Event planner Penny Haas (Penny Haas, LLC) agrees. “I've sat in on tastings for holiday parties, nonprofit events with committees, and black-tie awards functions. At a certain level of experience and price point, a tasting is a great idea to understand style, presentation, and flavor.” Tastings allow the planner and caterer to lock in details of the event and sell the client on various offerings, giving both parties the chance to upsell services and minimize mistakes. Indeed, the more intense the event, the more consequential a tasting will be. “It's often important for high-stakes corporate events that the items and presentation are a good fit with the other elements of the event,” says Vijay Goel (Bite Catering Couture). “We tend to see them for branded experiential events, brand sampling, Michelin-level plated events for brand launches or VIPs, and sales/partner events for high- level producers.” The plus sides No matter the event type, tastings can offer benefits that increase the event’s success. They prepare the caterer for menu modifications, let the client in on the sustainability and service approaches, and give the planner a feel for the caterer’s process. It’s essentially a test run of the event’s F&B portion, helping the client better visualize the details so they can make more certain decisions. “As tastings usually take a few hours, it’s also a great chance to speak with the catering team and discuss the goals of the event to see if or make sure you’re on the same page,” says Chang. “Another great thing to do at the tasting is request that a beverage director or sommelier is available,” adds Juls Sharpley (Juls Sharpley Events). “If the caterer does not have an in-house sommelier, then bringing in a sommelier advisor is strongly encouraged, especially for clients with sophisticated wine knowledge and discerning palates. This is a great opportunity to discuss the specific foods and any great pairings, as well as curate custom cocktails.” Tastings let event pros flesh out the event’s F&B to a T, brainstorming and strategizing every option early on for better success later. Whether you’re an event planner or a caterer, tastings are a way to improve your chances of achieving event goals. The conflict: Planner POV The benefits of tastings are easy to see—so what’s the problem? There are a few factors that event pros
disagree on, and these disagreements often seem to pit planner against caterer. It’s an intricate dance, and toes can easily get stepped on when caterers’ and planners’ perspectives clash. Talk to any planner: they’ll swap stories and share common frustrations about the way a caterer has handled a tasting in the past. “Some common frustrations when discussing tastings will be if the chef changes, the menu changes, or special requests are not noted,” says Haas. “I've worked with caterers who helped with this experience by adding notes to event orders, honoring the previous menu depending on the booking window, and helping by taking pictures from the tasting in case there is any update to the culinary team.” Another common occurrence: excluding the planner from the tasting. “I think one of the most frustrating parts of tastings (sometimes) is if they don't include feeding the planner,” says Loni Peterson, MLS (LP Creative Events). “We are here to help guide, make suggestions, and use our years of experience to weigh in on food quality, taste, and event day large-scale execution. It is really hard for us to do that if we aren't also enjoying the meal.” This is especially true for luxury clients, who become extremely close with their planner during the planning process. During her keynote session The Ol’ Razzle Dazzle at Catersource + The Special Event 2023, Marcy Blum (Marcy Blum Associates) discussed the reality of the luxury client-planner relationship, explaining how the client is often attached at the hip of the planner, sharing their goals and personality and trusting the planner to make the right decisions with that information. “Impress the planner first and foremost, we are the gatekeepers. Sorry, that’s how it’s going.” Other frustrations include when caterers don't provide printed menu offerings for the client to look at, don’t check in with the client and planner at each course, or can’t communicate well about customizing menus. “Some chefs are shy and uncomfortable chatting it up with clients,” says Sharpley, “so when it comes to conversing about what they liked and what they might want to change, or what other ideas they could explore, if the chef isn't great at handling that, then we really like it when there is someone on their team who can be present to be the hype person and help communicate with the chef.” Planners know their client well, and they are the ultimate orchestrator of the event, so being out of the loop in any aspect of the tasting makes it difficult to work well. “Planners often experience frustration when caterers are inflexible or unprepared, or when tastings run off track due to unclear goals,” says Lisa Costantini, the Director
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SPECIAL EVENTS SPRING 2025
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