With the quarantine still underway, more and more people want to organize something special with their near ones in their backyard. While the cold months are not exactly the perfect time for outdoor catering events, the ongoing coronavirus has drastically changed the way we roll out events.

People have learned embraced social distancing, and they have successfully employed these guidelines for outdoor celebrations. Be it in the backyard or at a select venue, reduced audience capacity has become the new norm. Venues have now either started organizing indoor dining at a reduced capacity, whereas some of them have entirely stopped indoor dining and have started serving guests on their outdoor space.

Outdoor catering has become a new necessity due to such conditions. An outdoor venue allows you to space tables with sufficient distance, and plus the open-air setup gives more area to spread out compared to an indoor setting.

Adapting to these events, either on a small scale or large scale can be fun and exciting. But to move your celebration outside, you first, need to be ready with a few essential pieces of equipment. You need dishes and janitorial supplies that are suitable outside of a typical kitchen setting.

We have put together essential outdoor catering tips that will help you prep up for your upcoming outdoor event with ease.

1. Familiarize Yourself with the Venue First

Even if it is your backyard, you should carefully inspect it before locking onto any event celebration. If you’ve picked a suitable venue for your event, pay a visit to the location in advance so that you can smoothly plan your outdoor catering setup. This will allow you to see all the resources that can you use for your celebration.

This is a very important step because the outline of your venue will determine what equipment you need to get.

For instance, if you require a truck that you need to park out of the guests’ sight, you will have to calculate how far you will need to carry dishes and other janitorial supplies from your kitchen space. Most importantly, a visit to the venue will help you gauge if the venue is large enough for your guests to move freely while promoting social distancing.

For some reason, if you can’t visit to go to the venue before the event day, make sure you contact the location head and discuss your entire site plan with him or her. Don’t forget to ask about the smallest details: electrical hookup placement, ask about the terrain, and even something as basic as light levels. Although these details could influence how you are able to work on the day of the event.

2. Zoning Restrictions and Permits

Zoning ordinances help differentiate between residential and commercial spaces. These rules define the ways of using a particular area. Typically, local government policies make zoning restrictions for the event, especially if you organize at a temporary space such as a parking lot or a closed street. In several regions, you may require permits and approval from the fire marshal, health department, as well as other officials. If you are organizing an event yourself, be sure to get approval on these to avoid unnecessary fines.

3. Plan Your Menu According to Space

When it comes to picking wholesale restaurant supply and choosing items in your menu, always think about how the outdoor conditions may affect your guests’ food preferences. Guests are often sensitive to noise level, space availability, and the time of the year you’re organizing the event.

For example, if your guests are unfortunate enough to dine next to speakers, blaring loud music, they may not want to sit for long and would prefer filling their bellies with portable food that they can carry a quieter area.

4. Always Have a Back-Up Plan for Bad Weather Condition

One of the biggest setbacks about organizing an outdoor event is unforeseen weather conditions. Bad weather can instantly put your entire event out of order if you are not well prepared for it.

But on the other hand, you don’t really have to cancel your plan just because the weather condition isn’t ideal- you just have to be well prepared for it.

Staying well-prepared for extreme weather by taking into account all the right protocols and supplies will ensure your event goes on even in the case of rains and storms.

For example, by organizing a canopy at the venue, you can easily provide a shelter for your guests as well as essential wholesale restaurant supply. When you are setting up, ask around to check if the generators powering the area and the extension cords can be safely shielded from bad weather. Since many outdoor catering supplies may not be completely weatherproof, you will have to think of a way to keep them safe. If you don’t prepare a solid contingency plan, then your event day will leave you scrambling and you definitely won’t be able to celebrate the occasion.