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.
The Importance of Family Dinner
As a working mom, I am constantly thinking about the never ending to-do list of things that need to get done. When we think of planning events, it is easy to think about the big things but what about the daily events?
As a working mom, I am constantly thinking about the never ending to-do list of things that need to get done. Call the client back, do the laundry, get to the gym, quality time with my family … and the list goes on.
It’s easy to forget that our lives are a series of small events that happen every day. What is your daily non-negotiable routine? What about family dinner?
You’re Making Memories Every Day
When we think of planning events, it is easy to think about the big things - weddings, anniversaries, holidays, graduations - but what about the daily events?
When I look back on my childhood, my memories as a kid are of my mom or dad’s night routine. They would cook dinner every night and we all came together as a family.
Before you go thinking life was easier in the olden days, let me be clear that my mom ran her own interior design business and my dad was an executive at a tech startup - they were just as pressed for time as we are in this always connected age. The reason we were able to do this nightly ritual was because we chose to make that time together sacred.
Rituals And Routines
My parents instilled in us the value of home cooked meals with fresh ingredients, never served straight out of a box or a can. It wasn’t just the food I remember, it is the ritual. My parents would open a bottle of wine and play jazz while they were cooking; it became Pavlovian to me!
Nightly dinner was an experience of our life together, not just another chore to be done.
To this day when I get home that same ritual is sacred to me. As a busy mom with a corporate event planning job, my book writing business, and a toddler, I hope I am instilling in my son the same memories and lessons.
As soon as I walk in the door our wonderful nanny switched the music to the jazz and so the nightly routine begins as I begin chopping veggies and connecting with her about the day!
My Challenge To You
Make a list of your daily habits. Which ones spark excitement and which ones elicit dread? How could you make a routine to make that experience one you enjoy? What can you outsource to make more room for routines you love?