Corporate Catering: How an In-Office Catered Lunch Can Be a More Productive Way to Work
Posted by Amelia K. on Thursday, December 4th, 2014 with 4 Comments
When you’re planning lunchtime meetings with clients, your immediate thought is likely to pick up the phone and make a reservation at a local hot spot with yummy food and a lovely atmosphere. But those lunches don’t typically make for great working lunches, and when you’re trying to accomplish a lot with a client (or even just a few colleagues), they’re probably not your best bet in terms of packing the most productivity into your day. But when it comes down to it, what are your options? Well, when you have access to a delicious catering service like Waiter.com, who will bring a delicious meal right to your office, you can easily keep your meetings in-house. Below, we’ll detail exactly why this is an ideal setup for you and your client – and how to do it best.
When it comes to business meetings, sometimes an in-house catered lunch can be a better fit for a more productive gathering.
Image source: Flickr user Calvert Cafe & Catering
Making Meetings Work
There are a lot of meetings where an external sit-down at a neutral location – whether for good or not so good reasons – makes sense. But when you’re trying to accomplish quite a bit with a client over the lunch hour, bringing the food to you just makes sense. Everything you need, including computers and a secure internet connection, are available at your fingertips. The research you’ve already done is easy to access. If you need to pull a colleague in for quick feedback, you don’t have to step away and ‘get back’ to someone. Essentially, the ease of having everything you need to accomplish great things is readily available, which immediately makes your meeting more productive.
And since people tend to work better when they’re well-fed, bringing in a catered lunch will ensure that everyone’s satisfied and ready to stay on task. However, when you’re bringing a client to the office, you don’t want to just order in food from a random restaurant; you want to show them that you planned for the meeting and you value the time they took to come to your office to make the meeting work. This means it’s in your best interest to find the right corporate catering option to really impress your client.
Building the Catered Lunch Menu
As you’re building the menu for your lunch meeting, ask your client if anyone joining has any dietary restrictions or preferences. This will help to create some catering options that everyone at the table will love. Next, think about the foods that offer the most benefits, especially in terms of boosting productivity. For example, lean meats or fish can be a great way to add in protein for energy, without packing on a ton of calories. A salad with a spinach base can offer brain-boosting nutrients, plus fiber to aid in digestion. Packing on fresh veggies and seasonal fruits can also be a tasty way to add more vitamins and antioxidants to your meal.
Finally, make sure to include some yummy whole grain carbohydrates to sustain your energy over the afternoon, like seven-grain rolls or a tasty sandwich that includes ingredients from all of the food groups. No matter what you settle on for the menu, choosing a balanced meal will help you to ensure everyone’s happy and energized to accomplish everything on your list during the meeting.
Set Up Your Space
Don’t forget that when it comes to a successful business meeting, your ambiance will be important as well. Make sure you secure a room in your building in advance that offers a quiet space for collaboration, ensuring that you can get your work done. Also, be sure to choose a space that comfortably seats everyone who will be joining your meeting, and presents an easy spot in which to serve and enjoy your lunchtime meals. Many offices now have meeting spaces that offer refrigerated refreshments, along with technology to easily contact anyone who can’t physically make it to your meeting time. If these are requirements for your lunchtime collaboration, make sure you book a room that can accommodate all of your needs.
As you’re planning your next lunchtime working meeting, Waiter.com is the perfect partner to fill your corporate catering needs. Not only can we supply delicious and nutritious food options, our meals are just as tasty as the restaurant down the street. Planning a productive working meeting has never been easier, or more delectable, than it is today!
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!
I completely agree. Catering a business lunch is very important, whether you’re treating your staff or bringing in a new client. An easy, yet delicious meal can help boost productivity and morale for staff. And when serving new clients, offering something fresh and different is key to making your business stand out. Try to have something for every palette – from savory to sweet to really make your lunch a success!
I completely agree, Kim! A delicious lunch can certainly make all the difference at a big meeting.
It’s good to know that you can bring the food to you and your client when you don’t have time to go out to eat. My boss is busy and he doesn’t have time to go out and meet with clients like he used to. I’ll pass this information along to him so that he can look further into his options for lunch catering to meet with clients.
Yes! Office lunch catering is the best!