Also, decide upon how the food will be served. Is the food going to be served on individual plates by waiters or will it be laid out buffet style? Furthermore, if the couple chooses to go with a buffet style where guests can come by and pick and choose what they would like on their plate, they need to decide if someone will still be serving the food. If the food is laid out without a server, guests could pick up bigger serving sizes than were planned for. Of course, you wouldn’t want to run out of food before everyone is served. Having the food served will help monitor portion sizes.

The Best Part

The cake. Everybody loves wedding cake! No matter what flavors you choose, the cake is always a hit and almost always gets devoured. Just as important as it is to pick a time for the appetizers and main meal to be served, it is important to pick a good time for the cake to be served. Usually, you don’t want the cake to be served right after the meal. When this happens, your guests are already going to be full and won’t want to eat the cake. The cake is usually Wedding Catering Cake served towards the end of the reception.

Additionally, the time when the cake is delivered cannot be overlooked as a small detail. The company the cake is ordered from will usually deliver it for you. Many times, the cake needs to be kept within a certain temperature for it to stay nice and pretty, because sometimes the icing and frosting can melt when temperatures get warm enough. So make sure you take this into consideration when deciding the time the cake is delivered and served.

Are You Ready to Start?

Now that you have the logistics prepared and have some tips on how to make sure your guests are fully satisfied, are you ready to start planning your wedding catering? Contact Four Seasons Catering and Eatery to get started today!

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Type

The type of catering event you will be having is a general concept, but still essential to preparing for the event. This determines the rest of the preparation for the event. Deciding between a meal and/or appetizers is the first decision. If you choose to have a sit down meal, you need to decide upon a buffet style or servers. It all is decided by the kind of event you would like to have. Once you have decided upon the type of catering you would like to have, you can then move onto the fun part of choosing your food!

Time

Prior to setting up any details for an event, it is most important to set a date and time. This does not only involve the time of the event, but a timeline of the event. For catering events, it is essential to have the timing for food correct. Not only do you not want your guests to not go hungry, you also want to make sure the food is safe to eat and hasn’t been sitting out too long. Certain foods can only sit out of the refrigerator for so long before spoiling, so it is necessary to keep this in mind when planning a time to eat. This also depends on what type of catering is being served. Whether it is a sit down meal, a buffet or a constant flow of appetizers, the food needs to be fresh and ready to eat.

Numbers

The number of guests who will be attending the event may seem like an obvious thing to prepare; however, it is extremely important to do this as early as possible. Making sure the number of guests is set-in-stone is vital for catering events. This determines the amount of food to be served, as well as the time the catering company needs to prepare the food and arrive at the event.

Space

To serve large amounts of food to guests, assuring there is enough space for the food is paramount. If it is a buffet style, then there needs to be plenty of table space for the food to be laid out on. There also needs to be a spot for the caterer to set up the food and anything they need to prepare it to go out. It is possible to get food from a catering company, but for the catering company not to serve it. If the food is being stored for a certain amount of time by you, not the caterer, you need to ensure there is plenty of refrigerator space for perishable items.

Ready to Prep?

There is a lot to prepare before hosting an event, these are just some of the basics to get you ready for the catering services.

Contact Four Seasons Catering and Eatery today to receive catering for your next event!

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After going over the logistics of wedding catering in the last blog, now it is time to go over the bread and butter of catering your wedding. The table settings may be perfect and you may have all of the specifics figured out. But, if you do not make sure every guest is fed at a specific time and is fully satisfied, the catering could still not go as planned. When attending a wedding, guests plan to be fed. Here are a few tips to assure that the guests are satisfied and the event goes smoothly.

The Food

Most importantly, you want to make sure everyone is fed. Have a guest list prepared with how many guests will be attending and present it to your caterer well in advance. Decide what kind of food you would like to have, then, make a decision about appetizers. Not all weddings have appetizers, even though it helps keep the guests happy during the period between the service and when the reception actually starts. Decide how many appetizers you would like to be served and for how long. It is also extremely important to be sure that the appetizers are served in a separate spot than the main meal. If they are served at the same table as the main meal, or close to the main meal, guests may presume that it is okay for them to go ahead and start start sampling the goods.

Also, decide upon how the food will be served. Is the food going to be served on individual plates by waiters or will it be laid out buffet style? Furthermore, if the couple chooses to go with a buffet style where guests can come by and pick and choose what they would like on their plate, they need to decide if someone will still be serving the food. If the food is laid out without a server, guests could pick up bigger serving sizes than were planned for. Of course, you wouldn’t want to run out of food before everyone is served. Having the food served will help monitor portion sizes.

Pop the Champagne!

Alcohol is a tough decision to make at a wedding or any catered event. Sometimes, the alcohol is included with the wedding catering company. Sometimes, it is not included. Just like the buffet-style food setup, the alcohol needs to be monitored at a wedding so guests are not taking advantage, especially with an open bar. A self-serve option with alcohol is not suggested as it can be difficult to monitor. Something to consider is what kinds of alcohol you will be serving. Will it be an open bar, or will it be just beer and wine? Many wedding parties decide to have champagne served for toasts. If you decide to have champagne served make sure either the party that is providing the alcohol will be providing champagne flutes or if you need to get them from a separate company.

The Best Part

The cake. Everybody loves wedding cake! No matter what flavors you choose, the cake is always a hit and almost always gets devoured. Just as important as it is to pick a time for the appetizers and main meal to be served, it is important to pick a good time for the cake to be served. Usually, you don’t want the cake to be served right after the meal. When this happens, your guests are already going to be full and won’t want to eat the cake. The cake is usually served towards the end of the reception.

Additionally, the time when the cake is delivered cannot be overlooked as a small detail. The company the cake is ordered from will usually deliver it for you. Many times, the cake needs to be kept within a certain temperature for it to stay nice and pretty, because sometimes the icing and frosting can melt when temperatures get warm enough. So make sure you take this into consideration when deciding the time the cake is delivered and served.

Are You Ready to Start?

Now that you have the logistics prepared and have some tips on how to make sure your guests are fully satisfied, are you ready to start planning your wedding catering? Contact Four Seasons Catering and Eatery to get started today!

The post Wedding Catering 101: Part 2 appeared first on Four Seasons Catering and Eatery.

When planning a wedding, there is a lot for the newly engaged couple to prepare and plan. One of the most important parts of a wedding is the food. The guests have to be satisfied and happy, or the celebration will not be as memorable for them. Before meeting with potential company with wedding catering services, the couple needs to sit down and plan their wedding specifically how they want it to go.

When meeting with outside catering companies, make sure to know what you want. Then, make sure to ask about each specific package so that you know what you are paying for. Ask if the company provides service for the wedding on top of just providing the food, and ask about the pricing for both. Before choosing the food and alcohol services for your wedding, there are a few things for you to consider.

Catering Services: The Logistics

So you’re officially married, the service is over, and everyone is ready to celebrate, now what? Planning the reception is the most challenging part of planning a wedding. Typically after the service, guests are starting to get hungry, depending on the time of day. You need to decide at what time guests will be allowed into the reception. Additionally, you need to decide if appetizers will be served and at what time to serve them, as well as the main meal. Start off with a few appetizers, then finish with a delicious main meal.

Plates, Silverware, and Cups, oh my!

Depending on the catering company you choose, the catering services may or may not include plates, cutlery, napkins, cups, etc. Some catering companies might not deal with this at all, which is definitely something that you will want to go over with each catering company that you consider. There are wedding catering companies that do allow you to rent these essentials from them. There are also third-party companies that will offer packages depending on your needs.

Now, it is also important to consider if you want the table settings to be disposable or not. This depends on how much money you are willing to spend. It is always an option to have plates, cutlery, and napkins that are disposable. Such as, you could want really nice plates for the meal; however, for the cake you could chose a nice disposable plate. It is also easy to find and use nice disposable silverware.

Cleanup

A detail that can sometimes be overlooked when planning a wedding is the cleanup. The wedding party has a lot of options as far as the cleanup for the catering and alcohol. This is one reason it can be very helpful for you to consider using disposable plates and silverware. When these aren’t disposable, someone has to clean them. Not to mention, the more dirty dishes need to be cleaned up, the more money it is going to cost. This needs to be gone over with the catering services that you are renting the tableware from. Are they going to be responsible for coming to pick up the dirty plates? Or it could be the wedding party’s responsibility to pay someone to clean them.

Where to Start

Now that you know how to start planning the catering for your wedding, get organized! Get a basic idea of how you want the logistics to play out, then let Four Seasons Catering and Eatery help you work out the details. Contact us today to get started and stay tuned for more tips about catering your wedding next week in our next post, Wedding Catering 101: Part 2.

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Corporate catering is a unique and important sector of the catering industry. At Four Seasons Catering and Eatery, we have years of experience and knowledge in this segment of the industry. We are located in historic downtown Pensacola, and have a primary focus for attention to detail and quality of food and service. You want your event to leave a lasting impression that everyone will talk about and corporate catering can make that impression. Below are some different corporate events you can cater!

Corporate Lunches

Corporate lunches can be stressful enough with preparing the material you will speak about, to getting all your papers and charts together and read to bring. So catering lunch can be one less thing you have to worry about. Catering lunch for your company can also help with company morale and keeping your employees happy. With corporate catering from Four Seasons Catering and Eatery, show your clients and/or employees that you appreciate them with a warm meal made from scratch. We have a variety of food on our catering menu that will help you stray away from your typical sandwiches and finger food lunches. It will still leave an impact even if it’s only one or two times a month.

Sales Meetings

Most people already dread going to sales meetings, so spice it up with catered food. Whether it’s celebrating your team meeting a goal or having to have a meeting to help you team reach a future goal. No matter the size of the meeting, or the reason, you want your employees to have a delicious meal they will talk about forever. At Four Seasons Catering and Eatery, we provide your office meetings with affordable meals hat we can deliver straight to your office. Or if you would like to pick it up instead, you can!

Team-Building Outings

Team building bring your team together, and so does food! When you cater your team building event your employees won’t just bond, but they will remember that event and feel appreciated. Worried about the food being on time? Four Season Catering and Eatery will be on time and prepared with the food, staff and utensils you and your company need!

Four Seasons Corporate Catering

No matter your corporate catering event, Four Seasons Catering and Eatery has you covered. Whether you have a small business meeting or a large corporate party, you can trust us to deliver an exceptional corporate catering experience. Contact us today to get started and find out more!

The post Four Seasons Catering & Eatery: Corporate Catering appeared first on Four Seasons Catering and Eatery.

Typically, whenever people think of catering events, they think of weddings, graduation parties, birthday parties, etc. However, catering events can be for simple or low-pressure occasions. The catering event opportunities and situations are endless. Hiring a catering company is definitely something to consider, because it relieves some of the pressure from the host and helps make sure everyone is fed and happy.

Business Meetings

You want your business meetings to be as positive and interesting as possible. You can keep everyone attending, attentive and ready to go by keeping them fed. Many times,catering for business meetings includes coffee, bagels and donuts; which are typically breakfast foods. If you are holding a meeting at 11:30 in the morning (lunchtime), why not cater the meeting with sandwiches and a salad?

How hard is it to keep employees engaged at work on Fridays? You can probably answer that question pretty easily. At the end of the work week, employees typically struggle to get work done and stay focused at the office. Try catering office lunches on Friday. It may cost a little money, but it will keep your employees happy and will reflect in the quality of their work. Even catering one Friday each month would become an incentive for your employees to be productive.

Summer BBQ

Summer BBQ’s are a staple of the South. You invite family and friends over to your house to cook and eat outside, drink something tasty and play yard games. Typically, these gatherings consist of chips, watermelon, hotdogs and hamburgers. Why not freshen up your summer BBQ by having it catered with fresh salads and sandwiches? If you’re not busy cooking, you can enjoy more time with your guests.

Family Reunion

Family reunions are usually pretty busy. Grandma Jean maybe can’t remember where she is, the kids are running around getting into who knows what, and the adults are asking a host of questions, telling stories and wondering how many other people brought ambrosia salad. Family reunions are potlucks that usually have the same food every year. Perhaps you’re interested in changing things up a bit this year. Catering events, like your family reunion, will help ensure your get-together doesn’t require you to be stuck on the grill all day. You can spend more time, helping Grandma Jean, playing with the kids and checking to see if anyone still brought ambrosia salad. Take some of the stress out of your family reunion this year by having it catered.

Girls Night In

Girls nights out have become girls nights in, where girlfriends get together, gossip, eat a ton of food and watch movies. This is a perfect opportunity to try something new, such as new food. Try having a meal catered before indulging in brownies and ice cream. Part of having a girls night is not having to cook a basic meal for yourself. Try some new food and enjoy a great meal by having your girls night catered.

Business Sale

Businesses are always looking for ways to hype up their grand opening or weekend sales. Catering is a simple way to do this. Catering events such as these can be tricky because a business can never be sure how many people will show up and it can be hard to find a balance between catering a full sized meal and finger foods. Try catering for an hour or two during lunchtime so that it’s a limited time, but also a time when customers will be hungry. (canadianpharmacy365.net) Have an area set up for the catering that could possibly include small portions of sandwiches and salads that can be easily consumed while browsing the sale. These portions should already be prepared and need to be served to the customers, not on a self serve basis. Advertising this will bring customers into the sale and keep them satisfied while they shop.

Ready to cater your next event?

Now that you know catering events can include any event you want, not just weddings and birthday parties, are you ready to get started? First, decide on what type of event you want to cater. Then, give Four Seasons Catering and Eatery a call and let us help you work out the details of your event.

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Catering for events is hard, detail-oriented work. Even if you’re an excellent cook for yourself or your family of six, there’s still a ton of other aspects and crazy amounts of work that go into catering any type of event. We could go on all day about the reasons to use professional event catering. Instead, we’d like to discuss the top four reasons why you should use event catering from an experienced caterer like Four Seasons. Read on to learn more!

Reduces Stress

Reducing stress is probably the most important reason to hire a professional caterer. For many people, planning an event of any size can be tremendously stressful. Trying to please everyone, having everything out on time, making sure everything tastes good and socializing with your guests can result in a serious headache – at the least. This is especially true for the inexperienced hosts out there, which most people are. (Xanax) Reduce your stress and use event catering. Experienced caterers like Four Seasons have put on seamless events countless times, and we actually enjoy doing it. Leave it up to us and we’ll make sure you’ll be free to be the best host around town!

Saves Time

There is no doubt whatsoever that hiring a professional for your event catering saves you precious time. Instead of worrying about ordering and preparing the food perfectly and on-time, and then the setup and clean up of the event, let us do all the work! Hiring a professional caterer will make sure you have plenty of time to prepare for your event, entertain and spend quality time with your guests. Don’t spend the whole evening stressing about burning the entrees or delivering the salad on time, leave that to us! Spend time with your guests and enjoy your event with the help of an experienced caterer.

Saves Money

Believe it or not, hiring a professional for your event catering actually ends up saving you money. We know exactly how much to order, where to order it from and when to order it. If you don’t have the experience of a professional, you will most likely end up wasting money. Whether it be ordering too much, too far in advance so the food goes bad, or not enough and you have to rush deliver extra food. All of these instances are less than ideal, so hire an experienced catering company like Four Seasons so you don’t overspend.

Provide the Best Menu

Trust us, we know you want to serve your guests the best possible food. At Four Seasons, we want to provide that delicious food to you and your guests. Our highly trained chef and cooks are experts at creating culinary masterpieces. We will work with you to determine the type of food you want, allergy restrictions and other food related issues in order to provide the perfect menu to your guests without breaking the bank. If you don’t use a professional, you simply won’t get the same quality, delicious tasting meal at your event.

Four Seasons Event Catering

As you can see, there are many reasons to hire a professional to cater your next event. From reducing stress, saving time and money, and providing the best food to your guests, there’s no reason you shouldn’t! Be sure to contact us or view our catering menu, and keep us in mind for your event catering needs!

The post Top 4 Reasons to Use Event Catering appeared first on Four Seasons Catering and Eatery.

When catering events, there are several steps and details that go into making the event successful and special. At Four Seasons Catering and Eatery, our highest priority is ensuring a smooth and unique catered event for all of our clients. To accomplish this, we meet with and discuss the wants and needs of the client, establish logistics, create a seamless timeline and perfect the execution of the event. Read on to understand the four steps of successful catering events.

Step 1: Consultation

At the heart of all catering events are the clients. To create a memorable experience, we sit down with clients to meet and discuss the catering options. Meeting face to face with clients helps us get a clear understand of what the client wants and needs. At this consultation, we discuss type of event, number of guests, theme, menu options, pricing and other specifics to ensure a smooth affair. Four Seasons is dedicated to our clients, so we want to make sure all questions, concerns and thoughts are clearly understood at this consultation. A successful consultation is an important start to a successful event!

Step 2: Establish Logistics

After we understand exactly what our clients want for their catering events, it’s time to figure out what we need to do to ensure a successful night. Four Seasons Catering and Eatery wants each experience to be delicious, unique and specific to each client. Our experienced servers, chef and cooks know exactly what we need to do to accomplish this. The logistics of catering events includes checking and ordering inventory in a timely matter and scheduling servers and staff to help work the event. Catered event logistics also includes exact plans for creation, transportation and presentation of the catered food. To help, caterers must create a timeline.

Step 3: Create a Timeline

The key to successful catering events is knowing exactly who and what will be where and when at all times. Establishing a detailed event “itinerary” helps the event staff create a beautifully smooth event. The timeline should include food drop off, preparation and serving times. In addition, it should include what staff members are serving and at what time, to ensure high quality service. Working with our clients to create the perfect timeline for their event creates a memorable and pleasant experience for everyone.

Step 4: Execution

After all of the menu plans and timelines are settled, it’s time to execute the event! Following the timeline, ensuring food quality and service quality and cleaning up are all aspects of the execution step. At Four Seasons Catering and Eatery, we have been catering events for a long time. Our years of experience, high quality service and food is unmatched, which creates the perfect event experience for our clients.

Four Seasons Event Catering

Now that you understand the steps to catering events, what are you waiting for? Let Four Seasons Catering and Eatery create the perfect event catering experience for you. Contact us today or view our menu options to get started!

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Planning an event in Pensacola, no matter how big or small, is no easy task! A major staple in event planning is the food. Finding a great caterer takes research, time and budget planning. Pensacola catering prices can vary, but looking into quality and quantity of food and a reliable caterer is key. In this blog post, we will discuss Pensacola catering prices and steps to plan your event while sticking to a budget.

Establish Your Budget

The first step in planning any event is researching Pensacola catering prices and establishing a budget. To begin planning your budget, you must start with the number of people you will be feeding. Try getting this number as accurate as possible to get the best bang for your buck. Then, determine what type of event this will be. A wedding, a small birthday dinner and a corporate luncheon will all most likely have very different menus and needs. Once you know the number of guests and type of event, you can then begin brainstorming menu ideas.

Develop Menu and Serving Style

Once you establish number of guests, type of event and budget, you can now start working on menu options. Again, Pensacola catering prices will vary depending on what you serve and how you serve it. From filet mignon, chicken, fish, hors d’oeuvres, carving stations, buffets, five-course meals…the options can be endlessly overwhelming! This is where an experienced, knowledgable caterer like Four Seasons comes in handy. There are several options to consider when it comes to serving style. Will you be having a cocktail hour followed by a sit-down multiple course meal? Or will you have a buffet style meal with carving stations? Or perhaps a variety of styles? Once you decide on a serving style, you need to create the actual food menu. The menu will depend on your guests needs, such as dietary restrictions, as well as the type of event. Working with your caterer to develop a menu based on your needs and budget is key to planning your event. With our extremely talented chef, top of the line servers and reasonable prices, Four Seasons is your best option when looking at Pensacola catering prices.

Pensacola Catering Prices

As we have stated, depending on the amount of food, type of event and serving styles, Pensacola catering prices can vary. At Four Seasons, we pride ourselves on delicious, top of the line full service catering at affordable prices. Give us a call or visit our catering menu to discuss your next catered event!

The post Pensacola Catering Prices and How to Plan your Event appeared first on Four Seasons Catering and Eatery.

Attention to Detail

Attention to detail is by far one of the most important characteristics for event caterers. Especially as events get larger, things get more complex. Remembering and notating certain details produces much higher-quality catering events. For example, all it could take is one typo on a banquet event order form to ruin an entire event. Details with food, service and paperwork are all vital to a successful event. If you’re looking for a caterer or you want to become one, one that focuses on every single detail of your event will produce the best result.

Customer Focused

Just like any other part of the service industry, event caterers must be extremely customer focused. Each event, lunch or dinner is different for each client. Therefore, listening to the client and tailoring their event menu to match their event goal is vital. For example, you probably wouldn’t provide the same type of food at a 12 year old’s birthday party as you would an adults-only fundraising gala. When looking for a caterer, choose one who takes the time to get to know you and your vision for your event. When your guests see the final result, it will be obvious that it was clearly crafted just for you. Being personable and willing to work with clients to craft the perfect menu is important. If you are interested in becoming a caterer, make sure you possess this quality and make your customer your main focus.

Creative and Experienced

Setting up, preparing and serving top-notch meals for a large or even small group of people for a wedding or party takes knowledge and experience. Event caterers should have some sort of schooling or training to be able to pull off such a feat. Educational programs, training and certifications are helpful to be a successful caterer. Programs such as hospitality, culinary production, knife skills and others can set caterers apart from others in addition to industry experience and increase success.

Another quality that goes along with being experienced is being creative. Producing beautiful and delicious food is an art that requires a high degree of creativity. For customers, you want your event to be unique and special for you and your guests. Therefore, you should be looking for a creative events caterer. As caterers, you can provide that type of event for guests by practicing creative concepts, recipes and food presentations.

Flexible

Lastly, another quality to look for in event caterers is flexibility. Customization for each event and client requires the caterer to be flexible. Caterers who are quick on their feet and ready for anything help ensure a seamless event. With the service industry, you have to be willing and able to work long hours with several different types of people. Weekends and nights are when most people host events, so being accustomed and flexible with working those hours is important. Also, whether it’s staff or customers, successful event caterers must be able to work with and assist several types of personalities and people. If you’re an aspiring caterer that’s flexible, or your caterer that you hire is flexible, you’re in good hands!

Conclusion

We could go on about more qualities of successful event caterers, but these four are some of the most important. If you’re working on becoming an event caterer, be sure you pay attention to detail, are customer focused, creative, flexible and experienced. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a caterer, be sure you look for one with these qualities. At Four Seasons Catering and Eatery, we pride ourselves on a team of hardworking people that possess each of these qualities and more. We would love if you considered us for your next catered event!

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