Catering Ideas

Take Your Next Business Meeting to a New Level with Corporate Catering

You’ve been to enough business lunches, meetings, and functions to know what leaves a lasting impression and what is easily forgettable. Chief among the deciding factors is whether there is good food.

Next time you have a business meeting, consider the high quality corporate catering options offered in Northern Virginia over the typical finger food, boring sandwiches, and supermarket party platters your peers and clients are accustomed to.

 

Who Uses Corporate Catering?

 

Corporate catering in Northern Virginia is often thought of as a service reserved for only high end business executives and clients. However, there are plenty of reasonably priced catering services and options that provide professionals with the opportunity to compliment their business meeting with good food.   Some examples of business settings where corporate catering can provide value-added benefits include:

Sales meetings

No matter the industry, being a sales rep in today’s crowded business environment is competitive and challenging. Many sales reps try to one-up each other by giving customers cheap promotional items and giveaways. Why not set the bar high and leave a lasting impression with a catered lunch meeting the next time you stop by? Provide menu items that aren’t offered in typical business luncheons, such as a Mediterranean dip platter with Panini sandwiches and lavash chips. Serving a meal that is as unique as your product is a sure-way to leave a lasting impression.

Internal Business Meetings

It’s tough to get employees excited about yet another meeting. One way to get their attention is to offer a fresh & flavorful lunch at your next monthly meeting. The employees will enjoy a nicely presented and complimentary lunch and you’ll have the opportunity to demonstrate that you’re sensitive to their time constraints by feeding them while you’re meeting with them!

If you work with a reputable and affordable caterer, you’ll be able to offer a variety of dishes that will satisfy everyone’s tastes and even accommodate dietary restrictions.

Celebrations

Recognizing milestones and success stories is always a good excuse for a celebration. Whether it’s a coworker’s retirement, the meeting of a new sales goal, or a company anniversary, corporate catering can take a celebration to the next level by making sure the food is as special as the event. From a variety of fresh salad bowls with platters of colorful wraps to a selection of fresh pasta dishes followed by cannoli for dessert, a corporate caterer will make sure the food compliments and adds excitement to the special occasion.

 

Tips for Your Next Catered Event

To add to the success of your next catered event, keep the following easy tips in mind:

  • Accurate Headcount. Try to come up with an accurate headcount. There’s nothing worse than running out of food or spending money on food you don’t need.
  • Cover Your Bases. Once you’ve selected your food and beverage, don’t forget plates, bowls, napkins, utensils, etc.    Most corporate caterers will provide these for you.  Also be sure your caterer can accommodate delivering the food where you need it and when you need it.
  • Dietary Restrictions. Find out if any of your guests have special food requests and/or dietary restrictions before finalizing your catering order. Recognizing that some folks have dietary restrictions and/or food allergies will be greatly appreciated. Many caterers now offer gluten-free menu items, vegetarian-friendly foods, and even low-salt dishes.
  • Location. Be sure you have a meeting area big enough to accommodate food set-up.  Or, better yet, take a break from your meeting and have a break-out room for your lunch. Either way, be sure you have enough tables setup to hold your food and beverage and think ahead about how folks will serve themselves – serving from both sides of a table is a great way to get folks served quickly.

 

The Best in Northern Virginia Catering

 

For corporate catering in Northern Virginia, consider the fresh and flavorful Mediterranean & Italian catering menu offered by Cafesano. We offer unrivalled customer service, delicious food, affordable pricing and convenient online ordering. For more information, please contact us today!

 

Cafesano

View Comments

  • I appreciate your tip about how one way to get employees excited about monthly meetings is by offering a catered lunch. My friend is thinking of starting his own business, but he isn't sure how he would motivate his team and gain the trust of his new employees. I'll have to recommend that if he do start his own business, he find a luncheon catering service that can treat his employees so that they feel valued and excited about working in such a positive work culture.

  • Thank you for helping me learn more about the benefits of catering. Double checking to make sure they provide the plates, cups and so on, is a great question to ask. I'll have to remember this if I use a catering service.

  • I liked that you said that one event in which to consider using catering services is a corporate event. I would imagine that this would help your business to appear more professional. I would be sure to consider using catering services to help bring more clients into my business.

  • I like how you pointed out that lunch catering can be hired to serve in a business meeting. My boss wants to make an event for top performers next month. I will share this article with him so he is aware of this nice option.

  • My husband's company is throwing a 15-year anniversary event in July. They want to find a catering service to provide lunch for all of the employees and their families. Thanks for your advice to make sure you get a good headcount so that you don't run out of food and a location big enough to accommodate everyone.

  • It's great that you talked about how it's important to have a guest estimate for a catering service. In my opinion, working with a catering service helps save time and reduces stress levels! If I were to host a business celebration, I'd definitely look for a professional caterer to help me organize the party's food. Thanks for the information on catered events and how to plan one.

  • It's great that you talked about the Dietary Restrictions point in your post, and yes it is one of very important in catering service. Keep sharing amazing contents.

  • That was an exciting post! Before planning a big event, it is important to discuss even the tiniest details with the catering company. This is critical to the overall success of an event. Everything must be well-coordinated, and you must have a catering schedule ready before the event.
    Thank you for this type of information.

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