As the average consumer develops a taste for better cuisines and fine wines, it has become imperative that the food and beverage teams at hotels and resorts not only keep pace, but provide fresh thinking and execution. That is the only way to impress and retain customers who are increasingly expecting a high-end restaurant experience.
Among the many challenges of F&B is catering to the great variety of requirements and requests of the attendees of meetings and conventions. Essentially, we bring restaurant thinking to banquets and meetings along with the freedom to create the experience a client wants. This, in particular, is when outside-the-box thinking really makes the difference.
And then there’s pricing. Budget continues to sit at the top of everyone’s list on both sides of the equation. The price/value ratio is very important. While budgets come in a wide variety of forms and sizes, the same can be said for menus. The key here is customization and scalability. Open and honest communication between both parties will help you get to where you want to go. Flexible thinking, a common goal, and rational give-and-take make for a successful outcome in just about every relationship.
Preparing and providing food and beverages for hundreds of guests can indeed be daunting. Keeping that many people engaged, excited, and satisfied all at the same time is certainly a challenge. Here are five ideas that are particularly well-suited to groups and will help you work with the hotel banquet staff to stay within budget, while ensuring a successful event on the F&B side.
1. Set Up Interactive Stations
When guests are hungry, standing in a long, slow-moving line around a lengthy buffet table is not ideal. In fact, it’s unacceptable. Setting up stations where the food is prepared in front of guests provides a more interesting and engaging experience. It also creates a more social atmosphere, which often dovetails nicely with the point of corporate gatherings, especially in terms of teambuilding.
2. Use Smaller Plates and Bigger Variety
With tastes more eclectic than ever and with heightened interest in healthy food choices, a trend toward smaller plates has emerged. A variety of stations serving salads, poultry, fish, and meats can satisfy the needs and tastes of even the most finicky eaters. Variety is important, as is being prepared to accommodate special requests. Ask specific questions about the possibility of certain food requirements during the planning phase and initial contact with the organizer of the meeting or event.
3. Highlight Regional Fare
As noted above, showcasing a combination of foods and flavors reflective of the hotel’s location highlights the banquet staff’s knowledge of and pride in what their “hometown” has to offer. It’s an easy way to inject an additional element of variety to the menu. This is often overlooked when planning and preparing to serve big events. Celebrate what makes the destination or property different.
4. Sometimes Outside-the-Box Means Going Outside
During the months when weather is likely to be the most accommodating, suggest that certain meals and beverage services be conducted outdoors on the property. Possible locations include the pool, patio, fire pit, golf course, or lawn.
Creating an atmosphere in the open is memorable and means more socializing for attendees, which almost always is in keeping with the goals and objectives of the event sponsors. Outdoor events often make creative platforms for fun themed or teambuilding events. Note: Have a plan for inclement weather, of course.
5. Create Personal Menus
We have followed the lead of our corporation and, now five years in, have perfected the concept of providing what is known as a “personal preference menu” for large gatherings. This program affords many hundreds of diners the pleasure of choosing from a selection of entrees and sides—and we’ve done it for banquets as large as 650 guests.
No longer is such an event relegated to the serving of simply a half-chicken and the fixings. Personal preference menus reflect the restaurant experience by providing choices such as sea bass, prime rib or, yes, elegantly prepared poultry. In fact, the above referenced event included the added time pressure of catering and clearing for a scheduled, major after-dinner entertainment presentation.
In addition to the food and beverage director, it is advisable to meet other members of the F&B team. A flawless, seamless event is a group effort and it will be helpful to know some of the others who will be working with your attendees. The timing alone of these events is a wonder of organization and the perfect execution of many skill sets; it requires the peak performance of many personalities under pressure. And when it comes together it goes a long way toward changing the image and perception of large scale fine dining in a hotel environment.
I offer two final instructional examples of elements that went into gargantuan recent events that benefited from solid thinking and planning on the part of the team.
A Japan-based consumer electronics company held its sales meeting of approximately 550 attendees here (we are in a desert environment) and sushi was an absolute must on the menu. If we couldn’t deliver sushi, we wouldn’t get the business.
Our research told us that one of the best sushi chefs in the country worked in the small town of La Jolla, CA, a seaside suburb of San Diego. We negotiated a price, got approval from the client, and flew in the chef and his team, who blended seamlessly with ours. Not only did we provide sushi that night, but we created a one-of-a-kind sushi dessert to cap the evening.
Looking back now, I bet we could have come up with a sushi martini, if we had to. As it was, we had ordered plenty of sake.
And less than a year ago, we hosted an international gathering of 600 medical laboratory technicians. The attendees were literally from all over the globe: Asia, the Middle East, Eastern and Western Europe, to name a few. What to serve? Well, it was clear we couldn’t provide everyone with a taste of their home cooking so we decided to give them ours. We built several working stations at which we prepared good old American hamburgers, hot dogs, and macaroni and cheese. Plus, we included what seems to be everyone’s international favorite: spaghetti and meatballs. It was a home run.
It is all a lot of work to be sure, but the payback is so well worth it. The feedback was superlative; the experiences were rich, and so were the rewards for the resort in referred and repeat business. Build it and they will come. Give them what they want and they will partake. Guests appreciate the effort, especially when it looks effortless.