Hosting weddings, birthdays or a party for any excuse for that matter at home is a great way to celebrate and get together with friends. By hosting the party in your home and/or garden you are free to personalise and design the entire event exactly how you like it. Space, budget and your imagination are the only limiting factors and so you are so much freer to plan and host to your hearts content.
Depending on the size of your soiree, and whether or not you are a seasoned host or hostel, it is likely that you’ll need to hire catering equipment amongst other things in order to feed all your guests. If you have never hired catering equipment before or haven’t hosted a party in a long time, deciding what you need to hire can be slightly confusing. Moreover, to ensure you get the best value for money it’s important to know exactly what to look for.
If this describes you then this guide is intended to help. For more catering ideas or to hire catering equipment, search ‘Catering Equipment Hire London’. Read on for helpful advice.
Cutlery
Hiring cutlery is one of the most common catering requests as most hosts simply do not have enough to supply their entire guest list. Moreover, if you are serving a formal dinner that requires a greater selection of cutlery than a typical meal then it’s highly likely you’ll need to hire at least some fine dining flatware.
Your courses will dictate what cutlery you need to hire so plan out your meal before contacting suppliers. Do your research and find out exactly which knives, forks and spoons should be used for the food served in each of your courses. Note that there are specific knives designed to be used for different types of meat and fish. In similar fashion, a dessert spoon is very different to a soup spoon.
Crockery
The next thing to consider is crockery you’ll use. Remember you’ll need far more than an adequate set of plates. Unless you have a crockery set large and diverse enough for all your guests and the variety of food you plan to serve, hiring a complete set is often the most cost efficient way to ensure your tableware matches and is of a high quality.
Again, plan your courses and hire the crockery accordingly. You’ll need plates, bowls, jugs and serving dishes for each course as well as matching coffee pots and condiment holders. For a consistent and stylish look it is important to ensure all your crockery matches.
Glassware
Glassware is the next thing to hire and an elegant set can truly make your party. Ensure your glassware reflects the drinks you have on offer and that you have plenty to go around.
Water tumblers should be stationed at every place, along with enough glasses to match the wine on offer. Ensure the wine glasses match the wine on offer; guests will not appreciate having to drink a full bodied red out of a champagne flute. If you plan on serving aperitifs or after dinner liqueurs make sure there are sufficient tumblers available to match. You will also need plenty of highballs and cocktail glasses if you plan on serving cocktails too!
Glassware is arguably to one set of tableware that you can afford to mix and match. If you already have an elegant set of tumblers, for example, these could be supplemented with cocktail glasses and highballs from a different set.
Kitchen Equipment
Often something that hosts overlook is the kitchen equipment you will need to cook for your guests. Typically, if you are enlisting the help of a catering company to cook your meal then they will provide their own equipment. If not, you may find yourself wanting to hire.
Once again, plan your meals and ensure you have enough oven proof dishes, trays and bowls to cook for the entire party. Make sure you have enough oven space too!
Serving Equipment
Finally, serving equipment is extremely important in dishing the food you have prepared out to your guests. It needs to keep food hot from the kitchen to their plates, and ensure it is protected from the elements.
Hot plates, cool boxes and cake stands all fall under this category and should not be forgotten!