A celebration at home can be a veritable challenge, especially if there are many guests. In such cases, professional companies offer all the necessary things, from menus to staff or advice for the decoration.
Especially now that Christmas approaches and the social compromises multiply, a celebration at home can become a headache if we do not have time or experience in order to organise every single detail.
There are many companies that provide a professional service organising such events and offering a detailed list of services and menus, with open proposals that can be modified, both at the level of contents and at the level of prices.
These companies move to particular homes and also to other places, such as social clubs, as sometimes the amount of guests does not make it possible to have the celebration at home. Some focus on events with 300 guests, maximum, while others have a maximum limit of 2,000 guests and some do not establish a fixed number of guests.
Classical and avant-garde ones
It is rather usual to offer several sample menus for customers to chose, from the most classical ones to minimalist canapés, some companies have specialised in Japanese food, avant-garde food, Arabian flavours, confectionery and pastry delicatessen and even especial caterings for thematic dinners or 'finger food', an ideal option when it comes to preparing a buffet celebration.
Once this has been agreed on, the decoration must be chosen. The looks of the place are essential. One can chose between rustic decorations or, depending on one’s taste, varnished elements or raffia material can be used in order to give an oriental touch to the place. Centrepieces with fruit for the tables of the guests or for the side tables can be used.
One can chose the menu only and ask the company to bring it home. Customers choose the dishes that they want and the company sends them home the day of the celebration. In such cases, the food does not need to be elaborated immediately, for it consists of sandwiches, canapés or cold dishes and it is only necessary to have the food ready on plates and trays or ask the company to bring its own china if necessary.
Waiter service
Some other times it is necessary to order a full catering, including the waiters, cooks and other aspects such as the aforementioned china on which the food will be presented. Waiters are necessary when the number of guests surpasses a certain amount in order to guarantee that they will be perfectly taken care of. In general, for approximately 40 guests, there should be a waiter to serve the drinks, a waiter to offer the food and one more person to work in the kitchen, if necessary.
For celebrations in which the guests are sitting at the table and the menu includes hot dishes, the cook of the company may need to use the kitchen at home. It should be taken into account that, even though the menu is already elaborated, some dishes always need a final touch for they must be heated up before being served, and some other dishes must be fried on the spot. Those dishes are served in trays, but deserts can be served in individual dishes. A very elegant option is offering a desert buffet.
In case certain industrial utensils may be required in order to work faster, the company will bring them. Besides, and in case children may attend such events, these companies usually offer children menus adapted to the taste of the younger ones.
As to prices, apart from the previously chosen menu, these usually include the transport to the particular home, the china, glassware and cutlery. Some companies work in a particular geographical area and if they must move further from such area they charge an additional amount for the transport.
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