Are you catering outdoors?

At Brisk, we’re sure you’ll agree with most Australians, food just seems to taste better when it’s eaten outside and restaurants already know that (catering outdoors at any opportunity). So if you’ve got an event coming up over the next few months, take advantage of our sunny climate and make it an outdoor one.

Now you’ve decided to use our suggestion, let Brisk Catering take you through the best tips for catering your business event in Melbourne, outside.

Know Your Space

Obviously visit your venue of choice (certainly it’s a good idea to see a few before you settle on the right one for your event). Bear in mind its proximity to transport, parking restrictions and get to know the space so you can think about how your room will look when it’s full of clients and staff. Outdoor venues have an entirely different set up to indoor venues. You do need to consider music and amplifying equipment, especially if there are speeches as the outdoors carries voice. It can also be hard to hear someone if the right noise levels aren’t put into place.

Cater In Advance

Venue layout will also dictate the type of equipment your caterer will need. So, if there’s no kitchen close by, it’s a good idea to cater your event in advance and have food delivered to your venue. That’s something that Brisk is used to doing. We start early in the day to make sure all of our clients have their food delivered on time and in style. So there’s no need to set up special kitchens when you use us, we transport food to you which is much more convenient!

Consider A Serving Plan

If you’re having serving staff, think about the serving plan. You need to know how far your serving staff need to travel when bringing food to guests. Make sure pathways are clear and not too far away as you don’t want to slow down your food which makes for impatient, hungry guests!

Visit The Venue On The Day

Always visit your venue on the day of the event too. This is to make sure that the set-up is going well and speak to the person in charge of the venue to make sure there’s no last minute hiccups. You might be able to help. Ask them about the electricals and make sure everything is set up for any entertainment/speeches etc.

Request Permits In Advance

Do know any parking restrictions well in advance. If you need permits for parking, music, alcohol or anything else, get it all sorted well before your event. You don’t want to put any unnecessary pressure on your event and nor do you want to be shut down earlier than scheduled. Equally, you don’t want your catering team to be moved out of the way because of parking restrictions and some guests will drive so make sure they can leave their car safely. The last thing you want is a bunch of disgruntled clients having to fork out money for a car left in a no-parking zone!

Plan Your Menu

Plan your menu in advance too. If you’re using Brisk, consider what time you’re having your food delivered especially if you have hot canapes. No point in having these delivered at 4pm if you aren’t serving until 6pm! Remember, outdoor conditions can affect what your guests want to eat. If it’s very hot then guests won’t want heavy food, they’ll want lots of light bites and interesting, summery textures. Canapes such as casual finger food will really go down a treat. Consider our favourites, crostini, arancini, beef skewers, chicken skewers, Vietnamese lettuce rolls and mini hot dogs (to name a few ideas).

Have A Weather Contingency Plan

Always have a weather back-up plan because with the best will in the world, while we usually enjoy glorious sunshine, there are those days when the weather doesn’t play ball! So, wherever you choose for your outdoor corporate event in Melbourne, make sure you can move everything indoors just in case. Don’t risk having to cancel an event because of the weather because many outdoor catering supplies won’t be weather-proof. You need a contingency plan in place.