Corporate Catering Menu Ideas
From large company-wide gatherings to smaller office meetings, the food is central to any corporate event. Offering various mouthwatering menu items can draw more employees to a non-mandatory event and make a lasting impact that will have the office talking for days. For these reasons, choosing the right menu for a company event is crucial.
If you’re trying to plan an event for your company, you’ve come to the right place. This ultimate guide will tell you everything you need to know about corporate catering menu ideas to get you ready for the big day. Keep reading to find out the best breakfast catering options, catering ideas for office lunch, corporate dinner catering options and more.
7 Office Catering Ideas
If you’re planning a corporate event, check out these seven catering menu ideas for large and small groups alike.
1. Breakfast Buffet
Brighten up your team’s morning by providing a catered breakfast buffet. You can stick with a bar of classic all-American breakfast staples like scrambled eggs, hash browns and bacon, go for a healthier option with a bar of Greek yogurt, granola and fresh fruit or spice things up with a breakfast burrito bar.
If you’re going for a more scaled-back breakfast event, you can choose a continental breakfast bar of pastries and bagels or a breakfast sandwich bar that allows guests to construct their favorite combination of bread, eggs, meat, cheese and toppings. Regardless of which option you choose, you can’t go wrong with any of these office breakfast catering ideas.
2. Boxed Lunches
Boxed lunches are a classic office lunch catering idea because they are portable, convenient and delicious. When you order boxed lunches for your catering event, you can customize which sandwich each attendee gets to ensure everyone is happy with their meal. From meat lovers to vegetarians, everyone can find a sandwich they’ll enjoy.
The best part about boxed lunches is they are a full meal. Along with a sandwich, most boxed lunches include a pickle, cookie and side item. Depending on the type of event you’re hosting, you could opt for a more upscale boxed lunch that includes slightly higher-end items, such as cheesecake, fresh vegetables and premium sides.
3. Elegant Gatherings
If you plan on catering a corporate event that falls on the fancier side, you might want to have the meals plated. Executive lunches create an air of elegance by featuring higher-end foods, such as chicken cordon bleu, baked salmon, marinated tuna steak and more. These lunches will make your guests feel more like they are at a five-star restaurant than a corporate event.
Similar to a restaurant experience, executive lunches include bread, a tossed salad, a side vegetable and a side starch, such as wild rice or mashed potatoes. Sending out an invitation and RSVP card for your executive lunch will let you gather attendees’ meal preferences and generate excitement around the event. Consider using digital invitations to cut down on paper waste and add convenience.
4. Taco Tuesday
Who doesn’t love a fiesta? Taco Tuesday is one of the best catering ideas for an office party because it allows so much room for customization.
The choices for a taco bar are endless — soft or hard shells, type of protein, black or pinto beans and toppings like sour cream, cheese, guacamole and salsa!
You can jazz up your Taco Tuesday by choosing a fajita bar instead. Switching out tacos for sizzling fajitas can be a great way to breathe some life into an office party. You can also consider including other Mexican-style dishes like enchiladas or burritos. Whatever you do, make sure you supply plenty of chips and salsa for grazing.
5. Pasta Party
When it comes to office lunch ideas for a group, it’s hard to beat a pasta bar. Along with being a beloved choice for almost everyone, pasta is incredibly versatile, which means everyone in your office will be able to find a pasta dish they love. Since pasta is a blank slate for flavor, guests can personalize their noodles with anything from grated Parmesan and meatballs to creamy pesto and chicken.
Setting up a pasta bar couldn’t be easier. All you need to do is supply a selection of noodle shapes, such as penne, rotini or tortellini, sauces, such as marinara or Alfredo, and toppings like fresh cheese or veggies. If you’d prefer a family-style pasta dinner, try ordering large dishes of Italian favorites like lasagna, baked ziti or Tuscan chicken.
6. Family Day Picnic
If you plan on hosting an outdoor picnic for your company’s staff and their families, take the stress out of food preparation by working with a trustworthy catering company. Letting a catering company handle prepping pork barbecue, ribs, chicken and kebabs to perfection will free you to focus on figuring out fun corporate activities for employee bonding.
Who says you can only enjoy a good barbecue during the summer? Bring your backyard barbecue indoors by hosting an indoor picnic. You can instantly transport your office party to warmer weather by serving up summertime favorites like pulled pork sandwiches, teriyaki kebabs, chicken and ribs.
7. Build-a-Bowl Event
These days, bowls are one of the hottest restaurant menu items. You can capitalize on this foodie trend by hosting a build-a-bowl event for your company. Doing so will allow your employees to fill a bowl with their favorite ingredients, relax and socialize with each other in a laid-back environment.
Get creative and change your office lunch catering ideas for a build-a-bowl event to fit the seasons — a hearty grain bowl bar for the fall, a cozy soup bar for the winter and a refreshing salad bar for the warmer months. You can put your spin on any of these bowl-building bars, depending on what you think your employees would appreciate most. For example, including bread bowls with the soup bar could be a fun and delicious touch.
Types of Catered Office Events
Now that you have all these fabulous office party catering ideas, you only need an event to host. Here’s a list of occasions that typically call for company catering:
- Office birthdays
- Milestone achievements
- Holiday parties
- Going-away parties
- Family gatherings
- Company-wide meetings
- Award presentations
- Corporate galas
- Large fundraising events
- Employee appreciation parties
Cater Your Event With Apple Spice
If you have an office event coming up, partner with Apple Spice Catering to supply delicious, fresh and innovative food for your employees. At Apple Spice Catering, we are catering experts who pride ourselves on providing everything from boxed lunches to breakfast extravaganzas. We specialize in delivering homemade meals that will delight your guests and ensure they leave feeling full.
Find the Apple Spice Catering location nearest you to check out your catering menu options today.
