One of the most stressful things about organizing an event is the catering. No matter what kind of event it is, the food is one of the most memorable aspects of the experience. If it’s your job to organize the catering at an event, here are some tips to help you save money.
1. Offer Budget-Friendly Food
Offer budget-friendly meals that are still delectable and visually appealing. You can serve food such as:
- Chicken
- Rice potatoes
- Pasta
- Vegetables
- Eggs
- Bread
- Ground beef
Besides being inexpensive, these foods are very flexible. Depending on the formality of the event, you can make casual food or gourmet dishes. For casual events, French fries, barbeque chicken, and lasagna are always a hit at parties. For more formal events, chicken Cordon Bleu, and scalloped potatoes are elegant and filling.
2. Organize a Buffet
Instead of hiring plated service, organize your own buffet. With plated service, you’ll have to pay someone else to cook and serve the food for you. Instead, let everyone serve their own plate.
You may think that a buffet is more expensive because you’ll need to buy a lot of food. However, you can save money by using the same tricks buffet restaurants use to make sure they turn a profit. Start by offering carb-rich, filling foods at the beginning and use small plates. You may find that you’ll end up with more leftovers than previously thought.
3. Limit the Number of Drinks You Serve
Instead of offering a multitude of wines, beers, and whiskey, limit the alcoholic drinks to just one brand of beer and one brand of wine. Do the opposite of a buffet and instead of letting the guests get their own alcoholic drinks, serve it to them. The only drink that should be offered without limits is water.
4. Ask for Volunteers
Don’t doubt people’s desire to help and ask others to help you with catering. Instead of paying for waiters and chefs, ask some close guests if they can cook, serve, or provide food and drinks.
In every family or friend group, there’s always one or two members that want to take charge and handle everything. Take advantage of that personality trait and assign them roles they are more than happy to fulfill for free.
5. Get Food Delivery
Take advantage of great deals from food delivery services like GrubHub. You don’t have to go out and buy everything or make it yourself. Order from local restaurants or get your ingredients delivered straight to the venue. It often ends up being less expensive than buying everything yourself.
Through Slickdeals, you can get a GrubHub promo code that will save you money on the delivery fee or the total fee itself.
Use coupon codes to save up on drinks from local restaurants or supermarkets. If you’ve used up your “new customer” discount already, GrubHub will offer exclusive deals and gift cards. Join the GrubHub loyalty programs to be the first to find out about deals and holiday sales. For more information, go to the GrubHub “contact us page”.
