The meeting industry F&B trend includes menus that enhance a company’s culture and brand. The “grazing table,” an assortment of small bites, is also used to attract event attendees. Courtesy of Ryan Abney

Today’s attendees have become food savvy. Not only do they crave variety, but they expect a wider range of flavors. As such, financial and insurance meeting planners need to offer unique food and beverage options that inspire and delight.

Brad Lipshy, CEO and founder of Event Solutions in Santa Monica, CA, first got started in the event industry by providing catering. He expanded his business over the last 35 years to become a full-service event planning company, working with a variety of industries including financial and insurance. Because of his background in food and beverage, Lipshy understands the nuances within the F&B segment of the industry and pays close to trends.

A big change Lipshy and his team of event planners have seen in recent years is that people want experiences across all aspects of a meeting or event.

“Everything, including food and beverage offerings, is an opportunity to create an experience,” Lipshy said. “Give them something they haven’t seen before, or offer something familiar in a way that challenges their expectations.” Recently, Event Solutions provided a dessert display where the food offerings moved on plates and Ferris wheels, as well as an interactive mashed potato station and other food displays with interactive features.

As Lipshy explained, the interactive element added to the experience, allowing the attendee to customize their food and watch it be prepared in front of them. In particular, Event Solutions’ nitro ice cream station was a huge hit, with attendees stopping to get selfies in the cloud that is created from the specialty ice cream. Attendees selected the ingredients and the staff created a show-stopping dessert.

“More specifically, we create a menu that is designed to enhance your company’s culture and brand,” Lipshy said. “What this looks like for each company will vary depending on their location, needs, values, type of event, attendees and a variety of other details.”

Another F&B trend the Event Solutions’ team is currently seeing is efforts in sustainability. “At this same event, we provided sustainable cutlery,” Lipshy said. “Compostable utensils, palm leaf bowls and other waste reduction products were used in place of disposable wares. Farm to table and organic options are also big trends under sustainable efforts.”

Also, adding a touch of the company’s cultural roots is making a big push in recent years. Event Solutions orchestrated an event in San Francisco for a company that holds roots in Saudi Arabia. They choose to select dishes from their culture to share with their VIP, invite-only guests.

“Sometimes, these simple adjustments, such as their local coffee served in the traditional way, goes a long way to celebrate a culture and create a unique experience,” Lipshy said.

According to Tom Pasha, president and corporate event planner at Contact Planning in Saint Cloud, FL, catering budgets are getting stretched very thin, due to the F&B minimums, staff shortages, pricing issues and supply chain problems.

“To counteract all that, we are working with more custom menus and conducting more meetings with the catering director and chef to design menus that can make sense for a group,” Pasha said.

At Ryan Abney Event Design in Birmingham, MI, owner and lead designer Ryan Abney is seeing an influx of the inclusion of “small bites” using locally sourced ingredients.  “I am also seeing a real effort being made to consider dietary restrictions and the provision of alternate offerings with this in mind,” Abbey said.

One type of food option that has been ‘wowing’ attendees is the grazing table. A grazing table incorporates charcuterie, cheeses, crackers, breads, fresh and dried fruit, crudité, olives and more. Fresh floral is often also used to accent the table design.

“Grazing tables with add-ons and food stations have been the most popular with my meeting event clients,” Abney said. “Something else that I have suggested for clients having summer events is a unique take on a bento box, with elevated inclusions that still provide a ‘grab and go’ option.”

Health Conscious

As meeting and event attendees become more health conscious, crave nutritious foods and request meetings that don’t require sitting for hours at a time, meeting venues and planners alike are working hard to incorporate health and wellness components into their F&B offerings.

Sharon DeFelices, CMP, owner at Mosaic Meetings and Events in Canonsburg, PA, and founder of Blueprint for a Healthy Meeting, said healthier options are definitely trending higher as the industry is seeing more food allergies, preferences and restrictions than ever before.

“The diversity of attendees, culturally and generationally, is also factoring into the menu choices.  We’re also seeing that sustainability and production practices matter more than they ever did,” DeFelices said.

Meeting planners are always looking for new ways to offer sweet treats to the attendees, while making sure they also have the healthy items from which to choose. Offering items like a “superfoods break” provides items such as fresh made smoothies, super grains and antioxidant shooters.

For clients looking to infuse health and wellness into their events, experts recommend going natural with food and activities. This can be as simple as substituting granola for cookies and coconut water for soda, or creating a smoothie bar break and planning heart-wise meals with the venue’s in-house chef.

Another consideration is offering creative breakfast options that accommodate vegetarian and gluten free preferences, as well as breakfast porridges or stations where people can create delicacies for themselves.

“Fruit kabobs is a healthier break option that helps to avoid the afternoon sugar slump,” DeFelices said. “The avocado and nut butter toast station can be a break option as well.”

While healthy menu options are welcome among today’s meetings and event attendees, ethnic dishes are also readily being embraced. DeFelices was recently at a multi-day event during Ramadan and the property was accommodating about preparing meals for the attendees during the windows that they were able to eat.

“Many were vegetarian and while the offerings were lovely, it would have been nice to see more culturally appropriate dishes. One attendee told me that he was tired of fruit for breakfast and salad for lunch,” DeFelices said. “I wish we’d see more lentils on menus. Biryani, curries and other dishes that are culturally familiar would be an exciting addition to a lunch buffet. Hotels and venues should take note of how popular Indian and Thai restaurants are and offer some options in those cuisines.”

For larger events, Pasha is seeing groups working to be inclusive of many cultures. “Asian food, including Thai and Vietnamese items, are getting popular. We will try to build a theme around the ethnic areas of the city where we are having the event and present a wide array of different ethnic cuisines,” he said.

Abney also is witnessing a resurgence of Asian-inspired dishes making appearances on many more catering menus. These dishes do lend themselves to being budget friendly, able to be served in an individualized manner, and can be adjusted to accommodate dietary restrictions.

Action stations are making a “comeback” for receptions. “We are requesting more sushi stations, dim-sum, build your own dessert items and others,” Pasha said. “We are getting great responses from clients who like the interactivity that an action station provides.” Pasha notes that red meat is fairly rare as an entrée and most catering is going into dual entrees, with a petite chicken breast or fish fillet with a small beef item, for example. Steaks and other red meat items are minimal, due to health concerns, sustainability and pricing.

And as far as beverage trends, mixologists can rejoice. Signature cocktails (and mocktails) are taking the event industry by storm. In the wrap party for an NBA2K game, Event Solutions provided unique branded cocktails created after the elements of the company and its game. Drinks like G.O.A.T. Fuel, C++, Jumpman, M.V.P., Slam Dunk, Golden State of Mind, and Dev Juice were provided.

“Similar to interactive food, we are adding tasting bars to many receptions; we’ll have a tasting sommelier for champagnes, bourbons tequilas and other items,” Pasha said. “These are great ways to add some razzle-dazzle with a minimal addition to the budget. Many hotels have a tasting expert in-house who can lead the attendees through the different liquors.”

DeFelices also is seeing attendees embrace fresh juices, kombucha during the day and mocktails for the evening events. To complement the hottest beverage selections, Abney recommends planners consider adding garnishes to elevate the drinks. As she explained, garnish can be branded as a way to incorporate the company or event logo.

How It’s Delivered

They say presentation is paramount when it comes to food offerings at meetings and events. And while sit-down meals are still a great option, a recent trend is moving towards buffet with action stations. This allows guests to customize their food and beverage experience versus being provided a single dish made for everyone. Action stations also create the interactive experience that enhances the entire event.

Of course, with a traditional meeting agenda, time slots allocated for breakfast and lunch are much more “rigid” so buffets work well in this area. However, offering stations like a create-your-own oatmeal or chia pudding station can be an “out of the box” addition to a breakfast buffet.

For lunches, DeFelices suggest planners consider a create-your-own Thai noodle bar station or grain bar.

“Yes, this is labor intense for a kitchen and requires chef-manned stations, but if it eliminates the two-entrée, two-sides plus salad and rolls buffet, I think planners might be surprised to see the price comparison,” DeFelices said. “The added bonus? Attendees get to create exactly what they want to eat.”

Stations for receptions are DeFelices’ “to go” food delivery preference. As she explained, a few passed hors d’oeuvres can keep the crowd interested, but having ethnic stations strategically placed in the room can keep the stations from having long queues and accommodate many restrictions and dietary preferences.

“One reminder — think about silverware and how your guests will need to eat the items offered.  Be sure to have enough tables and/or seats for attendees to put their drink down and enjoy the food,” DeFelices said.

Budget Conscious

Trendy food and beverage offerings can certainly delight attendees, but they can also cause concern from a budgetary perspective. That’s why DeFelices recommends planners ask to meet with the venue’s chef or catering staff and discuss the budget.

“Start from scratch for menu design,” DeFelices said. “I like to say, ‘one fish, one beef or chicken and a vegan option.’ Chefs are much more knowledgeable with food costs and can typically create a menu that works.” DeFelices has had many conversations with culinarians, and most are more than willing to meet and create just what meeting planners are looking for.

“If there is a budget bump for one meal, ask what can be eliminated somewhere else to create some space in the budget,” DeFelices said. “Do we really need Danish on the breakfast buffet?”

When incorporating “trendy” food and beverage offerings into a meeting or event, Lipshy said it is important to identify areas of most importance and place your budget there, rather than trying to do everything. Highlighting a specific element  ensures you get the experience while staying within budget.

“Low budget food items can be elevated with presentation for a better experience with a classic option that is within budget,” Lipshy said.

DeFelices thinks planners are apprehensive to ask the culinary team what they “can do” within a budget. “We are programmed to make selections from the menus presented rather than collaborating on what can be done … differently,” DeFelices said.

When “shopping” venues, Pasha and his team also will meet the executive chef and catering director to discuss what the venue may specialize in. As such, Pasha tries to add to the theme based on the destination, and most venues have an extensive prop inventory for local themes.

“They may have décor items, up lights, interesting linen and props in storage that they can provide on request,” Pasha said. “We like to negotiate catering prices when we sign the contracts; in addition to the normal 10-20% discount from published prices, we will ask the venue to quote a dinner price to include a table wine; many hotels will stage the action stations at no additional cost to the group, since the catering is getting the sale anyway.”

And remember, it’s important to incorporate innovative food and beverage options by focusing on quality and not quantity. As Pasha explained, the meeting planning of the past would have bountiful food that most often was not only left over, but also thrown away at the end of the event.

“Providing meeting attendees with quality food options that will most likely be completely eaten by the event’s end is good for the budget and focuses on sustainability,” Abney said. “And it gives the attendees food options that they may not otherwise receive.”   I&FMM