Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Caterer's Party Language: How to Speak It, What It Means

Your caterer seems to be talking in code. You have no idea what they're talking about.

Here is some practical help for you to help to decode the caterer's jargon that they're using.

Caterer's party language

A la carte - Menu items priced individually and ordered as such.

Action station/Performance station - A food station at a buffet table with a chef cooking and/or serving food prepared on site.
Amuse-bouche - A taste tease chosen by the chef, served before the appetizer.
Arrival pattern - The manner in which groups arrive to a function.
Bistro chairs - A type of stool, with a back and no arms, that sits higher than a normal chair.
Butlered service - A reference to the style of service for an event, whereby guests are greeted with trays of beverages as they arrive.
CEO/BEO - Catering event order and banquet event order.
Chiavari chairs - High-end style chairs often rented and used for social events.
Consumption bar - No minimum; a bar that charges the client for drinks based on consumption.
Crudite - Raw vegetables served on a platter with dipping sauces, often served during an event reception.
Demitasse - French for "half cup" - refers to smaller cups and spoons for stylized service, usually during dessert.
Final guarantee - The guest count the client is responsible to pay. It is usually given to the caterer or event planner three to five days before the event.
Flying buffet - Finger foods placed on a buffet table.
Full bar - Includes wine, beer, spirits and non-alcoholic beverages.
Half round - A table set-up known as three-quarter round. Often used at meetings, it allows everyone to face the same way for lectures and presentations.
Head count - An accurate number of guests attending an event.
Hospitality room - A room where guests can network and mingle between classes or sessions. Can also mean the "green room" where VIP guests, celebrities and entertainers are held until they are introduced or brought out to a function.
No host bar - Guests pay, individually, for their drinks.
Open bar/Hosted bar - Free drinks for all of the guests that are charged to the host's tab.
Open seating - Also known as "festival seating"; guests are free to sit wherever they would like.
Pipe and drape - Additional rented materials used to create backdrops, pathways, enhance the event space or mask walls.
Sommelier - A certified wine steward with a high-level of knowledge about wine, who passed extensive wine tasting and testing.
Staggered arrival - Guests arrive throughout the time of a party or business function at various times.