What are the Most Popular Menu Ideas for Corporate Holiday Parties?
If your corporate group has always planned the same holiday party year after year, with the same menu year after year, it’s time to make a change. The best holiday gift you can give to your company’s employees and guests is a fresh, new holiday party with a showstopping new menu. Think about what your group has always served – perhaps lemon chicken, baked ziti, eggplant rollatini, and other top NJ catering staples. Then talk to your event venue’s chef to dream up an entirely new menu that may still fit within your holiday party budget. Top venue chefs can work magic with a chicken dish, and present you with options to serve pleasing seafood dishes, garden-fresh options, and new twists on the usual chicken, beef, pork and lamb dishes.
Some of the most popular menu ideas for corporate holiday parties that we’ve planned in our venues include:
- Stations. Elevate your corporate party’s menu by offering a wide range of stations to give guests their choices of delectable cuisine from NJ’s best chefs, without having to wait on one long buffet line. Corporate party guests enjoy the quicker access, the variety of dishes, customized plating by the venue’s servers, and the top catering trend of ‘small plates.’
- Light, fresh fare. Limit the fried foods, especially with passed hors d/oeuvres (an elegant serving style at corporate parties, and a way to bring pricier menu items into your lineup without the cost of a full buffet presentation.) Guests enjoy the crunch and refreshing tastes of garden-grown ingredients and chefs’ talents with lighter, healthier fare, rather than lots of fried bites that can be greasy and heavy.
- Bacon elements. One of the top trends in event catering is bacon-infused everything, from bacon-wrapped scallops and vegetables to meat dishes prepared with bacon, as well as bacon add-ons to custom dishes at food stations.
- Gluten-free options. Lots of them. With so many people eating gluten-free these days, venue catering provides a wide range of dishes with gluten-free options for all.
- Supper style. If you’ll do a sit-down dinner, classic dishes like Chateaubriand and roasted chicken are back. The key to this dinner menu is chef-prepared quality of traditional dishes, made like most people can only dream of preparing for themselves. Alongside classic entrees, make the side dishes shine, with creative culinary takes on side vegetables, risotto, and other options.
- Italian favorites. In New Jersey, everyone loves traditional Italian cuisine, and while our area has a variety of the best restaurants in NJ, event venue chefs take Italian cuisine and make it extra-flavorful with garden-grown herbs and fresh presentations, including gluten-free takes on classic Italian fare.
- International foods. Mediterranean dishes have always been popular at dinners and gatherings, and for your corporate holiday party, you may wish to offer this crowd-pleasing station so that guests feel they’re not just at a company party but at a spectacular wedding with an array of exotic foods. Persian dishes are on trend for event catering, and sushi is always a standout in a corporate party menu. Talk to our chefs about international fare for your event.
- Easy-to-eat foods. No one wants to look awkward or messy while eating foods at a cocktail party, so a top trend in corporate holiday parties is making sure that all menu items are easy-to-eat, with minimal dripping risks for hors d’oeuvres.
- Cheese. A fabulous artisan cheese platter set on each guest table allows guests to enjoy their own group’s cheese, fruit, charcuterie and breads. A cheese station may also be added to your cocktail party menu, which helps keep cheeses at a safely cold temperature for your guests’ enjoyment throughout your holiday party.
