8 Reasons to Cater your next Event with Food Trucks or Food Stations!

Event Management is tricky sometimes and it is hard to steer your corporate clients away from the norm.  The sit-down catering experience is beautiful and neat but let’s be honest it’s a serious affair. It takes incredible skill and timing to ensure each plate is perfectly prepared and still warm when it arrives at the table. Then you’ve got to hope all those diners are happy with the limited choices you were able to offer in such a setting. There are a lot of moving parts. Having something go wrong with the meal is what event management nightmares are made of.

There’s a time and place for sit-down menus, certainly (and most of them work out beautifully, much to an event planner’s relief), but your next corporate or social event might benefit from something just a little different this time around…

We’re talking about food trucks and or food stations!

Guest Interaction

Instead of a room full of guests sitting around waiting for food to magically appear in front of them, guests can get up, choose which truck they want to visit, and converse with other guests while they wait in line. The best part is that everyone can choose what they want to eat and have it customized as necessary (extra cheese, please!).

Cost Effective

It only takes a couple of quotes from caterers before you notice the trend: traditional catering services are pricier than food trucks. Since everyone is free to order what they’d like, you might also have less food waste.  

Great for Outdoor AND Indoor Events

Most food trucks can be driven inside, so even if you have an indoor venue, food trucks are still welcome as long as the door is big enough! In the event that it’s not, some food trucks are a step ahead of that little inconvenience with a portable cart or booth that can easily be set up inside.

Increased Exposure…for You

Food trucks usually have a big presence on social media. That’s how they communicate with their fans about where they’re going to be. It’s likely they will post about being at your event; this creates more buzz about what you do, which is an especially important consideration in corporate event planning. That little bit of free advertising is probably not something you’ll get from a traditional caterer.

Speedy Delivery

Food trucks are in the business of producing a high volume of delicious food quickly and efficiently. They do it every day. Your guests will probably be able to eat sooner than if they would have to wait for a server at their tables.  It is a win not only for the event planner but for your guests!

Quality and Variety

First of all, you’ve got a lot to choose from during the event planning stages when you’re deciding which trucks to have on hand: there is a food truck for everything these days; curry, vietnamese noodles, dumplings, Italian food, churros, tacos, creme brulee, crepes, you name it you will find it  (Take a look at this list of the best food trucks in Melbourne in 2015…by now, you know there are even more!) You could get three or four different trucks: one for specialty beverages or snacks, a couple for main dishes, and one for dessert.

Next, the average food truck has several offerings on the menu, and your guests will enjoy choosing the items that sound best to them. You can have a mini food festival right there at your conference, trade show, or party. 

New Relationships

Connecting with food truck owners helps you build your network, which could have far-reaching effects. Not only is it good to know the owners (especially if you want them for your next event!), but as mentioned above, they might connect their fans and followers with you, as well. 

Memorable

People might forget your decorations, but they won’t forget the food or the experience, when planning an event with Phoenix ‘The Experience’ is our number 1 priority. Food trucks have been around for a while, but there’s still a novelty about them that gets people talking. Having them associated with your event makes the day that much more memorable. In the end, that’s what both the host and the event planner really want: an evening, a day, or a weekend that lingers in the hearts and minds of the guests who were lucky enough to attend.