4 Strategies Your Corporate Catering Can Learn From Facebook
Posted by Sara on Thursday, February 20th, 2014 with Comments Off on 4 Strategies Your Corporate Catering Can Learn From Facebook Comments
Move over, Google: Silicon Valley has a new king in the world of employee dining. Over the last few years, Facebook has invested heavily in their in-house corporate catering. They hired away one of Google’s top chefs, built a world-class cafeteria, and serve three meals daily (plus a 3pm snack) to their 800-plus employees. Want to take a cue from Facebook and bolster your own corporate catering strategy? Here are a few lessons to learn from the social media giant that can be applied in any office, whether your meal plan includes full catered lunches or a group takeout order.
Facebook’s aptly named Epic Cafe serves delicious meals to employees daily.
Image source: Flickr User Robert Scoble
1) Put someone passionate in charge of food.
At Facebook, head chef Josef Desimone does everything, from crafting daily menus to inviting “food interns” (Facebook employees who love cooking) into the kitchen for a day to learn culinary skills from his staff. Facebook’s food program is so successful — and has become a part of the company culture — because of Desimone’s passion.
In your office, put someone who enjoys food in charge of the corporate catering strategy! Rather than just defaulting to an administrative assistant or office manager, ask around to see if anyone is interested in taking on the responsibility. For a staffer who writes a food blog in her spare time, planning an office lunch might feel more like a welcome break from the daily grind than an added responsibility… and if someone passionate is in charge, chances are good that the quality of the office meals will reflect their enthusiasm.
Find an employee who’s passionate about food, and let them do the ordering!
Image source: Flickr User Joe Mott
2) Cultivate variety and employee input…
At Facebook, Desimone plans a different menu for every meal, every day, and always with a new theme based around a specific ethnic or regional American cuisine. There might be a Southern barbecue lunch followed by sushi for dinner. Desimone also welcomes employee input, once creating a chocolate-themed menu upon a request, with dishes like cocoa-rubbed lamb. “If someone asks me to do their mom’s chicken and dumplings recipe, I’ll do it,” Desimone told Foodgal.com.
In your office, make it a point to keep office meals exciting and unpredictable, but not so exotic that you alienate less-adventuresome eaters. While office lunches should build buzz and anticipation, your main goal is still to provide delicious food that your employees will actually eat!
Don’t settle for pizza or box lunches: serve a diverse menu of office meals.
Image source: Flickr User Chris and Sue
3) … but create some special traditions.
Facebook employees love Thursdays, because Desimone makes nachos for an afternoon snack: a tradition that began in the start-up days with an employee smothering tortilla chips with cheese. Creating culinary traditions builds a sense of community and even family among your coworkers, which is an invaluable benefit of affordable weekly traditions like Bagel Fridays or Burrito Tuesdays.
4) Have a lunch room that reflects your company’s culture.
When Facebook moved into their new headquarters, the cafeteria (called Epic Cafe) was designed by Roman & Williams, the same design firm behind New York’s Ace Hotel. The repurposed wood, concrete floors, and exposed hardware lend a rustic-industrial vibe to the space, and as Fast Company’s design blog noted, it just feels cool. Facebook competes with Google for talent by, at the basic level, being a cooler place to work… and they wanted to reflect that in their cafeteria.
Facebook’s cafeteria reflects its company culture.
Image course: Flickr User Rasmus Andersson
“On the general employee side, we wanted them to have something they felt proud of, a place where ‘I’ get to eat as a destination,” Facebook’s Everett Katigbak told FastCoDesign.com.
Furthermore, Facebook specifically requested that ductwork be left exposed: not only to look cool, but to signify the company’s outlook that their work is never done.
Few companies can hire top designers to trick out their lunchrooms, but every organization can make an effort to create a dedicated space for employees to relax and eat together… and consider how that space reinforces the company culture. If your office is deeply committed to sustainability, make sure you have recycling bins and real plates and mugs instead of paper products; if you value creativity in your employees, buy some magnetic poetry for the fridge. If work-life balance and flexible scheduling to promote family time is important in your office, have the break room’s walls decorated with a rotating gallery of employees’ children’s artwork.
Whatever your needs, you can create your own corporate catering plan with help from the experts at Waiter.com! Our Virtual Cafeteria Service is ideal for companies who want to provide regular meals, while our online ordering and delivery service are perfect for any occasion.
When it comes to feeding employees and coworkers, make your company's food program really count! If your workplace dining plan needs to take it up a notch — or if you don't have one at all — Waiter.com is here to help. From Virtual Cafeteria Service to diverse menus to local takeout & delivery, Waiter.com offers customizable dining solutions for every business and budget. Contact us today to get started!
