Explaining Your Catering Needs to Your Catering Service Company

Catering services can handle many different types of requests. Some companies may have their own specialty. A finger food catering company can supply wedding finger food or cold finger foods for any special occasion. Split roast catering can be handled by many different types of companies and can make a certain type of event the talk of the town. When someone needs office catering, corporate catering or individual catering services, he wants to make sure the company he hires can meet his particular needs. A person can find out if a particular company can meet his needs by explaining his need to the service that he hires.

A person who wants cold finger food should tell a caterer right away. If he does not plan on expanding his menu much beyond this, he does not need to worry if the service will be able to keep its food warm after it arrives. Chafing dishes and other items used in many catering operations are not necessary. At most, the service just needs to bring plates and forks.

When organizers begin the process of explaining their needs to a catering company, they need to make sure the catering company understands what the needs are in detail. The company will ask questions about the type of food the planners wish to serve, if the planners should have options for people with different dietary needs, and how much food is needed. As soon as the company covers the basics of an event, the company will start to ask other questions that are just as important to conducting the event successfully.

The event planner should tell the catering company if he plans to host an indoor or outdoor event. The venue affects the type of food served. An indoor event may allow for a sit down meal, while an outdoor event allows for more portable foods. It also determines whether the caterer will bring paper plates and plastic silverware or if the caterer will bring normal plates, silverware and napkins. Serving trays will be used regardless of where the event is held.

Event planners should also tell the catering company if the event is for a particular celebration. Although catering companies prepare the food and handle the meal, they perform additional functions as well. A Christmas party will require different decorations than a party held in July. If the planners have a particular theme in mind, they need to tell the caterer about their chosen them. The catering company may decline to decorate for the party in some circumstances. Politely declining the offer to decorate does not mean the company cannot handle the food. It just means the decorations are beyond that company's means.

A face-to-face meeting is not necessary when event planners first contact a caterer, but such a meeting can help the company and the planners clear up many details. Long-term relationships may be developed in this manner. The arrangement can be mutually beneficial to all of the parties involved. If the event goes well, the catering company may gain repeat business.