Space Required
Not only having enough space for the guests should be your concern, you also should think of what the kitchen staff is able to cope with. Think of the following:
- How much space is there in your fridge? It’s better to clear out the foods you won’t need on the day of preparation. For example, you can ask a neighbor to keep a few items for you. Of course, the food must be refrigerated for hygiene reasons. Trays, cardboard boxes and plastic tubs can help to stack the foods accurately. For drinks, ice-filled bags will do perfectly.
- Are the work surfaces big enough? Especially canapés can be challenging if you only have a small work surface. So sometimes it is necessary to add dinner tables to your work surfaces for the time of food preparation.
- Do you have enough space in the oven or hob? In case you need a hot buffet or some cooking that needs to be made in the last minute, make sure you have the space for it.
Staff And Equipment
It will make your life easier if you have big enough kitchen equipment and enough serving dishes, glassware and plates. These can be borrowed for a day from somebody. Professionals from our corporate catering company suggest: if possible, hire cutlery, glasses and crockery from a company that has a ‘return dirty’ service. They will charge you something of course, but then, you won’t have to wash so many dishes after you guests have left.
Have A Time Plan
Having a time plan is useful; this is how you’ll fulfill your plans without big surprises. Enlist all you need: drinks, food, flowers, decorations, equipment. The home, drink and food preparation need a more detailed planning. We’d recommend you to be realistic and try to simplify all you can. A fun and relaxed celebration with a few different but well prepared dishes will be better than an ambitious demonstration of too many foods cooked in a hurry.
Safety Of Food
Take you food out of the refrigerator just before you serve it. If the guests are not so hungry yet, it’d be good to offer smaller portions first, and replenish them as soon as the first ones are consumed.