Requirements. The facilities at a venue will control the menu, every venue we have worked in barely has sufficient electrical circuitry to run its own installed equipment without continually tripping out, despite having several unused power sockets. The critical question is what cookers, water boilers etc can be used together and that is the actual functional limit of the venue.

The use of holding trays, Bain-Maries etc can help, however, a complex menu or a large number of meals may fall out of the caterer’s ability to deliver safe, hot food on time. Whilst we have a range of equipment that comfortably delivers the extra kitchen facilities for most events, there are times when additional equipment and floor space (catering tents) need to be hired. These require the approval of the venue’s management.

Legislation dictates food and beverage requirements, these affect catering and bars, such as separate sinks and hand washing facilities as both need to have clean hands and utensils. A single sink is inappropriate for both users and often leads to congestion at critical periods. Legislation also dictates certain foods must be disposed of if it is out of a chilled environment for longer than a given period, as an example a buffet must be disposed of when that period of time expires after setting up.

Set up and Clean Down. Setting up a venue for plated food takes time, hot food requires much longer to set up than a buffet. Appropriate times must be booked at the venue as timings are critical for good food, so, once the venue is chosen and a menu is selected our team can advise on timings. In a similar fashion the time taken to clear the eating area, clean down, load the vehicle or vehicles is also important and a venue must be booked to allow adequate time for set up and clean down.

Vehicle and Equipment Access. Often several vans or trips may be required before and after the event, as catering equipment is heavy and pre-prepared foods from our kitchen can be fragile, good access is required to the venue.

General Layout.

Banquet style layouts facilitate small group discussion and some care must be given to table seating, not just friends, family or profession but also who not to put together!

Classroom style is perfect for presentations, no one has to twist around.

U-Shape is a traditional French style that promotes a more inclusive discussion and allows good central access for waiting staff.

Boardroom setup works well for up 15 people, above that it breaks off into splinter groups.

Detailed Seating.

A detailed seating plan for table service is a critical guide for the chefs and waiting staff to work to, it ensures the right meal gets to the right person on the right table.

Correct seating prevents an individual’s dietary requirement from being announced to the whole table. Seating changes made after the seating plan is made will lead to a disjointed service and potentially other issues.

Disabled people may need a little more space for ease wheelchair access or other medical requirements, it is also considerate to site them with good access for the conveniences.

Safety.

Besides the obvious, making sure the exits are not blocked etc, it is good to ensure there is sufficient room between tables for guest access and waiting staff to operate. Overcrowding the dining area can be dangerous causing trip hazards, dangerous with hot food as well as being an annoyance for guests as people will need to get through.

Creating Your Menu.

While creating your perfect menu, it is courteous to acknowledge the general profile of your guests. For example, older guests may prefer a milder or more traditional selection; health and fitness groups may welcome more vegetarian or seafood options. If a large number of children are expected, then a separate menu or buffet table may be appropriate to accommodate them.

Sometimes it is helpful to choose a theme, this might be: ethnic, English, French, Italian, Indian, regional and so on; Seasonal or simply family favourites.

Create a style that fits the event schedule:

Picnic style meals and afternoon tea take around 30 minutes.

Buffets around an hour.

Cocktail receptions require a minimum of one hour before food service commences.

Plated service meals take from 1 ½ hours dependent on the number of guests the number of courses and the complexity of each course.

These timings exclude speeches and presentations.

Working breakfasts and lunches require food choices that last at least 2 hours without damaging the integrity of the food or running into environmental health issues.

An Itinerary will help determine realistic service times, ensuring the food is served at its best.

Dietary Concerns

Dietary concerns can become a big issue, some allergens such as peanuts or shellfish are life threatening, some dietary requirements assist people in managing a lesser condition, others are simply a person’s life choice such as Kosher, vegetarianism or veganism.

Always ask the caterer up front if they can produce the specific dietary requirements and seek some evidence they have the correct knowledge. -Some allergies can kill-.

Provide special requirements to the caterer in good time, preferably with the main menu selection.

Best Practice.

When compiling a menu, it is best to offer at least two, or better three options at each course with one being indulgent, one health conscious and one vegetarian with the inclusion of both seasonal and local items, however, facilities and budget will dictate here.

The food should be appetising to the eye and the nose, two senses that are engaged before taste and texture.

People with disabilities or medical conditions by way of example might really enjoy soup, but find it a problem, especially someone with involuntary shakes experiencing difficulties with soup and a spoon but is comfortable with a double handled soup bowl they can lift. Providing such a bowl would be a simple option, but the caterers would need to know in advance and bring it.

Venue, Hidden charges.

Many venues, especially country houses, halls and estates now make additional charges to service providers they hope you will not see, for example caters can be charged to use the venue kitchen, a bar might be charged simply to be on the premises. These charges are made on top of your venue hire and are often passed on to you through the service provider. Such charges where made vary unpredictively from tens of pounds to tens of thousands.

Our sample menu’s and catering quotes are for our services and the provision of foods only, such hidden charges where made are to be covered by the event customer directly to the venue in accordance with the venue management timings.

Catering access can be denied by the venue management if not adhered to.

Equipment Hire

If any equipment hire is required by us for your event, this will be discussed with you and itemised in our quote. Should the event requirements change in a reasonable timeframe, such as menu change, number of guests, or venue facilities in such a manner as to affect this, we will requote up or down as appropriate.

Again, some venue’s raise additional charges, especially if the delivery of equipment, the erection of marquees and their collection is outside the events booked timings.

Incidentals.

Yes, occasionally such charges arise such as breakages caused by the inappropriate behaviour of guests to venues, also some practice charging after the event for electricity/gas and additional services including additional cleaning buried in their small print.

It is strongly advised you check this out.

Our advice is to cover all the points of venue hire before committing to the venue, always have a second venue in discussion so you can negotiate a fair and balanced deal with no surprises.

Access and Pre-Delivery.

Access/Key availability for all suppliers, its no good if the Barman has the key and is of site loading stock at his base while the caters and musicians etc are locked out. Timings for catering is critical, that is if you want your food on time.

Stagger the arrival of vendors to allow everyone good and safe access, prioritise the time critical vendors to meet your requirements.

Stress Free.

Its good to have some concepts of what you want, great starting points include pictures clipped from magazines, Pintrest images or photographs. Write down some ideas including prominent themes, colours, favourite foods, drinks and music, these provide a good starting point and good caterers are inventive people taking time to contribute to the concept, often in some unexpected ways.

Such ideas help bring the overall event together, for example if the theme of a birthday is Winnie-the-Pooh you may go for a picnic hamper style party with honey coloured linen.

Staffing the event.

Our guide prices are just that, guides and account for adequate staffing delivering good service. However, should your requirements be different, you want more attentive waiting from front of house staff or a faster meal service, then additional personnel can be built into the event costings.

While we have portable equipment that is key in turning a good kitchen into a kitchen able to deliver a wide range of professional menus, the kitchen must be able to accommodate such equipment as required, both in terms of power supplies, ventilation and floor/work space. This will need to be assessed.

Supplying major equipment, generators and catering tents is another matter and will be quoted for separately as required and as the venue permits. Such requirement will depend on menu choice, number of meals and location of the equipment in relation to power, fresh water and drainage etc., these need to be booked well in advance.

This can become a substantial cost even for some great venues, some expensive venues do not offer good kitchen facilities but rely on the customer supplying the necessary catering equipment. This has caught many a planned event out where the venue was booked prematurely, always have an alternative venue in mind and be prepared to say No!

Unlike other events in our lives, funerals are thrust upon us.

The sense of loss can be overwhelming and planning the funeral's events can be full of emotion and quite stressful.

Here at the Catering Crew we offer a discrete service combined with our usual high standards on catering.

Our aim is to support you by taking away the stress of catering, allowing you time with your family and friends. It can sometimes be both respectful and fun to include items of food in the menu that were the deceased favourites, include a few suitable table decorations from home, or leave a place set with their own cutlery and crockery alongside a book and pen, so guests can write their favourite memory or a thank you in their honor. We are a very flexible group of people who have also lost family, some too soon.