Catering is the basic idea of hiring a local kitchen to prepare a bunch of food of the desired type, then deliver it to the client’s location. This can be done for all kinds of food catering needs, such as a birthday party, a wedding reception meal, a barbecue in a park, office catering for an office party, a local sports event, and more. Hiring the right BBQ catering is a great option for a large Fourth of July party in the U.S., and these caterers can provide ribs, smoked meat, grilled vegetables, sauces, and more. But there is more to catering than BBQ and ribs; finer foods can be prepared for a wedding, and many ethnic food caterers are out there too, ready to cook. What is there to know about ribs and BBQ, or special events such as a sports party or large birthday party?
Barbecue and Ribs
Popular catering options include barbecue, and Americans love to eat it. Steak, hamburgers, chicken, pork, and ribs are popular options for barbecue, and this is a fine option for Memorial day cookouts, the Fourth of July, a stylish birthday party, or nearly anything else. While many homeowners today own their own grills or meat smokers at home on their back porch, cooking for a larger party of 50 or 60 people is going to call for some catering professionals on the job. Preparing that many ribs and smoked meat requires the party planner to look up local barbecue caterers online. A simple search such as “BBQ catering near me Dallas TX” is a fine way to find local caterers, and a client can look up several caterers of the desired type and call each of them to check what they can offer. A customer can find them online and compare customer reviews, too, to ensure that they are ordering from a good caterer that can deliver some fine food. Then they can choose a caterer and place and order.
Not only may barbecue caterer provide ribs, hot dogs, and other meats, but they may also provide drinks such as bottled water and soft drinks, iced tea, and more if the client asks for it. The caterer may provide disposable plates, paper napkins, forks and knives, paper or plastic cups, and more. This is a great option if the client doesn’t already have these things for themselves. And don’t forget barbecue sauces, either, which a caterer should provide. Clients may also note that there are a few major schools of barbecue in the United States today, such as Texas style or Kansas City style.
Other Options
Barbecue is popular enough, but there are other caterers out there, too. Some of them may cater chicken wings, and this is a widely popular option. Many Americans love to eat chicken, and in fact Americans eat more chicken per capita than the people of any other nation. Many billions of chickens are prepared every year for this, and a local kitchen may specialize in chicken wings and related foods. Such wings may have bones or not, and they may be fried and breaded, or not. These wings can also come in a wide variety of sauces, with some being quite spicy. Wings may be a popular option for a sports viewing party, a birthday party, and the like.
Don’t forget weddings. These events are more likely to call for caterers who prepare more formal food for a lunch or dinner, and this is a whole topic in itself. A wedding requires a lot of work, and this involves calling professionals ranging from table and linen rental companies to the florist to the photographer to, yes, the caterers. The wedding party will often hire professional help months before the big day, and they may visit a number of local caterers who can cook for weddings. Ideally, the wedding party will find a caterer who can prepare the type of foods they want, and sample each caterer’s food before making a final decision. When a caterer is chosen, the wedding party members may choose a few options for each guest’s meal, and wedding invitations often involve a “choose one” list for meals. This is a useful reference well before the big day.
