For many, summer is event season. They may plan team-building events, community block parties, company retreats, and other events that bring people together and get the team excited.
Part of planning big events often includes catering. You may want to order food for everyone attending the event, since food can be a surefire way to get people excited about the event.
However, ordering for a large group can be just as large a task. Whether you’re catering Dallas team-only events or inviting the whole community to celebrate with you, there are steps to take before placing your order that can make planning and ordering easier.
Get an Estimated Headcount
If you’re catering a smaller event, you may have an exact, or nearly exact, headcount. You know how many people you want to invite, and you can easily send out an RSVP email to get attendees' numbers squared away.
If you’re planning a community-oriented event, getting accurate numbers can be more challenging but not impossible. You might need to include various families and friends. For every team member, you might estimate an additional three or four people.
An estimated headcount gives you the numbers needed to build a budget. With that budget, you can vet potential caterers who can meet it while ensuring you have the right amount of food for the event.
Know Everyone’s Food Preferences
You may know everyone’s T-shirt size, but you might not know about food allergies or dietary restrictions. While companies may not directly ask about food allergies (check the Americans with Disabilities and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Acts to be sure), they can ask about food preferences.
Sharing this information can be entirely voluntary on the part of your attendees, but it can be valuable to ensure everyone gets to reasonably participate in the festivities. If you have folks who are vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free, for example, you can take that into account.
If you’d prefer not to ask about food preferences, ordering a few catered dishes that consider potential dietary needs can still be wise. This way, all your bases are covered, and everyone’s happy!
Order Your Catering in Advance
Once your budget is set and you have an estimated headcount, you can place your food order—and you can do it well in advance. This can relieve pressure from other aspects of planning the event.
How far in advance is up to you. You can order two months ahead of time or two weeks ahead. When catering Wilmington NC events through a catering search platform, for instance, you can specify the date and time. Put in the order on June 14 and set the delivery time for August 1 at noon.
By the time your delivery date arrives, all you have to do is have a dedicated place to set up the food. From there, your event attendees can enjoy the dining experience you’ve generously provided!
About ezCater
Ordering lunch in the middle of the workday is simple with ezCater. ezCater is a robust online platform made to connect you and your business with local caterers and restaurants. They’ve partnered with over 100,000 caterers nationwide and offer several search tools to help you find that “just right” caterer. Through ezCater’s partnerships, your team can save time and keep things on or under budget when ordering daily lunch catering or food for events. You can rely on ezCater when you’re catering Lexington KY team meetings or impressing a sales prospect with Portland catering. No matter where your business is located—or where you’re traveling for work—you can turn to ezCater to solve your food needs.
Put in your event order at https://www.ezcater.com/
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