Choosing a Catering Company: Learn the Steps to Take

Oct 19
07:34

2011

Abraham Avotina

Abraham Avotina

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If you are planning an event, such as a wedding, you should choose a good catering company to provide the food. Find out how to get started.

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When planning catering for your wedding,Choosing a Catering Company: Learn the Steps to Take Articles you will find that you have several decisions to make. You typically need to commit to a few answers several months ahead of time. Think about what you have to do in order to successfully plan the food for your event.

The first step is to decide which type of food you want. For example, think about whether you want primarily Italian, Mexican, American, or other popular kinds of fare. If you have a theme, such as an Irish wedding, try to match the food choices to it. Of course, you can also choose a particular kind of course instead of deciding to stick to one type. For instance, if you enjoy steak, salad, and breadsticks, you can likely have all three choices at your event, so you do not have to stick to one category. It's your event. Find a catering company that will do it your way, keeping your preferences and budget in mind.

Once you have an idea of the foods you want available, you should think about what format you want. For instance, consider having a sit-down, plated meal, during which waiters serve your guests. You can also choose to have a buffet so that the people at each table get up, one at a time, so every person can choose his or her own foods. This just requires having a few people present to ladle out soup, carve meat, or pass out rolls while standing behind a buffet table. Finally, you could choose to have different stations, such as a baked potato area, steak station, and salad table. This means that guests who are not interested in one type of fare can avoid that particular table easily, making meal time go smoothly.

After you choose the format of the meal, it is time to actually taste everything that will be served. Most catering companies provide a sample meal for you to taste. The chef should schedule a time when you can come in and have all of the chosen dishes made for you, or perhaps sample several items to help you choose. You may be able to do this at a few catering companies before you commit to one. Otherwise, it is tough to tell how good the cooking actually is, so those who want to entice customers to choose them should try to schedule tastings. Once you decide whether you like the cooking, read some reviews on each company to make sure others were satisfied with it during the actual event, as some chefs can cook well for a couple of people at once, but do not do well when making meals for lots of people at one time.

If you want to get catering for your wedding or other type of event, you have some work to do when it comes to researching the best companies. The easy part comes during the taste test, so save your inner critic for that pivotal moment in time, during which you will likely decide on the company that you want to cater your wedding.

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