How to organize the perfect banquet: 30 useful tips

A banquet is a widespread and traditionally the most popular type of feast in Russia. Therefore, regular banquet events occupy a leading position in the sources of income for the restaurant business. But! This only works if they are properly organized, when everything is thought out to the smallest detail and done perfectly. With the right approach to banquet business, the restaurant’s banquet hall will not be empty either on “hot” days - Fridays, Saturdays - or on other days of the week.

www.4banket.ru talks about the secrets and subtleties of competently organizing restaurant banquets in this article.

The main components of a well-organized banquet

A proper, well-organized banquet that can bring profit to a restaurant and leave an unforgettable mark in the memory of its guests has a number of unshakable components:

• a venue suitable for the specific concept of the event and the number of participants;
• interior design - having a good designer on the restaurant staff - with knowledge of fashion trends and creative thinking - will do a good job of promoting the establishment along a successful banquet path;
• comfortable accommodation of guests - the type of banquet with seating or buffet service is selected depending on the concept of the event and the number of its participants;
• type of service - full, partial, combined - also depends on the theme and occasion of the planned banquet;
• professional restaurant equipment - without modern restaurant equipment it is difficult to provide a decent level and class of service.

Organization and holding

Proper organization ensures that the goals of the event are achieved - to bring the joy of communication and enjoyment of good food.

Some rules

The minimum number of guests is 50 people. Rectangular or round tables are used for holding. Be sure to cover their surface with a tablecloth, and place a composition of flowers in the center. Particular attention is paid to table setting, the nature of which is determined by the approved menu and the nature of the event.

A common element for banquets is a seating plan (in this case, the invited people are directed to their seats by the service staff). Special cards with last name, first name (in rare cases, patronymic, and title) are also used.

Nature of the event

In general, in order to properly organize a banquet , it is important to have certain knowledge and skills. The guiding principle in the process is the nature of the event. The organization of banquets is based on the level of formality of the upcoming lunch (dinner), as well as the number of invited persons and the place where the celebration will take place. According to these criteria, several types of banquets are distinguished:

• with full/partial service;
• buffet banquet;
• banquet-tea/coffee;
• combined banquet.

For each of the listed types, strict adherence to the rules is required. Therefore, it is better for a special banquet service organization to prepare the event.

Full service banquet

Involves seating guests at covered tables. The serving of food and drinks is carried out by service personnel - waiters. Tables should be covered with a tablecloth, which is carefully ironed beforehand. Banquet rules require that plates be placed within 80-100 cm of each other. They are placed starting from the center of the table, first in one direction, then in the other, strictly opposite each other. Snack bars are placed on top of small dinner plates, in which a napkin must be placed, and pies are placed on the left (at a distance of 10-15 cm).

Cutlery is placed in 0.5 cm increments in a certain sequence. On right:

• table-knife,
• fish knife,
• tablespoon/dessert spoon (if the menu calls for serving soup);
• snack knife.

You need to put forks on the left:

• dining room,
• fish,
• snack bar

  

The sequence of using cutlery is from edge to center.

Next, glasses, wine glasses and shot glasses are placed in a certain order. Utensils with spices are required on the table - one for each guest at the level of glass/crystal dishes and strictly between serving items.

The place for name cards is to the left of the wine glass or behind a small dinner plate. A flower arrangement is also placed on the banquet table.

For a full-service banquet, tablecloths can be made of any fabric. The use of color coating is allowed in two versions:

• combination with a white napkin, which is placed under the corner of each guest under the plate;
• the lower, colored fabric is covered with a white corner on top (the lower tablecloth should be visible in the corner parts).

An important rule when choosing a tablecloth is its combination with the color of the dishes.

Arranging a banquet without using napkins means grossly violating the rules of table setting. They not only serve to maintain cleanliness, but are also used as decoration.

The size of the napkin determines the time of the banquet. Breakfast, lunch, dinner requires the use of large napkins (35 by 35 cm or 45 by 45). For an event where only tea, coffee and small snacks are served, you should choose small fabrics - 25x25 cm. In the same case, colored napkins with fringe can be used.

As a rule, napkins are matched to the color of the dishes or tablecloth. It is not necessary that the tones match, but they must be combined. The following rule applies to a double tablecloth: the napkin must match the color of the main fabric.

Cloth napkins are folded in a certain way and placed on snack plates. A left-hand position is also possible. In this case, a special holder ring is used, usually steel or wicker. For ceramic dishes, a ceramic ring is used. Paper napkins, which are practiced for cocktail banquets, as well as in the case of a large number of guests, are placed in large glasses or special holders.

Important rules:

• before you start eating, straighten the napkin and place it on your knees;
• Only the corners of the mouth get wet;
• After finishing the meal, the napkin is folded again and placed exclusively on the right side of the plate.

There are many ways to fold napkins. The specific option is determined by the nature and timing of the upcoming event.

For a full-service banquet, a specific menu is provided. It should include dishes that differ not only in the products used, but also in the method of preparation. If representatives of different cultures will be present at the event, food and drinks should have a national accent.

The full-service banquet scenario is calculated to last, on average, 50-60 minutes. Accordingly, the range of snacks, drinks and dishes served is also limited. The recommended set of naming options looks like this:

• cold appetizers (4-6);
• hot snacks (1-2);
• second hot courses (1-3);
• sweet dishes (1-2);
• at the request of the customer - liquid dishes (1-2);
• fruits (for each guest 200-250 g);
• water (mineral, fruit – 250-500 ml);
• juices (100-150 ml).

It is convenient when the menu is compiled by a banquet service - a special company that deals with the comprehensive organization of special events.

As for alcohol, its quantity is determined by the duration of the event and the number of men and women invited.

The banquet menu is drawn up on forms in quantities that coincide with the number of guests. It is installed behind the pie plate.

Weddings are most often held as a full-service event.

Organization of a wedding evening

It is better to entrust a wedding banquet to professionals. They are quite capable of choosing the right menu and determining the arrangement of tables. The decoration of the hall, the organization of the wedding banquet - this is what determines what the memories of the bride and groom and guests will be about the event.

How much does a wedding banquet cost? If you order a comprehensive service through a catering company, the prices will depend on the price list. It may be much more expensive than organizing the wedding yourself. However, in return the customer receives:

• professional assistance in creating menus;
• decoration of the hall, table, selection of service personnel;
• providing the venue with all the furniture that is required (tables, chairs, bar counters, etc.).

  

The design of banquets necessarily involves the decoration of the hall. Compositions of fresh flowers and balloons are used as decoration. In the latter case, the correct selection of the color and texture of the balls plays an important role. Professional designers are able to give such a simple accessory the most complex, original forms that will add romanticism to the room.

For a wedding feast, it is important to seat the guests correctly. Of course, the bride and groom take pride of place. Next are the couple’s parents, groomsmen and guests of honor. For greater convenience, name cards are used to make it easy for guests to navigate the hall.

The wedding banquet menu is determined by the tastes of the newlyweds and the traditions accepted in their families. The national component may also be taken into account. It is a European tradition to conduct a tasting of the dishes selected for dinner. There should be a lot of treats served, their characteristic is variety.

A wedding typically lasts between four and six hours. It is recommended to take short breaks every 40 minutes to allow the service staff to tidy up the tables and for the guests to have a little fun. Some thematic competitions may be held, followed by a continuation of the banquet.

Partially catered banquet

This option is used for anniversaries, alumni meetings, and so on. Guests, with the exception of the most honorable ones (they are seated in the central part of the table), are seated randomly. Serving is based solely on the menu. About half an hour before guests arrive, drinks, cold dishes, snacks, and cutlery with spices are placed on the table. Vases with fruits and flower arrangements should cover an average of 4 to 5 people on both sides who are sitting at the table. Accordingly, a larger number of invited persons will require repeating the arrangement through the specified step.

It is recommended to include the following number of dishes, snacks and drinks in the menu:

• cold appetizers (from 8 to 10);
• hot snacks (1-2);
• second hot courses (1-2);
• sweet dishes (no more than 1);
• fruits (assorted from 200 to 250 g per guest);
• juices, water (200-250 ml).

Soups and salads for a banquet are served by prior agreement with the customer (if the organization is carried out by class=”aligncenter” width=”800″ height=”533″[/img]

Important:

1. Dishes that have high sides and legs are placed closer to the center. Dishes and trays are placed closer to the plates and glasses.
2. Be sure to alternate between meat, fish and poultry. They are arranged in one or two rows depending on their number, the size of the dishes and the width of the table.
3. The butter is placed next to the spark.
4. Sauces should be placed in close proximity to the dish they are served with.
5. When arranging flower and fruit vases, you should focus on the axis of the table. The spaces between them are filled with drinks.
6. Bottles with any drinks must have their labels facing the guests.
7. The bread is placed on pie plates immediately after serving drinks.

Buffet

Otherwise, this type is called a banquet buffet. Conducted at the same time as a traditional lunch. The event is friendly. Duration – at least two hours. It is customary to distinguish several types of banquet buffets:

• cold;
• hot;
• combined.

  

In the first option, it is allowed that guests will eat while standing, moving freely around the hall. All dishes, snacks, and drinks are placed on a special table. The menu is designed in such a way that everything prepared is convenient to eat while standing. Partial service is allowed, that is, waiters can serve drinks on trays. The number of guests should not exceed 50 people.

Hot and combined buffets are organized according to a slightly different principle. Guests are seated at separate dining tables, arranged in such a way that it is convenient for people sitting at them to leave and sit down again. Cutlery, plates, and dishes are placed in the same room. If there is a small adjacent room, then it is there for greater convenience.

Regarding the number of guests and placement of tables. They resort to forming blocks of furniture like a buffet if the number of invited people is more than 50. You can also use round and semi-oval tables arranged in the letter “G” or “P”.

It is advisable that the place where the buffet banquet is held have an antechamber. A small bar is located here to offer guests an aperitif. The table, just like where the banquet will be held, must be covered with a tablecloth. The same rule applies to the tables at which guests will be seated.

The buffet menu is small and includes about 3-5 cold appetizers, no more than 2 hot dishes, one dessert dish, as well as fruits and hot drinks. If you plan to serve fish, game, or poultry cooked as a whole carcass, you should definitely cut them into small pieces and place them on the table, maintaining their external integrity. Decorations should be discreet.

The buffet is often used for events such as corporate banquets, as well as New Year's banquets.

A la buffet

The event also has a second name – banquet-buffet. The best choice if you need to accommodate a large number of people in a short period of time. For example, some kind of family celebration, anniversary, official reception. Often there is a buffet banquet or presentation of something new.

Benefits of a buffet:

• freedom to choose a seat in the hall;
• choice of dishes and their sequence not limited by the script;
• the guest has the right to leave the banquet at any time;
• informal setting.

The buffet menu is dominated by appetizers. Hot dishes, if served, are presented in the form of a hot appetizer (accordingly, the choice is made with this in mind). They are served in small portions and in such a form that it is convenient to eat without using a knife, as required by the rules of this type of event.

Small tables with ashtrays, cigarettes (cigars), matches, paper napkins and flowers must be placed in the hall. They should be covered with a tablecloth, like all buffet tables.

It is customary to distinguish two serving options:

• one-sided;
• bilateral.

Banquet-cocktail

An ideal solution for a business event. Today it is used more and more often due to the fact that it best satisfies all the needs of a busy person and corresponds to his capabilities.

Banquet-cocktails are usually divided into two types (according to duration):

• Lasting no more than 50 minutes. Organized in between other business events - symposiums, meetings, congresses.
• Lasting up to two hours. It is held at the end of the meeting and is intended to give guests the opportunity to relax.

Cocktail events do not use tables for seating. In the corners, near the walls of the hall, small pieces of furniture can be installed with cigarettes, matches, flower arrangements, and napkins placed on them. A bar counter is allowed.

The menu includes only small portion appetizers, as well as desserts, hot and cold drinks.

Professional secrets: how to attract a client

Not every restaurant that has a full set of the above-mentioned components knows how to take full advantage of them and make money on banquet events. There are a number of professional marketing secrets that allow restaurants to increase banquet sales and attract new customers.

• Individual approach

It’s good when you deal with a client who clearly knows what he wants. These are called “active customers”. They are able to clearly articulate their wishes and preferences.

It’s more difficult with passive customers. They need detailed information, ready-made proposals and scenarios. To work with such clients, you need to have several options for turnkey holidays, in different price categories.

• Competent organization: 5 stages

1. Any banquet begins with the acceptance of an order. At this stage, the key point is to clarify the date, time of the event, the number of its guests and the method of payment for the order.
2. Then you can move on to discussing the menu, its calculation and methods of serving dishes.
3. The next stage is the design of the banquet hall, the wishes of the customer, as well as solving the issue of the entertainment program: is a host, DJ, or performances by artists needed?
4. Staff briefing – bringing the customer’s requirements to the attention of waiters, cooks, and the hall administrator.
5. Conclusion of an agreement. This document will become the official evidence of the completed transaction. The contract must clearly state the customer's requirements, the contractor's capabilities and the obligations of both parties.

• Advertising as a method of attracting customers

1. Advertising on the Internet on specialized sites such as www.4banket.ru According to experts, it is advertising on the Internet that “brings” up to 95% of customers to the restaurant. The remaining 5% comes from word of mouth – reviews from satisfied visitors. Note: word of mouth only works if there is excellent service and quality cuisine.
2. Outdoor advertising - banners, street mobile structures informing about the latest promotions and offers.
3. Creation of a database of regular customers. It can be useful especially on the eve of seasonal offers, for example, in October to notify corporate clients about New Year's restaurant discounts. Tip: Inviting a popular presenter who already has his own contacts will help the restaurant expand its base of potential customers.
4. Event agency services – participation in promotional events, maintaining constant contact with event organizers.