Corporate Caterers

Finding the right caterer to provide meals for your company events, meetings, and day-to-day office needs can be a challenging task. You want fresh, delicious food that will satisfy your employees' appetites and keep them fueled for productivity. But you also need a caterer that understands the corporate environment and can provide professional service and presentation within your budget. That's where corporate caterers come in!

What Sets Corporate Caterers Apart

Corporate caterers specialize in providing food services for businesses and organizations. Here are some of the things that distinguish them from your average neighborhood caterer:

• Tailored menus and packages - They work with clients to create customized food and beverage options to suit the company's needs and budget. This includes special dietary requirements, themed events, and branding options.
• Business oriented - From their professional service staff to high-quality disposable cutlery and platters, corporate caterers focus on business appropriate details.
• Reliability - Dependability is a must when catering business events and feeding staff daily. Established corporate caterers have effective preparation systems to ensure punctual delivery.
• Ordering and billing systems - They make the process of ordering, paying and managing catering simple for busy corporate clients. Online ordering portals and consolidated billing are commonly offered.
• Presentation expertise - From attractive displays at buffet tables to easy-to-handle individually packaged meals, experienced corporate caterers have presentation for business dining down pat.

Corporate Catering Services Offered

The food service needs of companies vary greatly, and good corporate caterers have a range of offerings to cover them all:

Daily Catering

• Breakfast packages - Breakfast sandwiches, pastries, bagels, yogurt parfaits, and more make for tasty morning meals to start the office day. Offerings are tailored to fit clients' menus and budgets.
• Lunch packages - Nutritious and satisfying lunches fuel productivity. Corporate caterers can deliver individually packaged lunches or full buffet spreads.
• Snacks and drinks - Beverages, soda, coffee, snacks and candy keep energy levels up between meals. Caterers can handle regularly scheduled break time deliveries.

Meeting and Events Catering

• Breakfast/lunch meetings - Provide the perfect food for business meetings and events. Hot breakfasts, sandwich platters, salads and more can be customized.
• Hors d'oeuvres receptions - Impress clients at corporate receptions and open houses with elegant passed or station-style app samplers.
• Lunch and learns - Make learning over lunch fun with anything from food truck fare to chic finger foods suited for teaching sessions.
• Holiday parties - Holiday menus can include anything from casual pizza lunches to formal plated dinners for big corporate client events.
• Milestone celebrations - Special occasions like company anniversaries, retirements or achievements deserve catering with wow factor.

Additional Offerings

• On site/full service - Have caterers serve food on elegant platters and trays directly to your guests table-side for full service events.
• Staff - For large events or busy office catering demands, corporate caterers can provide professional service staff.
• Rentals - Caterers can provide all needed dining rentals from glassware to highboy tables to minimize your event planning stresses.
• Meeting space - Some corporate caterers have special meeting and event venues outfitted with the latest A/V capabilities that clients can use.

Tips for Choosing a Corporate Caterer

Selecting the caterer that can best feed your workforce while staying within your company's budget and policies takes careful consideration:

• Pinpoint your needs - Decide which catering services you require (daily drops, meetings, special events, etc) so caterers can customize their offerings.
• Compare several vendors - Consider 3-5 corporate caterers to determine which provides the best value. Get quotes on specific menu items to accurately compare pricing.
• Do tastings - Schedule tasting appointments before large events to sample menu contenders and help select what your guests will love most.
• Check licenses and insurance - Make sure the caterer has all proper licenses and permits to operate. Verify they carry adequate general liability insurance and worker's compensation coverage.
• Read reviews - Online reviews can provide insight into a caterer's business prowess, food quality and service reliability.
• Check references - Reach out to previous clients to hear about their catering experiences first-hand. Corporate references are ideal.
• Understand billing - Get clear on the caterer's billing process and what fees may apply for changes, cancellations, service charges, etc.
• Communicate policies - Inform caterers about relevant company catering rules and policies like dietary, sustainability, alcohol and invoicing procedures.

Reasons to Hire Corporate Caterers

Taking a DIY approach to company event and daily office food needs can sap a lot of time, effort and organizational resources. Partnering with professional corporate caterers offers significant advantages:

• Better use of internal resources - Your own staff can stay focused on core operations rather than food planning and preparation.
• Increased efficiency - Experienced caterers have streamlined preparation, delivery and service systems that would take considerable effort to replicate.
• Food quality and safety - Commercial kitchens, proper licenses and trained staff allow caterers to produce consistently good and safe food.
• Morale boost - Providing free catered lunches or delicious treats is a simple way to lift office spirits and say thanks.
• Client impressions - For client meetings and corporate events, impressive catering elevates the experience.
• Turn key service - Caterers handle all details from food through service staffing so you can enjoy your own company events.
• Budget management - Corporate caterers' expertise at managing wholesale food costs means events and daily catering stay within budget.

Top Catering Foods for Business

Corporate catering encompasses everything from grab-and-go breakfast sandwiches to elegant steak dinners. Here are some of the most popular catering selections for company dining:

Breakfast Favorites

• Fresh fruit, yogurt, and granola parfaits
• Breakfast sandwiches and burritos
• Bagels with cream cheese and jellies
• Assorted donuts, danishes, muffins, and pastries
• Hot breakfast casseroles
• Oatmeal and grits with assorted toppings
• Quiche slices

Lunch Go-To's

• Sandwich and wrap platters with variety
• Individual boxed salads with protein
• Hearty soups and chilis
• Taco/fajita buffets
• Pasta buffets with breadsticks
• Pizza and wings
• BBQ ribs, chicken and pulled pork

Appetizers and Hor D'Oeuvers

• Meatballs, chicken wings, and chicken satay skewers
• Crudite trays with dips
• Cheese, fruit, veg, and cracker trays
• Bruschetta on crostini
• Spinach-artichoke dip bites
• Bacon wrapped figs or dates
• Vegetable spring rolls

Healthy Options

• Grilled chicken breast entrees
• Veggie wraps and sandwiches
• Build your own salad bars
• Hummus and pita trays
• Grilled fish tacos
• Vegetarian rice bowls
• Roasted veggie sides

Dessert Offerings

• Assorted cookies, brownies, and bars
• Cupcakes and petite desserts
• Custom cakes
• Pies
• Fresh fruit trays
• Candy bar stations

Beverages

• Bottled sodas, juices, sparkling waters
• Coffee service
• Hot tea
• Iced tea
• Lemonade

Make Company Dining a Perk

Daily meals, meetings, and corporate events all come together more seamlessly when catering is handled by experienced professionals dedicated to the corporate dining experience. From menu planning to impeccably dressed buffets to special orders accommodated, make catering a valued perk by partnering with the right corporate caterer. You'll boost productivity and morale by letting your staff focus on business while meals are managed by the experts you trust.