Catering is the business of food and drink provision to clients, usually at a remote site or location, or in a professional capacity. Catering services allow people to enjoy their time at an event without worrying about how they will get food to where they are. They also ease the pressure of making food for large groups of people for the said event.
There are different types of catering services, but the most common form is event catering. Others include mobile catering and boxed-lunch services. There are other types of catering, but the three mentioned are the most common.
Catering services are offered to anyone or any group in need of such services at a certain price. They come in handy at social events and offer a lot of advantages to the client. Choosing a catering firm that will meet all your needs can, however, be quite challenging. This is due to the availability of many businesses offering these services.
Event Catering Services
Event catering is the most popular category of catering services. Every year, millions of events take place across the globe. These include weddings, corporate events, galas, business meetings, parties and any other event that comes to mind. Plenty of planning goes into these events, and getting the food and drink department right is always a headache for most patrons. Catering firms, therefore, step in to offer this service at a fee.
Under event catering services, we have two categories of companies that fill this niche. The first type offers buffet style catering, where guests are free to serve themselves whatever the company has prepared, for a given event. Buffet style is especially great for large parties that are laid back and nonchalant in nature.
The alternative to buffet style catering is catering services for specialized meals with a wait staff. This involves the guests being served whatever they order from the catering firm while being waited on by waiters. It is, therefore, more upscale compared to buffet style.
Mobile Catering Services
This type of catering if offered by catering firms that provide food and drink from their vehicles/automobiles. It is especially common with large outdoor events, concerts, some workplaces and busy downtown business areas. Companies engaged in mobile catering services typically use their vehicles as their primary offices and do not normally have a physical address.
Boxed Lunch Catering Services
Companies that offer this form of catering offer a sandwich, a fruit and some dessert in a lunch box. They deliver these boxed lunches to clients wherever they are and are popular with big businesses that provide lunch for their employees, especially in large numbers. They are also very popular with schools because once delivered; no cleanup team is needed to provide cleaning services after meals. Boxed lunch services are also cheap compared to the other two types of catering services.
On-site vs. Delivery Catering
It is important to note that catering services can either be provided on-site or delivered to the site. On-site catering involves transportation of fresh ingredients to the location from where food is prepared at the site of the event. In this form of catering, food moves directly from the cooking area to waiting plates. Delivery Catering, on the other hand, involves food being prepared off-site in a catering kitchen, before being transported to the event site. In this form of catering, the food is transported in a “completely” ready state awaiting serving, or cooking is “finished’ on-site, before serving.
Many factors go into choosing a catering service. The number of guests to be served and one’s budget, lie at the top of that list. Selecting a catering service can, therefore, be quite a daunting task but once chosen, comes with a lot of benefits.
Written by bleu events, one of the top caterers Columbia, MO has to offer.
