I talked yesterday about what can happen when your food selection doesn't match your audience. You can review the post here. In a nutshell, we had a group of people visit the School and served them a breakfast that the vast majority couldn't eat. Here are some tips about picking a menu that suits your audience.
Ask questions
This is first and foremost and probably the most important part of picking a menu. The more questions you have answered the easier it will be to pick a menu. Some clients know exactly what they want in a meal, but others may need some direction. It's important to ask questions about the personality of the group. Below are the kinds of questions to answer.
What is the occasion?
A business lunch is going to require something very different than a bridal lunch or wedding reception. The formality of an event often dictates the type of food that you want to offer your guests.
Consider the audience
Is this a vegetarian convention? Then you probably shouldn't serve chicken. Makes sense, right? Having moved from the Northeast to the South the food is different and of course I have a personal preference. I've adopted sweet tea as my drink of choice, but love bagels over biscuits any day!
I held a conference for the Superior Court Judges a few weeks ago and there was a conference next to ours for people that harvest berries all over the world. Many of their break foods contained berries and some were exotic. The audience matters.
Budget
Budgets can cause a hang up if you want Filet Mignon, but can only afford "conference chicken" (as I like to refer to it). I say this in jest, but it is a real thing! When serving a conference of 300 people or more on a budget having chicken on the menu is your "go-to."
There are other things that you can do with your budget, like have plated meals over buffets. The reason this works well is because there is portion control with a plated meal. A hotel knows exactly how much food you need rather than having to guess how many scoops of mashed potatoes a person is going to take from the buffet.
Knowing your budget is incredibly important and can sometimes dictate the direction you take with your menu. Jerry and I were on a tight budget for our wedding, so we went with a barbecue buffet. It came with a ton of options at a very reasonable price. The reason that this was the case was because we had it at the restaurant on-site that already had a buffet. All they had to do was bring the buffet to the convention center next door.
Cultural traditions and special requests
This point goes back to knowing your audience and consider the occasion for your event. If your hotel is hosting an Indian wedding expect to be asked for traditional vegetarian meals with some spice to it.
We sold space at Rider University for weddings. Because we had a chapel on-site right near the lake, it was a great location for couples to marry. One couple was very interested in having their reception with us after their wedding. They asked about our ability to have a coffee bar. I began working with our catering company to find out if we could offer such a thing. Coffee was an important part of this couple's relationship and how they met. They wanted it to be a feature part of their wedding. It turns out that it wasn't something that we could accommodate. They said fine, but asked if they could bring in their own coffee bar. Our exclusive contract with our catering company didn't allow outside food in, and therefore we lost the business.
Dietary restrictions
This relates to religious choices, personal preferences, and allergies. It's important to know about the dietary needs of your group when planning a menu. At Rider University we hosted a Jewish Community Center (JCC) Camp for the summer. They required that kosher meals be prepared in a kosher kitchen. While we weren't able to allow them to take over our main kitchen area, we were able to carve out a kitchen that they could use to prepare their meals.
Some of the other main dietary restrictions include, vegetarian (no meat), vegan (no meat or eggs), gluten free (no wheat, barley, or rye... basically no pasta or bread). I've simplified these restrictions here, but you get the idea.
Some people are allergic to nuts and one of the oddest allergies I've heard lately is nightshade. Nightshade is found in tomatoes, paprika, and other foods that are red in color. This is a tough one to avoid, but chefs and caterers are familiar with just about every allergy and trend out there. Just ask the kitchen! You'd be surprised what they can do for you.
Schedule of events
What you're doing during your event and when things are happening can affect your menu choices. If you're having a 3 hour business lunch then having a plated lunch probably isn't an issue. If you're trying to squeeze a business lunch in between sessions and only have an hour, boxed lunches are probably more appropriate.
I opted to have a plated breakfast for one of my programs a year ago. The group was used to having a buffet breakfast in the foyer area and expected that if they showed up late they could grab a yogurt or piece of fruit and head into the morning session. However, since we did a plated breakfast the expectation had changed. People were expected to come into the ballroom before the session started and be served their breakfast individually. If they missed the breakfast time then they lost out on breakfast. This didn't go over with attendees because it was something that was included in their registration that they didn't receive... and they were hungry. Lesson learned!
These are just a few of the many things that planners should be asking clients before picking a menu. What are some other things that you think about when it comes to menu planning? Leave your information in the comments below.