Joe's Diary: Catering

The type of reception that we decide upon is going to have an impact on the catering, so I thought I'd research all our options so we can make a good choice.


Self-catering

Well... It wouldn't be self - Kate and friends really, I'm hopeless! If we have the reception at home this could be an option but it would take a lot of planning and borrowing freezer space from friends and neighbours. It is possible though, one of my friends from work did it with great success. She recommended the following:

 
  • Plan well in advance and do practice runs - don't forget to account for increased quantities.
  • Divide the burden between willing helpers. (They had 'Team Kate' who did a wonderful buffet for the main course and 'Team Sarah' who made a selection of puddings and the wedding cake. )
  • Don't underestimate how much freezer space you'll need, or how long it will take to defrost properly.
  • Don't be too ambitious - a sit down meal for anything more than twenty guests is likely to be a big headache.
  • Arrange to hire crockery and glasses - don't forget cutlery either.

Another option would be to see if any of our local restaurants would consider catering for an external event


Options at hired venues

Several places that we've looked at offer packages that cover all of the catering requirements, from welcoming canap?s to evening buffet. Many have set menus, or several options for each course that we can choose from to make our own menu. It makes it much easier to budget for.


I think canapes on arrival will be a good idea so the guests don't start keeling over when we have the receiving line. If we have lots of them with the welcoming drinks we may be able to just go straight into the main course instead of having a separate starter.


Pete is keen to have a simple menu and I think he may be onto something there. We'll probably have lots of guests with different tastes so if we go for simple and popular we may not be the most exciting but at least our guests will enjoy the food. We could always have a more adventurous desert choice.


We need to be sure that we send out a note with the invites asking guests to tell us about any food allergies or vegetarian needs.


We could always go for a buffet, they aren't just sausage rolls and vol-au-vents anymore. It gives us more flexibility in offering two or three choices for the main course plus a vegetarian option. Professional caterers will know how to organise things so that the queues are kept to a minimum and for hot buffets like this they often provide staff to serve.


A finger buffet may be good in the evening as guests are less likely to be very hungry if we have a big meal in the day. Katie said it's best to order meals for half the number of guests otherwise there will be loads left over. With the chocolate fountain going too I think she's right.


We could go for something a little more different by having a barbeque or even a spit roast seeing as it will be in the summer but we'd have to make sure that there's a contingency plan for bad weather.


There's always the option of getting external caterers into the venue, if it's allowed. When I made enquiries some said that they would consider this if a higher charge is paid for the room hire.


Different catering companies have different ways of costing so when getting firm quotes I need to be sure to ask for a full break down because some charge more for certain menu choices if they have to use heavy pots and pans. The other thing to bear in mind is that if we use caterers for a marquee wedding, we might end up paying much more as they may need to bring fridges and ovens and generators to power them for use on the site.

Some of the caterers were familiar with the venues that we're considering and offered good advice on timing, how to lay out the tables and how many people can be comfortably seated.


Hmm, lots to think about, I can feel a list coming on!

 

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