Event Meal Planning for A Group. This is the second part of a series. Meals for any group needs to be well planned. Family meals work more smoothly, budget wise and with preparation. Up to 30, 50, 100 plus people, the same applies. Plus, proper planning allows for accommodations of people with special dietary needs. It’s not too hard to come up with something at home to feed people in a quick hurry, but advanced preparation is always best. Especially for the very large group.
The Continental Breakfast
Depending on the hotel and the time the attendee allows for waking up, getting ready and transporting to the conference facility, the person will need breakfast. Hotels generally offer a complimentary continental breakfast. A few hotels offer a free hot breakfast but I suggest the traveler who wants a hot breakfast does not count on it being free.
Breakfast
To serve breakfast at a conference is a BIG win for most attendees. When it comes to eating habits, people are all over the place with breakfast. A banana and a piece of toast. Or a bowl of cereal and a yogurt. Lately, it has been the avocado spread on toast with an egg (see the coffee diet for wedding weight loss). My grandma preferred a sweet roll and orange juice. Yet, others are big breakfast eaters. This is their main meal of the day. Bacon, eggs, pancakes!
I recommend including options for all at breakfast. Eliminate specialty eggs, such as omelets to order or having both pancakes and French toast and crepes. Choose one. Include muffins and sweet rolls. Whole fruit options such as bananas, apples and oranges will be less expensive than cut fresh fruit like cantaloupe, honeydew melon and strawberries. If you are having a multi-day conference, alternate meat choices. Bacon, Sausage links, Ham. If only having a one-day, ask if you can do a combination. Often, the catering menu will have pre-designed meal buffets. It never hurts to ask if or how customizing a meal and the costs associated are handled.
Morning Snacks
We tried this option for a few years where I helped planning these conferences. The snacks were great. People who ran late and missed breakfast were able to grab a bite to eat. Individuals who ate light breakfast meals were able to fit in a second small meal (snack).
Bottom line, most everyone ate a big breakfast. Several would pick up a muffin or sweet roll and a piece of fruit. The cost to continue with offering morning snacks didn’t justify the hit to our overall budget. We continued to provide coffee, tea and water. Ironically, each year we had more tea drinkers than coffee drinkers. Being a healthcare group, my summation is that was the reason for more tea and less coffee. Although, there is a great deal of data out there to support coffee as being a healthy and beneficial part of a person’s diet. Similar to wine, a couple cups of coffee and a couple glasses of wine a day are great for your body. Visit this Coffee and Wine (and Money) page for more on this topic.
Lunch
Conference styles are all different. One conference will pack their scheduled day from early bird to after-hours. These conference types tend to take more frequent but shorter breaks. They often arrange for food trucks on-site for attendees to choose and pay for their own meal. Many conferences work through their lunch hour and offer a simple box lunch. Typically, these include a sandwich, usually turkey, ham or vegetarian. Then, add a cup of salad (pasta), once in awhile a green salad option, a bag of chips and a cookie. It also comes with one can of soda. With an upgraded box lunch, choose from the basic sandwiches or also from tuna salad or roast beef or Italian. You receive a piece of fruit too.
Another great option is to provide lunch for the attendees. Of course, the costs for providing meals to attendees is built-in to the attendee cost for registration under most circumstances. Plated meals are desirable because the presentation is fancy. From how the food is placed architecturally on the plate to the individual service at the table. However, plated meals are higher cost. Furthermore, there are typically three entrée options to choose from and your sides are pre-selected by the chef. The three entrée options are typically a beef option, a chicken or fish option (rarely both), and a vegetarian option.
The lunch buffet is the best option. Space allowing, set up two buffets for a large group to increase the flow time of the attendees filling their plates and sitting back down. Here is where a theme once again saves the day for feeding a large group. Again, soup and salad bar. Italian pasta bar. Mexican bar. Taco bar. And so on. It’s nice, but not necessary, to also include a dessert option. The most cost-effective dessert options are cookies and brownies. But I have seen everything from ice cream to cheesecakes, pies and flans.
Afternoon Snack
The afternoon snack is like the morning snack. However, at this point in the day, people do need a jolt in their day. After listening to presentation after presentation since early morning, folks are ready to get up and walk. Shake their legs, use the restroom, get a refreshment beverage.
Unfortunately, this afternoon break is notorious for losing attendees for the remainder of the day. Having a small snack available is a great idea. I suggest keeping the lunch expense on the low side to allow for a budget for the afternoon snack.
Plan the afternoon snack one of two ways. First, arrange for a snack cart with soda beverages. Attendees who wish to have a snack buy their own. Second, select a simple, transportable snack such as popcorn or pretzels with a dipping sauce, mustard and cheese are popular. Of course, a summer treat that is fun, but messy, is a scoop of ice cream with Sunday bar toppings. Some people love to call those “fixin’s”! When I buy these items they are toppings; when I put them on my ice cream they become “fixin’s”!
Chocolate Fiend or Foe?
MELTED CHOCOLATE…FLOWING CHOCOLATE… Yet, take note, this is the hour of the CHOCOLATE MONSTER! The number one desired afternoon snack, in my experiences, has been chocolate. Chocolate and caffeine. Although, I doubt not at all a chocolate and wine snack is preferred versus a can of soda! For now, never deny the chocolate fiend. (Read more about chocolate and wine pairings, chocolate and flower delivery, and a monster of another kind).
Dinner
Yes, I have seen conferences that run into the dinner hour, even later. Occasionally, the conference provides the dinner for this purpose. Typically, a dinner meal will be the most cost of your meal budget. I urge you to request a dinner buffet designed for the lunch buffet and ask for negotiated pricing. Otherwise, your invoice for dinner will be the largest total. Catering menus for dinner, including the buffets, add the extras to a buffet. Instead of selecting one entrée option, all four – beef, chicken and fish, plus Vegetarian are presented on the buffet. The cut of meat is thicker, always hot, never cold. Desserts are decadent. Now, you see where the price increases are justified.
Other conferences schedule end of day before the dinner hour. Attendees can make their own plan. Those living in the same city as the conference go home for dinner. Attendees get together and go out to dinner among themselves. For people staying in the hotels, another option is the hotel restaurant or room service.
The Bonus Dinner Option
Look to your vendors! Most conferences are supported by vendors who want to have the attention of your attendees. The vendors have a product or a service to sell and rarely can they present to more than a handful of people at a time. A conference is a great way for them to reach out to their prospective clients and customers.
Try this, tell your vendors you will promote an evening with them provided they provide a presentation on their product or service AND pick up a dinner tab. Then. you market this to your attendees prior to the conference and require an RSVP. Allow the vendor to determine limited seating availability, any attendance eligibility requirements, and the location and time of the dinner presentation. The vendor accepts the RSVP’s. You may also do so as per your arrangement with the vendor. Regardless, suggest to the vendor a venue nearby the conference facility for easy access to the attendees.
The Win-Win
It’s a win-win situation. The vendor meets and greets and dines the customers. The customers (attendees from your conference) get bonus information pertaining to their profession and a free meal. Your conference and you appear to be well-organized, offer the most and best options available, and that makes the conference and you valuable to both the vendors and the attendees. Use this success to build upon and grow via word of mouth and reputation for having a great conference.
The Wine Event
When it is all said and done, have yourself a wine event to celebrate the completion and success of a well-planned conference, company party, Oscar party or any other gathering. Hopefully, wine will have been included in most of these events. However, the educational or business conference is unlikely to include wine, except for at the Bonus Dinner presentations.
What is a wine event? Naturally, you need an answer to that question. A wine event is anytime you have an experience where you include wine and it enhances your moment. Therefore, a wine event includes quiet moments with an organic, natural bubble bath and artisan soaps, you and a wine event . How about you and your spouse on a much long and well-deserved date over cheese and crackers, chocolate covered strawberries on a private beach at your favorite island? A wine event is as easy as having your friends over for dinner one night. Or pick up drive through for your family and you have wine. Food delivery with wine qualifies as a wine event too!
EVENT PLANNING SERIES and RELATED ARTICLES
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