Events, Etc - Catering and Design Blog

If you've ever relied on a professional event planning company to prepare and cater a wedding or corporate event, you were probably deeply grateful that the company did all the setup, serving and cleanup work. But when you host a smaller event for, say, 30 to 50 guests at your home, you might assume that these tasks naturally fall on you. And that assumption may seem reasonable enough, until you realize that you're doing a lot of manual labor instead of actually enjoying your own event. Fortunately, there's a better alternative -- hiring a professional catering and event planning company for your next small Bay Area event.

Outsourcing your event in this manner makes the event that much more enjoyable, not only for you but also for your guests. After all, they're not just there to hob-nob with each other -- they'd like to enjoy your company as well. If you're spending every free moment making sure everyone's glass is refilled, the next course is ready for the table, the sued plates are being cleared away, et cetera, your guests will miss interacting with you -- and you'll miss out on all the fun! Instead, let your catering service prepare all the dishes, serve the guests, and then do all the cleaning up after everyone has gone home.

Is this affordable? It certainly can be, if you go with the right Bay Area catering service. At Events Etc... we have developed our own special purchasing channels over the years, enabling us to perform some pretty astounding feats of catering for less money than you would probably expect to spend. Cost effectiveness, convenience and professional quality -- that's what you get when you arrange for small event catering from your San Jose and San Franciscoevent planning experts!

When you're planning your next corporate event or social celebration around a specific theme, you want to take a consistent approach to that theme. Every aspect of your event should contribute to the overall effect, whether you're going for a Beach Bash, Country Western Day, Fabulous '50s Night or whatever fun environment you can dream up. But the appropriate visual effect doesn't begin and end with the centerpieces and wall decorations -- your food should be part of the decor as well!

Consider the aforementioned Beach Bash, for example. Obviously seafood is a no-brainer for your menu, whether you decide to go with oysters on the half shell and buckets of cold beer or an elaborate fish dinner. (Just make sure you include some non-seafood beach favorites for guests who might dislike or be allergic to seafood.) A bright, colorful presentation featuring beach balls or beach umbrellas will flatter your food choices perfectly. For that Fabulous '50s Night, how about a "drive-in" environment complete with ice cream sodas, root beer floats and other nostalgic treats, served up by old-time "soda jerks" complete with white jackets and hats?

Sometimes the venue itself provides inspiration for your food design. Take a look at these toolbox-mounted food displays we created for an event at a car exhibit hall. That's the kind of creativity that makes guests take a second look. And check out this "artist's palette" of hors d'oeuvres we created for an art museum event. The food itself has been prepared with an eye for beauty, completing the artistic theme.

 We have decades of experience in preparing beautiful menus to enhance any kind of theme event here at Events Etc... So if you're thinking about hosting a theme event anytime soon, rely on us to fill your guests' plates with delicious creativity!

If you're looking for a great way to make your current clients feel like VIPs and persuade prospective clients to come aboard, then it's time for you to throw a professionally catered client appreciation event. These corporate events not only mean a lot to your guests, but they also do a good deal to promote your business and keep it "top of mind" with them -- as long as you do it right.

Client appreciation events may be held either for current clients exclusively or for a mix of current clients and prospective clients. The latter allows your prospects to mix with satisfied clients and hear first-hand what you've done for them, essentially selling your company or organization in a casual, "no-pressure" environment. Any self-promotion you do provide for the event should be extraordinarily subtle -- you want the emphasis to be on social networking, not sales.

Of course successful networking means that your participants have to be able to move freely around the room and talk instead of sitting at tables with their mouths full. So you and your Bay Area event planner will need to design your client appreciation event with mobility in mind. Finger foods, small glasses, little plastic trays to hold refreshments in one hand -- these are the essential tools of the networking mixer. They can also be conversation pieces in their own right. Here at Events Etc... we come up with imaginative, delicious food and drink options for all kinds of Bay Area events, and we know that the quality of menus and service can make or break these events' success. Classy, casual, light, happy -- the ideal client appreciation event encompasses all of these attributes. Your current clients will feel truly appreciated -- and your prospective clients may decide to become current clients!

In a previous article we talked about the advantages of catering on-site social events at the end of an all-day meeting. So now let's examine the other side of the coin -- reasons you might consider hosting your end-of-day mixer or other social event for your Bay Area event at an off-site location.

One of the main benefits of switching venues at the end of the day is psychological. Your guests have just spent all day at the meeting site, attending panel discussions, participating in small groups or seminars, and generally keeping their brains in business mode. By transplanting them from that location, which they've come to associate with work, into a whole new space dedicated purely to fun and relaxation, you're essentially giving them permission to let their hair down, chat and have a good time. The lack of agenda allows for a looser, less structured environment in which participants and organizers can get to know each other better and talk about things other than the meeting itself.

Of course, if you just move everybody from one hotel ballroom to another, you aren't likely to achieve a real change of scenery. That's why you should consider a totally different space -- one quiet enough for conversation, soothing enough to allow people to wind down after their all-day meeting, and yet stimulating enough to inspire new kinds of interaction. An art gallery or museum can provide the perfect setting for drinks, light snacks and fascinating things to look at and talk about. It's a great way to say, "Okay, we're done with the meeting, and now we're just having fun."

Here at Events Etc... we're happy to help you plan an off-site social event to complement your all-day meeting. Let us make your "post-event event" a memorable one!

Ladies' club luncheons, Bar Mitzvahs, fundraisers, dinner dances, birthdays, anniversaries, retirement parties -- the list of social events goes on and on. But you'd be surprised how often the social catering company forgets the social aspect. A line of guests stretching across one long table can only interact with the people right next to them or directly across from them. They're also stuck in their seats, waiting for the waiter to bring them one course at a time -- and everybody's eating the same thing! These are the events that have you checking your watch and eyeing the nearest exit.

Here at Events, Etc... we believe in keeping the "social" in social catering for the Bay Area. This usually means getting people up on their feet and interacting, and one great way to do that is to create a self-serve environment where people can chat and mingle as they pick out their favorite items. The mere fact that the guests have the option of choosing what's on their plate lends itself to conversation ("Oh, what's that you're getting? That looks great! Are you a vegetarian?"). Standing up and moving around is also more stimulating than sitting and waiting for the waiter to bring the food.

If you really want to get your Bay Area social event going, set up multiple food stations, each with a supply of small plates to keep guests from getting stuffed on any one dish. Your guests will love the excitement of discovering one delicacy after another as they move from station to station. This approach really boosts their ability to mix and mingle as people are going in all directions  and making new connections at every turn. We can create a truly social social event for you, so contact Events, Etc... and let's make it happen!

If you've ever held an all-day meeting where the meals took place off site, you know how messy it can get when you're trying to direct guests to local restaurants and then get them back to the event site in time for the next session. Sometimes the mad scramble to get everyone fed becomes an exercise in herding cats. Then at the end of the evening everyone has to figure out where to go for dinner. All this craziness distracts the participants from the event itself while making it harder for them to network and meet each other in a relaxed environment.

The solution is all-day catering for that all-day corporate meeting. By engaging one Bay Area event catering company with the ability to create varied, appetizing meals from sunrise to sunset, you get to keep your crowd at your event site where you want them. Participants do more mingling, both with each other and with your company's representatives, and they don't have to fret about finding their next meal because it's right there in front of them at the scheduled time. No frenzied commutes, no asking for directions, no getting lost -- no worries at all!

The presence of a ready supply of food and drink also livens up your event and adds a sense of glamour and luxury to the proceedings -- a sense that you're looking out for your guests' every need. Events, Etc... can present an amazing range of breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner buffet choices so everyone can always find a favorite (or soon-to-be favorite) dish. We can also keep a steady stream of beverages, snacks and finger foods available throughout the day. Planning a multi-day event? We can handle that too -- just contact Events, Etc... to learn more.

If you are planning a large-scale San Jose or San Francisco wedding, you may already have a top-quality Bayarea event coordinator to help ensure that all the logistics run smoothly on the big day. And that's great -- we work with wedding planners and event coordinators all the time, and we have nothing but respect and appreciation for their specialized skills and expertise. But if you haven't yet chosen your event coordinator to manage your wedding, or if you can't see eye-to-eye with the one you have, don't despair -- Events, Etc... can come to your rescue.

In addition to planning and serving memorable meals and a stunning cake for your wedding, we can step into the breach and take care of the wedding day event coordination tasks. This "to-do" list typically includes a host of little (and big) details, from floral arrangement delivery to technical setup for music, lighting or video presentations. We can also devise the precise sequence of the day's events, cue the various participants to do the right thing at the right time, work closely with the various vendors, and troubleshoot any last-minute challenges. We can perform all of these critical day-of tasks without the slightest drop in the quality of our own wedding catering service -- and best of all, we can do it at no extra charge to our catering client!

We're not pushing this service to replace or compete with the many highly professional event coordinators and wedding planners you can choose from in the Bay Area. However, if you don't happen to know any event coordinators -- or if something happens to disrupt your relationship with your existing event coordinator -- we want you to know that if you've chosen Events, Etc... as your wedding caterer, you'll never lack for pitch-perfect coordination on your special day!

Variety is the spice of life, or so they say. Here at Events, Etc..., we agree -- and we bring that philosophy to life in the wide range of flavors and menu options we provide to our corporate catering clients.

The standard "rubber chicken" dinner seems more out of touch than ever in today's era of global diversity. The modern workplace celebrates the many cultures represented by its employees, customers and business partners. When you're having a corporate event catered, you have to keep the specific wishes and tastes of the attendees in mind. That's one of the reasons we offer mouth-watering vegetarian dishes made from fresh, seasonal ingredients. Aside from the simple fact that they are healthy and delicious, these dishes ensure that vegetarians can enjoy the event just as fully as any other guests.

Sometimes a particular cultural theme requires the appropriate cuisine. If you hold an event to welcome representatives of your Indian branch, for example, the inclusion of Indian foods in your catered menu displays thoughtfulness as well as a genuine appreciation for your guests' culture. We can provide Indian, Mexican, Asian and many other regional or national menus to add a special touch to your next corporate event -- and yes, these menus can include vegetarian options as well.

If you really want to mix things up, why not go global in your menu planning? If you have an international gathering on your hands or just want to provide the maximum amount of variety, let us create a "culinary trip around the world" with multiple food stations each offering a different cuisine. Your guests will be talking about such an event long after the last pot-sticker, croissant or ravioli has been devoured.

Contact Events, Etc... to discover a whole new world of catered meals!

How do you know which event catering company is right for you? By asking questions! Here are some critical ones to start off with:

1. "What credentials do you have?" How long has the event planning company served Bay Area clients? Can they show you verifiable testimonials and references? Have they established solid relationships with reputable vendors?

2. "What all do you do -- and what don't you do?" If you're hiring "just a caterer," don't be surprised if you don't get lighting, music and all the other design elements that make an event an immersive experience, as we mention in "Elements of Event Design." Also, be aware that certain necessary details may not come with the service. For instance, does your event planner handle invitations, or will you be left holding that particular bag?

3. "What can I realistically expect on my budget?" Unless money is no object, you need to ask your event planner how much bang you'll get for your buck. How stringent is the company at following the maximum numbers you set? Do you need to include some wiggle room based on your event planner's recommendations? Will your event planner fight to get you the best deals from vendors?

4. "How much involvement can I expect to have?" If you want to be involved in the planning and execution of your event, ask whether there's room for you in the mix. If you'd rather hand the entire process over the event planner, then make sure the company is ready, willing and able to handle that load.

The more questions you ask, the more likely you are to get exactly what you want. We welcome your inquiries, because we want your event to exceed all expectations. So ask our San Francisco event catering company -- we have the answers!

Charles Dickens unknowingly described a typical large-scale wedding event when he wrote: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...." Even the most joyous union can wreck its participants' nerves, turning brides into Bridezillas and parents into trauma victims. That's why, if you're planning an extravagant wedding, you should turn to an experienced Bay Area wedding catering service and event designer.

Event design also plays a huge role in most wedding events. People generally expect a wedding to carry a certain solemnity and formality, and yet within those parameters you can have a huge degree of variation. Perhaps you want a "theme" wedding to complement the couple's special interests, careers or lifestyles. Multicultural or international weddings in particular may require a delicate juggling act between two or more sets of religious, culinary or aesthetic traditions. A skilled, experienced wedding catering service such as Events Etc...'s event design services can celebrate that diversity in exciting ways through the expert selection of music, decor and other traditional details.

Of course flowers are a prominent feature of any wedding's planning and design, and our expertise in providing the perfect floral arrangements for each part of the celebration will delight guests and wedding party alike. (See examples in our online image gallery.)

A poorly prepared menu and inconsistent service can leave a bad taste in your wedding guests' mouths in more ways than one. You want that exuberant glow and feeling of good will to carry over to the reception, and our chef's thoughtful, beautiful, delicious creations will keep that sparkle in everyone's eye. Take a look at one of our sample menus and you'll see why we are such a popular option among Northern California wedding caterers.

Planning a big wedding? Contact our Bay Area wedding catering service!