With summer upon us, a sophisticated corporate picnic is the perfect way to reward the members of your organization. It can be a family-friendly event everyone can enjoy and yet be elegant and high-end at the same time – if you chose the right location, decor and catering. In this blog post we’ll tell you about 5 elegant summer catering ideas, because a Bright Ideas corporate picnic is much more than potato salad and hot dogs!
Choose a great theme for your food at the picnic!
It looks better if guests can recognize a theme, rather than just randomly putting foods together. Choose from popular event themes such as Bright Idea’s Island Fever Tropical Luau. With typical Hawaiian foods such as fresh chicken, pineapple, coconut, and seafood presented it in a beautiful setting of flowers and banana leaves, the food station or buffet looks elegant and as light-hearted as a summer breeze at the same time.
Pretzels, Hotdogs & Hummus – Simple, yet elegant!
Pretzels, Hot Dogs, and Hamburgers taste just amazing. They are simple and popular foods that can be a big hit, especially if you choose quality ingredients and a great presentation. Hot dogs are great as elegant mini-bites, to ensure guests don’t ruin their clothes with spilled condiments. If you want to serve bigger portions requiring a fork or spoon, make sure that the portions are still small enough that you can carry the food around. How about serving Mac ’n’ Cheese in those lovely silver mini buckets shown in the left corner of the picture above? We think it’s a fantastic idea!
BBQ Macarons – More than meets the eye!
They are delicious, small, easy to eat, and an eye catcher: BBQ Macarons! They look like small versions of Hamburgers and Hot Dogs but are really tasty macarons. Very elegant but still fitting the BBQ theme. Don’t they look amazing?!
Sushi & Picnic? – Yes, it fits!
Japanese culture not only offers great possibilities for floral arrangements & décor, but also excellent food that’s perfect for a high-end corporate picnic! Small sushi rolls are great ‘one-bite’ delicacies, but there also are spring rolls, seaweed crackers, fried banana balls, and much more. The options are endless. We think an Asian-Fusion theme is perfect for a picnic!
What to avoid!
As mentioned before it is an absolute no-no to serve foods which are hard to eat at picnics. We cannot stress this enough. Serving big plates with loads of pasta on it is something people would talk about after the event – but not in a good way. Make sure to serve food that can be presented in small bites and is not destined to end up on a beautiful summer dress. People might leave early if they spill food on their clothes! During the reception portion of the picnic you should serve foods that don’t require plates at all. Later on you can offer more elaborate food on small side plates.
A common mistake is to underestimate the amount of desserts per person. Quite often guests want to try several of the desserts offered and overall the group ends up eating more than was budgeted, which could mean running out by the end of the evening. Always plan a bit more than usual per person for the desserts, to make sure people can indulge their sweet tooth all night!
We are nominated for “Top Event Planner” in Vancouver. Please vote for us by clicking on the button below!
