Choosing a Caterer
When most people think of wedding caterers, what comes to mind
is usually basic information that's not particularly interesting
or beneficial. But there's a lot more to wedding caterers than
just the basics.
Choosing a good caterer is crucial to having a wedding that your
guests are sure to enjoy. Some may argue that the food served at
the wedding is the most important part of the wedding. After all
guests who enjoy their meal are likely to be in better spirits
than guest who have eaten very little or who have not enjoyed
their meal.
Many wedding venues offer onsite catering and more importantly
do not allow offsite caterers to work at your wedding. Since
most couples choose the location for their wedding before
considering their catering options, it is important to ask about
the venues policies regarding outside caterers. This is
important because many venues will only allow you to use their
caterer or a caterer that they recommend. In this situation it
is crucial that you choose the venue for your wedding, not only
on the appearance of the ball rooms but also on the quality of
the food they offer. Although a venue may have picturesque views
and gorgeously decorated rooms if the food is not up to par you
may want to consider a different venue in which to host your
wedding.
A great place to start your search for a qualified caterer is to
ask friends and relatives for their recommendations. Or if you
have recently attended a wedding that served fabulous food, you
might want to contact the host of that wedding to inquire about
their caterer. Recommendations are important because the best
indication of how good the food will be is how well the food was
received in the past.
It seems like new information is discovered about something
every day. And the topic of wedding caterers is no exception.
Keep reading to get more fresh news about wedding caterers.
If you are unable to obtain a few recommendations for caterers
trying using the Internet and phone books to research local
caterers. You could use the Internet and direct calls made to
the caterer to learn about their availability, menu options and
prices. Once you obtain this information you will be able to
eliminate caterers who are already booked for your wedding date
and who are out of your price range. Next you will want to
consider the menu options of the remaining caterers. If you have
a specific menu in mind and none of the caterers have the items
you are looking for available, you might want to check with them
to see if they will be able to prepare your favorite dishes.
Many skilled caterers are fully capable of preparing many dishes
besides what they list on their menu.
Finally, once you have narrowed your choices down to three or
four candidates, call them all back and ask them if they are
available for tasting sessions in the near future. If a caterer
does not offer tasting sessions, strike them off your list
immediately unless you have tasted their food at previous
weddings. Without tasting their food, there is really no way to
decide if the caterer is right for your wedding. It is important
to decide on a few possible menu choices prior to the tasting
session so that you can ask the caterer to prepare these
specific dishes. While there is some merit to tasting general
items from the caterer's menu, it is always best to taste the
exact items that will be prepared at your wedding to ensure that
the food will meet your expectations. It is acceptable to ask
that the caterer prepare a few options for each course to be
served on the day of your wedding. This will aid in the decision
making process. Plan on sampling about two to three bites from
each dish to really get a feel for the flavor of the dish. Also,
try not to schedule more than one tasting session on any
particular day. Trying too many dishes on one day can dull your
taste buds plus you may have difficulty remembering which
caterer prepared which dish.
After each tasting session take notes on the dishes you prepared
and your opinions of these dishes. You might also want to assign
a numerical rating from one to ten for each dish. It is
important that you do this immediately after each session so
that you are sure to remember the details as well as your
opinions of the food. After your final tasting session, you will
want to compare notes from all of the previous tasting sessions.
If you took careful notes, you should be able to determine which
caterer had the best available dishes. In choosing a caterer you
may find that one caterer had delicious entrees but bland
appetizers or salads. You may find that another caterer had a
variety of delicious appetizers but that the entrees all fell
short of your expectations. Still another caterer may not have
had any courses really stand out but had each course receive an
above average rating. In this case you might want to consider
the caterer that had a menu that was well balanced so that none
of your courses wind up being sub par.
Your caterer can make or break your wedding so it is important
to choose them wisely. Recommendations and personal experiences
are some of the best ways to choose a caterer. You should also
consider scheduling tasting sessions to try out the exact dishes
that will be on your menu before you make your final decision.
When word gets around about your command of wedding caterers
facts, others who need to know about wedding caterers will start
to actively seek you out.