Corporate Event Catering: Menus, Pricing & Formats

Choosing catering for a corporate event involves more than deciding what food sounds good. The right catering needs to suit the purpose of your event, the number of guests, the timing, the venue, your budget and any dietary requirements.

Whether you're organising a boardroom meeting for 10, a full-day conference, a networking event or an awards dinner, this guide will help you compare catering options and choose a format that works for both your guests and your event team.

What type of catering suits your event?

The type of event you're organising will help determine the catering format that works best.

If you're organising...	Consider
Boardroom Meeting	Breakfast, morning tea, individual lunch boxes or a working lunch
Training or Workshop	Easy-to-eat morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea
Conference	Delegate catering, buffet or individually served options
Networking Event	Canapés, grazing stations and drinks
Cocktail Event	Roving canapés, grazing and substantial finger food
Staff Celebrations	Buffet, cocktail or shared dining
Awards or Gala Dinner	Plated or alternate-drop dinner, banquet or tailored menu

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to event catering. The best option depends on what you want your catering to achieve and how your guests will experience the event.

Start with your event, not the menu

The right catering isn't just about choosing what food to serve. Think about what you want the catering to achieve for your event and your guests.

• Keep people fuelled — for meetings, workshops and training days
• Give people a break — with morning tea or afternoon tea during longer events
• Encourage networking — with canapés and food that allows guests to mingle
• Make an occasion feel special — with a considered menu for gala dinners and awards
• Create a great impression — with quality food and presentation for clients, stakeholders or guests
• Make your event easier to manage — with catering packages, delivery or a venue that can coordinate catering as part of the event

Once you've identified the purpose of your event, you can start looking at the menu, service style and catering format that will work best.

Catering for meetings, workshops and training days.

For meetings, workshops and training sessions, catering should be convenient, easy to serve and timed around the event schedule.

For shorter meetings, breakfast, morning tea or individual lunch options can be a simple solution. For a full-day workshop or training session, consider how morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea can provide natural breaks without disrupting the program.

Individual meals or lunch boxes can be useful when attendees have limited time or need to return to a session quickly, while platters and shared options can encourage conversation during a break.

Think about: timing, ease of serving, dietary requirements and how much time attendees have to eat.

Meeting & Workshop Catering

Catering for networking and cocktail events

For networking events and cocktail functions, catering needs to work alongside the social nature of the event.

Canapés, grazing stations and substantial finger food allow guests to continue conversations while enjoying something to eat. Consider whether food needs to be passed by staff, placed at stations or provided as a combination of both.

The amount and type of food will also depend on whether catering is replacing a meal or simply providing refreshments.

Think about: how easily guests can eat while mingling, the length of the event, the amount of food required and whether staff are needed to serve food and drinks.

Cocktail Menus

Catering for conferences and full-day events

 

Conferences and full-day events require a little more planning. Catering needs to keep attendees comfortable and energised while fitting around presentations, sessions and networking breaks.

A typical full-day event might include breakfast or arrival refreshments, morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea. The timing of these breaks is just as important as the food itself.

Consider how quickly a large group can be served and whether the catering format will allow everyone to return to the program on time.

Think about: guest numbers, service speed, break times, dietary requirements and whether attendees need to move between rooms.

Conference Menus

Catering for gala dinners and awards nights

For formal events, catering becomes part of the overall guest experience.

A plated or alternate-drop dinner, banquet or tailored menu can create a more structured and memorable dining experience. The meal also needs to work with the running order of the event, particularly when presentations, awards or speeches are taking place.

An experienced event and catering team can help coordinate meal service with the event schedule, so guests aren't waiting for food and important moments aren't interrupted.

Think about: the formality of the event, table service, timing between presentations, dietary requirements and how the meal fits into the running order.

Banquet Dinner Menus

How to compare catering quotes properly

When comparing catering providers, it can be tempting to simply compare the price per person. However, the cheapest price isn't always the lowest overall cost.

Start by checking exactly what is included in each quote.

Consider:

• Food and menu inclusions
• Delivery or whether catering is provided in-house
• Staffing and service
• Setup and pack-down
• Tea, coffee and other beverages
• Equipment, crockery and glassware
• Any minimum order requirements
• Service or additional fees
• Dietary requirements or menu adjustments

For example, one catering quote might include staff and beverages, while another may charge these separately.

A useful way to compare quotes is to look at the total cost of delivering the catering, rather than just the advertised cost per person.

Is catering provided in-house or delivered?

This is another important consideration when comparing venues and catering options. Some venues have an in-house kitchen and hospitality team, while others rely on external caterers or catering deliveries. If catering is delivered, check whether delivery fees are included in the quoted price and who is responsible for setup and service.

In-house catering can simplify event planning. When the catering team is part of the venue, they understand the space, kitchen location, access points, traffic flow, room setup and any practical considerations that can affect service. At Frankston Arts Centre, our in-house hospitality team works closely with the venue team to coordinate catering around your event, with no separate external catering delivery fees to factor into your budget.

The right service style will depend on the type of event you're running.

Plated or alternate-drop dining can suit formal dinners, awards nights and gala events where guests are seated and the dining experience is an important part of the occasion.

Buffet dining can provide flexibility for guests and work well for conferences, celebrations and larger events.

Canapés and substantial finger food are well suited to networking and cocktail events where guests are standing, moving around and talking.

Grazing stations and shared platters can create a more relaxed and social atmosphere.

Individual meals or lunch boxes can be practical for meetings, training days and events where guests have limited time to eat.

When choosing a format, consider not only what you want to serve, but how your guests will move through the event and how much time they have available.

Discover more

Dietary requirements and accessibility

Dietary requirements should be considered early in the planning process rather than as an afterthought.

When collecting RSVPs or registrations, ask guests to identify any dietary requirements and provide this information to your caterer as early as possible.

Requirements may include:

• Vegetarian
• Vegan
• Gluten-free
• Coeliac requirements
• Food allergies
• Other dietary or cultural requirements

Don't assume that removing one ingredient automatically makes a meal suitable for someone with an allergy or coeliac disease. Ask your caterer how dietary meals are prepared, handled and identified.

And importantly, ask how dietary requirements are managed. A good venue and catering team should make this a seamless part of the event, so you can feel confident your guests' needs are taken care of.

Should you choose a venue with catering?

Choosing a venue that can also provide catering can simplify event planning by reducing the number of suppliers you need to coordinate.

When the venue and catering teams work together, they can coordinate room layouts, catering times, service requirements and the event schedule.

When comparing venues, consider:

• Does the venue offer in-house catering?
• Can menus be adapted to suit the event?
• How are dietary requirements managed?
• Can the catering accommodate different event formats?
• Is there an experienced event team?
• Can the venue provide AV and other event services?
• Is there suitable space for catering and service?
• Are parking and accessibility suitable for your guests?

For event organisers, having venue, catering and event support in one place can remove some of the logistical work that comes with managing multiple suppliers.

Already have a venue? Consider offsite catering

If you already have a suitable meeting room, workplace or community venue booked, professional catering can still make your event easier to manage.

Frankston Arts Centre also offers a local offsite catering service, with food prepared by our in-house hospitality team and delivered to your location. It’s a convenient option for meetings, training days, workplace lunches and other events where the venue is already sorted. If you’re still looking for a venue, however, combining our event spaces with our in-house catering gives you the added benefit of one experienced team coordinating both.

Our Offsite Catering Service

10 questions to ask before booking a caterer

Before confirming your catering, make sure you understand exactly what you're getting.

• Who will manage the catering on the day?
• What is included in the quoted price?
• Is catering provided in-house or delivered?
• How much notice do you need to confirm catering?
• Are there minimum order or guest numbers?
• How are dietary requirements managed?
• Can the menu be adapted for my event?
• Does the catering include setup, service and pack-down?
• What happens if guest numbers change?
• Are there any additional costs I should know about?

Asking these questions before booking can help avoid unexpected costs and make sure the catering matches the way your event will run.

Corporate catering planning checklist

You don’t need to have every detail worked out before you speak to your caterer. A few basics, such as your event date, approximate guest numbers, event type and timing, are a great place to start.

From there, an experienced catering team can help guide you through the rest, including menu and service style, dietary requirements, drinks, staffing and setup. At Frankston Arts Centre, our hospitality and events teams understand the practicalities of delivering catering within an event and can work with you to make sure everything is considered and coordinated.

   

Planning your next event?

The right catering can make a significant difference to the guest experience and to how smoothly your event runs.

Whether you need a venue with in-house catering or offiste catering delivered to a location you've already secured, start by considering your event format, guest needs, budget and schedule.

At Frankston Arts Centre, our event spaces, hospitality team and catering options can help bring those elements together for corporate events, conferences, meetings, networking events, awards nights and more.

Explore our corporate venues, function spaces and Offsite Catering Service to start planning your next event.