The Off Premise Caterer and the Duties They Perform

When event-planning, you may be considering hiring an off premise caterer to handle the food for your function. Learn more about what they do.

If you're in the middle of planning an event, you may need to hire the services of an off premise caterer to take care of the food. But is that all such a company will do for you? Show up with the food, sit back, and collect the bill? Yes, sometimes that is the extent of a catering company's responsibilities, though it is a stretch to put companies like that into the same category as those that are much more inclusionary in their services. The better companies will do much more than just show up with some food. Here are some of the duties and services you can find from the top-level service providers.

Menu Creation

An off premise caterer can work in one of two ways. In the first way, they simply act as a conduit for the customer's wishes. The customer tells them what they would like prepared, and the company will find a way to make it. This is much less common than companies who already have a set menu of the foods they prepare. From that list, the customer can choose what to serve at their event. The company may also be willing to prepare food according to the requests of the guests, from a pre-planned menu, though it is very rare for a company to act quite so similarly to a restaurant.

Event Coordination

A good off premise caterer will usually be able to lend a helping hand when it comes to planning an event. Though not to be mistaken for a dedicated event planner, many companies perform dual roles. Even if they don't specifically label themselves as planners, chances are they will have enough experience to be able to give you advice if you're not exactly sure about every aspect of what you are doing. Even while on site, the company and staff should have the skill to determine when the food should be served, when the plates should be picked up, and so forth.

Food Services

Of course, it goes without saying that an off premise caterer's most important duty will be to prepare food and serve it at the event. Whether that food is served in a buffet-style line or by waiters will depend on the customer's wishes. It is usually much cheaper to set up a line, but some customers see this as being at odds with the intended effect of their event.

Cleaning

While the off premise caterer isn't going to take kindly to being asked to stick around and take down decorations, it should fall within their scope of responsibility to clean up their plates, their food, and anything centering around the dining experience they provided.

Article Tags: Premise Caterer