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Catering
Menu matters
Event catering is top of the menu, so
how is the industry adapting to changing needs?
etting the food right at
events has always been
a key consideration, but
in recent years the
expectations have increased. Gone
are the days of the tiny solid
croissants and egg mayo
sandwiches. Today, the discerning
delegate wants lamb shank in a
lemon jus, raspberry compote with
their Camembert, and the
vegan-friendly option of cucumber
and quinoa salad should they so
desire.
What venues and caterers serve
is heavily under the spotlight, so how
do they cater for the variety of tastes
and dietary requirements to ensure
delegates are satisfied?
Dean
Hoddle
Head chef,
Silverstone Circuits
For years chefs have worked on a
5-10% uptake on alternative dishes
and these were always created as a
secondary thought, or as a tick boxing
exercise. I openly admit that I was one
of these chefs who felt that catering
for vegetarian or vegan diets was a
distraction to the main menu. Today, it
couldn’t be further from reality.
Plant-based diets are here to stay,
and chefs need to adjust menus to
become more vegan-friendly and stop
regarding these dishes as ‘special
menu’ options.
At Silverstone, prestigious,
large-scale events such as the
Formula 1 British Grand Prix mean
that the kitchen must produce a
menu which is equal in quality,
thought, and quantity for all our
guests – no matter what diet they
may have. It’s simply not good
enough to offer a fruit salad for
vegans when the ticket price is so
high.
banqueting menu, which spans our
portfolio of country mansion houses
and event destinations; and at De Vere
Wokefield Estate, we are creating a
separate vegan menu for guests.
Gabrielle
Gant
Jon-Paul
Reed
Group food & beverage
director, De Vere
We are finding that guests are
increasingly expecting healthier
working lunches throughout the year,
no matter what their dietary
requirements. To achieve this, De
Vere’s Group Nutritionist, Wendy
Martinson OBE, has created
nutritionally balanced menus as part
of the innovative Smart Space
concept, designed for meetings and
event bookings. The menus offer
hearty, nutritionally balanced dishes,
including vegan, vegetarian and
free-from options.
Just 5 years ago, we didn’t
pro-actively cater for vegans, unless
we had a specific request. However,
now approximately 10% of De Vere
food sales are vegan, with the actual
percentage differing across the
portfolio. We already have plans to
expand our vegan offering at De Vere
on the back of the increasing
popularity of and demand for vegan
dishes. We will be including vegan
dishes as part of our central
www.conference-news.co.uk
Community marketing
manager, Linnworks
As an event organiser one of the
biggest challenges is getting catering
right. You can plan a comprehensive,
engaging agenda, only to have it
undermined by a delegate’s lasting
impression of a bad lunch.
There are a few areas that set the
good caterers apart. The days of the
‘beige-buffet’ are over. Keeping
delegates high in energy through the
afternoon hours is a challenge without
adding a heavy lunch into the mix.
Gluten-free, vegan and other dietary
options should never be an
afterthought. As the statistics continue
to rise, high-street chain restaurants
continue to build these options into
menus as standard.
Finally, caterers should be looking to
work with organisers as early into the
planning process as possible. It’s
shocking the number of in-house
caterers that don’t want to know what
you’re looking for until a month before
the event. In-house caterers should be
looking to operate in the same creative
way that independents do, looking at
creative ways to bring catering in as an
extension of your event design
concept.