Jeff Grass, chairman & CEO of HUNGRY Marketplace Inc., thinks the trend of serving individually packaged meals will wane as COVID becomes less of an issue. Courtesy of Jeff Grass

As meeting and event attendees become food savvy, crave variety and demand a wider range of flavors, unique food and beverage options are now viewed as an easy avenue to please attendees and keep them coming back for more. And as the world recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, new trends in food and beverage offerings are proving to be a great way to offer unique dining options that make lasting impressions.

Packed lunches and outdoor receptions are two of the biggest trends Heather Odendaal, co-founder, CEO and event planner at WNORTH and Bluebird Strategy, is seeing right now in the conferences and events space. The idea of having packed lunches available helps support those who are not comfortable with sitting down for a meal with other attendees. Meeting and event planners also need to be prepared with options for their guests interested in “take away” food and beverages, if requested.

“When I attended IMEX in Las Vegas [last] fall, it was the first 5,000+ attendee conference that I had been to since before the pandemic,” Odendaal says. “All of the receptions that I attended were held outside, in large spacious pool areas around the Mandalay Bay property. Serving food and beverages in this type of environment definitely meant that attendees felt more at ease and resulted in better attendance than those held inside.”

The COVID-19 Effect

Jeff Grass, chairman & CEO of HUNGRY Marketplace Inc., which connects companies with local chefs to provide event catering, says individually packaged meals are currently much more common than pre-COVID. “We believe this will wane as COVID becomes less of an issue and we regain our focus on environmental sustainability,” Grass says. “Individually packaged meals have limited COVID safety benefits, but are terrible for the environment, and typically provide lower levels of guest satisfaction. These two factors will mean the shift to individually packaged meals won’t last long after COVID.”

Jon Chir, Pechanga Resort Casino’s director of sales and catering, says the demand for booking meetings and events is as high as ever. They’re seeing groups and planners wanting to book events into 2023 at Pechanga Resort Casino. Chir says when it comes to food being served, groups have largely stopped asking for everything being individually wrapped and prepared. “There’s been this shift in looking at how much waste all the packaging creates, and we see groups wanting to go back to our normal selection of menus. They’re wanting to get back to the comfort that our chefs’ food provides,” Chir says.

Desserts always prove popular with meetings and events. Chir has seen a shift this past year with groups requesting individual, hand-held and bite-sized desserts. “I don’t think I saw one whole pie or cake, except for at weddings, on our orders this past year. And that’s even through the holidays,” Chir says. Pechanga’s pastry chef created miniature gingerbread cookie houses that visually are appealing. He also created yule log cheesecakes for one event, and many more single-serving confections planners really loved. “We think they’ll continue to appreciate this dessert style so everyone gets their choice in the part of the meal that carries a lot of importance for most,” Chir says.

Bree DiBernardo, senior sales manager at the Gant Aspen in Aspen, Colorado, says healthier food options, more vegetarian requests and a larger focus on sustainability is taking over the food and beverage segment within the meetings and events industry. People are also looking for more local, farm-to-table options. In addition, people want fresh foods and the ability to support a local company, as opposed to larger corporations.

At Grand Hyatt Vail in Colorado, sustainability, with an emphasis on locally sourced ingredients, is a trend right now in meetings and events. Courtesy of Dilyana White

Dilyana White, director of events at Grand Hyatt Vail in Vail, Colorado, agrees that sustainability, with an emphasis on locally sourced ingredients, is a big trend right now in meetings and events. She is also seeing more requests for “local fare” in their events. Many restaurants and caterers will actually have small gardens where they grow their own produce to be served on the menu. This also cuts down on costs and enhances the freshness of the meal. “People are being more cognizant of their global footprint, especially with larger gatherings. We are happy to see this trend continuing to gain momentum, as it aligns with our culinary purpose at Hyatt, where we do our best to ensure we are limiting as much food waste as possible, supporting local agriculture and purveyors, all while creating a memorable and enjoyable experience for our guests,” White says.

And while sustainable menu options are key, meeting planners also are turning their attention to such things as incorporating “green” utensils, which can include bamboo, wood and compostable options for guests. In general, sustainable or organic meats and produce do cost more than conventional meats and produce, but there are cost-savings benefits to embracing environmentally friendly practices.

Event producers and attendees also are asking for more consideration in dietary needs and preferences. In today’s world of various dietary restrictions, today’s food and beverage providers are usually well versed in the unique dietary needs because they serve so many people at various events. Providing vegetarian, gluten-free and vegan options is a common request, and one that can usually be accommodated during the planning process. It also is helpful to have attendees select a dish or list dietary preferences during the RSVP process of an event, so the food-service provider can best prepare to accommodate the needs of guests.

As White explains, more people are opting for plant-based meals a few days a week, or eliminating ‘inflammatory ingredients’ like gluten and dairy. With this in mind, they have tailored their event food and beverage menus to incorporate all these pieces into every menu offering so that the ‘special request’ is already accommodated within the event menu.

Instead of attendees sitting at a single table for an event, the planners want to see attendees mingle. Courtesy of Heather Odendaal

“Sustainable and fresh local ingredients were popular before the pandemic, however supporting local suppliers and eating farm to table has become increasingly more popular over the pandemic,” Odendaal says. “Global supply-chain issues and inflation have also pushed up the price of overseas goods and meat. I believe we are going to see a much stronger push for vegetarian options on event and conference meal plans.”

The biggest food and beverage trends that Ryan Thompson, director of sales and marketing at The Alida in Savannah, Georgia, is seeing is that clients want to see new, fun, interactive stations as opposed to a more traditional plated or buffet meal. This is everything from carving stations to pretzel bars, to grazing tables. A lot of events and meetings that Thompson is seeing are less about the actual meeting and more about interacting as a company and enjoying in-person events again. So, instead of attendees sitting at a single table for an event, the planners want to see attendees mingle around with everyone and interact with each other, as well as the food and beverage options. “Meeting planners and attendees definitely want to see ‘what’s new,’” Thompson says. “They are looking for new items they haven’t seen before that will impress their guests, but also taste delicious. On the food side especially, having that ‘wow factor,’ in addition to great taste, really makes an event in the planner’s eyes.”

On the beverage side, Thompson is seeing a lot more requests for local items — such as beers and spirits — or a nod to a local flavor, such as a Georgia Peach Martini. “This also goes back to the fact that events are really starting back up again, and a meeting or reception might be the first-time group attendees have traveled in a couple of years,” Thompson says.

Continuing Problems

CulinAero by Proof of the Pudding provides catering to the Georgia International Convention Center and the Gateway Center Arena at College Park. General manager of food services Howard Hickman says COVID is impacting food and beverage in so many ways. “Supply-chain shortages have wreaked havoc. In many instances, we have had to modify finished menus based on what’s available in the market,” Hickman says. “The price of proteins is ever changing, driving up our food costs to record numbers. We are also seeing a lot of commitment phobia from our meeting planners. They are reluctant to make guaranteed commitments until the last possible minute, because most are fearful that attendees will drop out and they will be stuck with a large bill.”

Odendaal agrees that everyone has had to pivot as a result of the pandemic, and she has actually seen new businesses start during the pandemic as a result of changing food and beverage needs of consumers. “At the end of the day, everyone needs to eat, and not everyone likes cooking for themselves. I have seen many chefs leave the catering kitchen to start companies that cater to smaller dinners, meal-prep kits and even become private chefs,” Odendaal says. “A local company in my town started just before the pandemic to serve charcuterie to wedding parties. They quickly developed other markets, including a growing list of Realtors in the area who were purchasing their trays as thank you gifts for clients and deliveries for virtual networking events.”

Staffing shortages also continue to be a sore spot for the food and beverage industry, as a lot of hospitality workers have not returned yet. “Industry wide, there is a huge shortage of workers; it has become a war for talent,” Hickman says.

Providing vegetarian, gluten-free and vegan options is a common request, as more people are opting for plant-based meals a few days a week. Courtesy of Heather Odendaal

There is definitely an emphasis now on food safety from a serving perspective, as food and beverage professionals are seeing more requests for individual portions opposed to buffet options. “Those who do order buffets have requested our team to serve the food or require all guests to wear masks while serving themselves,” DiBernardo says.

At Grand Hyatt Vail, the supply chain has caused the largest impact on food and beverage in meetings and events. “A protein that you were able to get one week may not be available the next week. We have created a contingency plan to ensure we are still creating the experience that the event producers are looking for without sacrificing quality of product,” White says.

Grand Hyatt Vail has seen a lot of success with breaking up typical buffets into multiple stations to allow for more distancing. For example, at breakfast, attendees can have a fruit and pastries station, a yogurt/oatmeal granola bar, an eggs station and a few beverage stations, such as juice, hot beverages or cold-brew coffee. This can help eliminate long lines where people are standing in close proximity for longer periods of time. This can also create an opportunity for increased networking as well during breakfast or lunch, versus having to wait for the reception held later.

Creating unique noteworthy food and beverage events is something on White’s trend radar — how do they create experiences that people love to be a part of in smaller groups that they can create on a larger scale. For example, food or beer halls, food trucks, chef dinners, farm-to-table communal dining, etc. “We have successfully operated several chef-led dinners, where we have an executive chef from a local or destination restaurant partner with our executive chef to create an experience where the chef is cooking right in front of the guests and introducing each individual course,” White says. For a more interactive dining experience, Grand Hyatt Vail works with local restaurateurs to create pop-up stations within their event space to create a “food hall” experience along with multiple beverage stations, wine bars, craft-beer tasting, signature cocktails/mocktails, etc.

Creativity Rises

Because the ice sculpture champagne fountain and cascading fruit waterfall may not be as COVID-19 safe, meeting planners now have to get creative. Odendaal recently attended a conference in California where the organizers hosted a seated cocktail hour which consisted of a beautifully displayed DIY cocktail-making kit, complete with [clear] ice cubes and edible flowers. Each guest was seated five to a table at half rounds, where a bartender presented on stage the step-by-step instructions. “It was incredibly creative, fun, socially distanced and unique,” Odendaal says.

The team at the Alida is focused a lot more on the presentation of food. So, if it is a shared item, like an interactive station or buffet, they are changing out those serving utensils more frequently and providing more serving options. The days of grabbing a piece of cheese with your fingers from a charcuterie board are over, and guests are actively looking for utensils to use.

“Similarly, we have received some requests for a served buffet where, instead of the guests serving themselves, a staff member will serve instead. This keeps the food options fun and away from a more traditional plated meal, but does offer a little more safety on the food presentation side. This can also be a little challenging as we are diagramming the space,” Thompson says. “Adding in a server requires extra space and equipment, and also flips the setup of a traditional ‘serve yourself’ buffet so a few new room sets have been necessary.”

Looking ahead, the rising cost of F&B is going to be unavoidable and very necessary for meeting planners to account for in their budgets. “Over the pandemic, many workers have left the industry, and in order to keep attracting new talent, wage increases are imminent,” Odendaal says. “That, coupled with the rising costs of goods, means that, at Bluebird Strategy, we are accounting for a 30% rise in F&B costs compared with pre-pandemic.” C&IT