Why corporate events need a different plan
A private garden party has one host making decisions. A corporate BBQ has an organiser, a budget holder, a facilities team, perhaps security and HR, and hundreds of colleagues with their own diaries and dietary needs. Most of the problems we see at work events aren't about food at all: they're about communication, access and timings that nobody quite owned.
The good news is that a bit of structure fixes almost all of it. The same framework applies to a summer staff BBQ, a hog roast for a site opening or a team celebration. Our corporate catering page covers the services; this guide covers the planning.
A working timeline
Adjust to your organisation. Larger sites and summer dates need the longer lead times.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Two to three months out | Agree the budget, date and purpose. Check the date against company calendars, quarter-ends and holidays. Request quotes. |
| Around two months out | Book the caterer. Brief facilities on the proposed location. Ask about permissions, insurance documents and any site induction needs. |
| Six weeks out | Send a save-the-date to staff. Open a simple registration for attendance and dietary requirements. |
| Three to four weeks out | Confirm menu and service style. Agree the location, access route and parking for the catering vehicle. Decide on the wet-weather plan. |
| One to two weeks out | Close registration. Send final numbers and dietary breakdown to the caterer. Share the day's running order with facilities and security. |
| The week of the event | Check the forecast and trigger the weather plan if needed. Send a reminder to staff with timings and location. |
| On the day | Be the named contact. Meet the catering team on arrival. Keep an eye on queue flow and timings. |
Headcount and service windows
Registration numbers are always higher than actual attendance, except when they're lower because a department forgot to sign up. Give your caterer the best realistic estimate, and tell them about any known variables (a sales team that may or may not be back from a conference, a night shift that will come in late).
Think carefully about the service window. If everyone can down tools at once, a single lunch service of an hour or so works well. If some teams need to keep phones or production lines covered, a longer staggered window, or two separate sittings, is kinder and avoids a single massive queue.
For larger sites, consider more than one serving point. A hog roast carving counter alongside a BBQ grill naturally splits the queue, and it covers more dietary preferences at the same time.
Dietary registration done properly
Build dietary questions into the registration form rather than chasing them afterwards. At minimum ask about vegetarian, vegan, no pork, halal, gluten-free and allergies, with a free-text box for anything else.
Send the caterer the totals, and flag any severe allergies separately so they can be discussed. We plan vegetarian and vegan dishes as proper options, cook them separately where requested and label everything at the counter. For specific allergies we'll talk through the ingredients; like any catering kitchen, we can't guarantee the absence of traces, but we can be precise about what's in each dish.
At a work event, visible inclusivity matters. A generous veggie selection from our BBQ menu, such as halloumi, veggie burgers and plant-based sausages, sends a better message than a single token option.
Facilities and site liaison
Get these agreed with your facilities or estates team before the day. They're the questions that cause delays when left to the morning.
- Location on site: a flat, firm area away from air intakes, doorways and smoke detectors, with room for a queue.
- Vehicle access: where the catering van can unload, barrier or gate codes, and height restrictions in car parks.
- Parking: where the vehicle stays during the event, and whether spaces need to be coned off the night before.
- Power: whether a socket is available nearby, or whether we should be fully self-sufficient.
- Security and sign-in: names of the catering team, arrival time, any site induction or PPE rules.
- Permissions: whether landlords or managing agents on business parks need to approve cooking outdoors.
- Documents: insurance and food hygiene details, risk assessments or method statements if your organisation asks for them.
- Waste: confirm the caterer removes their own, and where general guest waste goes.
The weather plan
British summer being what it is, you need a plan B that's decided in advance, not debated at 11am on the day. The catering itself copes with rain: the cooking area has its own cover. The question is where your colleagues eat.
Options include a marquee or gazebos booked with a cancellation window, an indoor space such as a canteen, atrium or large meeting room where people can take food, or simply serving from outside and letting people eat at their desks. Agree the trigger (for example, a forecast check two days before) and who makes the call.
Hot weather needs thinking about too: shade, water, and a service time that avoids the fiercest part of the afternoon. Our outdoor catering checklist has more.
Communicating with staff
Treat it like any internal campaign. A save-the-date early, a registration with a clear deadline, and a reminder in the week with the time, location and wet-weather arrangements. Tell people what's on the menu; it helps attendance, and it lets those with dietary needs see they've been thought of.
On the day, a simple sign at the serving point showing which dishes are vegetarian or vegan helps the queue move. If you've got remote or hybrid colleagues coming in specially, make sure they know the timings so they don't arrive to an empty grill.
If this is an end-of-year event rather than summer, our Christmas party catering and festive ideas guide cover the winter version.
Corporate BBQ questions
Can you cook in a business park car park?
Often, yes, subject to permission from the site owner or managing agent and a suitable flat, firm area. We'll talk through the location with your facilities team.
Can you serve in more than one sitting?
Yes. Split or extended service windows are common at sites with shift patterns or teams that need to stay covered.
Do you provide paperwork for our procurement team?
We can provide insurance and food hygiene details and discuss any supplier forms or risk assessment documents your organisation needs.
Hog roast or BBQ for a work event?
BBQ often wins for mixed workforces because of the built-in variety; a hog roast is excellent for larger groups in a single sitting. Many companies have both. See hog roast vs BBQ.
