Deciding on Food & Beverage Needs
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Each event will require a different level of service. For example,
a weekend retreat designed to strengthen the relationship between sales
staff and a company’s best clients should ideally supply all meals,
snacks, and generous amounts of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
The degree of luxury should be tailored to the type of industry, of
course, but the sponsoring company’s goal is make the client feel
valued and appreciated. An in-house retraining session for lower management
and line staff, on the other hand, might find that coffee/water/juice,
along with cookies/muffins/fruit at break times, and pizza
for lunch, will be enough for employees to feel as if the company values
their time.
Decide on the type of food and beverage services needed for an event,
along with the timing and amounts, directly after the planning team
has decided on the event’s primary goals and outcomes. Will the
food and beverage
services act solely as fuel, or as pampering, part of a theme, etc.?
Will alcohol be provided and, if so, as a limited beer/wine/pop bar,
a fully-stocked open bar, wine on tables, special theme drinks for the
event, etc.? Then set a realistic budget; by getting quotes from three
or four sources as to what the event’s food and beverage costs
might be. These quotes should include all applicable taxes, gratuities,
rentals, staffing,
location costs, etc. (build in a 10% cost overage).
A few tips to keep in mind: a heavy meal and/or alcohol will produce
sleepy guests an hour or two later. For this reason, it is a general
rule of thumb to keep lunches alcohol free, unless the luncheon IS the
event, rather than a break between sessions. Schedule regular coffee
breaks and ensure that any other groups using adjacent rooms at the
venue do not have their breaks scheduled at the same time—this
will help prevent “poaching” by non-attendees and keep the
restroom lineups to a minimum. Quick, clean, well-supplied and plentiful
washroom access can be a real issue when food and drink is involved,
especially if there many female attendees. Restroom should be on the
same floor as the event,
ideally, and the venue contract should specify standards of cleanliness
and supply.
A Designated Liaison
It is important to assign a designated liaison for any catered event,
especially with larger functions. A smooth, well-managed food &
beverage component will go a long way towards an event’s success.
A poorly run one will, at best, give a bad impression and, at worst,
leave the event’s host with liability issues from such things
as food poisoning
and unsafe alcohol service. If the event is larger and/or complex, it
is often worth it to find room in the budget for a catering
manager—if an event manager has been hired, catering management
is most likely part of the package, but it is always a good idea to
confirm this.
| Ottawa Conventions.com
Event Planning 101
Chapter 3: Food & Beverage
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