The Effect Of Food On Your Events
People can’t focus on anything else if their basis needs aren’t being met, which means the food at your event has a direct effect on people’s experience.
Food is part of mazlov’s basic needs. What does a the hierarchy of people’s needs have to do with your event? Everything!
People can’t focus on any of the other important details or content you’ve planned if their basis needs aren’t being met, which means the food at your event has a direct effect on people’s experience and ultimately your ROI!
What is the secret to great food for events?
When planning events, think carefully about what you want people feel. Is this event during a major meal time? Will people be walking around? Is there content while people are eating, or is the meal the main event?
Before you can start thinking about the actual food you will serve you need to think about the experience you want people to have.
Here are 3 questions I always ask before planning the food for an event:
Who are the people that will be at the event and what do they value in food?
What is the dining experience I want people to have?
What fun or surprising details can I add to the food to support theme of the event or inspire an emotion?
Real Life Examples
As a professional event planner for Google the types of events I plan can vary from a 30,000 person conference to an intimate dinner for high level executives.
Each event has to be tailored to the audience. Here are some examples of how I’ve used food to create a memorable event.
Press Event
Who are the people that will be at the event and do they value in food?
Journalists who possibly had a long commute early in the morning. They may have not had time for a healthy breakfast. I want them to have super healthy, high fiber energy food so they can get through the long day.
What is the experience I want people to have?
I want people to feel taken care of, and I want them to feel the way we cater to their basic needs is an extension of how our brand meets the needs of our customers.
It will be a busy day with journalists trying to eat between submitting their stories and interviewing people, so food and snacks should be available at all times, easy to eat while typing or talking, and high quality.
What fun or surprising details can I add to the food to support theme of the event?
A barista bar with steel cut oats and portable containers so guests can eat while they file their stories.
Bullet-proof coffee made to order offers up a high octane, sustainable and trendy beverage.
If the event is in a particular region (i.e. for a political debate), can you infuse the snacks with local specialties to give the press a sense of place and celebrate the local culture?
High End Dinner
Who are the people that will be at the event and do they value in food?
CEOs and high level executives value healthy ingredients but want a high end experience that they can’t get every day.
They care more about well-known chefs, and the presentation and service of the food in addition to the food itself.
What is the experience I want people to have?
An event that builds community and deepens relationships might warrant family-style service
A formal dinner before an awards ceremony might be best served plated on a very fixed time schedule.
Maybe part of the dinner is served seated and dessert is moved to another location (i.e. out on a terrace) where guests can network with other people since networking is an important aspect of these events.
What fun or surprising details can I add to the food to support theme of the event?
A special wine pairing in the theme of the event (i.e. for a movie premiere based in Australia I offered Australian wine tasting paired with regional cuisine).
Perhaps invite different celebrity chefs to prepare a different course of a 5 course meal. This worked well when I attended an event hosted by Nespresso for their top clients. each celebrity chef had to work a Nespresso flavor into a dish (Thomas Keller incorporated it into a lobster dish - who would guess to do that?!
Use high end ingredients and beautiful presentation to make sure the event is the luxury experience this audience is used to.
3 Ways To Cook Healthy Food
I know first hand that we have the power to choose to live whatever life we want. I for one want to choose one that is full of joy and abundance, not dread. So how do you want to tackle nightly dinner? As a chore or something you are excited to plan?
“What’s for dinner?” Oh the dread this one question can carry, but only if you let it. I know first hand that we have the power to choose to live whatever life we want. I for one want to choose one that is full of joy and abundance, not dread.
So how do you want to tackle nightly dinner? As a chore or something you are excited to prepare and enjoy?
What is a healthy meal?
Growing up my parents always cooked delicious meals but always nutrient dense. That means no foods with sugar, always whole wheat, fresh vegetables and healthy proteins, starches and plenty of olive oil.
Now as a mother myself, I embody the same cooking ethos. While I may serve certain foods for special occasions, nothing is off limits. Jack, our son, has been raised to eat that way and now he actually insists on tasting whatever veggie I’m chopping - broccoli, mushroom, carrots - he’ll even eat raw onion!
What toddler does that?!
With my husband working at a startup and me working as an executive event producer for a top brand, our days are jam-packed. Here are some tips I use to make dinner a time to connect without the overwhelm.
How to Make Healthy Taste Good
1. Buy Fresh, Organic, High Quality Produce
When you buy really great produce it actually tastes better. If you have access to garden fresh produce, even better! My Mom used to send me home from her house with bushels of fresh produce from her garden and I would use that as the basis for which I planned menus around. Have you ever noticed why a farmer’s market vegetable is so much sweeter and crunchier than store-bought? There really is something to eating foods that were only recently alive vs. those that have been in and out of trucks and warehouses for a few weeks.
2. Use High Quality Oils and Spices
High quality oils and seasoning bring out the natural flavors of food. AKA they make things taste really good. I use olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, and sesame oil and my all time favorite is pumpkin seed oil! It’s hard to find, but it takes nutty and is a rich green color! I use spice blends on veggies, fish and meats to inspire flavors from other regions. And by simply like letting veggies roast with really good oil, gourmet sea salt, fresh ground pepper and maybe some thyme or garlic, you’ll have a restaurant worthy dish once the oven caramelizes the flavors.
3. Prep Ahead Of Time
Think ahead! Chop the veggies during nap time (or ask your nanny to do the same), chop a huge batch all at once on the weekend that you can cook during the week so that you have less work to do at dinner time. And I like cooking food that can roast in the oven so dinner is cooking away for me while I’m giving my son his bath. By the time I finish reading him his books and tucking him in, dinner’s ready!