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An office happy hour is the perfect way to bring coworkers together in a fun environment outside their normal workday routine. Happy hour can be so much more than eating cheese and drinking wine. Perhaps, it’s an excellent opportunity for you and your coworkers to get creative with food.
This article will give ideas on planning an eventful office happy hour lunch catering. Here are some catering ideas that will help to make your upcoming office happy hour a success:
Barbecue Feast
Barbecue feasts are easy to prepare, which makes them perfect for an eventful office happy hour. Barbecue can be prepared in many ways and served as the main dish or an appetizer. The smell of barbecue will make your mouth water, and you’ll be able to enjoy it all with your coworkers.
Prepare a variety of barbecue dishes, including both meat and vegetarian options. Have plenty of sides such as baked beans, potato salad, and corn on the cob available for everyone to enjoy. Don’t forget the sauces. It would be wise to provide more than one sauce so everyone can choose their favorite type according to their taste buds.
If you plan an office happy hour and want to keep things quick and easy, prepare some grilled meats, such as chicken kebabs, with sides like potato salad and corn on the cob. If you have time to plan ahead, consider adding some more elaborate dishes such as smoked ribs or barbecued pulled pork with coleslaw.
Tacos and Tequila
Tacos and tequila are a perfect combination. Tacos are an excellent choice for office lunch catering. They’re easy to eat on the go, and everyone knows what they are. You can make tacos with meat, fish, or vegetarian fillings and a variety of toppings that will suit any taste buds in your office. Your caterer will be able to offer advice on how best to prepare the food to ensure that it tastes delicious and is easy for people to eat while standing up.
Tacos are also quite versatile. They can be served hot or cold, with or without tortilla shells, stuffed inside lettuce leaves instead of being wrapped in flour tortillas, or made into wraps.
And because tacos are so easy for everyone at an event like this one, there’s no need for utensils like cutlery. Instead, just grab some napkins and dig right in.
Street Food
Street food is a great way to feed a large crowd, Also, it’s easy to transport and set up. For example, you can serve street food all day long in your office’s conference room, which allows everyone from different departments to eat together.
Moreover, Americans love street food, which could be established from the data drawn by Statista. The street food market in the US was $1.6 billion in 2020 and reached approximately $1.9 billion in 2021. Keeping this in mind, it could be a good option to have a street food happy hour for employees.
Additionally, this type of catering is budget-friendly compared to other options like plated meals or buffet stations. If you’re on a tight budget and still want to ensure your employees have something tasty to eat during their happy hour event, street food is absolutely the best choice.
Beach Day
Beach day is the perfect office lunch catering idea for your next happy hour.
Bring your team with all the essentials, like sandwiches, snacks, and drinks, for an afternoon at the beach and relax in the sun while you eat and catch up with each other.
Some caterers plan everything from start to finish. You can enjoy your time off work without worrying about logistics. A beach day is a great solution if you’re looking for an easy way to get everyone out of their desks and into a more relaxed environment.
Cooking Class With a Celebrity Chef
If you want to do something different and exciting, consider hosting a cooking class with a celebrity chef. It is a great way to get your colleagues out of their comfort zone and have fun while learning new skills. You can choose from any cuisine, from authentic italian food to Asian food to French food.
The best part about choosing this type of event is that many chefs are available for private parties and public events such as festivals or fundraisers.
Cocktail Hour
A cocktail hour is a great idea for an office happy hour. It’s not quite a full-on dinner, but it’s more than snacks and drinks. You can serve hors d’oeuvres and drinks during your cocktail hour, including light fare like soup, salad, or sandwiches, finally capping it off with dessert. The best part about having a cocktail hour is that everyone will have plenty of time to talk and mingle before the main event begins.
Pizza Party
Pizza is a crowd-pleaser and can be ordered for delivery or picked up. It is estimated that around 43% of Americans eat at least one slice of pizza weekly, generating annual sales of around $47 billion. If you’re hosting an office lunch party, you can order pizza for everyone to enjoy individually.
Pizza comes in endless varieties. From classic cheese to Hawaiian with pineapple, plenty of recipes aren’t too hard on the wallet. You could even get creative and make your own. You can serve the slices on a platter or let people eat them as they come out of the oven; either way, they’ll taste great.
Sliders, Fries, and Salad
Sliders, fries, and salad are the perfect trio for an office happy hour. Sliders are mini burgers that can be made with various portions of meat, such as pulled pork, chicken tenders, and buffalo wings. Fries are always a crowd pleaser. They should be cooked to perfection, so they’re crispy on the outside yet fluffy on the inside. Finally, salad is a great option if you want to keep it healthy while still offering something fresh and green to balance all those fried foods.
As far as how many sliders you need per person, it depends on how hungry they are. If your company has around 100 employees, then 20-30 per person should suffice but be sure not to run out before everyone gets their fill. If people go hungry, then they might not come back for another happy hour in the future.
Vegetarian Delight
Let’s talk about vegetarian options. While many people do not consider themselves vegetarians, there are still plenty of reasons why it makes sense to have a few meatless options at your office happy hour.
You must cater to a wider range of dietary preferences and restrictions if you offer veggie-centric dishes. Your employees can choose from an array of cuisines. From Italian to Indian, they’ll all find something delicious that meets their needs. And since many offices cater lunches once a week or so, adding vegetarian options into the mix means that everyone gets what they want while still indulging in a delicious meal together.
Choose a Suitable Caterer for Office Happy Hour and Lunch
When you’re planning an office happy hour, you must choose a caterer with experience with office lunch catering. It will be much easier to get the right food when you work with someone who caters to companies regularly.
Whether, it’s a simple lunch with some sandwiches and chips or a more intricate menu with sandwiches, coffee, and dessert options, the key to success is planning. You may not have time to plan when you first get the idea of having an office happy hour, but if you start thinking about it now, your next big event will get easier.
