Catering tasting is a very important aspect of planning any sort of event and is one of the best parts of the planning process (we think so, anyway!). You probably haven’t attended a catering tasting event before, so you may not know that there are a few things that you should and shouldn’t do. We are going to tell you exactly this in this handy article.
Do You Need To Have A Tasting?
Not necessarily, no. It’s not an essential part of wedding planning, especially if you have used the catering company for other events or have tasted their food before. You may even just trust the recommendations that your friends and/or family give you. Of course, a tasting session is very helpful when it comes to making sure that the vision of your event matches the vision of your caterer; it can also be important to have a tasting session to avoid any unwanted surprises on your wedding day. To put it simply, you should definitely have a tasting session if you want one. If you do not want one, then just don’t have one. Make sure you see the menu and choose what you think is nice, though.
The Tips
Set A Limit For The Tasting Party
It is important not to take too many people with you to the tasting event, for your benefit more than anything else; it’s also the politest thing to do for your caterer. If you are going to be tasting the food in advance of your wedding reception, the best-tasting party will only include the couple, the wedding planner if you have one, and one or two other family members or friends, dependent on the opinions you value the most.
Are you or your fiancé’s parents or other family members paying for the wedding? If they are, you should definitely invite them along to the tasting too. After all, it is important that they are on board with the food choices you will make if they are paying for it.
Don’t Taste Too Many Dishes
We know that this can be extremely challenging, especially if your chosen caterer has an extensive menu. Some caterers will limit the number of items that you can taste themselves, and others only let you taste the food that they want you to taste. Either way, you can become overwhelmed very quickly if you try to sample everything on the menu. By limiting the number of dishes that you taste, you will be able to make good decisions and ones that you are comfortable with.
We recommend that you make notes on your favourite dishes, detailing the flavours, textures and presentation of the dish itself, as well as take photos of the dishes themselves. This lets you revisit the experience if you are considering changing your mind on the dishes you will choose.
Plan Well In Advance
Your catering company will have to schedule your tasting event around other events that they are catering for; this means that you should be as flexible as you possibly can, and don’t be surprised if they have to cancel and reschedule. If you ask, your catering company may even let you drop into one of their catering events so you can get a feel of how they work when they are actually catering an event; if you do this, you won’t really be able to ask questions or interact with any of the staff or guests.
However, catering companies sometimes hold tasting events and invite all potential clients to attend. This is your best chance to interact with all of the catering team, ask questions and also speak to other people who are holding an event with the catering company; they can give you some brilliant ideas about your own event, whether it is a wedding, a corporate event, or another party.
Hassle Free Weekends – Your Local Catering Company
At Hassle Free Weekends, we are proud to say that we offer a comprehensive range of catering services, including wedding catering, corporate catering and funeral catering. We are always on hand to take your call, deal with any enquiries and answer any questions that you may have regarding the catering services that we provide. We are extremely passionate about catering, and we love nothing more than providing delicious food at very competitive prices.
We are more than happy to provide tasting sessions for you and your guests, and we are positive that there will be something on our menu that you simply love.