Event Planning Archive
Celebrate Administrative Professionals Day With Us
Administrative Professionals Day will mark its 60th anniversary on April 25, 2012. The job and responsibilites of an administrative professional have changed alot of the years, but admins have always remained a huge and intergral part of any company. By helping ensure that jobs get done right, on time and under budget, admins are one of the most important roles in any organization. In a world that demands the accuracy and speed in a complex digital world, admins are masters of it all. They serve as the gatekeepers for many customers, clients and employees.
Over the years, Administrative Professionals Week has become one of the largest workplace observances. Celebrated worldwide, this holiday brings people together for events, educational seminars and individual corporate activities recognizing support staff. There are more than 4 million secretaries and administrative assistants working in the United States, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics, and over 8 million people working in various administrative support roles.
In honor of Administrative Professionals Week, Saint Germain Catering is offering the following special menus:
Staff Appreciation Breakfast #1
- Fluffy Farm Fresh Scrambled Eggs
- Diced Yukon Potatoes O’Brien
- Turkey Sausage Links and Crispy Bacon Strips
- Buttermilk Pancakes with Maple Syrup, Fruit Topping and Whipped Butter
- Mini Muffins, Danishes, Bagels and Croissants
- Sliced Seasonal Fruit and Berries
$12.99 Per Person minimum 50 guests
$11.99 Per Person minimum 100 guests
Staff Appreciation Breakfast #2
- Assorted Breakfast Egg Frittata “Cupcakes”
- Assorted Donuts and Dipped Donut Bites
- Sliced Seasonal Fruit Platter
- Individual Greek Yogurts with Granola
$10.99 Per Person minimum 50 guests
$9.99 Per Person minimum 100 guests
Staff Apprciation Lunch #1
- Mediterrean Chicken Kabobs & Beef Kabobs with Roasted Vegetables
- Shirin Polo Rice with Pistachios
- Mixed Field Greens Salad with Feta Cheese, Black Olives and Pepperonicinis
- Red Pepper & Garlic Hummus Dip
- Dill Cucumber Yogurt Dip
- Crispy & Soft Pitas
$17.50 Per Person minimum 50 guests
$16.50 Per person minimum 100 guests
Staff Appreciation Lunch #2
- Selection of our Around the World Sliders
- Mini Pretzel Hot Dog Bites
- Condiments Station with lettuce, tomato, pickles, mustard, mayo, ketchup
- Sweet Potato Wedges
- Homemade Parm Chips with Dip
- Assorted Gourmet Cake Pops
$17.50 Per Person minimum 50 guests
$16.50 Per person minimum 100 guests
Saint Germain Catering Offers Fresh Quality and the Best Customer Service
Saint Germain Catering is a full service catering and event planning Company located in Northern Virginia and services the entire Washington DC Metro area. Our around the clock staff is there to service you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Most of our staff have been with us for over 10 years and combined we have hundreds of years of experience behind us. Our office opens daily at 3 am to ensure that our food is prepared on time using the freshest ingredients and that it is out the door on time to you.
We combine personalized service and beautiful ambience with exquisitely prepared meals. We offer a variety of menu ideas and gourmet specialties for your event, from simple to elegant. Our main goal as a full-service catering company is to work with our clients to ensure that their events and catered meals run smoothly. You can count on us to make your event or your day-to-day catering needs a success.
We prepare our dishes from the freshest ingredients and assemble them as close to serving as possible to retain the flavors of each dish. We value your input … your personal taste … we will even make your favorite recipe. We feel the menu should be a reflection of you. We hope to serve you and help make your special celebration a most wonderful and memorable event. Our careful attention to every detail enables you to enjoy being a guest at your own celebration! From Corporate Breakfasts, Coffee Breaks, Luncheons, Holiday Parties and Meetings to Social Events, such as Weddings, Birthdays, and more… let us cater to your every need!
Fun Facts about us:
- Founded in 1998
- Women Owned and Operated
- Focuses on Corporate and Social Events
- Services MD, VA and DC
- Full service options including staffing, linens, china, rentals
- Monthly Catering Specials
Unique Desserts & Candy Stations For Your Wedding Reception
If you’ve been to a Wedding lately you may have noticed that instead of a cake, there was a whole table dedicated to several desserts and a variety of candy. Sweets, Treats and Candy displays are expanding trend. A dessert display can be filled with trays of desserts and ornate glass jars full of candy that coordinates with the colors of your event or Wedding. Desserts can include cake pops, cheesecake lollipops, miniature pies, french macaroons, cookies & milk shooters.
The options for making these displays unique to your Wedding are endless. Not everyone loves cake, so why not try a dessert display full of cookies or pies? You can make your display unique by adding custom candy tags, a table linen that matches your wedding colors, or include your favorite childhood candy such as Smarties, Lemonheads and Snowcaps. A dessert display can also double as a favor for your guests to take home. Provide candy scoops and treat bags that can be use and they are a perfect way to get your guests involved.
Presenting your treats in a fun and unique way will make your guests feel like a kid in a candy store. Ask your wedding coordinator at Saint Germain Catering for ideas on how to display desserts for your next Wedding or event. it will leave a lasting impression and have your guests talking.
Saint Germain Catering Loves Our Corporate Clients
Saint Germain Catering has been recognized as one of the top corporate catering companies in the Washington DC metro area. Not sure of the difference between corporate catering and social catering? The term corporate catering mean catering on a corporate level or catering to businesses and companies.
A company does not have to be an actual corporation to utilize corporate catering services. Corporate catering services are designed with employers in mind. Corporate caterers prepare, deliver, and present various types of meals including breakfast, lunches, snacks, dinners and receptions for groups of employees or clients. The events could be for a lunch meeting, in-house workshop or product launch.
Saint Germain Catering offers delivery services up to 40-plus miles from our facility in Northern Virginia. Delivery always includes setup at no additional charge for corporate clients. The idea is to make the meal as easy and stress-free as possible.
In general, it is a good idea to contact your caterer at least 24 hours prior to the event. The caterer can assist with what items to order and how much to order.Additionally we offer last minute services. Orders can then be placed via telephone or through our online website. Payment arrangements typically require full payment for the order upfront. Your company may requestfor a direct billing account to be established as well. Payment methods that are accepted usually include company check, cash, or credit card.
Corporte Catering perfect for small meetings or large groups. By using a corporate caterer, team leaders and managers can focus on more important things such as their employees and production. Contact Saint Germain Catering today to learn more about there services.
Saint Germain Catering Offers Tips on How to Reduce Catering Costs
Need to come up with fresh, creative menus for your next office meeting or event? Need something nicer than pizza but still working on a limited budget? Saint Germain Catering offers attractive catered meals for business customers that need to work within a limited budget. Menus such coffee and pastries for a breakfast meeting; gourmet sandwiches, sales, desserts for a working lunch; and hot and cold appetizers for an early evening reception or happy hour.
Food accounts for just a slice of the total cost of an event. Other cost components include venue rental, set-up and decoration; food presentation; food and beverage service; and clean up after the event. You may need to handle these details yourself, make assignments to your employees.
A perfectly catered meal makes a simple meal an event. The food should inspire people, lift spirits in the office, and get people excited and talking about it. When you want to make a good impression on your customers, Saint Germain Catering can save the day.
How do businesses and companies affordcatering in tough economic times? One word….Flexibility.
Businesses are working with smaller budgets than they have been in the past. The flexibility that Saint Germain’s offers our clients by working with them during these times, will keepthem coming back. We can customize a menu that will fit within your budget.
Here are a few ideasthat people are requesting:
- Having the main part of the meal catered, while the employees/guest bring desserts to share
- Having employees set up the event, decorations, tables, chairs, table cloths and place settings. The caterer brings the food and displays it, and then employees help with serving.
- Ordering less food or cutting portions during office functions.
- Ordering less expensive food, not as much seafood and higher priced items
- Scheduling office meetings later in the morning/late afternoon and provide a variety of snack items
Helpful Tips When Selecting a Corporate Caterer
There is such a huge need for corporate event catering in the Washington DC area. It saves time, because everyone has to eat, and by conducting business during office hours, it helps keep people more productive. However it is a major undertaking to ensure that your corporate meeting goes smoothly. These are a few tips that I have learned over the years of booking and providing top level service in a business catering environment. It also may be a requirement, in order to get in front of clients that you’ll have to provide a meal. The reason we conduct business over meals is multifaceted but primary among them is that happy well fed clients are more receptive to doing business. If a client eats an excellent meal and receives top notch service one is more inclined to listen to the person that provided the meal. The meal is a reflection upon those that provide it. As caterers, we must remember this important fact. The meal in a corporate setting is a reflection upon those that supply it. If the meal is below quality and/or the service is bad, that is representative of those that provided the meal.
So we have determined the importance of providing an excellent meal with great service. How does one do this? You need to determine the type of event that you trying to create. Is this going to be a breakfast, lunch, dinner, or cocktail party? What type of service? How formal is the event? Will you need any type of décor? Are there dietary restrictions or specialized requests of attendees that need to be addressed? Are there Vegans, Vegetarians, Kosher, and food allergies such as gluten, or nut issues? All of these are important factors in ensuring that your Corporate Event goes smoothly and your clients are happy. It is important to address all of these questions ahead of time so that you are not surprised by them at the event and are forced to scramble at the last minute.
When you have determined the answer to all of these questions you then select a caterer. The selection of a caterer is of primary importance. The caterer needs to provide all of the components to fulfill your needs for the event. The caterer that will need to provide exactly what they state they will provide in their quote. The caterer needs to provide professional, unobtrusive yet friendly service. The food needs to be of high quality and fit within the dietary requirements of the client. The caterer needs to be on time. The caterer needs to be professionally attired and provide service per your requirements.
So how does one choose a caterer? You can search for your caterer online or through word of mouth. Regardless of how you locate the caterer there are several ways to vet the caterer to ensure that they will accommodate your requirements. Ask the caterer their level of experience, whether they have done the type of event your are looking to create, do they have catering testimonials or references that they can share. Also Facebook and Linkedin are also another online tools that often has posted recommendations on the caterer you are evaluating. Check for references, have they received any awards or recommendations, have they been reviewed or featured in any publications, what is there food style, and can they meet the needs of any specialized dietary requests or specialized service requests? That is an excellent starting point but if you have the time the best way to evaluate the capabilities of a caterer is to see them in action. Tastings presented by the caterer are another great evaluative tool in selective a caterer and it will be specific to your even.
Once you gain an understanding of the caterer that you will be working with, you will have all of the items in place in order to create a successful corporate catering event. So make it happen! Bring in more business through successful corporate event catering.
Adding a Bit of Pizzazz to Your Next Corporate Meeting
With conference season back in full swing, one of the ways to keep your attendees happy and excited is by keeping their stomachs full.
At the end of the day, many people remember if the coffee ran out or that their dinner at the keynote event was cold. But, they also remember the creativity involved with putting the event together, the layouts of the tables, and types of food that were generally served. All these things matter to your attendees, will play a pivotal role in their overall experiences, and help determine whether or not they will attend next year’s conference. So, keep these in mind when planning your next corporate event.
No Blizzards Ruined *This* Holiday Party!
Remember the first blizzard in the Washington DC region last December? It knocked us all down for a long weekend. Then, we got knocked down again … and again… by back-to-back storms in January.
One of our customers, Donna, had worked with us to cater her company’s holiday party in December… and then again in January.
Six Tips for Planning a Unique Wedding and Reception
Since we were young, many of us dreamed of having Cinderella-style weddings. We saw Princess Diana on TV and thought about how our own dresses might be equally grand. Our guests would be dressed to the nines, dabbing their tears with dainty handkerchiefs and rejoicing over our romantic happiness. At the reception, delicately prepared foods would adorn the artistically prepared tables.
Do guests *just* remember the food, drink, and music?
Everyone would eat, drink, and be spectacularly merry.
Sure, the realities of how MUCH time, money, and effort goes into planning such elegant weddings can be stressful to expectant brides and grooms. But achieving such a memorable occasion doesn’t HAVE to be overwhelming.
Quick Tips for a Perfect Picnic
Got a Posh Picnic Planned?
It’s summertime, the season of graduations, weddings, family reunions, picnics in the park, and backyard barbeques!
Speaking of BBQs, the smell of grilled food, a plate full of fresh fruit and colorful casseroles, the sound of laughter and great music in the background, and a bug-bite-free setting can make even the most antisocial people come together and smile each summer.
