As a catering company, most of our clients hire us for
celebratory events such as weddings, graduation parties, engagement parties,
Bar Mitzvahs, etc. However, we are often asked to help out at much more solemn
occasions such as funeral receptions and memorial services. During such
occasions, food can be an afterthought for the grieving family and therefore it
is best to choose a simple, crowd- pleasing menu.
You should consider a few things when choosing a menu.
First, keep in mind that you may not have an exact guest count and therefore
should choose dishes that can be stretched such as pastas and salads.
Oftentimes people like to choose individual finger sandwiches however this can
lead to disaster when the servings come up short. Comfort foods that are easy
to serve are very common; staples include baked pasta dishes and macaroni &
cheese.
When managing the buffet it is important to have help.
Always make sure that food is getting refilled if possible and the buffet
presentation remains neat. Don’t hesitate to employ the use of help- a general
rule of thumb is: one additional assistant for every 50 expected guests, try to
keep this in mind when making a rough estimate of attendees.
Beverages should reflect the same simplicity as the
food. If the service takes place in
winter of fall, be sure to have an abundance of coffee, tea, and hot chocolate.
Conversely, if it is in the spring or summer, offer refreshing drinks like lemonade
along with lots of water.
Although memorial services are an “event” that no one hopes
to have the duty of putting on, when they arise it’s important to know how to
prepare for them in terms of hosting. Food has a unique way of bringing people
together and serves as a communion in times of mourning and remembrance. Keep
in mind these tips when presented with such an occasion and hopefully your event
can be a little bit less stressful!
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