Catering Your Own Event? Here Are Three Options You Should Consider

If you're a food lover, few things get you as excited as sharing your food experiences with the people you care about the most. You might even feel like you're ready to host your own event and cover the event catering yourself. Here are three food strategies to efficiently carry out catering services for any number of people.

1. Canapes - These are snack-sized but fancy finger foods which provide people with just enough food to get the full flavours without having to commit to a full meal, meaning they can pick and choose between a variety. Some fine examples of canapes include Thai chicken skewers, bite-sized chocolate brownies, teriyaki beef and lettuce cups, and seared scallops with your choice of sauce. 

The trick to hitting the spot with canapes is to provide a mixture of hot and cold options for your guests and offering a wide range of tastes. Not only does this allow people to perhaps try something they might not have otherwise but also reduces the chance of there being someone present who doesn't like any of the food you've made.

While canapes do not constitute a full meal, they can be the perfect catering option for a shorter, informal event that you want to host.

2. Cold buffet - The best way to offer a cold buffet when managing your own event catering is to provide two or three large plates in the middle where cold meats such as chicken or ham are put, surrounded by accompanying ingredients and condiments which your visitors can use to make their own creation. This is the next step up from canapes and provides a manageable option for longer, informal events. 

A cold buffet should also be accompanied by cold desserts and fruits which can be picked at through the event. Add breadsticks, fun drinks, or cheese and dips to your spread to break up the main event at the cold buffet.

3. Hot buffet - This is the best option for a predominately sit-down event and offers the opportunity to customise and edit your selection more than any other. Generally, it's easiest to cook large quantities of food and then store them in their pot/saucepan directly on the table, but sometimes this just isn't possible.

Some examples of hot buffets you can use for your event catering include spreads with one or two large bowls of rice surrounded by different sauce and meat options, an assortment of pasta and meat based dishes with vegetables and salad, or a baked dinner where guests can pick or choose the elements they would like on their plate.

The best thing you can do to get your food hitting the right spot and make your catering services a hit is to understand the function of the event that you're hosting and know your guests.