Event Etc Blog

If you are looking for corporate catering or other event catering for San Francisco or San Jose, don't forget to take event design into account. Just about every kind of event you can imagine requires some level of event design, including corporate sales meetings, graduations, conferences, trade shows, conventions, retirement parties, weddings -- the list goes on and on. But what do we mean by event design -- and how does our Bay Area event planning company provide it?

Event design refers to the overall sensory impact of the event. An event planning company works with textures, light, sound, scent, taste, color, line and balance, unifying these and other elements to convey a specific mood. The selection and arrangement of tables and chairs, the choice of venue, the judicious use of lighting or multimedia technology, the sequence of menu courses and speakers -- all these things can either enhance or detract from your event's overall quality. When we plan an event, we consider each and every design detail so that everything flatters everything else.

Your event design sets the tone, and we can offer as many possible variations in tone and style as human imagination permits. A great deal of the overall ambiance comes from the venue itself -- and as you can see, we can provide an amazing array of venues to evoke just the right atmosphere. We can also equip your dream venue with the necessary sound and lighting to deepen this effect and to ensure that your speakers can be heard and their presentations can be seen. We then select furnishings, accessories and floral choices to  match the venue and the event theme (and each other, of course).

Design your next event the right way -- contact our Bay Area catering service!

Last time we talked about the huge advantages organic growing has over traditional chemical-based methods, both for consumers and for the world they live in. This leads us naturally to another buzzword you've undoubtedly heard a lot -- sustainability. What does it mean, why does it matter, and how do our catering services honor it?
When we talk about sustainability, we're referring to a system that is ecologically sound, socially responsible and economically viable -- a system that nurtures rather than depletes. Sustainable agriculture must manage to grow a profitable amount of food in a way that supports local businesses and consumers' health without burning up natural resources faster than they can be replaced. Here's how it breaks down:

• Ecological sustainability. Organic fertilizers, pesticides and growing methods nourish the local ecosystem so it can continue to sustain many future generations of crops without depending on chemicals.

• Social responsibility. Sustainable agriculture using healthy, natural growing methods nurtures the good health of consumers, as opposed to genetically-altered foods that pose unknown long-term consequences for humans who eat them. It also makes use of natural, non-toxic pest control that won;t threaten people and pets.

• Economic viability. American farmers average less than 20 cents' income for every dollar's worth of food they produce, with the remainder feeding all the middlemen in the national distribution and retail system. 100 percent of locally grown and purchased food goes back to the farmers and the community they live in, strengthening local economies.

The next time you need conference catering or corporate event catering in the Bay Area, ask yourself if you know where your catering company gets its food. And if you don't know, or if you don't like answer you get when you ask that company -- contact us instead!

We'd like to share the story of a recent social event we planned for one of our clients. It's a perfect example of how event planning extends far beyond mere food preparation -- and how our expertise at it can make your next event shine.

 

The client in question wanted us to do something extra special, something really over the top, for his wife's surprise birthday party. We knew that we could achieve a stunning yet elegant ambiance through the the combination of our own natural menu of organically-grown foods and an organic environment that brought the natural world to the forefront.

What did we do to accomplish this? First, we were going to be seating 26 guests around a single outdoor table, so we used that table to help everyone connect with each other and with nature. A lush collection of floral centerpieces, dominating a tablecloth of real lemon leaf, created a serene, captivating dining environment. A flowered chandelier helped to ensure that beauty surrounded the participants everywhere they looked. We even used lamp posts that doubled as heating units, a comfortable addition to a potentially chilly California evening. And of course the fact that all of our dishes consisted of natural, organically-grown ingredients only enhanced the overall feeling of freshness and life. The client's wife was so moved by all of this lavish attention to detail that she cried.

 

That's the true power of event planning by Events Etc. A successful social event requires more than just great food -- it should engage all of the senses. That's why we look beyond the menu at all of the small but critical extras that make an event an EVENT. We're creating more than a dinner or celebration, after all -- we're creating memories that will last a lifetime.

Here at Events, Etc. we have always placed top priority of the quality of the food we serve our clients and their guests. From intimate party catering to large-scale event catering, we always use organic ingredients in our delicious recipes. But why does going organic makes such a difference, really?

• A healthier you. Organically grown food not avoids harmful pesticides or herbicides, but it also helps you steer clear of other chemicals that typically contaminate non-organic soil, such as nitrates and heavy metals. Instead of simply piling the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, organic farmers use a wide range of natural fertilizers that break down well and add nutritional value to fruits and vegetables. Organic growers are also prohibited from using GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, as an aid to growth. Most crops grown in the U.S. today contain at least some of this form of genetic tinkering, even though we currently have no way of knowing what the long-term effects on humans and the environment might be.

• A healthier world. Robust plants thrive on naturally rich, well-kept soil -- the kind of soil organic farmers always use. Properly cultivated organic soil not only contains more nutrients, but it also retains water more efficiently. And instead of using toxic pesticides, organic farmers use companion planting and beneficial pests to control pest populations naturally. By contrast, chemical-based farming tends to pour chemical fertilizers onto depleted soil to force growth until the soil becomes completely dependent on these chemicals for any kind of yield at all. Meanwhile, the heavy use of chemical pesticides just makes local pests grow into increasingly resistant super-pests!

Let's not forget the main advantage your event-goers notice when they sample our catering company's organic food -- it just tastes better! Hire us for your next catered event and see for yourself.