Whether it’s a quick snack or an elaborate meal, food can really set the tone for your event and leave a lasting impression. Despite how essential it is to the guest experience, serving food can be stressful for the host. From sourcing and preparation to serving and cleanup, you’ll have your hands full. If you’d rather just enjoy yourself without fretting about the food service, consider hiring a caterer near you.
This article covers all the benefits of catering for events to show why it’s a popular option and help you decide if it’s right for you.
1. Offer a Varied Menu
Everyone has different food preferences — some people love salad, while those of us with taste prefer pizza. That’s why most events offer lots of food. With a variety of options, attendees are more likely to find something they enjoy. Variety is especially important if you’re hosting a long function where people will get hangry without a snack.
While you can create a great menu yourself, you might be limited by your own culinary talents. If you can only cook a few dishes, you can only offer a few dishes. With a caterer, you can provide tons of options for snacks and meals. Caterers also have the experience to help you pick dishes they know people will love.
2. Enhance the Experience
Food can reinforce and enhance an event’s theme when done correctly. Imagine attending a high-end fundraising gala where professional staff serve you Champagne and a sensational three-course meal. This food fits the elegant and sophisticated atmosphere. Now imagine that same event but with a barbecue. The fancy, beautiful decor paired with hot dogs can throw guests off.
Working with top-notch caterers allows you to create food that matches the tone you’re going for and create an unforgettable experience.
3. Simplify Event Planning
Planning an event can be time-consuming and overwhelming. After all, you have to organize everything from the venue and decorations to entertainment and timelines. Serving food creates additional tasks, including buying ingredients, preparing food and serving it. Relying on a caterer can make your planning process a little less complex so that you can focus on the get-together.
4. Serve Tasty Food
Food can make or break the experience at a gathering. Attendees who enjoy socializing while eating incredible food are more likely to have an awesome experience than if the food is average — or bad. And their experience matters, especially if they’ve paid to be there. Even if you know how to source high-quality ingredients and cook delicious meals for yourself and your friends or family, it can be hard to maintain quality when cooking for bigger crowds.
Other factors can also affect food quality on the day of the event. You have to keep the food fresh the entire time, which is difficult without the right equipment and safety precautions. Caterers use their skills to cook flavorful food and can keep it fresh and presentable throughout your function.
5. Accommodate Dietary Preferences
Some people avoid specific foods due to allergies, personal preferences, medical diagnoses or religious obligations. You may find it hard to create variations or alternative dishes that cater to everyone’s preferences. That’s where a caterer shines — they know all about dietary restrictions and how to cater to them, so every guest feels satisfied and valued.
6. Focus on Hosting
Catering can help you during the event, too. Serving food is an involved task — you’ll have your hands full setting up the food station or serving meals to guests and checking they’re happy. A caterer can do all of this for you, so you can focus on being a host. You’ll probably enjoy your get-together more and will even have time to eat the food yourself without feeling rushed.
7. Save Money
While caterers may seem like the more expensive option at first, professional catering can actually save you money. Yes, you read that right! Caterers often have established relationships in the industry, which get them discounted rates and prices.
Caterers also supply all the equipment and serving supplies, saving you money on renting or buying it yourself. They’ll work within your budget and provide cost-effective options. Additionally, caterers can better calculate how much food to buy and serve for your guest count. Without catering experience, it can be easy to overspend and prepare too much food.
When you factor in the costs and time investment, catering may be more convenient and affordable.
8. Ensure Food Safety
Food safety is critical because one mistake could make people sick. To keep food safe for consumption, you’ll need to follow strict hygiene rules and carefully plan how to safely store, transport and serve food at your event. If this feels like an overwhelming task, caterers are your best bet. They have food safety training, know how to meet safety regulations and understand the most effective ways to keep food safe to eat.
9. Prevent Food Waste
If you have any leftover food, you’ll probably have to throw it away due to safety concerns. Food waste costs you money and damages the environment. That’s because when we waste food, we also waste all the resources it took to create. Plus, it ends up in a landfill, where it produces greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. Hiring a caterer is an effective way to reduce food waste because they can help you order the right amount of food for your guest count.
10. Improve Food Logistics
Qualified caterers understand all the ins and outs of serving food at a function. They know everything that can go wrong and have plans in place to overcome challenges as they occur. Their experience helps ensure that event catering is efficient so that attendees have a good experience with the food they eat. They’re also quick to pack and clean up after the function ends. Without catering experience, you might take longer to prep and serve the food or experience issues you can’t overcome.
Delight Your Guests With Giordano’s Catering
If you and your guests love pizza and Italian catering, Giordano’s is the perfect choice. We’re known for serving “Chicago’s Best Pizza” — our signature deep-dish stuffed pizza. And with our catering services, you can now enjoy a slice of ooey-gooey Giordano’s pizza surrounded by friends, family or colleagues at your venue of choice.
Our restaurant catering menu also includes other crowd pleasers like party platters, sandwiches, appetizers, pastas and desserts, so there’s an option for everyone. We’ll supply you with your food order, warming kits and everything else you need to keep your food fresh and hot. If you’re looking for a venue, you can book a private or semi-private room in one of our restaurants that offer catering.
Whether you’re looking for restaurant catering in Illinois, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, Nevada or Wisconsin, we’ve got you covered. Simply locate your nearest Giordano’s and place an order online today!
