5 Things You Need to Ask Your Caterer

If you're in need of catering for a large event you planned from ground-up, you'll need a reliable caterer to help you plan the culinary side of your event, from portion sizes to courses, dietary needs, and delivery. These five major questions will help you get started on figuring out what you need to know about your potential caterer.

1. Will your meals match the formality of my event? A pretty straightforward question. Determine how formal your event is. If your event is a birthday, baby shower or bridal party with a business casual, or more informal dress code and venue, you can get away with serving junk foods. But an engagement party, networking event, or corporate meeting will require more formal fare.

Meals that require utensils are generally a good idea. You'll want to keep your hands free of food for handshakes, after all. But you'll have to account for extra forks, knives, plates, and other kitchenware, unless your caterer provides those things at an extra cost. Never use paper or plastic utensils for formal events.

2. How flexible are you? Is your caterer willing to adapt to your dietary requirements? Reputable caterers will offer you gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free, and vegetarian options. In terms of deadlines and delivery, reliable caterers will provide you with an exact turnover time for standard orders, the minimum being 48 hours. Some caterers will even provide free delivery to certain areas, like French Lunch does.

3. How is the food being prepared? Ensure that the food your caterer is preparing is being prepared fresh, and separately from other foods, if you're worried about allergies. Every reputable caterer will do this once you notify the business of your dietary requirements. As mentioned above, caterers will ask for notice 24 to 48 hours prior to your event, for enough prep time.

4. Is the food coming from a licensed kitchen? Your caterer should be licensed. The food you are purchasing should not be coming out of an unlicensed kitchen, but a proper shop or restaurant, owned or rented. Licensing is done by government institutions, and guarantees the cleanliness and safety of freshly-prepared foods. You don't get any of these guarantees when you choose an unlicensed caterer cooking out of a household's kitchen. Remember, you are liable for any illness that result from an unlicensed kitchen's food at your event.

5. How much time do you need? How quickly do you need your caterer to deliver? Most formal fare requires at least 48 hours of cooking time if you want the freshest meals possible. For example, French Lunch has to marinate and slow cook the meats found in coq au vin and beef provençale for at least 24 hours, so we ask for an advance notice of 48 hours.

Ultimately, catering is a fun experience that allows you to enjoy food that you wouldn't normally eat. After all, the average catering service is licensed and follows strict regulations. You'll have to go out of your way to find one that fails to meet your standards.

Are you located in the Greater Toronto Area? Need catering in Oakville, Mississauga, or Burlington? We'll make it easy for you. Try French Lunch Catering today!

4 Appetizers to Try Before Dinner

We're sure that you'll enjoy these appetizers (hors d'oeuvres if you're French) even if you're no gourmet buff. With that said, let's begin!

Blini with Red Caviar & Sour Cream. We know what you're thinking. Caviar on a tiny Russian pancake? But why? This gourmet starter dates back to imperial times, when it was served in czars' palaces. Eventually, the dish found its way into France — no surprise there, considering how close the two countries were in the late 19th century. Our blini can be defrosted and heated up easily. Ready within 30 seconds!

Potatoes au Gratin with Porcini. This tasty potato-mushroom pie (made with Italian porcini mushrooms) can be eaten by itself, but we've chosen to turn it into a starter instead. Gratin refers to the browned crust on any French dish, which is composed of breadcrumbs, cheese, and sometimes eggs and butter. Eat before or with stews like coq au vin!

Escargots with Butter. As a French food shop, if there's one item that has to be on our menu no matter what, it's this one (duh!). Here we have traditional Helix shells stuffed with butter, garlic, parsley, red peppers, and salt. If it's your first time eating escargot, you may need a drink to go along with it. Preferably alcoholic. 😉

Pacific Salmon Stuffed Shell. Stuffed shell foods are found all across European gourmet. Escargot is one unique example. This starter is more conventional, but just as good. The stuffed shell's plain name hides its true nature as a flavour-packed dish, with white wine, vegetables, shrimp, potatoes, Swiss and mozzarella cheeses coming together in a lightly spiced salmon pie. Squirt a bit of lemon juice on top and serve!

What's your favourite starter? Is it on this list? In any case, we hope our picks inspired you to try one of these fine hors d'oeuvres in the future. Drop by 187 Cross Avenue and chat with us any time. We love seeing new faces!

Before you leave, please consider voting for us. We've been nominated as Best New Business/Store 2016/2017 by the Oakville Beaver's Readers' Choice Award panel. Voting has already begun. 😄 

Until next time...

Au revior (we look forward to feeding you),

French Lunch