Ah! Food, glorious food! It’s such an integral part of our world. We eat food every day for sustenance yet it’s also a social urge. Meal times are historically events when families, settlements and villages have gathered. Julia Child said, “Dining with one’s friends and beloved family is certainly one of life’s primal and most innocent delights, one that is both soul-satisfying and eternal.”
When it comes to your celebratory event, food should be one of the most important considerations in your decision process. Great food and great company create wonderful memories for a lifetime. Unfortunately, not everyone has a great food experience. Why? Find out below as you discover three food things to consider when booking your banquet hall.
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- The Freshest of Foods. This sounds simple. Consider though that catering and event halls can have numerous events in a week. This can be very challenging for them to keep up with and manage fresh food onsite. Consider all the vegetables, meats and other food products that go into the delectable course of meals you’ve selected for your event. Freshness of fish and vegetables make an enormous difference in taste, texture and overall satisfaction. Some catering halls cut corners using older or frozen product still on the shelf, still barely meeting food safety regulations, to save costs. Make sure your catering hall provides you the freshest food for your event.
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- Food Is Cooked Fresh. Nothing tastes better than fresh, just-off-the-stove or out of the oven food! That’s how you have it at home or your favorite restaurant. Yet, if you’ve had a bad food experience consider that it might be because many catering halls will cook your menu several days before and reheat it the day of your event, serve it to your guests and call it fresh. You’re not paying that per-plate-price to be served leftovers. Consider too that health risks are statistically higher for food that is cooked, refrigerated and reheated for serving. That’s not a risk you want to take with your guests. When hiring your next catering or banquet hall venue, make sure to ask if they cook your food fresh the day of the event.
- Food Is Cooked Fresh Onsite. There’s the saying, “Kitchens are made to bring families together.” While you won’t be eating in your family’s kitchen, the importance of the food cooked onsite is important and will give your family and friends the best experience. There are inherent challenges and health risks with food being cooked offsite and transported to the event. Temperature control, bacteria, and over cooked food are just some of the many challenges. Some event logistics make it impossible to cook food onsite so food must be transported to the event. Some catering companies have mobile kitchens that allow them to cook your menu fresh onsite. Other catering halls don’t have their own kitchen. They only provide an event space. This requires they hire an outside company to provide your event food and transport it in. If freshly cooked food is important to you, consider a banquet hall that has a kitchen onsite, for your special occasion, where they can provide you the very best food experience.
As you’re searching for and inquiring about a catering or banquet hall for your next special event, take the time to discover these three food things to consider when booking your banquet hall. The time invested in inquiring will pay off in spades as you create lasting memories with family, friends and great food!
About The El Caribe – With more than 35 years in the catering and event business, The El Caribe, in New York City, provides the freshest food, cooked right onsite in our kitchens the day of your event, in perfect timing for your celebration. Our food has been rated some of the best in New York City. We also offer celebratory space for 100 to 1,000 plus with one of the largest outdoor spaces in New York City. Guaranteed you won’t need to worry about the three food things to consider when booking your banquet hall. Call our banquet hall now and for your next wedding reception venues, social events or corporate events.
