Balancing Taste, Theme, and my Food Budget

There aren't many parties that can get away with skipping the food. This is another area that varies widely depending on your goals. Here are a few points to consider as you plan what food to serve.

Choose a Structure

Taking your theme and activities into consideration, decide what structure you would like to use for food serving. Here are a few options:

Y  A sit-down meal with full service
Y  A buffet table for attendees to serve themselves (meal or snacks)
Y  Servers circulating with trays of finger foods
Y  Food stations around the room with simple hors d'oeuvres and drinks

Consider the flow of your event. If you are setting up serving tables and allowing guests to serve themselves, what can you do to speed the process? What can you do to provide a pleasant and comfortable experience as guests wait for food? Is the event long enough that you will need multiple snacks or food breaks?

Make Food Selections

Your event becomes more engaging when you allow your theme to guide your menu choices. This might include traditional holiday foods, culturally significant dishes, or other items that connect clearly to the theme.

Consider your attendees' ages, preferences, and cultural backgrounds.

The way food is presented matters. Keep serving areas clean and organized. Be thoughtful with serving dishes and linens. Presenting foods at different heights can be more inviting, and small garnishes add an elegant touch. Remember, presentation creates the first impression.

Find out if there are allergies to be aware of. For large events, it may be easiest to provide gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan options. Label them clearly.

Provide a balance of sweet and savory options.

Don't forget the drinks - and always provide water as an option.

Label foods clearly. Small food signs are helpful and give the serving area a polished look.

Plan (and add to your day-of checklist) when the food will be served, keeping in mind that you want hot foods to stay hot and cool foods to stay cool. Don't put the food out too early or you risk food safety concerns.

Save yourself time later by deciding now what you will do with any leftover food.

Tips For Cutting Costs

Y  If you prefer not to provide a full meal, try not to hold your event over a typical meal time.

Y  Some events allow attendees to contribute potluck-style. Create a simple, clear system for sign-ups so you maintain variety and cover the essentials.

Y  If you're working with a caterer, be upfront about your budget.

Y  Focus on a smaller variety of high-quality food. For example, a dessert bar with three or four standout options is often more appealing than fifteen mediocre ones. That said, some themes do lend themselves to variety.

Y  You can reduce the amount of food purchased for a buffet if you have someone serving the food rather than allowing guests to serve themselves. Another option is preparing plated meals for the main dish while offering sides buffet-style.

Y  Serve seasonal foods, which are usually less expensive.

Y  Compare your options and prioritize. You can serve individual chocolate mousse desserts, or a tray of brownies. The brownies will likely be less expensive, but you decide how much the more expensive option is worth to you.

Y  Use smaller plates. It sounds simple, but it does help guests waste less food.

Y  Choose foods that hold well in case the timing of the event shifts.

Whatever you choose, remember that food is one of the elements of your event that guests are most likely to remember.  When your food selections reflect your event's purpose, stay within budget, and enhance the guest experience, they help create a memorable event.

You've got this!

Christina
Abean Assist

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