What corporate catering actually covers

Corporate catering covers far more than sandwiches at a meeting. It runs from a morning board breakfast to a summer party for three hundred, and the right format depends on the event, the room and the impression you want to leave. This is a plain guide to what corporate catering includes and how to brief a caterer well, based on how we work at Blame Frank.

The common formats

Most corporate events fall into a few shapes. Working lunches and meeting catering keep a day moving, drinks receptions mark a launch or a milestone, and seated dinners suit awards and client entertaining. Summer and festive parties sit at the larger, more relaxed end.

Each format changes the food, the staffing and the timing, which is why the brief matters more than the menu at first. You can see the full range on our corporate catering page.

What a caterer should handle for you

A corporate caterer should take the whole job off your desk, not just cook. We plan the menu, bring our own equipment, staff the event with chefs and servers, and handle setup and clear-down. For events with a bar we arrange drinks and the licence where one is needed.

That matters most when you are running the event alongside your actual job. The point of hiring caterers is that the day looks after itself.

Dietary needs and consistency

In a work setting, dietary care is not optional. We cater for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free and halal diets, and we label clearly so nobody has to ask twice. Getting this right protects your colleagues and your guests.

Consistency counts too. We have cooked for teams at FIFA, Netflix, Pinewood Studios, London Zoo and the National Trust, and the standard has to hold whether we are serving twelve people or two hundred.

Event catering service — One standard, whether twelve covers or two hundred

How to brief your caterer

Give a caterer four things and they can plan properly: numbers, the venue, the timing and the purpose of the event. Add any dietary needs and a budget, and the quote you get back will be realistic rather than a guess. For recurring events, tell us the pattern so we can keep it smooth each time.

If your event is a party rather than a meeting, our office parties page covers that in more detail.

Frequently asked questions

We cater everything from a small board lunch to large parties, seating around 150 guests and handling more for standing and casual formats. The right approach depends on your venue and service style, which we plan with you. Tell us your numbers and the space, and we will confirm what works and how the day would run.

Yes. We cater one-off events and recurring bookings such as weekly meetings, training days and client visits. For regular catering we agree the format and dietary needs once, then keep it consistent each time so you do not have to re-brief us. Get in touch with your usual pattern and we will set it up.

Yes. We bring our own cooking and serving equipment and staff events with chefs and servers, plus bar staff where drinks are involved. We arrive ahead of time to set up and stay to clear down, so your team is not left tidying. All we need from the venue is power, water and parking.