It’s pretty much a given that food and beverage costs, especially during the current hotel seller’s market, are rising faster than most meeting budgets. At the same time, planners are more challenged than ever to provide dishes and libations that meet or exceed attendee expectations.
“People are much more knowledgeable about food today,” says Patti Shock, a meetings consultant and professor emeritus at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. “With the Food Network, Top Chef and social media sites, people see and hear about new things and want to try them. No longer can you order mystery meat with buttered noodles or rubber chicken with peas. People want fresh, organic, farm-to-table food.”
So how can planners satisfy increasingly sophisticated palates without breaking the bank? Meetings Today spoke with several veteran event planners on ways to do just that.
Edible Centerpieces
Looking for a way to avoid the need for costly floral centerpieces and also infuse an event with an opportunity for interactive networking? One way to accomplish both is to make the centerpiece edible, says Angela Hofford, director of business development for AlliedPRA Arizona, a DMC.
“For a client who likes to encourage networking at the dinner table, we put Lazy Susans in the middle of the tables with all kinds of breads and breadsticks,” she says. “We had vases filled with breadsticks and different kinds of dipping oils from a local olive oil mill. People had fun taking the bread and mixing up their own dipping combinations. They were literally breaking bread together.”
On other occasions, AlliedPRA has used the edible centerpiece concept during the dessert course.
“We did a ‘design your own shortcake dessert,’ with various shortcakes like lemon and poppy seed and different toppings like berries and flavored whipped creams,” Hofford says. “People liked the fact that they had some control over their own dessert. It really gets the conversation going.”
Hotel Food Trucks
While food trucks are one of the hottest trends for giving events a casual, down-home feel, they are not necessarily economical or user-friendly, according to Hofford.
“The truck kitchens are very small and long lines can form as the cooks are preparing and serving as people wait,” she says. “The other problem is that using outside trucks does not help you meet your food and beverage requirement with the hotel.”
One solution is to bring in a varied assortment of food trucks that are actually managed and staffed by the hotel culinary team. In addition, the event can include live music and casual games that add a festival atmosphere.
“In this way, you’re not getting dinged on your F&B requirement and are still giving people variety and the food truck experience,” Hofford says. “Some of the food may actually be prepared in the truck, but some of it is prepped beforehand, so things get turned around more quickly. The hotel chefs love this in that they’re getting to create something new.”
A more limited way to provide the food truck experience is to bring in a coffee truck or one devoted to a specialty cocktail, advises Thomas Pitchford, owner of Pitch Perfect Events.
“People really enjoy the coffee truck experience where they can get a customized cappuccino or tea drink,” he says. “The attendees can get a personalized logo on the drink foam.”
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Interactive Stations
Providing interactive, competitive food options during events delivers a lot of bang for the buck while also adding teambuilding elements and attendee gifts, Hofford says.
These can include starting the evening with a margarita and salsa-making competition where teams concoct their own custom-blended cocktails and guacamoles and salsas. Each team has the chance to taste what the others have made.
“People come up with incredible flavors and combos,” Hofford says. “The end result is you not only get a teambuilding event, but it takes care of your first course.”
Providing a “Spice Rub Station” at an event where attendees can develop their own spice rubs is also effective, she adds. The resulting recipes can be collected and featured as a menu item or become a spice rub gift for attendees to take home.
Infused Waters
Appealing to the fact that increasingly health-conscious attendees are bypassing sugary drinks, serving water infused with fruits and other natural flavorings is not only popular at events, but ends up saving money, according to Pitchford.
“Instead of lemonade, we’ll infuse waters with thyme, cucumber slices or fruit and serve them in glass canisters,” he says. “We call them spa waters. It’s actually a cost-saver because it means that fewer people will opt for a can or bottle of soda, which can get expensive. It’s also a great conversation piece, with people comparing the different infused waters.”
Specialty Cocktails
While having a full bar is usually expensive, there’s no need to limit alcoholic beverages to beer and wine, according to Hofford. The solution is to provide one specialty cocktail, preferably one tied to the location of the meeting or the group itself.
“You can have mixologists at various stations making the specialty drink—you can give it a name and get very creative,” she says. “Having just one specialty cocktail in addition to beer and wine really saves money over providing a full bar. Another advantage is that it really streamlines the service.”
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F&B Cuisine and Program Trends
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