Mistakes to avoid when planning a corporate event

The Food Needs To Be Good!

You might have the best venue, a fantastic speaker or a superb DJ if it’s a corporate party but if the food doesn’t cut it then you could ruin your event. If guests are hungry they won’t hang around because their stomachs will be telling them to fill up with good food. It’s really vital that you hire a reputable Melbourne catering company like Brisk to organise your food. Remember, it is a corporate event and guests are there out of duty rather than preference so you need to keep them happy. Offer a menu that will suit all palates, keep flavours familiar and have a few exotic additions on top to give a little variety, our Arancini, Crostini’s and Frittata always go down well!

Employ a Reputable Melbourne Corporate Caterer

Don’t try and cater it yourself unless it’s for a very small number. It’s all very well organising the food but you also need to take into account food issues. For example, you might have people attending with dietary needs such as gluten free, nut allergies or you may have a number of vegetarians. It’s important to consider this especially nowadays when there are lots of risks attached to food. If you have a large corporate event it’s a good idea to ask the question on the invitation, that way your corporate caterer can organise a suitable menu in advance. If you have a small amount of people to cater for, always have gluten free and vegetarian options.

For a large event, perhaps consider leaving out nut-based products so there’s no cross-contamination, although those with a severe nut allergy will more than likely flag it before they tuck into their food.  You could also put a list of ingredients next to dishes so anyone with an allergy risk knows what they’re about to tuck into. Trust us, guests find this very considerate and it will be noted.

Ensure Enough Tables & Seating

Another thing to consider is seating. It’s very important to have adequate seating available for your guests, even at a stand-up event. People do get tired and do want to have somewhere to rest their feet, especially if they’ve been working all day or rushing around. If your corporate event includes presentations and documents, remember no one wants to do a balancing act of food, pieces of paper and a drink while up on their feet! Really look at the venue and think about configuring it on an online seating plan app. Ask yourself if there’s enough room for seating?

Consider setting it up as a seated event and then swiftly moving seats away for drinks and nibbles afterwards if you are restricted to a certain space. By the same token, if you are giving out documents your guests need sufficient amounts of tables available too so think carefully. Remember, if you are spending your money on great Brisk catering, your guests need to enjoy it – when they’ve got too much to hold on to and nowhere to sit, they won’t.

Don’t Go Over-Board With Choice

It’s always a good idea to have menu choice but you don’t need to go over-board with lots of different items. Offer a few different ideas, a platter of chicken, a fish choice, vegetarian option and beef is enough as opposed to offering lots of varieties of the same base food. If you have a lot of people and you’re having a buffet remember that too many dishes will end up in longer lines which means delays in people getting their food promptly!

While talking about menu choice, it’s wise to get a good idea of how many people are going to attend before your event and let your caterer know. This way you won’t under cater (which is a disaster) and you won’t over-cater. It’s always wise to have a little extra – so your caterer will advise you to order for more guests than you have. That way you won’t be standing there worrying that people are over-filling their plates, there’s nothing worse than running out of food. It will never be forgotten.