Catering for Large Groups

Whether you are hosting a big family holiday dinner, an employee appreciation lunch or an executive retreat, catering for a large group of people can be challenging. Whatever type of event you are planning, stay organized and keep it as simple as possible. Offer a variety of dishes, but keep it within two to four main dishes. Your catering table will look more inviting when you have filled it with platters as well as smaller plates for additional food choices.

Catering Options for a Variety of Events

Sandwich platters can easily feed a large group of people, and you can offer a variety of choices. Fill your platter with meats such as ham, turkey and roast beef along with cheddar, Swiss and American cheese. Accompany these items with rolls or buns and veggies, such as lettuce or spinach, tomato and onion. Consider adding a soup as a complementary dish.
If your event is a little more formal, requiring more than just sandwiches, a seafood buffet is a great idea. Keep it simple with a salmon entree, crab cake appetizers and a green salad served buffet style. Or you can go all out with a large, formal buffet that includes appetizers, salad, entree, accompaniments and dessert. Appetizers like fried oysters, shrimp and seafood spring rolls are only the beginning. Consider such entrees as grilled salmon, stuffed flounder and shrimp penne. Don’t forget to add assorted fresh vegetables, white and/or yellow rice and wonton or egg drop soup as accompaniments.
Another catering option is to offer your next catered crowd gourmet pizza. There are a wide variety of flavors, such as a hearty meat lovers, a spinach and feta or pesto sun-dried tomato pizza for the vegetarian pizza lover. Give guests their choice to build their own pizza with small ready-made crusts and the option to add traditional tomato sauce pizza, pesto pizza or alfredo pizza sauce. Have them add their own meats and vegetables as toppings. Accompany the pizza meal with salad and dessert.

Decorations for Your Catered Event

No matter event you are catering for, you going to need decorations, serving utensils, dinnerware, drink glasses and other decor such as napkins, silk flowers, food warmers and even candles. If you’re hiring a catering service for the event, they will most likely take care of these items for you. If you are catering the event yourself, you may need to go to a party store to see what is available to rent.

Planning for Your Event

Proper planning is vital to pulling off your catered event. Purchase a calendar to start in advance and write down what needs to be done each day.
First send out invitations. Formal or informal, everyone loves to get an invitation to a catered event.
Purchase the food. Purchase what you can prepare ahead of time and items you will need as the event gets closer.
Figure out which dishes you can prepare and freeze ahead of time.

While planning a big event can be stressful, whether you are doing it yourself or hiring a caterer, being organized and planning things out thoroughly can help your event be a huge success.

If you are planning on starting a business as a caterer, visit Schubert Equipment Sales online store for quality food service equipment. We’d love to hear your experiences as an entrepreneur in the catering business. Share your comments with us.