When you host a family, church, or business special event, you want everything to be perfect. To help you with your event, you can get the assistance and expertise of a professional catering company, such as Marians Island Wide Catering. When deciding on a catering company to hire, you should meet with them, see their facilities, and taste their food. Here are some things you can do when considering a catering company to hire for your special event: 

Tasting Sessions:  Before hiring a company to cater your event, ask them to meet with you at a tasting session where you can see and sample their menu items. These tasting sessions can acquaint you with a caterer's signature dishes and with other food items that you may not have considered. If you have a special dish that you wish to include on the event menu, tell the prospective catering company ahead of the meeting so that they can experiment with recipes and prepare samples of their creations. 

Catered Event Menus:  Once you select a catering company, discuss all of your menu ideas with them so that they can make suggestions. Here are some special menus that you can have your catering company provide for your event:  

• Regional Menus:  If you are hosting an event with a special regional theme, you can have your catering company prepare traditional dishes from other cultures and countries. These menus can include middle-eastern food, oriental dishes, traditional island and luau dishes, and regional food from countries all over the world. 

• Vegetarian Menus:  Many catering companies can prepare and serve special vegetarian dishes for their clients that request them. These dishes can be simple or complex and can include leafy greens, root vegetables, whole grains, nuts, beans, and fruits, and exclude meat, poultry, fish, cheese, and other dairy products. 

• Special Menus:  If you have traditional family dishes that you would like to include in your event, give the recipes to your catering company and ask them if they can prepare these dishes for you. 

• Beverage Menus:  A good catering company can provide you with a complete menu of alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails and beverages. They can even work with you to come up with a special cocktail that can be served exclusively at your event.  

Event Facilities:  Catering companies usually have their own banquet halls and party rooms that you can rent when you hire them to cater your event. These facilities can be furnished and decorated by the catering company itself or you can request to have another company provide these things. You can view a catering company's hall, furnishings, and decorations such as centerpieces, linens, tables, chairs, chair coverings, and specialty furniture at your preliminary meetings. 

Planning and organizing a unique and successful special event can take weeks or months of preparations. A good catering company with many clients has the experience and expertise to help you with all of your preparations and even make suggestions of services of other professionals that you may need for your event. Meet early and often with your selected catering company to establish a good rapport so that they can anticipate what you will want and need. Once you find a good catering company, you can use them for many future events and recommend them to family members, friends, and associates. A good catering company that you can rely on is a very valuable asset.