74.7 F
Charlotte Amalie
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesHOW TO HOST A "CATERED AFFAIR"

HOW TO HOST A "CATERED AFFAIR"

Always wanted to have a catered party? Follow these tips to insure that you hire the right caterer, stay within your budget, and have a great party.
The primary function of parties is to bring people together. Food and drink are integral parts of a gathering, but should not upstage the party. The Caterer should find a common denominator that will meet the needs of the customer. Try to inform the Caterer of the demographics and expectations of the guests. Age, economic background, and any other pertinent information is critical. The tastes of the host do not necessarily reflect the taste of those invited. There are also ethnic, religious and nutritional considerations. When contacting a caterer, be sure you are able to answer these questions:
DATE & TIME OF PARTY: Important to both parties. A cocktail party should not last more than three hours, and if it is not followed by dinner, the amount of food served should be enough to be filling. A dinner party with a cocktail party prior should last no more than 1-1/2 hours and should have only a few bites prior to dinner service.
NUMBER OF PEOPLE: This figure should include a breakdown of adults and children.
REASON FOR PARTY (Theme): It is important to know whether a Christmas Party, Children's Party, Birthday Party, Grand Opening, etc. The caterer will be able to suggest menu items appropriate to the theme.
BUDGET: Naturally this is a very important consideration when planning a menu. A caterer generally has an array of menus for a set price. Otherwise, an estimate of the hosts' budget will allow the caterer to make suggestions that are within that budget range. A caterer should always be flexible and offer to eliminate certain services that can be performed by the host or their employees, such as bartending, clean-up, personal linens, etc. Note: Be prepared to give a deposit of 50 percent at time of contract.
SERVICE STYLE PREFERRED: Caterers can service parties in many ways. The food can be trayed and dropped off. The food can be prepared and served on premises, and parties can be set up as buffets, sit-down dinners or butler- passed. Of course this is yet another factor in the budget. Do you have enough linens, china, glassware, flatware? If not, these items can be rented from a party service or included in the price if the caterer owns these items.
LOCATION & LOGISTICAL CHALLENGES: It is important to inform the caterer of appliances available for their use, considerations, such as steep driveways (here in the V.I.), availability of parking for service persons, pets, refrigeration, inclement weather precautions. It is prudent to insist the Caterer inspect the party site prior to the event.
Remember, customers should listen to the advice of the Caterer, providing the Caterer has established a relationship based on a genuine desire to please, to listen and to make the customer's ideas happen. The Caterer has to take into consideration the logistics. A party has "to work" smoothly and efficiently, if it does not run as expected, for whatever reason, the caterer will be blamed, the party giver embarrassed, and the caterers reputation damaged.
Editors'note: Kathie McCarthy has been in the catering business, both in South Florida and the Virgin Islands for the past 20 years.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Keeping our community informed is our top priority.
If you have a news tip to share, please call or text us at 340-228-8784.

Support local + independent journalism in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Unlike many news organizations, we haven't put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as accessible as we can. Our independent journalism costs time, money and hard work to keep you informed, but we do it because we believe that it matters. We know that informed communities are empowered ones. If you appreciate our reporting and want to help make our future more secure, please consider donating.