Corporate Catering for Meetings: All You Need to Know

If you’ve ever been tasked with ordering food and drink for office lunches or business meetings, chances are you know just how difficult it is to choose wisely. 

If you’re a small business owner, or an HR representative or administrator working within an organisation, you’ve probably had to do this at least once. Keeping to your budget and time restrictions is one thing, not to mention the variety of dietary requirements and preferred tastes to cater for.

It can be challenging to provide a corporate catering menu that will appeal to everyone within your office, from the healthy and calorie-conscious to the lactose intolerant and those that follow strict halal lifestyles. This guide will give you tips on ordering the perfect business catering for your next meeting.

What is Corporate Catering?

Corporate catering services refer to the processes of providing food, drink and other refreshments for a business or organisation. 

The art of choosing the right caterer involves sticking to the budget while ensuring that all staff, clients and guests will be looked after whilst being delighted with the options provided.

Some business caterers will need extra time to prepare larger orders, especially if the desired catering deviates from their standard menu, such as sandwich buffets or sharing platters.

The beauty of using a third-party food business is that you have plenty of choices in what you order.

Business Meeting Catering

If you’re tasked with ordering corporate catering for an important business meeting, your primary job is to ensure that guests and staff are happy with the food and beverage choices. 

Business meetings can run for a long time, and before long, people will start to get hungry, which presents an issue as nobody likes working on an empty stomach.

This is where corporate office catering can be the difference between happy and frustrated clients by the end of the meeting.

Types of Corporate Catering

If you need inspiration for your next business meeting catering, consider the following options.

• Individual orders such as Bento Trays (which could exist as an executive option for board meetings too). Other options could include individual Buffy Bags filled with sandwiches, salads, snacks, fruit, crisps and sweet treats.

• Sharing platters consisting of foods like antipasti, canapés or healthy options like Greek salads, cheese and crackers, ploughman’s boards or Indian platters, among many others.

• Buffet-style options like finger food or healthy wrap and sandwich platters.

Going a step further and hiring a food vehicle to be on-site for a particular event, such as our groundbreaking, eco-friendly Coffee Tuk-Tuk.

Why Hire a Corporate Catering Company?

Some of the benefits of third-party corporate catering include (but are not limited to) the following:

• They’ll know the size and scale of the space they need to work in, having had years of experience working in similar environments before.

• It saves you time in the long run and gives you one less thing to worry about on your to-do list.

• The food will be made to a high standard, which will likely impress your guests.

• Food hygiene and safety aspects will always be upheld to the highest standard.

• By hiring a professional catering company, you’ll get to choose from a wide range of great foods, not just a basic sandwich lunch.

• It’s a great incentive to get staff back into the habit of returning to the office full-time, therefore improving retention and re-establishing a great communal office culture.

Factors to Consider When Hiring Corporate Caterers

Before organising catering for your next business meeting, you should consider the following important aspects.

• Location - Will your business meeting occur in the office, or will you need another communal space? How will this impact the food choices?

• Time - The time of day will likely impact the food your guests will expect, so you may need to consider whether it’s best to provide breakfast food options or cater for an office lunch.

• Dietary restrictions - Variety is key to keeping guests and employees happy. Still, you should always ensure you’ve provided vegan, halal, vegetarian, gluten-free, kosher, dairy-free, and egg-free options.

With the right company working alongside you to provide the perfect menu that wows and leaves your guests satisfied, your next business meeting is sure to go swimmingly.

Order Healthy and Nutritious Food for Your Next Business Meeting

At the Green Bike Food Company, we provide numerous options to businesses across Reading, Berkshire. Our positioning as an eco-friendly catering company involves delivering fresh, nutritious and delicious food while pioneering efforts to combat climate change.

Why not consider our Back to Business Bundles via our online menu?

Ordering is straightforward; create an account, add the items to your cart and make payment. 

However, if you’d prefer to discuss bespoke options for your next office meeting or corporate event, then please get in touch or call us directly on 01189758198. We’d be delighted to help you.