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Tags: corporate catering

Whether you are trying to find the perfect menu for your wedding, or something new and different for your spouse’s 50th birthday, choosing the right food can be difficult. But, it doesn’t have to be.

For quite some time, health experts have been trying to show us the health patterns of those who live in Mediterranean regions such as Spain, Greece, and Southern Italy. Beyond just the health benefits, Mediterranean food is beloved around the world for its bold, mouth-watering flavors.

Let’s take a look at how you can add some Mediterranean flair to your event that will have people talking.

Things to Know About Mediterranean Catering

When looking to add some delicious  Mediterranean-style foods to your upcoming event menu -, there are a few things that you need to consider before deciding on your options.

Healthy Doesn’t Have to Mean Bland

Just because you are throwing a party doesn’t mean it has to be all potato chips, pizza, and hot dogs. Mediterranean food brings a ton of bold flavors, while being extremely healthy for you and your guest in multiple ways.

Mediterranean food consists of healthy ingredients, while also containing lighter meat choices such as poultry and seafood. It also contains a healthy amount of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and brown rice. In a variety of ways, these healthy recipes combine ingredients in both creative and delicious combinations.

Some of the easier combinations that many start with when looking to add some of that Mediterranean flair are avocado bruschetta, falafel, Greek salad, or a kabob platter. Whatever your thinking, there are plenty of options to give you guests for any occasion.

Vegetarian Options

First, make sure that you are providing at least one vegetarian option, and catering to the vegan diet is also a good idea.

Include Healthy Choices

Depending on the event, some guests might be up and moving around, possibly dancing. This is where healthier and lighter options come into play. With as many delicious healthy options Mediterranean foods provide, you can be sure you aren’t weighing anyone down.

Consider Drink Pairings

Certain drinks and wines just taste better with certain foods. With the options of seafood, chicken, and lamb, Mediterranean foods can be easily paired with your drinks and wine choices.

Clean Eating

You want to make sure that at least some of your event or party foods are able to be easily handled and consumed so there is not much spillage and mess. A spilled pasta sauce or dripping sandwich can really ruin someone’s evening.

Mediterranean Catering ChoicesThere are many foods that you can choose to  add that bold, tasty Mediterranean flavor to your menu, but here are a few recipes and options that your guests will love.

Mediterranean Orzo Salad

If you are looking for something to replace the boring old pasta that gets served at many a wedding or birthday party, the Mediterranean Orzo Salad is the perfect substitute. Refreshingly vegan, this salad contains bright cherry tomatoes, herbs and of course, olives.

Grilled Chicken Souvlaki & Tzatziki Sauce

For those who are looking for more protein in their catering options, souvlaki is a beloved Greek dish because of its bold flavor. Souvlaki is skewered, making it very easy to eat without  making a mess. When you add the zesty tzatziki sauce that Greeks usually use on either pita bread or souvlaki, you will pack a savory punch to every bite.

Kolokithokeftedes

These zucchini fritters are made with olive oil, feta cheese, and spiced with dill. A light, crispy appetizer that has become very popular for any number of catered events.

Baba Ganoush

This Mediterranean staple is made  with eggplant, tahini, garlic, olive oil and lemon, your guests will be heading back to the table with more pita bread, or chips to keep the dipping going all night long.

Goat Cheese Stuffed Grape Leaves

Extremely nutritious and healthy, grape leaves with their mild, tangy taste stuffed with the creaminess of goat cheese is a hit at any occasion. As with the souvlaki, stuffed grape leaves are easily handled and leave little to no mess.

Remember, wedding or event food can be a real make or break issue for guests. With this in mind, opting for a Mediterranean cuisine for your upcoming event can offer a crowd-pleasing menu full of popular options for everyone.

Contact Silver Spoon Catering to get the party started with some sampling so you can craft the perfect menu.

Tags: corporate catering

A company Christmas party provides your employees with a unique opportunity to get to know each other and your company. This can significantly boost employee morale.

When planning your holiday party, the food is one of the first things you’ll need to consider. Planning menus, shopping for ingredients, preparing food and serving guests takes a lot of time and effort. In fact, it’s often the most stressful part of planning a company party.

The right caterer can make your party a success. Hiring a caterer allows you to focus on other important aspects of your event. This makes it possible to throw a Christmas party that your guests are sure to remember.

The right holiday theme can help take your company party from ordinary to extraordinary. Your guests are sure to appreciate the extra effort you put into planning. The following are our favorite company Christmas party themes.

Masquerade Ball

 Throw a truly magical company party with this fun theme. Encourage your guests to come adorned with their own decorative masks. A masquerade ball theme includes traditional Christmas colors with lots of gold and purple thrown in. This type of party calls for appetizers, hors d’oeuvres and finger foods. We have a number of options for you to choose from on our holiday catering menu.

Santa’s Workshop 

Get your employees into the Christmas spirit with a holiday party that encourages giving. Have your employees and their guests each bring a toy to be donated to a local toy drive. Decorate your venue with red and white, twinkling lights and festive greenery. Offer your guests comforting entrees such as Parmesan crusted chicken or bourbon maple glazed ham.

White Christmas

 Transform your party into a winter wonderland. Decorate with white ornaments, white linens, white tableware and sprigs of flocked greenery. Offer your guests light colored dishes for the best effect. Good choices include cauliflower steaks and a roast turkey feast.

Please keep Coivd Guidlines in mind while hosting your event:

Keep Surfaces Clean & Sanitized

Although cleanliness is important whenever serving food, it’s even more crucial during a pandemic. Event planners could benefit from developing and enforcing procedures aimed at preventing the spread of disease.

• Do Not Allow Guests to Serve Themselves
  When guests serve themselves, they spread germs from one person to the next via serving utensils. Instead of serving guests buffet-style, consider having your event catered and designate one person to serve each guest. Another popular option, you can provide guests with pre-made boxed lunches. These pre-made meals provide guests with the perfect portion while keeping meals separate.
• Encourage Frequent Hand Washing
  Make sure that both guests and staff have easy access to handwashing stations.
• Make Sure Your Staff Wears a Mask
  Although it’s not possible to eat while wearing a mask, event planners should make sure staff wear masks at all other times. .
• Clean & Disinfect Serving and High Touch Areas

Clean and disinfect all high touch areas before, during, and after the event. Make sure to use quality CDC-approved cleaners and disinfectants.

Keep Staff and Guests Informed

Even with the best precautions in place, you can’t make your event truly safe without communicating your plans with your staff and guests. Make sure everyone knows the procedures you’ve put in place before your event. Signs can let guests and staff know how to properly wear PPE and maintain at least six feet of distance between themselves and other guests. Signage can also direct staff and guests to handwashing stations.

Silver Spoon Caterers offers catering services for weddings, parties, corporate events, and more. Our team works hard to ensure the safety and satisfaction of every guest. Please contact us to learn how we can help make your next event a success!

Silver Spoon Catering offers holiday catering services for company parties. Our holiday catering menu features a number of choices including gluten free and vegetarian options. Please contact us for more information about holiday party catering.

Tags: corporate catering

As Covid19 numbers decline many businesses are welcoming their employees back into their offices, as well as planning corporate events. Although the corporate world is not 100% back to normal, many people are eager to get out of their house and back to networking to promote their business or look for partners that can help their business.

Networking with Covid19 adds additional complexities to hosting a networking event. Along with complying with vaccine mandates and whether to require masks, you must plan for how you will handle drink tickets, what kind of food and drinks to serve as well as activities to get people “mingling”.

Attending a networking event can be exciting and stressful all at the same time. Hosting an event is still exciting, but can be a lot more stressful. One of the easiest ways to reduce your stress level is by hiring a full service caterer to handle all of your drink and food preperation, serve guests and handle all the clean up.

When working with a corporate event caterer to plan the menu, do what you can to make the eating easy on your guests. Here are a few food items to avoid serving or consuming at your next networking event. Avoid the embarrassment of broccoli in teeth or bolognaise on sports coats.

Avoid:

• Items that feature heavy, bold sauces like ribs or spaghetti;
• Items such as pastry covered in powdered sugar;
• Items that contain seeds (A poppy kernel isn’t the best accessory.);
• Items that require the use of a fork and knife.

Instead, opt for bite-sized items that can be eaten easily with a toothpick or fingers; serve lighter pasta dishes (Think penne or ziti in an oil-based sauce.); and offer guests the choice of a plate or a bowl. You want your guests to mingle and make connections, to eat and enjoy themselves. The key is convenience. Stage the space with plenty of napkins. And don’t forget about the trash; make sure bins are plentiful.

Planning a networking event that needs catering in Northern VA? Consider the menu options available from Silver Spoon Caterers:

• Coconut shrimp (made with white rum and coconut milk)
• Lump crab empanada (made with puff pastry)
• Mini crab cake (served with a lemon-garlic aioli)
• Signature meatballs (all beef, served with client’s choice of Cran-BBQ, Romesco with Manchego, or Teppanyaki sauce)
• Caribbean chicken skewer (marinated in Caribbean spices with grilled pineapple)
• Asparagus & Phyllo (hand rolled filo with ricotta & Parmesan)
• Garden Mushroom Tart (made with shitake & crimini mushrooms and manchego cheese)
• Mini Zucchini Cakes (served with an herb aioli)
• Fresh Fruit & Cheese Platter (artisan display of seasonal fresh fruits and a variety of international and domestic cheeses with crackers

Our carefully curated menu and well trained staff have what it takes to make a networking event hassle-free. From hairnets to nitrile coated gloves our staff will provide the best hospitality and service for your event.

Tags: corporate catering

Who says business catering has to cost a fortune? The Coronavirus pandemic has puckered up corporate catering budgets harder than a lemon heavy kombucha. The tough economic fallout has not been lost executive catering companies, many of whom are experiencing their own revenue being sliced and diced. Still, employers are dedicated to providing tasty and memorable feasts for their hard working teams albeit on a budget, and executive caterers are graciously up for the task.

Whether you need event catering services for a large, but socially distanced crowd, or a tasty lunch for your small team, here’s how you can make corporate catering affordable. 

Go for the Noodles

When it comes to executing catering, the cheapest dishes are noodle based. They’re also some of the most delicious and popular corporate catering options, and this was true pre-COVID-19. Be it rice plentiful cultural dishes from the eastern world of Thailand and India, or tasty favorites from the old world of Italia. 

While noodle based dishes are filling, they are often light on the meat. Meat is one of the most expensive components of executive catering, which brings us to our second suggestion for affordable corporate catering.

Vegetarian 

Meat can be expensive. This is especially true when it comes to event catering for large gatherings. Luckily, your executive catering partners know how to create culinary masterpieces from their garden produce. Vegetarian dishes tend to be lighter on your staff’s stomach, meaning your employees can avoid that after-lunch energy slump.
A soup and salad lunch is an excellent way to feed your hungry crew in a health and financially conscious way. 

Tacos

Tacos. Enough said, right? Hard or soft shell, it doesn’t matter. Everyone loves tacos, and your catering budget loves them too. A taco bar allows for a mix of everything. It’s easy to appeal to both your vegetarian staff and the meat lovers in your office. Ground beef and shredded chicken are some of the cheapest options when it comes to meat, and tacos call for lighter meat portions. A catered taco meal is fun, creative, and affordable.

App it Up

Appetizers and small plates add variety to your lunch without breaking the bank. This is a great way to add meat to your corporate or event catering menu on a tight budget. Appetizers also go great with a soup and salad lunch, and can add some comfort and soul to your office.

Don’t Order in Excess 

Pre-COVID-19, it was a common trend in executive catering for business owners and event staff to order excess amounts of food. This is understandable as no one wants to run out of food during the party. But in these times of economic hardship, it’s wise to order only what you need. This is a good way to be budget conscious, as well as cut down on food waste.
Not sure how much food you need? Consult with your executive catering partners. Tell them your head count and menu needs. They’ll be able to advise you on how much food you will need to order.

Hungry?

Are you in the midst of planning a catering event for your hungry guests or staff? The Silver Spoon can help! Drop us a line, and tell us your cuisine needs and crowd size. We’ll prepare a tasty feast that is sure to satisfy your appetite. 

Tags: corporate catering

Thanksgiving provides the perfect opportunity to thank staff for their hard work. This is especially true this year, as many employees have had to work through strange and potentially unsafe conditions caused by the global pandemic. For essential workers, staying home simply isn’t an option. Employers should take Thanksgiving as an opportunity to show their staff how much they truly appreciate them.

Providing a holiday meal is an excellent way to thank staff for their hard work and for not taking their vacation the week of Thanksgiving. However, it’s important that employers adhere to safety guidelines and recommendations to prevent the spread of disease.

Corporate Catering During the Pandemic

Most people agree that it’s not a good idea to offer meals buffet-style during the pandemic. Instead, employers should consider offering boxed lunches or other pre-packaged meals to staff. These individually packaged meals allow for adequate social distancing.  This is a great way to say thanks, while keeping everybody safe.

Although employers may want to prepare a holiday feast themselves, this isn’t advised. Catering companies, like Silver Spoon Caterers, understand how to prepare and package food safely and staff members often feel safer eating food prepared by a professional caterer. Fortunately, there are several safe catering options employers can offer during the week of Thanksgiving.

Keeping Everybody Safe

Although events have officially resumed in Virginia, it’s still recommended to keep attendance to a minimum. Employers should only offer meals to employees during their work day. It’s also important to ensure employees have enough space to social distance.

Instead of offering one meal time for every employee, employers might want to offer meals to small groups at different times throughout the day. This helps prevent overcrowding in the break room and ensures everyone gets a chance to enjoy a special meal.

When serving staff, it’s important to keep in mind that different people have different dietary needs and requirements. Many times, vegetarians and individuals with food allergies must miss out because employers don’t provide them with anything safe to eat. It’s important to offer a variety of options including vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free choices. This helps ensure everyone leaves work fully satisfied.

Thanksgiving Catering

Silver Spoon Caterers offers several corporate catering options. Employers can choose between breakfast, lunch, dinner, and appetizers. Boxed meal options include breakfast boxed meals, sandwich boxed lunches, individually boxed mixed grill salads, and a variety of entrees. Each single boxed meal is freshly prepared by an experienced chef shortly before delivery. All lunch and entrée boxed meals come with dessert.

An excellent option for Thanksgiving, meetings, or anytime employers want to let their staff know how much they’re appreciated, Silver Spoon Caterers’ Single Boxed Menu features a variety of favorites as well as several vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free options.

Silver Spoon Caterers strives to provide exceptional service and high-quality food to individuals and businesses throughout Northern Virginia and the D.C. metro area. Please contact us to learn more about our boxed meals and safe corporate catering options.

Tags: corporate catering

As we move through Phase 1 and Phase 2 of “reopening”, businesses must ensure their employees have a safe work environment and remain healthy, this includes when your company needs catering services.

Silver Spoon Caterers is taking all necessary precautions to ensure the safe preparation of their corporate catering services including offering single boxed meals. We are following all CDC and FDA recommendations regarding cleaning procedures and the safe handling of food. Silver Spoon Caterers ensures all meals are prepared and delivered in a safe and sanitary manner.

As we try to get back to semi-normal business operations, you have many things to consider when planning a corporate event. In addition to guest speakers and schedules, it’s important to think about the food you serve as well. Although attendees aren’t likely to expect a full four course meal, they will expect you to provide them with something to eat. It is up to you whether the food you serve will come from a restaurant or a corporate catering company.

While both restaurants and corporate caterers can provide a wide range of high quality food options, ordering from a catering company helps ensure your event runs as smoothly as possible. Restaurants simply deliver food in bags and boxes, leaving set-up, serving, and clean-up to those running the event. A corporate catering company takes care of everything for you, ensuring safe food preparation and all attendees leave fully satisfied.

Corporate Event Caterers

Corporate caterers understand the importance of keeping corporate events on schedule. They work directly with event planners to determine the perfect timing and menu. On the day of the event, they send enough people to prepare the space, serve the food, and clean up after the meal. This ensures meals don’t run into important meetings. It also takes the stress of food off event planners, allowing them to focus on other important aspects of the event.

Allergies & Dietary Requirements

Allergies and special dietary requirements are one of the biggest challenges when planning the food for a corporate event. It’s important to make sure you have enough choices for all attendees, even those with allergies or special diets. Experienced corporate caterers will help you plan your menu accordingly, making sure you have a variety of options including allergy-friendly, gluten free and vegetarian choices. This can go a long way towards the success of your event.

Determining How Much Food Your Corporate Event Requires

Restaurants typically provide food in large containers. Event planners must remove the food and place it in warmers or serving platters. In addition to set-up, it is up to the event planner to determine how much food they think attendees will eat. During the event, attendees serve themselves while the event planner “hopes” they guessed correctly.

Corporate caterers cater numerous events each year. They know how much food attendees will need. In order to ensure proper proportions, corporate caterers can serve the food to attendees. They can also provide pre-packaged lunch boxes. This helps ensure everyone at the event gets enough food.

Northern Virginia Corporate Catering Services

Silver Spoon Caterers offers corporate catering for a wide range of corporate events. Our team has years of experience and knows how to ensure all guests meals are prepared and served following strict sanitary guidelines. We offer several different menu options which include plenty of vegetarian, peanut-free, and gluten free choices. In addition to boxed lunches and sandwich platters, we also offer breakfast buffets, board dinners, hot entrees, salads, happy hour catering, and more. No matter what your company requires, Silver Spoon Caterers has it covered!

Please contact us or call (703) 935-4531 for more information about our corporate catering services.

Tags: corporate catering

September is here and pumpkin spice season has officially begun! Every year it seems like more and more companies are offering this delightful fall favorite. From pumpkin spice lattes to pumpkin beer, this craze doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon.

If you think that pumpkin spice season started earlier this year, you’re right. Typically, we don’t see pumpkin spice infused drinks and baked goods until a few weeks before autumn. This year, Starbucks kicked off pumpkin spice season by releasing their famous Pumpkin Spice Latte in August, before Labor Day.

Pumpkin Spice Season Grows in Popularity

While some people find it hard to stomach the idea of pumpkin spice, many more wait for it all year. In fact, fall is typically the busiest time of year for businesses like Starbucks and others offering pumpkin spice infused treats.

There’s just something about the warm and fuzzy feeling you get when you taste that familiar flavor. Some claim it reminds them of homemade pumpkin pies or Grandma’s fresh baked pumpkin bread. Others see it as the start of sweater season and their favorite time of year. Whatever the reason, demand for pumpkin spice products grows each year.

Although you can already find pumpkin spice flavored foods, we’ll likely see many more added over the next few weeks. The grocery stores will be last, as they add pumpkin spice options in late September and early October.

A Fall Favorite

There are some that wonder why these products aren’t available year round. People everywhere claim that they could enjoy pumpkin spice everyday. While this might be true for a select few, most people would lose interest after just a few months. In order to keep people wanting more, it has to be taken away. This leaves people wanting more and anticipating its return. This is why it’s so important to get your pumpkin spice treats now, while you still can.

Silver Spoon Caterers offers catering services for corporate events, weddings, parties, and more. We provide a variety of breakfast, lunch, and dinner options. Please contact us for more information about our services.

Tags: corporate catering

Catering isn’t just for lunch or dinner! Breakfast or brunch catering provides a welcome change for corporate events, bridal showers, baby showers, birthday parties, and more. In addition to providing your guests with the energy needed to complete their day, breakfast makes it easy to accommodate a variety of dietary restrictions.

Silver Spoon Catering offers breakfast catering for events of all shapes and sizes. We offer a variety of options including several gluten free and vegetarian choices. The following are some of our most popular breakfast menu items.

American Breakfast

This gluten free classic is sure to be a hit at your next event. Our American Breakfast includes scrambled eggs, delicious local chicken apple sausage links, apple wood bacon, our fabulous red pepper home fries, and a variety of condiments. Add an optional golden Challah French toast slice with maple syrup and butter for just a few dollars more.

The House Assorted Breakfast Pastries

Provide your guests with an assortment of freshly baked pastries. Options include organic yogurt muffins, bagels, croissants, seasonal breakfast breads, coffee cake, and scones. Our pastries are served with butter, cream cheese, and preserves.

Quiche 

Quiche is the perfect dish for breakfast and brunch. This delicious pie serves six to eight people and can be made gluten free by omitting the crust. We offer five vegetarian options including Kale Parmesan with red and yellow peppers, Three Cheese with manchego, chevre, and cheddar jack, and Caprese with fresh mozzarella, demi sec tomatoes, and fresh basil. We also offer a Maryland Crab and an Apple Wood Bacon Quiche.

Breakfast Sandwich and Breakfast Burrito Combo

Can’t decide what you want to serve for breakfast? Our Breakfast Sandwich and Breakfast Burrito Combo features a variety of our popular Sunrise Sandwiches and Breakfast Burritos served with salsa. This combo includes a fresh fruit bowl, and your choice of bottled water, juice, or house roast coffee.

Silver Spoon Caterers offers a wide selection of menu options. We provide catering services for all types of events throughout Northern Virginia and the DC metropolitan area. Please contact us for more information about breakfast catering.

Tags: corporate catering

There are many things to consider when planning a corporate meeting. Along with your presentation and materials, it’s important to provide your attendees with good food that does not hinder their ability to pay attention.

When choosing a corporate caterer to work with, you need to ensure that they are able to provide good quality food and service. They should also offer a variety of options so that all of your guests are able to eat. This helps ensure your meeting runs as smoothly as possible. It also ensures that your guests are focused on the meeting, and not their empty stomachs.

The following options are perfect for your next corporate lunch.

Boxed Lunches

Boxed lunches provide a portable, convenient way to serve your guests. Boxed lunches are quick to grab and easy to hold. This helps keep your meeting on track and allows your attendees to remain focused, even while eating.

Silver Spoon Caterers offers a variety of boxed lunches featuring our signature sandwiches and wraps as well as our entrée salads. We offer gluten free and vegetarian options to ensure that all of your attendees are fully satisfied.

Sandwich Platters

Sandwich platters allow you to serve a variety of options to your guests. This ensures that everyone gets exactly what he or she wants. Serving a buffet style meal allows your attendees to talk and get to know each other. This helps increase team morale and build camaraderie in the workplace.

When serving sandwiches, it’s important to consider dietary restrictions. Silver Spoon Caterers offers a variety of vegetarian and gluten free options.

Hot Sandwiches

Hot sandwiches provide a welcome meal for longer meetings. They are the perfect option for all day conferences and events. Silver Spoon Caterers offers several hot sandwiches to choose from. Our hot sandwiches are served with two sides and a cookie platter.

Silver Spoon Caterers is your best choice for corporate catering in Northern Virginia. Our professional caterers are well prepared to serve the attendees at your next corporate meeting. Please contact us for more information about catering options for lunch.

Tags: corporate catering

Casual corporate events provide the perfect opportunity to connect with team members and make important announcements. These events can significantly improve employee morale and workplace productivity.

The right food and catering service can help turn your casual event into a meaningful experience that your team members will talk about for years to come.

Corporate Event Catering

Casual events do not require a full meal. In fact, serving a full meal can make your event feel more formal. Hors d’oeuvres are the ideal choice for casual corporate events. These portable, one-bite snacks allow your guests to sample a variety of food while getting to know each other.

Silver Spoon Caterers provides a wide range of hors d’oeuvres for casual corporate events. We offer vegetarian, gluten free and vegan options to ensure that all your attendees are fully satisfied. The following choices are perfect for casual events.

• Coconut Shrimp
  Delicious shrimp surrounded in crispy breading with white rum and coconut milk
• Mini Crab Cake
  A classic favorite, our mini crab cakes are served with lemon-caper aioli
• Basil and Red Chili Beef Skewers
  These delicious skewers are made from high quality beef prepared with basil, red chili, and ginger
• House Burger Sliders
  These bite-sized burgers are served on pretzel and brioche buns with sharp cheddar and dijonnaise
• Puff Pastry Frank
  Similar to pigs in a blanket, our puff pastry franks feature an angus hot dog wrapped in golden pastry and served with a selection of condiments
• Memphis BBQ Pork Cup
  Our savory Memphis-style BBQ pork served in a cornbread cup and topped with sharp cheddar
• Yakitori Chicken Skewers
  Japanese-style chicken skewers prepared with Szechuan peppers, soy, scallions, and local honey
• Black Bean Sliders
  This vegetarian choice features a delicious black bean patty on brioche silver dollar rolls, served with sharp cheddar and dijonnaise
• Garden Mushroom Tart
  Vegetarian tart made with shitake and cremini mushrooms and manchego cheese
• Gazpacho Soup Shooter
  Delicious cold soup featuring roasted red bell and jalapeno peppers

Silver Spoon Caterers offers catering for corporate events in Northern Virginia and the DC metropolitan area. We offer a wide range of menu choices as well as vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free options. Our staff is well prepared to handle both large and small corporate events.

Please contact us for more information about corporate catering.