Global F&B: Need to Know

Ask the right questions when planning international F&B components

by Paul D. Kretkowski

Lauren Deaton, CMP, strategic account director at Courtesy Associates in Washington, D.C., apologizes if some of the questions she needs to ask about international food and beverage service sound a little, well, basic.

"Some of these I wouldn't ask if I was going to London, but I do for Eastern Europe, Africa and emerging markets in Asia," where business practices, service standards and food-safety procedures all may differ from U.S. norms, Deaton says.

"Do they outsource their catering or is it in-house? Sometimes they'll present it as all one package or [that they have] an exclusive caterer, and they don't," she says. "What is their average attendance for an average event, and what is the average [number of] meals they serve per week over all the events they do? Is it that they did 5,000 meals at once, but that was five years ago? So are you at their normal range, or below that normal range—what band do you fall into?"

These questions just graze the surface of what planners typically ask about international F&B, a process that goes far beyond whether the vegetables are washed and peeled, all the way to the logistical core of F&B service. And even internationally experienced planners shouldn't assume that because the meals at their conference in Country A were great, the same will hold true for lunch and dinner at their upcoming convention in Country B.

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F&B and Other Budget Tips Wednesday, June 26, 2013 1:00 PM EDT, 12:00 PM CDT, 11:00 AM MDT, 10:00 AM PDT

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In this webinar, moderated by top meetings industry educator Bonnie Wallsh, you’ll discover the how top meeting and catering professionals deliver superlative F&B experiences without blowing the budget. As any good meeting planner knows, F&B may not be the most-important part of a multifaceted program, but it’s the one thing attendees will call out if it doesn’t meet expectations! Bonnie will also cover some of her non-F&B money-saving secrets.

As a result of participating in this session, attendees will learn the following:

• Communicate with the chef to plan creative food and beverage functions within your budget
• Anticipate and fulfill individual special needs of attendees
• Identify methods to improve the accuracy of your guarantees
• Discover the latest trends in food and beverage
• Other “tricks of the trade” to save on your overall budget

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