Catering Requires the Right Questions

Catering may seem simple because most people associate it with simply cooking and serving food, but the reality is that there is far more to it than just that. Because of this, there are a lot of important things you need to ask about when deciding on a potential caterer.

While the food itself is the most important aspect of good catering, even the best meal can be tarnished or even ruined by things like poor service or presentation or even the overall price itself. To keep yourself from being caught off guard by something that could ruin your entire event, it is important to make sure you ask about these important aspects of catering ahead of time.

When deciding on a caterer to handle your event, it is most necessary to meet with potential candidates ahead of time to discuss what they have to offer. It is at this time that you should be prepared to ask each potential candidate about the many important things that will ultimately help you make a decision.

With the food itself obviously the most important part, one of the first questions should be about whether a caterer specializes in a certain type of food or cooks a specific menu. Knowing what type of options you have available to you can help you decide on the direction you hope to take the meal in.

While the right menu can be important, it will ultimately come down to how the food tastes. With this in mind, asking caterers if they are available to host a food tasting can be quite helpful. This will allow you to determine if the food is sufficient, as well as whether or not there are specific items you want to include or leave out.

Of course the issue of price is always an important one, so it is certainly necessary to inquire about it before choosing one company or another. Specific questions such as how the price is determined and what extras are included or can be added on should be able to be answered before a company is hired.

An often-overlooked yet vitally important question is whether or not the catering company provides its own materials for the presentation of the meal, including basic necessities such as tables, chairs, silverware and linens. While these may be provided by the venue in some cases, it is extremely important to know ahead of time whether you will have to provide these things yourself to prevent a disaster on the day of your function.

These basic questions will help you narrow down the field of potential catering companies to those that can effectively suit your needs. From there it may come down to more specific requests or needs you may have that only certain caterers may be able to fill.