, order minimums may vary by location. In short, it’s advisable to check in with your intended restaurant location about any questions. As a general frame of reference, a single hot dog bar order may require just a few hours, while orders for larger parties or with multiple items may require one day of advanced notice or several.
What kind of flexibility or accommodations are available for dietary preferences or other considerations?
If you have guests that would prefer chicken instead of beef or a lettuce wrap instead of a bun with a steakburger, these options are available on our catering menu (depending on your order selection). However, with regard to potential allergens, many different allergens are present in our restaurants as reflected in our nutrition and allergen information, so cross contamination may occur.
At Freddy’s, we offer event catering services for many different occasions. In addition to our various customizable options, we also offer assorted drinks, chicken tender trays and fresh salad. If you have questions about our services, please contact us at your earliest convenience or simply place your order today!